Emergency Aid for Students at Montclair State

American Federation of Teachers Local 1904 at Montclair State University has been selected to be a partner with Believe in Students, Inc., to have a Faculty And Students Together (FAST) Fund for students at Montclair. The FAST Fund was started by Sara Goldrick-Rab and provides emergency aid for students without the bureaucracy or hassle typically associated with short term student relief. Local 1904 is proud to be among this small group of partner schools which include: California State University – Long Beach, California; Nash Community College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina; Columbus State Community College, Columbus Ohio; Bunker Hill Community College, Boston, Massachusetts; and Milwaukee Area Technical College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

As a partner with Believe in Students, AFT Local 1904 will be administering a FAST Fund at Montclair State University to assist students with paying for expenses that they would not otherwise be able to afford.  Some examples of what FAST Funds have been used to pay for at other partner campuses:

• Professional licensing fees
• Temporary housing
• Rent to avoid eviction
• Auto repair bills
• Replacement costs for textbooks and laptops/iPad or other required technology for the educational program
• Eyeglasses and eye exams

To qualify for the funds, Montclair State students need to fill out a one page application form requiring a member reference and an explanation of need. Return completed applications to AFT Local 1904’s office in Dickson Hall 104. Questions? Call our office at 973-655-4453. 

Michigan Lecturers Win Tentative Agreement

Lecturers at the University of Michigan reached a tentative agreement Friday that would raise their pay from currently untenable salaries, increase their retirement income, and improve healthcare access and job security. By the end of the third year of the proposed agreement, the minimum starting salary will increase by $12,700 to $16,500, depending on the campus. The agreement follows a long battle with administrators who argued that the school did not have enough money to pay lecturers fairly; students, alumni and the community rallied to prove otherwise. A vote on the agreement is scheduled for July. (via AFT Communications)

Understanding the Potential Impact of the Janus Case Upon Organized Labor, Collective Bargaining, and the General Public

The Supreme Court of the United States may render its ruling on the case, Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, as early as this Monday, June 25th 2018. The ruling, if in favor of the plaintiff (Mark Janus) would forbid public sector unions from collecting agency fees from those within its bargaining unit who choose not to join as full members--overturning a ruling by the Supreme Court in the 1970s that upheld the right of public sector unions to collect agency fees, based upon law in effect since 1935. This would mean that the so-called, anti-union "Right-to-Work" principle would be nationally enforced. The video below provides important background and details on the case, and how it will impact not only public sector unions, but the general US public and national economy.

My Latino Students Need Me--and I Need Them

An Article by in AFT Voices by Department Chair and Professor of Educational Foundations at Montclair State University (and AFT Local 1904 Member), Jaime Grinberg.

"For the most part, being Latino in college is still the exception rather than the rule. At MSU we have a large Latino student population and have been designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, but that doesn’t mean our students’ families have been coming to universities for generations. They need advice about everything from financial aid to housing. And they deserve it--when tuition is as much as the parent's salary, which was the case with one parent I spoke with, yet the family still prioritizes higher education, it’s essential we educators respect that and support those families as much as possible." -- Prof. Jaime Grinberg

For the full article, follow this link.