Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Confronting Campus Bullies

In the November/December 2011 issue of AFT On Campus, the issue of bullying in academia is examined. "Workplace bullying looks quite different from the schoolyard variety. . . . it can be devious and pervasive, a collection of incidents that seem inconsequential when taken individually but are devastating when they build up over time." To read more and learn what you can do about it click here.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Bipartisan Attack on Teachers' Unions

In the Winter 2011-2012 edition of American Educator, AFT National's magazine, the article "Bipartisan, But Unfounded" examines the unprecedented attacks on teachers' unions in this country. To read more about how non-unionized school districts are not outperforming unionized ones, click here.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Congratulations to the 2011 Tenure Class

On behalf of AFT Local 1904 and indeed the entire membership of the Local, I want to congratulate you on the confirmation of tenure at this afternoon's Board of Trustees meeting. I am glad that I got a chance to see some of you there but if you were not there, here are the remarks I made to the board.

This is a seminal day in your academic career.

Congratulations!

Rich Wolfson
President, AFT Local 1904

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Essex County Labor Scholarship Available

The Essex-West Hudson Labor Council's scholarship award for high school seniors is now accepting applications. To receive the award, the recipient must be a high school senior who has been accepted at an accredited college or post-high school education program and must be a member of a local union affiliated with the Essex-West Hudson Central Labor Council or a member's spouse or child. The application deadline is April 23, 2012. For additional information, please click here.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Solidarity Walks Continue as Members Step Up and Step Out


At the beginning of our 11th Solidarity Walk, Jennifer Higgins, Internal Vice President of AFT Local 1904 told members that the work they do matters, that they have value and not to lessen that value. 

Members should not lessen their value by standing by silently as the administration suspends and seeks to eliminate professional development programs such as Sabbatical Leaves, Tuition Reimbursement and the Career Development program. These programs not only benefit an employee's professional growth, but ultimately benefits the University by having faculty, professional staff and librarians that can better prepare the students we serve. 
 
Members should not lessen their value by allowing the administration to take advantage of their professionalism by volunteering for extra assignments that are not already a part of your duties. While there will be times when one needs to stay late or put in some additional ours to carry out our duties. However, this should not be a daily occurrence, and if it is, it simply means more faculty, staff and librarians are needed. Existing employees should not be run into the ground under the guise of doing more with less. We do not serve our students by operating this way nor do we help ourselves. 


And to unit members who might say, times are tough, so why shouldn’t we give up more? If we don’t stand up and stand together and fight for our rights, for a fair deal, neither our students nor will our children get one when they enter the workforce. The time is now for working people, whether they work in the public or private sector, to stand together and demand a fair deal.