Jennifer Higgins, a member of AFT Local 1904 of Montclair State University, takes an in depth look at who is funding the supreme court case of Friedrichs v. California. This case poses a major threat to the rights of American workers and to this country's middle class, and it turns out that it is being funded by the same forces that have been attacking American working people for decades.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Who's Really Behind Friedrichs v. California?
Jennifer Higgins, a member of AFT Local 1904 of Montclair State University, takes an in depth look at who is funding the supreme court case of Friedrichs v. California. This case poses a major threat to the rights of American workers and to this country's middle class, and it turns out that it is being funded by the same forces that have been attacking American working people for decades.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Faculty Office Hours Reminder
by Maughn Gregory, Faculty Coordinator
As we prepare our syllabi for Winter and Spring 2016, please keep in mind the contractual requirements for office hours, which are given in the Local Selected Procedures Agreement as follows:
The AFT Local 1904 interprets this paragraph as follows:
1. “… post” means on the course syllabus (not necessarily on an office door).
2. Faculty members must hold at least one office hour on at least one of the days per week that each of their courses is scheduled – but need not schedule more than a total of three hours per week. For instance, faculty members teaching three courses on three different days should schedule one office hour on each of those days. Faculty members teaching on four different days need only schedule office hours on three of those days. Faculty members teaching on two different days should schedule at least one office hour on each of those days.
3. Online and hybrid courses are the same as on-campus courses: faculty must notify students in ALL classes of their office hours each semester and each winter and summer session in which they teach, and schedule those hours on days that they teach, whether on campus or online.
4. The location of office hours may be in the faculty member’s office, at a different location on campus, or online (the Office of Information Technology provides faculty members with training in holding virtual office hours).
5. Each office hour should be a full 60 minutes (not the 50 minutes that constitute a classroom hour per course credit).
6. Each office hour is a time during which the faculty member is available to consult with students. Additional time a faculty member spends answering student emails or phone calls may NOT be added up and counted toward office hours.
As we prepare our syllabi for Winter and Spring 2016, please keep in mind the contractual requirements for office hours, which are given in the Local Selected Procedures Agreement as follows:
16. FACULTY RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES16.1 OFFICE HOURS FOR STUDENT CONSULTATION
Faculty members will post and maintain three (3) scheduled office hours per week at different hours and on each day corresponding to the faculty member's teaching schedule. The number of days on which office hours are maintained need not exceed three (3). Faculty members will inform students of these hoursand of their availability by appointment at other reasonable times.
The AFT Local 1904 interprets this paragraph as follows:
1. “… post” means on the course syllabus (not necessarily on an office door).
2. Faculty members must hold at least one office hour on at least one of the days per week that each of their courses is scheduled – but need not schedule more than a total of three hours per week. For instance, faculty members teaching three courses on three different days should schedule one office hour on each of those days. Faculty members teaching on four different days need only schedule office hours on three of those days. Faculty members teaching on two different days should schedule at least one office hour on each of those days.
3. Online and hybrid courses are the same as on-campus courses: faculty must notify students in ALL classes of their office hours each semester and each winter and summer session in which they teach, and schedule those hours on days that they teach, whether on campus or online.
4. The location of office hours may be in the faculty member’s office, at a different location on campus, or online (the Office of Information Technology provides faculty members with training in holding virtual office hours).
5. Each office hour should be a full 60 minutes (not the 50 minutes that constitute a classroom hour per course credit).
6. Each office hour is a time during which the faculty member is available to consult with students. Additional time a faculty member spends answering student emails or phone calls may NOT be added up and counted toward office hours.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
State Negotiations Update
by Bill Sullivan, Internal Vice President
Our statewide negotiating team met with the state’s negotiating team for the third time last week. During the first meeting, we discussed the ground rules for negotiations. During the second meeting we had final agreement on the ground rules. At that meeting, our team was prepared to exchange proposals, but the state’s team was not prepared to do so. Therefore, we withheld our proposals.
At last week’s (third) negotiating session, both sides presented non-economic proposals. The union presented 38 pages of proposals. The state and university/college presidents presented 18 pages of proposals. There are three general themes throughout the state’s/college presidents proposals.
New Jersey has an absentee governor whose sole agenda appears to become the Republican Party’s candidate for president. This suggests that this round of negotiations will not begin in earnest until that issue is resolved.
Our statewide negotiating team met with the state’s negotiating team for the third time last week. During the first meeting, we discussed the ground rules for negotiations. During the second meeting we had final agreement on the ground rules. At that meeting, our team was prepared to exchange proposals, but the state’s team was not prepared to do so. Therefore, we withheld our proposals.
- The university/college presidents want to move several negotiable items to local campus negotiations. At this time, locally negotiated agreements are only subject to advisory arbitration. That is, when a grievance is brought to arbitration, the administration only has to take the arbitrator’s decision under consideration. In contrast, items negotiated in the statewide master agreement are subject to binding arbitration, where the administration would be bound to follow the arbitrator’s decision. The motivation of the state and the university/college presidents appear to be quite transparent.
- The university/college presidents propose to make the professional staff at-will employees. The maximum multiyear contract would be reduced from the present five years to three years.
- Over the past several contracts, the university/college presidents have attempted to remove academic department chairs from our bargaining unit. That is, the administrations have proposed to appoint whomever they choose as department chairs, regardless of the candidate’s credentials or department faculty support. The union has continually rejected that proposal. This time, the presidents’ propose to accomplish this through the back door. They have proposed that department chairs become the first level of supervisor of professional staff within a given department. Such an agreement would invoke a Wilton conflict. According to the Winton decision, a supervisor cannot be in the same bargaining unit as the supervised employee.
New Jersey has an absentee governor whose sole agenda appears to become the Republican Party’s candidate for president. This suggests that this round of negotiations will not begin in earnest until that issue is resolved.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Why Full Membership Is Important
The Local is in the midst of a concerted effort to increase our membership and you can help!
- Are you aware that negotiating our contract would be a COMPLETELY different experience and better for us if 90% or more of us were full union members?
- Did you know it only costs the equivalent of a few cups of coffee per pay period to be a full member?
- Did you know if we got 100 people to join our solidarity walks each week, the tone local contract negotiations would become very different and provide a strategic advantage for us at the bargaining table?"
Full membership entitles you to all of the benefits of the Local. Agency payers (those choosing not to formally join the union and consequently only pay 85% of the full dues) are still afforded union protection but do not pay the full load putting a larger burden on those who do. Becoming a full member also allows you to vote on contract ratifications, officer elections and come to our meetings to voice your positions. It also gets you the 1 million dollar professional liability policy afforded ONLY to full members.
Being a full supporter of the Local also allows your representatives to protect our mutual professional interests with the State of New Jersey, on salaries, benefits, and the full range of terms and conditions of work. While these activities are guaranteed no matter what level of membership you prefer, full-members strengthen our collective voting power and unifies our efforts. Additionally, the more full members our local has, the better we are represented on the Council of NJ State Locals as with more delegates we are better able to support your interest in issues related to our contract and on the political playfield in Trenton. In brief, your Union protects your employee rights as a Professional Staff, Librarian, or Faculty Member and the higher percentage of membership we have, the better able we are to do that.
If you are not a member and want to become a full member, call Linda Turano in the Local’s office (x4453) and we’ll make sure someone brings you a card. If you are not sure if you are a full member, you can also call Linda to inquire or you can look at your paystub where it will say AFT Member. If it says AFT Agency you are not a full member.
We can’t impress upon you how much membership matters. The difference in dues is trivial and if you have ever asked “What has the union done for me lately?“ This is a way to give us the tools to be more effective and do more. Particularly in this political climate, with this Governor and the current Council of Presidents.
In solidarity,
The Officers of AFT Local 1904
Being a full supporter of the Local also allows your representatives to protect our mutual professional interests with the State of New Jersey, on salaries, benefits, and the full range of terms and conditions of work. While these activities are guaranteed no matter what level of membership you prefer, full-members strengthen our collective voting power and unifies our efforts. Additionally, the more full members our local has, the better we are represented on the Council of NJ State Locals as with more delegates we are better able to support your interest in issues related to our contract and on the political playfield in Trenton. In brief, your Union protects your employee rights as a Professional Staff, Librarian, or Faculty Member and the higher percentage of membership we have, the better able we are to do that.
If you are not a member and want to become a full member, call Linda Turano in the Local’s office (x4453) and we’ll make sure someone brings you a card. If you are not sure if you are a full member, you can also call Linda to inquire or you can look at your paystub where it will say AFT Member. If it says AFT Agency you are not a full member.
We can’t impress upon you how much membership matters. The difference in dues is trivial and if you have ever asked “What has the union done for me lately?“ This is a way to give us the tools to be more effective and do more. Particularly in this political climate, with this Governor and the current Council of Presidents.
In solidarity,
The Officers of AFT Local 1904
To read more about membership, click here
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