UNIONS MATTER

UCC-AAUP Chapter Bulletin

3-8-13

1.      Bargaining Update: Our Bargaining Team has continued to meet, having met on February 28th and March 7th, and met with the Administration on March 7th. They meet again on the 11th to prepare for the upcoming Joint negotiations on March 18th.

 

2.      AAUP Buttons are on the way!  The national office had run out, but the new batch should arrive there soon and ours will probably get to us this week.

 

3.      Each liaison is asked to turn in the faculty visit contact sheets by Wednesday, 3-13-13 for all members you have talked to, and to turn in a list of all members whom you have not yet been able to contact.  Please send the contact sheets and the list of members still to be contacted to any member of the AAUP Exec.

 

4.      Campus / department organizing coordinators need to double check that every member is on the list of a liaison, so every member is contacted.

·         It is essential that all members are contacted so that they know who to turn to for information about negotiations and organizing.  The Chapter is moving forward, and we want our members to be able to stay up to date with what we are doing.

·         These Bulletins are part of that process.  We need home emails for every member to help us keep everyone informed

 

5.      Just to reiterate: Both our lawyer and national AAUP tell us that it is very appropriate, and legally permissible, for the Chapter to organize in support of the Bargaining Team during negotiations. This is a VERY COMMON strategy, and is done in virtually every difficult negotiation in the country.  When we organize, and visibly show our solidarity, this strengthens the position of our Bargaining Team, and empowers them to speak strongly for us and push for our priorities – making sure that we are treated with respect, and guaranteeing that we maintain working conditions that allow us, not only to live decent lives, but also to protect the quality of education at Union County College.

 

We, collectively, are the Union.  We will succeed or fail based on the extent of our collective effort and our unity.  We need to visibly show our solidarity and our support of the Bargaining Team.  The administration is watching.  When the AAUP buttons arrive and are distributed, we need every member to wear one starting on the day that will be announced soon. Please make sure that all of your fellow members talk to the liaisons, get buttons, and get on the email list so that they can be updated.

 

Thanks for your support.  Together we are strong.

And lest we forget why Unions Matter, take a moment to consider the following…




October: Meeting at the usual time, 10/24, 3PM.


August Update:

Friends and colleagues,  

 

It is with great concern that the AAUP Executive Committee must now call an Emergency Meeting of the Chapter, to be held this coming Tuesday, September 4, at 2:30 pm in the Main Lecture Hall. The intent of this meeting is to provide you more information concerning the ongoing negotiations with the Administration, and so that we can discuss how the Chapter should respond to the administration’s recent proposals.

 

The issues that will be discussed at this meeting are matters of grave concern to you and the Chapter. We urge everyone who is available to make every effort to attend.

 

Sincerely,

Prof. Carl Cuttita

President, UCC-AAUP
Union County College

**********************

July Update:

Friends and colleagues,

It is with great concern that the Executive Committee must inform you that the Administration has filed a Scope Petition before the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), seeking a ruling that large portions of our Collective Agreement are not “mandatorily negotiable” and should, therefore, be excised.

 

Nearly 100 specific provisions are at issue, many addressing issues of governance and collegial decision making, most of which have been part of the Agreement for decades. These changes, if approved by PERC, would materially change the academic landscape of the College.

 

The Executive Committee is therefore calling an Emergency Meeting, Tuesday, August 7th 2012 at 6:30pm in the Main Lecture Hall on the Cranford Campus, so that it can provide you more information concerning the provisions at issue, and so that we can discuss how the Chapter should respond to the administration’s actions.

 

From this point forward, we will communicate further information to you solely using the home (non-UCC) email that you have supplied to the Chapter Webmaster, Bert Atsma. If you have not yet done so, confirm your private email address with him (from home) at profbert1@optonline.net, so that we may contact you.

 

The issues that will be discussed at this meeting are matters of grave concern to you and the Chapter. We urge everyone who is available to make every effort to attend.

 

Sincerely,

Prof. Carl Cuttita

President, UCC-AAUP
Union County College