Diana Vallera, President of the Part-time faculty at Columbia College (P-fac) sent this to me:
THREE YEARS AND COUNTING…
The Part-Time Faculty Association (P-fac) has been attempting to negotiate with Columbia College for over three years. During this time, P-fac has twice won separate decisions from an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in two different trials at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It ruled Columbia College in violation of several ULPs including failure to negotiate in good faith and by proposing contract language that would be worse than having no contract at all. For a review of the latest ALJ decision and its national impact see the article at NEA Today.
P-fac has been seeking the core elements of unionism: due process, a fair structure of seniority, and a dignified work environment. Columbia College’s adjunct professors teach approximately 77% of classes.
Columbia College launched “Prioritization” (austerity for academic programs) despite the absence of evidence of pedagogical or fiscal effectiveness. Prioritization has come with a reported sum of $2 million and has and lowered morale for faculty, students, and staff.
What we see now is a bailout situation, akin to the pension crisis: mismanagement and malfeasance at the top being put on the backs of rank and file professionals and students via tuition hikes, pension grabs, public school closings, and program cuts. Efforts to bust unions are part and parcel of these austerity measures. Nationwide, colleges and universities are also diminishing adjunct faculty assignments, or purging experienced instructors altogether in order to avoid Obamacare mandates.
We need to stand together as educators against the corporatization of education. This trend is not new, nor is it unique to Columbia College. What is fairly new are the attacks on collective bargaining as a tool for a much larger national effort to shape minds along a corporate model for generations to come.
P-fac’s next bargaining session is May 10, 10 – 4:30.
600 S. Michigan, room 1307.
Information Rally May 9, 11 am – 1pm
In front of 600 S. Michigan building.
Please support P-fac’s efforts to move forward.
Sign our petition, and attend these events.
facebook * http://pfacactioncenter.wordpress.com/
Fred Klonsky 