NOTES from the AAUP Chapter Meeting

Nov 4, 2013

1) The meeting began with several announcements from Corresponding Secretary, John Greg:

--- Bargaining on the new contract would begin in the spring, and the AAUP team (Le Veness, Greg, Pal, Ganter) may solicit the advice of different faculty interest groups on campus as bargaining proceeds.

---An AAUP meeting with department chairs was held on Oct 24, and the chairs submitted a detailed list of their complaints about workload, stipends, and Post Tenure Review (PTR).  AAUP plans to conduct a survey of all the university chairs about workload and other issues.

---There will be general faculty meetings in the spring both in Queens and Staten Island, jointly hosted by AAUP and the Faculty Association (FA), so that faculty can offer their suggestions for the new contract.  These meetings will be open to both full-time and adjunct faculty members.

2) President Frank Le Veness announced that health care coverage assistance will be made available by the administration for eligible adjunct faculty. The university regrets that it is not a "plan," but it has set aside a substantial fund to assist those who need health care coverage. For those adjuncts who don't already have coverage via other sources, they will be able to apply by filling out a relatively simple statement of need. The administration has not yet created the necessary form. 

3) Treasurer Granville Ganter gave a brief report on recent increases in membership, and general expenses. The union currently runs on a modest surplus income---most of its expenses are for legal fees, the website, insurance, and an audit every third year.

4) Anthony Pappas (Tobin), an AAUP member, distributed leaflets about his case against Brooklyn judges, who he says treated him poorly during his divorce. He handed out the papers in the spirit of free speech, which was protected by the US Constitution.

5) There was a wide-ranging discussion of the new provision for PTR in the contract which began when  one member wondered if it threatened tenure.  It technically does not---article 10 of the Statutes, for removal of incompetent tenured faculty,  existed  before PTR, and the administration has repeatedly said that PTR is for faculty development, not punishment.  

6) Recognition Awards:  Because substantial anecdotal evidence suggests that the recognition award system did not produce expected results, John Greg explained what changes were made to the system this past contract. AAUP has requested a roster of the deans & faculty votes (with voter's names removed)  to determine  if the results were skewed. The administration has provided such rosters in the past and seems willing to continue to do so, but they have not yet supplied the unions with those lists.

There was discussion of trying to get a faculty member on the Board of Trustees, and why it is that the faculty can vote on the contract whether they are union members or not.

respectfully,

G. Ganter