Category Archives: News

Arbitrator Orders reinstatement, FULL back pay, benefits

In February 2011, Tomiwa Shonekan was discharged from his job as an academic manager in the department of HHSS. His supervisor was unhappy with his work, so she fired him. But when she did that, she also violated rights that Tomiwa has because he is a member of our bargaining unit.

If the college wants to fire any of USofCC, there’s a process that must be followed. This process ensures fairness, and it is defined by our contract. (Article V)

Although the college negotiated and agreed to this procedure, they ignored it in Tomiwa’s case in the following ways:

•  The college failed to give adequate warning to the member
•  The college failed to allow the member to adjust or improve his performance
•  The college denied the member’s right to bring union support to his disciplinary meeting.

What the neutral arbitrator called “particularly troubling” was the college’s assertion that members can be fired for any reason and without written explanation.

The arbitrator ordered the college to reinstate Tomiwa to his job, and that he should receive full back pay and benefits.

What’s clear from this case is just how easy it is to misunderstand, misinterpret, or disregard our contract — our negotiated right to due process and fairness.

Great thanks to the IEA staff who worked long and hard on this case. We also thank  the neutral arbitrator for his diligent examination, and for his clear-sighted decision.

Officers with the student delegation

More than 1,200 delegates and guests filled the International Ballroom at the Chicago Hilton to conduct business, hear inspirational speakers and honor their own during the IEA’s 158th Representative Assembly.

Award winners include:

Josh Stumpenhorst, IEA Teacher of the Year and NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence; Sheila Healy, Education Support Professional of the Year; Kristina Uzzo, Bob Haisman Teacher of the Year Award; Matt Hiser, Bob Haisman Student of the Year Award; Charlene Temple, Human and Civil Rights Award; Linda Walcher, Mary Lou and Keith Hauge Award; Sen. Kimberly Lightford and Rep. Brandon Phelps, Friend of Education Award.

For more information, click here.

Click here to view pictures of the three-day event.

VOTES WERE TALLIED MONDAY NOON IN ACCORDANCE WITH UNION PRACTICE. THE RESULTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

PRESIDENT
MIKE BRIGHT, FILM & VIDEO

VICE-PRESIDENT
OSCAR VALDEZ, HUMANITIES, HISTORY, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

SECRETARY
JEEYEUN LEE, CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ARTS PARTNERSHIP
(WRITE-IN CANDIDATE)

TREASURER
NINA CAMPBELL, AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE/ENGLISH INTERPRETATION

USOFCC DELEGATES TO IEA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY
NICK HOEPPNER
CAT BROMELS

REGION 67 ETHNIC MINORITY DELEGATE
MIKE BRIGHT

MANY, MANY THANKS TO US OF CC MEMBERS WHO RAN FOR OFFICE, STAFFED THE ELECTION TABLES, AND CAME OUT TO VOTE FOR OUR NEW LEADERSHIP.

SHEILA BRADY AND YOLUNDA KINCADE
FOR THE ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

Approximately 200 students, staff, and faculty conducted a two-day informational rally outside the Board of Trustees meeting this week.  The coalition was formed to address concerns that the prioritization process was leaving out those who mattered most – those who attend Columbia (students), those who teach at Columbia (faculty), and those who help make things work (staff). Continue reading →

It’s up to us to fight for them… NOW!

Six U.S. senators and six members of the U.S. House of Representatives — who make up what’s known as the Supercommittee — face a Nov. 23 deadline to cut the deficit by a staggering $1.5 trillion.  Pell Grants help millions earn their way into the middle class and strengthen our economy, yet Pell is a prime target for crippling cuts.

We cannot balance the budget on the backs of hard-working students.  Tell the Supercommittee to SAVE PELL. Do it today! 

Continue reading →

WASHINGTON — In their latest effort to aid the Boeing Company, House Republicans took the extraordinary step on Thursday of voting to strip the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of much of its power.

The bill, entitled the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act, would bar the federal labor board from ordering a company to close or relocate a workplace, even if that company has violated labor law. Thursday’s House vote fell along party lines, with 238 Republicans for the bill and 186 Democrats against it.

The bill is designed expressly to thwart a controversial complaint brought by the NLRB against Boeing that has put the future of a South Carolina Boeing plant into limbo. Continue reading →

Striking housekeepers and other hotel workers decry Hyatt as worst employer in the hotel industry

In an emblematic fight over the direction of our economy, today Hyatt workers in Chicago join thousands of Hyatt hotel workers in launching week-long strikes in cities nationwide, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Honolulu.

Workers from the Hyatt Regency Chicago and the Hyatt McCormick are participating in local strikes. By striking, workers are standing up for decent jobs for themselves and their families, but they are also fighting for the right to take a stand against an abusive employer that is destroying good jobs in their North American hotels.   Continue reading →