Category Archives: News

Amid efforts to limit the power of unions nationwide, labor activists try to galvanize members and recruit new blood by holding one-day Troublemakers School sessions that are part pep rally, part instruction.

By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2011 (read original)

There was no room left so the students piled onto stools and folding chairs and sat on the floor, clogging the aisles of this stifling classroom on a recent Saturday morning.

They shifted in their seats as the teacher, who wore his politics on his sleeve in the form of a red “We Stand With Wisconsin” T-shirt, started to lecture. At first they checked their cellphones, doodled on the pages of their notebooks, and munched on the free chocolate chip cookies and potato chips they were provided, uninterested.

“Who are the people here facing budget cut issues?” asked the teacher, Paul Krehbiel, a grizzled activist who has organized nurses and factory workers over a long career, which includes serving as the chief negotiator for registered nurses at Los Angeles County government hospitals and clinics.

Continue reading →

By Audrey Williams June, Chronicle of Higher Ed, 4/12/11 (read original)

At an annual labor conference here [in New York], one message was clear: Faculty members, union leaders, and administrators share a common plight more than ever these days and need to work together to help shape public policy and public perception about higher education—or get prepared to deal with the consequences. Continue reading →

By Kari Lydersen
In These Times – read original

Union members and supporters picket, as negotiations with administrators continue

Seven months after their contract expired, adjunct faculty at Columbia College in Chicago spent Friday negotiating with administrators they say have violated labor law and unfairly cut adjuncts’ teaching hours while replacing them with less-senior instructors.

Members of the P-Fac union and supporters picketed outside the college administration building as negotiations went on inside. P-Fac spokesperson Nancy Traver said pay isn’t the main issue for adjunct faculty, but rather job security and respect for adjuncts who in many cases have been teaching for a decade or more at the arts-oriented private college with multiple buildings in downtown Chicago. Continue reading →

The term of our current USofCC officers is coming to an end next September, and two union members have stepped into the role of Election Committee Co-Chairs for our 2011 Officer Elections. Jamila Jones, Marketing and Communications Director of Columbia’s Sherwood Community Music School, and Yolanda Kincade, Assistant to the Director of Early Childhood Education and Secretary of USofCC, have begun to coordinate the candidate nominating process.

This spring, under the union’s bylaws, we will be nominating fellow staff members for the role of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary of USofCC for the 2011/2012 term. Elections are targeted for the end of Spring 2011 semester, with training of the elected leadership team scheduled over the summer.

If you feel that you, or someone you know, would be a strong union leader for Columbia staff, please submit a nomination. You may nominate as many staffers as you wish.

For more information, contact Jamila Jones or Yolanda Kincade through the USofCC email address: usofcc@yahoo.com

The USofCC might appear on your radar screen only a few times a year, perhaps when there’s a discussion or a vote involving our union.  But our union volunteers are working throughout the year on many  issues to ensure the college is always improving as a place to work.

One of our major efforts for 2011 is the annual “wage re-opener.” While our current contract with the college runs for three years, we have the option of negotiating for changes in wages and bonuses during each year of the contract. As a result of last year’s wage re-opener, college management and union negotiators forged an agreement that union members voted to accept: the 1 percent pay raise and 1 percent bonus for full- and part-timers.

This spring, USofCC negotiators plan to enter talks with management on wage issues. We welcome your input. Please come to the next general membership meeting to learn more about this year’s pay negotiations and to voice your ideas and concerns.

by J. Burger, IEA, USofCC

I had just started my work helping the USofCC when, on February 11th,  Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announced his plan to take away the union rights of more than 250,000 people. In response, I headed up to Wisconsin to lend a hand to unionized teachers in La Crosse.

Up north, unions are racing to get contract extensions with their employers (city, county, school board). Statewide, they announced they would take concessions, yet Walker rejected this. His budget bill would stifle democracy in the workplace and damage Badgercare (low-income health care assistance) and other widely popular programs. Walker’s rhetoric couched his bill in terms of “fair share” and “budget repair,” but the bill has been revealed as nothing more than a power grab and straight-up union busting.  Unable to pass the budget side of the original bill, in March, Wisconsin legislators maneuvered and — with Walker’s signature — have  removed most collective bargaining rights of many of Wisconsin’s state employees. Continue reading →

Written performance evaluations are required for all full-time and part-time staff.

Forms and more info from the college – Click Here.

from Chicago Reader March 3, 2011

Labor Unrest at Columbia College, Northeastern
Adjuncts, unions at local schools fight for contract, job security

Over the last couple weeks, while the eyes of the nation have been on the workers’ rights standoff in Madison, Wisconsin, two normally quiet Chicago colleges have seen their own labor uprisings. At Columbia College and Northeastern Illinois University, faculty and students are protesting what they call dictatorial governance and exploitation. In both cases, the plight of adjunct teachers—the dirt-cheap, dispensable day laborers of academe—is at issue.

read full article at ChicagoReader.com

Dear USofCC Bargaining Unit Members:

Our hearts go out to all Columbia College employees and contractors who have lost their jobs in the restructuring announced by Human Resources Vice-President Ellen Krutz yesterday.  We understand the serious — and potentially devastating — impact this will have on the lives of these workers, their families, and their communities.

The United Staff of Columbia College has submitted an urgent request to bargain with the college over the impact of these job changes. We have also requested detailed information from Human Resources regarding the extent of the staff reductions and job restructuring and the exact reasons why the college deems these changes to be necessary.

With regard to unit members whose positions have been eliminated, we will monitor their situations to ensure that each receives the required 90-day notice and other accommodations in accordance with the contract – see http://usofcc.org/the-contract/#a5

In regard to existing positions that are being combined or vacant positions that are being frozen, the union will discuss these issues when we meet with Human Resources.

The staff union will do everything in its power to ensure that the contract is followed and that bargaining unit staff who have been affected by these changes are treated fairly and with respect.

As we receive information, we will provide further updates to members of our bargaining unit.

Sincerely,
United Staff of Columbia College Officers

Mike Bright, President
John Murray, Vice President
Yolanda Kincade, Secretary
Linda Naslund, Treasurer
Shelia Brady, Communications Chair
Joan Mcgrath, Membership Chair

Though she had been at Columbia since 1995, often teaching two or three courses each semester, her schedule of classes had been whittled down from three to one, without explanation, despite what she and colleagues described as positive-to-glowing evaluations.

Just as troubling, the number of students in her remaining class increased without any corresponding raise, she said. If current patterns continue for the remainder of the year, Wolfson’s annual pay from the college will shrink from $28,000 to $9,000, she said.

Continue reading →

After two full days of voting, USofCC union members voted by a clear majority to accept management’s last wage offer. The final vote was 182 in favor of accepting the offer and 24 to reject, or 88% acceptance among those voting.

The large turnout reflected a concerted effort by the union to reach out to our diverse and widely scattered membership. Voting was conducted on site, covering both the north and south ends of campus. Polls were kept open all day.  Publicity was sent out in advance, and employees who did not report to campus on voting days were able to vote via absentee ballot. Seven non-member staff joined the union prior to the vote.

Special thanks go to those who took the time to vote, as well as the 21 USofCC members who volunteered their time to help conduct the vote. One volunteer, Cornell Wright, wrote that “I really enjoyed meeting staff from different departments from all across the campus. Coming together to vote is always a great way of building unity, plus it gave our members an opportunity to have their voices counted.”

The common view of those voting was that management’s offer was at least an increase, and better than nothing. …read more…