We
are hoping to make this one of the most noteworthy CEW events ever.
It is also crucial to the part-time union at Emerson. If you
have friends or colleagues in the Boston area, please ask them to
attend. Its Wednesday, October, 29 4pm in downtown Boston
at the corner of Boylston and Tremont. Flyer 1 (pdf)
Flyer 2 (pdf)
October
24, 2003 Press Release
Professors
to Protest Continued Disregard for Faculty Rights at Emerson College
Washington,
D.C.—On October 29, professors, students, and supporters from
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and other states
will gather in Boston to protest the insistence of the Emerson College
administration that part-time faculty accept a contract that would
limit their ability to express any solidarity with other unions.
The American Association of University Professors will sponsor the
event.
“This
event will draw attention to a pattern of administrative behavior
that is inappropriate and potentially damaging to the health and
well being of Emerson College,” says Mary Burgan, general
secretary of the Association.
The Emerson
administration proposes contract language that would limit the rights
of its faculty as American citizens. The administration demands
that part-time faculty members give up commonly accepted faculty
rights to free speech and assembly. Rather than simply asking for
a commitment from faculty not to strike during the length of the
contract, the Emerson proposal seeks to prohibit actions as elementary
as leafleting in support of another union.
“The
open ended nature of this proposal,” comments Mary Burgan,
“is simply unacceptable. In a campus environment, it is especially
important to maintain the faculty’s right to express itself.”
In March 2001,
the contingent faculty at Emerson College became the first faculty
members in twenty years to form a union at a private institution
in Boston. These part-time faculty form the majority of the instructional
staff at Emerson, yet they still work without a fair contract. The
full-time Emerson faculty belong to a different collective bargaining
chapter of AAUP.
Relations between
the new faculty union and administration have been strained since
2001. Following an election in which the contingent faculty voted
three to one to form a union, the administration spent time and
resources appealing to National Labor Relations Board over the faculty’s
right to bargain collectively. That appeal failed.
Since then,
the administration has proceeded reluctantly, withdrawing all administrators
from contract negotiations and proceeding at an extremely slow pace.
Meanwhile the administration has cut faculty salaries for classes
that enroll under ten students. It also refuses to agree to a “fair
share” clause that would charge all faculty covered by the
contract some of the costs of representation.
The protest
will call on the Emerson College administration to act in the best
interest of Emerson College by accepting the part-time faculty union’s
proposal for “fair share,” fair compensation, and the
democratic principles of full citizenship for all faculty—including
academic freedom as well as free expression outside the classroom.
The AAUP Statement
on Collective Bargaining holds that “collective bargaining
can be used to increase the effectiveness” of institutions
of faculty governance, to protect academic freedom, to promote the
economic well being of faculty and other academic professionals,
and to advance the interests of higher education.
The demonstration
will be held October 29 at 4 p.m. at the corner of Tremont and Boylston.
In case of rain, the rally will be held in Room 21 of the Emerson
Student Union at 96 Beacon Street. For more information about this
event, please contact Richard Moser (202) 737-5900, ext. 3043; rmoser@aaup.org
The American
Association of University Professors is a nonprofit charitable and
educational organization that promotes academic freedom by supporting
tenure, academic due process, and standards of quality in higher
education. The AAUP has 45,000 members at colleges and universities
throughout the United States.
Robin Burns
American Association
of University Professors
Department of Public Policy and Communications
1012 Fourteenth Street, NW, #500
Washington, DC 20005
rburns@aaup.org
202-737-5900
ext. 3013
800-424-2973
FAX 202-737-5526
Call
to Action - Press Release
Professors
to Protest Continued Disregard for Faculty Rights at Emerson College
On October
29, professors, students and supporters from Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Vermont, and other states will converge on Boston
Massachusetts to protest the Emerson administration’s insistence
that part time faculty accept a contract that will limit academic
freedom and 1st Amendment rights. The American Association of University
Professors will sponsor the event. This event will draw national
attention to a pattern of administrative behavior that is inappropriate
and potentially damaging to the health and well-being of Emerson
College.
The administration
proposes and has refused to withdraw contract language that would
limit the rights of faculty as American citizens to free speech
and free assembly. The administration is demanding that part-time
faculty members cross any picket line established by any labor organization
and refrain from any sympathy action, including striking, picketing,
hand billing or leafleting, with or in support of any labor organization.
The administration would forbid part time faculty from supporting
the “employees of any employer.” The open ended
nature of this proposal is simply unacceptable and is uniquely repressive
in a campus environment.
In March of
2001 the contingent faculty at Emerson College became the first
faculty to form a union at a private institution in Boston in 20
years. They are the majority of the faculty at Emerson yet
still work without a fair contract.
Relations between
the faculty union and administration have been strained since 2001
when following an election in which the faculty voted 3 to 1 to
form a union, the administration wasted precious time and resources
appealing the right of the faculty to collective bargaining before
the NLRB. That appeal failed.
Since then,
the administration has proceeded as if the contract negotiations
and the faculty were its lowest priority by having withdrawn all
administrators from the negotiations.
Although the
administration has spent hundreds of thousand of dollars fighting
the union they insist on saving money by cutting faculty salaries
for classes that enroll under ten students. The administration
is also insisting that the union not have the financial support
from all faculty covered by the contract by refusing to agree to
“fair share” clause.
Although the
full time faculty union, also an AAUP affiliate, does not suffer
from the same demands made of the part-timer union a recent letter
from President Liebergott to the full time faculty sets out a very
hostile negotiation position that threatens to challenge the legitimacy
of the union.
The protest
will call on the Emerson College administration to act in the best
interest of Emerson College by accepting both faculty unions, and
the part time union’s proposal for “fair share,”
fair compensation and the democratic principles of academic freedom
and free speech.
The AAUP holds
that unionization is an effective instrument for achieving the goals
of academic freedom, shared governance of the institution and decent
compensation and economic security for faculty.
The demonstration
will be held Oct. 29th at 4:00pm at the corner of Tremont and Boylston.
In case of rain, the rally will be held in room 21 of the Emerson
Student Union at 96 Beacon Street.
The American Association of University Professors is a nonprofit
charitable and educational organization that promotes academic freedom
by supporting tenure, academic due process, and standards of quality
in higher education. The AAUP has 45,000 members at colleges and
universities throughout the United States.
Contacts:
Richard Moser rmoser@aaup.org
From
the The Chronicle of Higher Education
November
21, 2003
A Union Without a Contract
Part-time professors
thought they scored a precedent-setting win at Emerson College,
but after more than two years things haven't turned out that way
http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v50/i13/13a00801.htm
[For Chronicle Subscribers]
Article: Seeking 'Equal Pay for Equal Work'
By SCOTT SMALLWOOD
Boston
Emerson College
was supposed to be the first domino. When part-time-faculty activists
won a union election there in 2001, leaders of academic labor around
the country took notice. The victory, they hoped, would lead to
a wave of organizing at Boston's numerous colleges, allowing thousands
of part-time professors to bargain for better treatment.
That hasn't
happened.
Instead, on
a gray, rainy day at the end of last month, the leaders of the Affiliated
Faculty of Emerson College were still fighting for a contract. A
small crowd, maybe 75 people, has gathered at a rally, hoping to
put pressure on the college to reach an agreement with the union.
In April 2001,
the part-timers voted overwhelmingly117 to 37 -- to organize
a union and affiliate with the American Association of University
Professors. But two and a half years later, they still don't have
a contract. The delay, even some union leaders acknowledge, has
drained some of the spirit from the academic-labor movement in the
city.
It's a reminder
of what a long road union organizing and contract negotiating can
be, and how important both sides believe every precedent is. The
remaining issues -- the university is pushing for a broad no-strike
clause and a policy that would pay part-timers less for teaching
very small classes -- show that contract negotiations are not
just about money, but about power as well.
The administration
says the union has exaggerated the importance of the unresolved
issues. The union is frustrated that administrators do not come
to the bargaining sessions any longer, leaving the job to the college's
lawyer.
The lack of
progress "is an indication of how tough the battle is,"
says Gary Zabel, a part-time professor of philosophy at the University
of Massachusetts at Boston and a labor activist in the city.
Administrations
have come to rely overwhelmingly on poorly paid adjunct faculty.
They're going to fight this for the same reason that growers in
California fought against farmworkers. Universities have no higher
moral ground."
Chants
and Speeches
Emerson, a
college of arts and communication, has 2,700 undergraduates and
650 graduate students. The 220 part-time professors outnumber the
full-timers two to one. With no real campus, the college is housed
in several buildings near Boston's theater district.
The protest
in late October -- part of Campus Equity Week, a series of
events to highlight academic-labor issues across North America -- began
on the edge of Boston Common, across the street from some Emerson
buildings.
Like any labor
rally, it started with chants: "What do we want?" Rich
Moser, of the AAUP, said into a malfunctioning megaphone. The crowd
answered, meekly, "Academic freedom."
And there were
the signs: "Slow Justice Is No Justice" and the less catchy
"Uphold AAUP Principles." Students, some with cameras,
roamed the proceedings. David Rosen, a college spokesman, was there,
snapping pictures as well.
Later he called
it "not much of a turnout," pointing out that many of
the people were not even from Emerson.
But for labor
activists, that's the point. Part-time professors, graduate students,
and even the lucky tenured full-time professors believe that they
gain strength by sticking together.
The protesters
included professors who had traveled from Hofstra University in
Hempstead, N.Y., a student from nearby Northeastern University,
and a part-timer at Suffolk University, also in downtown Boston,
where an organizing campaign may get started.
"We are
watching you over at Suffolk," says the adjunct, Robert Rosenfeld,
who has taught philosophy there for 13 years. "You're going
to help raise the standards of part-time faculty in Boston. Keep
fighting."
Justin Ruben,
a former Yale University graduate student who is now an organizer
for the graduate-student union there, spoke about the importance
of academic work, offering some of the most spirited oratory of
the brief rally.
"We can
make that work better," he told the crowd. "We can stay
the conscience of our society. This administration is fighting so
hard because of what you mean to people like us. Because by staying
together -- graduate students, postdocs, adjuncts, all of us
-- then we can take this educational system back."
As the speeches
wound down, dusk fell, orange-tinged clouds floated overhead, and
the crowd chanted: "The campus, united, will never be defeated."
'Setting
a Precedent'
Salaries and
benefits are often the most contentious aspects of contract negotiations,
but at Emerson the two sides have already reached a financial deal,
which has gone into effect. The college established a new salary
schedule for part-timers, and agreed to pay 50 percent of the health-insurance
premium for some experienced part-time professors -- about
40 of the 220 members of the union get the new health benefit.
The new salary
system is a complicated matrix in which pay varies by department
and is based on how many courses a professor has taught as a part-timer
at Emerson. For example, Leslie Brokaw, a part-time professor in
the writing-and-literature program, teaches two or three courses
a year.
Before the
new contract, she earned $3,200 for each four-credit course. Now
she makes $3,900. "My raise of $700 was probably typical,"
says Ms. Brokaw, who serves on the union's negotiating committee.
So if the union
and the college have already agreed on the meaty salary issues,
what's holding up a deal?
"This
is the first contract," says Mr. Rosen, the college spokesman,
"so every issue is being addressed for the first time, and
every one is setting a precedent. So both sides are being as careful
as they can be."
The labor negotiators,
however, say the administrators are dragging their feet. "They're
not negotiating with us on these issues," says David Daniel,
president of the union, who has been a part-time professor of writing
for 13 years. "They're not enormous issues, but they're not
even trying to negotiate." It's not about money, he says: "This
is about control."
Mr. Moser,
of the national AAUP, agrees. "None of these things are truly
money things," he says. "It's all just bad attitude and
power politics."
The two sides
remain at odds over three issues. First, as is standard in many
union contracts, the college is seeking to prohibit the professors
from striking. But union leaders say the college's proposal is overly
broad and would unfairly restrict adjuncts' free-speech rights.
Under the college's
proposal, the part-timers would have to agree to much more than
simply not striking or picketing. They "will not refuse to
cross any picket line established by any labor organization, nor
will they engage in any sympathy action, including striking, picketing,
handbilling or leafleting, with or in support of any labor organization,"
it says.
The next paragraph defines "labor organization" as any
group that represents employees of the college or "any other
employer."
Mr. Moser says
he has never seen such broad no-strike language. It could be interpreted
to mean that part-timers at Emerson could be fired for participating
in a labor rally for graduate students at Yale University, or for
handing out brochures during a janitors' strike in Boston, he says:
"Some people call it the 'no-bad-thoughts clause.'"
Mr. Rosen,
the only administrator designated to speak about the negotiations,
declines to discuss the details of the remaining contract issues.
However, he does say they have been "miscast" by the union.
The no-strike clause, for instance, has been portrayed as a free-speech
issue, but the college is simply seeking the strongest possible
no-strike clause, he says.
The second
issue is the college's proposal to pay part-time faculty members
less money for courses that enroll fewer than 10 students. For instance,
under the plan, if seven students enrolled in a given course, the
professor who teaches it would be paid 70 percent of the regular
salary. Part-timers argue that such a clause is unfair, and that
professors' pay should not be based on the number of students in
class.
Mr. Rosen says
the college has always reserved the right to cancel a class with
fewer than 10 students. He adds that the contract would codify an
existing policy under which classes with low enrollment can be transformed
into "directed studies" courses -- a kind of independent
study -- in which the professor would be paid the lower rate
on the basis of the actual number of students.
The part-timers
say that they have never heard of such a policy, and that it is
not how the college functions now. Ms. Brokaw says she has taught
classes with fewer than 10 students and never had her pay prorated.
She finds the
proposal especially galling because the college promotes itself,
in part, on the virtue of small classes. She recalls teaching graduate
courses that limit enrollment to 12 students. "Then one student
didn't show up, one dropped the class, a third blew off the course,
and suddenly I was at 9," she says. "The idea that at
that point I would take a pay cut is ridiculous."
The third major
issue left on the bargaining table is who will pay the union's expenses.
The college wants only union members to pay dues. But the union
is seeking an "agency shop," in which even members of
the bargaining unit who are not members of the union must pay a
percentage of their salary -- generally smaller than full union
dues -- to help support the union.
Union leaders
maintain that Emerson is paying its lawyers to fight so hard on
these issues -- even the ones that wouldn't cost the college
much, if anything -- because of the precedents that will be
set not only at Emerson but for dozens of nearby colleges as well.
The union could gain momentum among part-timers because many of
them teach at multiple colleges in the Boston area. Emerson officials
have "spent much more on lawyers than they've given to us,"
says Mr. Daniel, the union president.
Part-timers
point out that the college's tax returns show legal expenses in
the 2001 and 2002 fiscal years of $424,000 and $439,700, respectively.
In comparison, in the previous three years the college spent an
average of $216,000 on legal fees.
Mr. Rosen declines
to specify how much Emerson has paid its lawyers for union-related
costs, saying that the college is not required to categorize the
costs. But it would be irresponsible to suggest that all of that
additional money was spent on the union fight, he says, citing the
legal costs associated with real-estate deals during the past decade
that have relocated Emerson from the Back Bay section of Boston
to the theater district.
Playing
Tough
Professors
at Emerson believe that the administration is planning to be tough
with all of its unions. Full-time faculty members at the college,
unlike the vast majority of professors at other private institutions,
are also unionized. They are members of a separate AAUP unit that
was created before the 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case involving Yeshiva
University, in which the court ruled that professors at private
colleges had managerial roles and were therefore not covered by
the National Labor Relations Act.
Part-timers
point out that the full-timers' union does not have such a strict
no-strike clause, has no prorated pay for small classes, and does
collect "agency fees," in lieu of dues, from professors
who don't join the union.
But the full-timers
may not have all of those things for long. Some professors say the
administration is seeking to decertify the union -- a move
that many private colleges made after the Yeshiva decision, but
which Emerson has refrained from making.
The college
has no such plan, says Mr. Rosen. In a letter to the full-time professors
in September, President Jacqueline Liebergott wrote, "Although
we know that we could withdraw recognition from [the full-time faculty
union], and we think that we would win the legal fight that would
follow, legal fights benefit lawyers and almost no one else."
She went on
to say, however, that "for the faculty to conduct itself sometimes
as management and sometimes as labor compromises its critical role."
She offered the full-timers a choice: If they continue the "traditional
union-versus-management relationship," the college will seek
to eliminate from the contract the faculty's right to participate
in management. Or they can form a new type of pact with the college,
which would "enhance" the faculty's role in governance
but acknowledge that the AAUP unit is not a union under federal
labor law.
Eiki Satake,
a professor of mathematics and president of the full-time-faculty
union, says he found the president's letter to be "extremely
offensive, very indefensible, and extremely inappropriate."
"They
are not ready to negotiate with our union in good faith," he
says.
Mr. Moser,
of the AAUP, acknowledges that getting a contract for the part-timers
at Emerson has taken longer than union leaders hoped. But not all
of the momentum has been lost, he says, noting that several groups
are planning to begin union-organizing campaigns at both public
and private colleges in the Boston area. "Through mutual agreement,"
he says, "we decided to wrap up this first contract at Emerson
first."
Since 1998,
adjuncts have made tremendous headway on the labor front, Mr. Moser
says. Emerson represesents a real victory: the first part-time union
created at a private institution in Boston in the past 20 years.
Perhaps that will indeed start a chain reaction of unionization
at private colleges. "But," he says, "it's been a
slog."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v50/i13/13a00801.htm
[For Chronicle Subscribers]
http://chronicle.com
Section: The Faculty
Volume 50, Issue 13, Page A8