Representatives of Roosevelt and RAFO met for the third negotiating session on December 4. Beverly Stewart began by responding to the University’s concern that we not sacrifice a collegial relationship by insisting on contractual language that was too detailed and set up overly- bureaucratic processes. She said that our proposals were motivated by specific problems and gaps we had encountered in implementing the contract over the last two and a half years. Our goal is to work to address such problems, particularly as they relate to such central issues as job security.
After that preamble, the university responded to our proposals on governance (e.g. RAFO appointing to fill adjunct vacancies on college councils and the University Senate). There was also a lengthy discussion of RAFO’s proposed changes to the language on academic freedom (basically to make it clearer and a stronger protection for adjunct faculty). Roosevelt’s concern was that academic freedom not become a shield for poor teaching, while RAFO argued that such freedom was essential to teaching and that faculty might be afraid to speak freely in the classroom if this might lead to student complaints Much of the discussion centered on the issue of institutional support for academic freedom.
The discussion on academic freedom led Roosevelt to suggest that our specific concerns actually revolved around broader issues and that we ought to discuss those issues first and not get bogged down in wordsmithing. RAFO proposed a caucus to discuss this proposal and, after the caucus, presented and briefly explained a list of issues we’d like to discuss. Here is the list (not in any particular order or scheme):
Roosevelt responded to this list by saying that the ball’s back in their court now and that they would group these issues in three general categories: communication issues, job security, and arbitrary treatment.
Here are some background materials:
Just a reminder - here are some of the items related to the negotiations:
Joe Berry prepared a guide for filing for unemployment while he was involved in the organizing drive at City Colleges. Although directed at adjuncts there, the advice is general enough for us to use. You can see it as a web page or as a PDF file.
The Gage building downtown is exhibiting artworks by Roosevelt University faculty. This exhibit opened on October 9 (sorry about the late notice), but runs until December 15, so there’s still time to check out the creativity of your peers. Quoting from the University’s press release, here are some details:
"Artists and work included in the Roosevelt faculty exhibit include: drawings by Michele Corazzo, digital works by Michael Ensdorf and Aaron Gang, fiber works by elyse koren-camarra, sculpture and works on paper by Jeanne Reilly, paintings by Nina Smoot Cain and Michele Fitzsimmons, and films by Janet Wondra." All of these are adjunct faculty except Ensdorf and Wondra!
Again from the press release: "The exhibit is free and open to the public. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Gage Building Gallery. For more information on the exhibit, call 312-281-3252."
Roosevelt University will run an advertisement for its full-time faculty positions in October in Hispanic Outlook and Black Issues in Higher Education. To see a copy of this advertisement, click here. To get information about specific positions, consult RU's jobs page at www.roosevelt.edu/jobs.
Joe Davis, a long-time adjunct in Policy Studies, invites all those with an opinion on how well or poorly minority faculty have been treated at Roosevelt University to contact him at joe_h._davis@hud.gov.
Roosevelt is constituting five sub-committees to conduct the self-study portion of the upcoming accreditation process (it begins formally in 2005). Each sub-committee relates to one of the criteria established by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. Roosevelt is seeking adjunct volunteers on several of these committees - contact LuAnn Swartzlander (pr-libstudies1@rafo.org) if you'd like to be involved. More information can be found here.
Robert Klein Engler (adjunct in Policy Studies) has been named by RAFO president Beverly Stewart to be the adjunct faculty representative on Roosevelt's Provost Search Committee. He is looking for input about what adjuncts consider to be important in RU's provost. You may contact him at rkleinengler@aol.com.
NEA is seeking applications from ethnic minorities and women to attend a month-long intensive training seminar in summer 2004 to train them to become UniServ staffers for NEA. Letters of interest must be sent to NEA by December 5, 2003. If you'd like more information, contact Beverly Stewart (prez@rafo.org) or Frank Brooks (webmaster@rafo.org). You may also call Brenda Vincent of the UniServ Intern Program in Washington, D.C. at (202) 822-7175.
On Thursday, October 16 representatives of RAFO and Roosevelt University met in Roosevelt’s board room downtown to begin negotiations for the new contract. Roosevelt’s Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations began with a short statement urging all to keep in mind Roosevelt’s new strategic plan, especially the focus on student success. Beverly Stewart, RAFO President, then led off our presentation of the bargaining proposal. Instead of making a detailed formal proposal covering all of our concerns, the bargaining committee decided instead to outline key points for future discussion. The meeting set up a schedule for the next two meetings, where we will discuss some of the first articles of the contract (union rights, etc.). At our third meeting (November 13), we will begin discussion of what is likely to take some time to resolve, our proposal to overhaul the assignment process for classes. This emerged as a major concern over the course of the first two years of this contract and job security was (after salary) the central concern of adjuncts responding to the contract survey.
As we did last time around, the bargaining committee will keep members informed of the progress of negotiations through e-mails such as this one, flyers, and other methods. We are still interested in your input. Since bargaining is likely to take several months, there is still plenty of time for you to make your views known. If you’d like more details on what we’re discussing, consult the outline of issues that we handed out to the University last Thursday.
By the way, the RAFO representatives at the bargaining table are Beverly Stewart (President), Melinda Ince (Vice President), Frank Brooks (Secretary), Diane Davis (IEA UniServ Director), and Bill Lannin (the "new guy" – he’s got a lot of expertise in human relations and teaches in the Business College). These people may be supplemented by others as we bargain particular issues.
At the Campus Equity Week event last Tuesday at Roosevelt University, a representative of the Illinois-based Campaign for Better Health Care described the Health Care Justice Act, coming up for a vote in the Illinois Senate. This Act (HB 2268) was passed last spring by the Illinois House of Representatives and will be voted on by the Senate during the fall Veto Session (Nov. 4-6 and Nov. 18-20). The HCJA is a universal health care public policy initiative that will implement a universal health care plan for Illinois by January 1, 2007. Since health insurance is a chronic concern of part-time faculty, RAFO urges you to find out more about this bill and call, e-mail, or fax your State Senator to urge support for the bill. To find out more about the act, go to the CBHC website at http://cbhconline.org/fact_hb1984.htm. They also have a list of contact information for State Senators at http://cbhconline.org/senatorlist.htm. Not sure who your State Senator is? Go to Project Vote-Smart and enter your nine-digit zip code in the left-hand column: http://www.vote-smart.org/.
The Campaign is urging supporters to contact State Senators in their local/district office on Monday, November 3 and in the Springfield office on Tuesday, November 4.
Applicants from the RAFO membership are solicited to apply to co-coordinate the arrangements for the upcoming North America-wide conference of the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, which will be in Chicago, at Roosevelt and Columbia, August 6-8, 2004. Work will vary greatly from week to week, but start immediately, becoming most busy in the spring with publicity and arrangements, and later with registrations. Over 250 people are expected to register. Work would mainly consist of liaison with facilities management, computer data base work on invitations and registrations, and general detail management under the direction of the conference organizing committee and its Chair, Joe Berry. Payment would be in the form of class equivalent pay, up to one class equivalent. Needed qualifications include computer skills, attention to details, and ability to work under some time pressure. Please send a letter of application, with full contact information, to Joe Berry, either at 1453 W. Flournoy #3F, Chicago, 60607 or via campus mail to liberal studies. Applications also accepted via email at joeberry@igc.org or via fax at 312-773-2172. Call the same number for more information.
RAFO and Roosevelt University are hosting the following event, one of several scheduled in the Chicago area for Campus Equity Week (October 27-31). This one ought to be of particular interest to many of our members.
If you would like to promote this event at other places you may work, print out the PDF version of this announcement (a one-page flyer)
Other speakers will include representatives of faculty unions, and a representative of Physicians for a National Health Care Program (PNHP).
Open discussion and questions will be entertained.
For more information, call 312-733-2172, or see the website www.chicagococal.org
Sponsored by Chicago Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor as a part of the Campus Equity Week
activities. CEW is a coordinated week of actions all over North America to draw attention to the
issues affecting contingent faculty. To find out more about CEW and what you can do on your
campus, see www.cewaction.org for contacts, resources, news updates, and ideas. CEW is supported by
all the major faculty unions, AAUP, AFT, & NEA.
In June 2003, RAFO and Roosevelt University administrators reached a tentative agreement to redefine bargaining unit eligibility requirements to include adjuncts after their first semester of teaching. This would include anyone who's taught one semester since the Spring 2002 term, including those who only teach in the summer.
Adjuncts entering the bargaining unit under these redefined eligibility requirements would earn an additional $100 per course above the Roosevelt's minimum salary. This will more than cover RAFO's $85 or so per-semester-membership dues. Dues are only collected from adjuncts during semesters in which they teach.
If a simple majority of adjuncts who fit the new definition agrees to be included as RAFO members, we can proceed with the university, and we will be able to represent them as we begin contract negotiations this fall. To that end, authorization cards have been sent to all those eligible under this new definition.
As redefined under this tentative agreement, the new unit means that:
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.F.D.R., March 1, 1945