IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ADJUNCT FACULTY:
Board of Trustees Election. As adjunct faculty we are deeply committed to electing Board of Trustees members who will support us as faculty. CLCFT-PAC has made endorsements for the April 7, 2015 CLC Board of Trustees election. CLCFT-PAC collected bios/resumes and answers to a lengthy questionnaire from all of the candidates. Additionally they interviewed and questioned each candidate. If you are interested in learning more about the candidates for CLC Board of Trustees please visit: www.voteclc.org where you can read our endorsements, and please get out and vote.
- FYI, one of the officers of CLC-AFO attends every meeting of the CLC Board of Trustees just to watch, listen and report what is happening at the Board. It is also important that they know we are there too.
Wednesday afternoons at Bill’s Pub. Join us at Bill’s Pub Wednesday March 18 and April 15 (Dreaded Tax Day!!) for a time of conversation, camaraderie, and gemütlichkeit. Bill’s Pub is on Washington Street one mile east of CLC’s Grayslake Campus, and we meet from 4 – 6. We would love to have you drop by and meet other adjunct faculty and also meet the officers. See you there!
Dues are Tax Deductible Tax season is upon us, and as you may know our dues are tax deductible. Here are some dues numbers you can use.
Spring 2014
Quarter dues: $118.74 per semester
Eighth dues: $74.64 per semester
Fall 2014
Quarter Dues: $121.41 per semester
Eighth Dues: $76.05 per semester
You will have to know how much you taught and your pay, but roughly if you made $4440 per semester or more you are Quarter dues (that is about 4 – 5 credit hours); otherwise you are Eighth dues.
Sometimes We Forget. The comedian Don Rickles once said he’s at an age where he remembers “nothing:” meaning he walks down the street where there is new development and says , pointing “I remember when there was nothing there and I remember when there was nothing there.” We are now negotiating our forth contract, and it is easy to forget that 9 years ago we as adjuncts really had nothing.
- Before the contract the theme at CLC was inconsistency. Each Division dealt with “part-timers” differently. Some afforded some courtesies to adjuncts, some did not. Some included adjuncts in decisions, many did not.
- Raises? Adjunct faculty had not received a raise in years and not a consistent raise even longer. The Board would give raises to us “part-timers” inconsistently, and only when they felt they were getting uncompetitive with other colleges.
- Disappearing people. Because there was no remediation, adjuncts just were not re-hired. A Division chair who had issues with an adjunct instructor simply did not offer them a class. There was no attempt to help the instructor improve, no room to grow as an instructor, no time to prove one’s self.
- We walked alone. Adjuncts went to meetings with their Deans and Department Chairs without representation, and simply accepted the discipline metered out.
- Heaven forbid we go to professional conferences. There was no money for Professional Growth, or if there was it was metered out Division by Division; some tried to find monies out of discretionary funds for adjunct conferences, but many did not or could not.
- Paid time off. Many divisions did not give adjuncts paid time off should they be sick or need a personal day. Some tried to, or just winked if you had to miss a day. In most Divisions if you missed class you were docked pay.
- Forget Guaranteed Classes. Because there was no GFO standing, classes were assigned whimsically again depending on the department Chair.
After 9 years it is easy to forget and take things for granted. In a previous life I had a sicker on my office door at CLC that read “Unions, the Folks that Brought You the Weekend.” Once and a while it is important to look back and see how things have changed, as our history faculty will certainly remind us.
Negotiations: We have begun negotiating for our 4th contract. It is important that we stay united as we enter the most crucial times in negotiations, where administration is looking for any sign of weakness on our part.
Our team consists of
Marilyn Sarich – President
John Carobine – Vice President
Charles Urban – Secretary
Brian Smith – Treasurer
Michelle Standridge – IFT Field Representative
Byron Wigodner – Business Department
Andrew Sagartz – Business Department
Consider Joining CLC-AFO:
- Governor Rauner has started his war on public sector unions and this is not the last attack he will make. If you have not read about this, here is a link to the Huffington Post you can read.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/09/bruce-rauner-unions_n_6648818.html
- One can join the union in their third consecutive semester (not counting summers) if you have taught at least 3 credit hours each of those semesters. You must sign a membership card to join; it’s not automatic like it is in some educational institutions. If you are eligible and would like a voice in bargaining, voting, etc., please consider joining.
- Remember you pay the same dues whether you are a member or a fair-share. Join us so you can have a voice, a vote on the contract, and get the benefits of being a member of CLC-AFO. There is strength in numbers!
- Contact any of the officers listed below and they will be happy to help you and answer questions.
Weingarten Rights. We put this in every CLC-AFO Newsletter – but this is very important. If you are ever called before a supervisor, a Dean, an Associate Dean, a Director, etc., and you think that the meeting could result in a disciplinary action, you have the right to have a union representative with you. If you know this could happen contact us immediately and we will accompany you to the meeting. If during a meeting you see that there could be disciplinary action taken, say words to the effect, “If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined, terminated or affect my working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions.” Contact any officer listed below as soon as possible.
Some of the wording of this section borrowed from the Harper College Adjunct Association newsletter
Have a Great Spring Break!!
Remember we are here for you. Should you ever feel you need union representation or have questions please feel free to contact any of the officers listed below. Also remember our webpage is a valuable source of information. It’s at www.clc-afo.org
Venceremos
Brian Smith (Treasurer and Editor of the Newsletter)
Marilyn Sarich – President
John Carobine – Vice-President
Charles Urban – Secretary