Arbitration Udate

by PTFA President Jennifer Rueda

The math arbitration held on Tuesday, October 19 was my first arbitration hearing outside of testifying for Farmers Insurance years ago. In my previous life, I was a PIP (Personal Injury Protection) adjuster, and twice, I think, I testified about the behavior of a lying, angry and/or crazy claimant who wanted more benefits they he or she was entitled. This time was different. This time I was testifying and observing something I believe in. Anyhow, it felt good to be fighting the good fight for three of our brothers in the math department. Everyone should be entitled to due process before they lose their job. The scary thing is…if these guys can lose their jobs so easily, what about the rest of us?

However, the wonderful attorney for the OEA prepared well, and she prepared her witnesses well too. There were numerous witnesses for the defense and for the PTFA. I testified for two hours about the way my department (ESL) prepares and carries out term assignments. Others testified about their own department’s adherence to article 16 assignment procedures, and this testimony was compared to what happened to the three part-timers in the math dept.

I was so glad to have had the opportunity to arbitrate this issue with the administration. It would be nice to have “due process” fully articulated and used by every department before a part-timer is “let go”. On another note, Elizabeth mentioned at the President’s Council meeting yesterday that the college wants to start using the part-time evaluation system they developed a few years ago. If part-timers were to have regular peer/chair/student evaluations, then part-timers would have evidence to fight an accusation of sub-par teaching.

We won’t know about the outcome of the arbitration until around mid-December. After opening arguments and all the testimony (across two days), each attorney prepares closing arguments, which she mails to the arbitrator within 30 days. The arbitrator then has 30 days in which to render a decision. I feel good about what I saw at the October 19^th arbitration, but I need to be wise and not have any expectations or I may be disappointed.