NEA Higher Education Conference in PORTLAND

http://www.nea.org/home/53608.htm

To register: http://www.cvent.com/events/2013-nea-higher-education-conference/event-summary-7e44977cbbda46fba767eca3540daa23.aspx

“FACULTY, STUDENTS, AND THE COMMON GOOD”
The 2013 NEA Higher Education conference will be held at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, Portland, Oregon, from March 22-24, 2013.

Visit the conference website to register and see a more detailed agenda of speakers and workshops.

This year's theme, "Faculty, Students, and the Common Good," asks, "As our nation becomes increasingly partisan and polarized, especially between rich and poor, and as public education becomes increasingly underfunded and targeted by anti-egalitarian forces, what is the role of faculty, academic professionals, higher education support professionals and students in creating a more democratic, more decent society? What is the public good, and what does it mean to fight for it?"

In order to develop a conference that meets the needs of our members, we are seeking your input. Consider submitting a paper or suggesting a proposal (see below), or participating in a brief survey about conference proceedings. Thank you!

How to suggest a conference panel or session:
Workshop sessions can be submitted in the areas of organizing, member recruitment and engagement, local association best practices, social media, political action best practices, bargaining, policy, pedagogy, or any other topic in keeping with this year's conference theme. The purpose of these workshops is to provide a forum for exchanging opinions and presenting ideas.

Proposals should include:
• Workshop name
• A 150- to 200-word overview of the workshop.
• A two- to three-sentence descriptor or your workshop. This is the descriptor that will be used in the program if your workshop is selected.
• Please denote whether this workshop can be a 45-minute flash session, a 75-minute breakout session, a 90-minute breakout session, or all three.
Workshop proposals should be submitted no later than December 1, 2012 to Phadra L. Williams Tuitt at pwilliams@nea.org. Proposals will be reviewed and you will be contacted no later than January 3, 2013.

How to submit a paper:
For the first time, we will publish conference proceedings through the submission of conference-themed papers, which, if accepted, have the possibility of being published in an edited ebook or other NEA publication.
We invite you to submit in the following areas:
• Union organizing in higher education
• The role of faculty, students, academic professionals, and higher education support professionals in creating a more democratic society
• The role of unions in creating a more democratic society
• Women and their leadership roles in unions
• Minorities and leadership in unions
• The public good in higher education

Please submit your 350-word abstract with name, e-mail, phone number, and institutional affiliation, as well as two page vitae, to Mary Ellen Flannery at mflannery@nea.org by January 3, 2013. Selected conference presenters will be notified by the end of January with further conference details.

Any questions regarding the NEA Higher Education Conference and paper submissions can be sent to Phadra Williams Tuitt, Ed.D., Organizational Specialist, NEA Center For Organizing, at pwilliams@nea.org or Mary Ellen Flannery, NEA Thought & Action Editor, NEA Center For Communications, at mflannery@nea.org.

Pilot Locals Soar (new OEA initiative)

Pilot Locals Soar! As a key component of OEA's Strategic Action Plan, the Powerful Locals Pilot Program is off and running. In October, 16 local associations from all corners of the state (representing K-12 teachers, education support professionals and community college faculty) were selected to participate in the Pilot Locals program. The program, under the direction of OEA's Union School, is providing education, training and support to local leadership teams, and working with locals to identify, recruit, train and engage members in core union areas. All 16 locals in the program continue to have individual meetings and support from the Union School to assess where they are, what their strengths are and to identify opportunities to engage, organize and empower members. Recently, teams from all of the Pilot Locals gathered in Eugene for their first two-day Convocation. The gathering allowed members, leaders and staff to look at the political, economic and historical context of the labor movement, and have deep conversations on specific topics such as member organizing and community outreach. The goal of the premier Convocation was to start creating a foundation for each local's strategic planning process and to build relationships across these locals for sharing of ideas and mutual support.

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Window sign / please comment

Please go HERE

 

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzbec1gMkMbzSmZZQjV5bnpJMWc/edit

 

to comment on the new window poster (1/2 sheet). Would you hang it in

 

 your office? Any changes you'd like to see? Can you make a better poster?

 

 

LERC conference on Feb 2nd in Portland)

http://pages.uoregon.edu/lerc/


47th Annual Pacific NW Labor History Association Conference
• Portland • May 3-5, 2013
LABOR UNDER ATTACK:
Learning from the Past and Preparing for the Future2013 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, whose organizing in the northwest resulted in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia being one of the most strongly unionized regions of the US and Canada by the end of World War II. How will we preserve the gains of the CIO era, and build a new labor movement? What are the connections between the CIO and progressive political movements, and our own unions and popular movements like Occupy? The PNLHA Conference gives workers, unionists, scholars and community activists an opportunity to reflect on some of these themes and examine the prospects for a revitalized labor movement in our time.         

Please comment on two posters

The Part-time faculty association

welcomes your involvement

Contact Info: President: Jennifer Rueda PTFA@clackamas.edu privatePTFA@gmail.com Cell phone: 503-232-3779 Blog: http://cccrohttps://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzbec1gMkMbzSGxyZFc5c0I3RlU/editadscholar.blogspot.com/

You pay dues,   you belong, you have a voice. Use it. There’s no bargaining unit without your involvement. Feel free to contact the PTFA anytime for your professional development, health insurance reimbursement, and employee issues.  We’ll be contacting you too. J

*********

Part-time faculty.

We are united.

 

OEA / local position- with stipends!

Get Involved. Make a Difference.

Are you interested in helping build your local association's political strength? Would you like to work with coalitions, fellow members and elected officials to better our schools? Apply to be an OEA Political Cadre! As a cadre, you can assist your local union with anything from volunteer recruitment and training, communicating with members and the public, to coordinating local actions and organizing events. You can fill out a cadre application here. Only a limited number of positions are available. Please return completed applications by January 31, 2013 to OEA's Government Relations Department. For questions and a position description, please contact Ken Volante in OEA's Public Affairs Department. Stipends are provided to all political cadres.

Urgent: Please call Senator Wyden re: Fiscal Cliff

URGENT: Call Senator Wyden Today!As Congress and the President haggle over how to address the Fiscal Cliff, your voice is needed to help protect jobs, schools and other vital services that Oregon families rely on. All you have to do is pick up the phone and call U.S. Senator Ron Wyden at 1-866-293-7278. Wyden is in a position to make a difference in this debate. We need his support and he needs to hear from you. Go here to see the potential cuts.

Your message to Senator Wyden:

• Americans voted for jobs, not cuts.
• Don’t sell working families out by compromising on cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and vital services that will destroy millions of jobs and hurt children, seniors and people with disabilities.
• The best way to reduce the deficit is to create jobs and end tax breaks for the rich.
• We want you to publicly agree to protect Medicare, Medicaid, education, child care and other vital services from cuts.

Thank you in advance for making the call! If you'd like more information, go here.

OEA Pilot Local Convocation: December 7 & 8, 2012 (Eugene)

In 2010, OEA members approved a new way of approaching union work, which has transformed the OEA, and its locals, including the PTFA.  Among other changes (e.g. The Center for Great Public Schools, The Oregon Labor Candidate School, and The Center for Advocacy and Affiliate Services), the OEA has opened the “Union School”, which will pilot work at the local level. This work is to make our locals more visible, and to recruit more active and engaged members.

In other words, the OEA has become a member-driven union, as opposed to service-oriented union (which provides services). The OEA is now more interested in public education and its reform, while locals are now more responsible for their own growth, but they will have guidance from the new OEA Union School.

From the brochure: http://www.oregoned.org/atf/cf/%7b3f7af7ec-f984-4631-a411-148cd1fb8421%7d/oeaoct2012_sapinsert.pdf

These are challenging times for educators and our local associations, with fewer resources for our public schools and community colleges, attacks on unions and the labor movement, and members who feel stretched too thin. OEA’s Pilot Locals Program is an education, training and organizing initiative that will develop the skills and strategies for local leadership teams to transform their locals into more strategic, member-driven and powerful unions. OEA’s Powerful Pilot Locals Program is a one-year program designed to bring together a cross-section of OEA local associations to develop and execute plans that will launch our union on a new path, and provide models for other OEA locals to do the same.

The following locals have been selected to participate in the Powerful Locals Pilot Program:

·         District 6 EA (Central Point)

·         Forest Grove EA

·         Springfield EA

·         South Lane EA

·         Eugene EA

·         Brookings-Harbor EA

·         Redmond EA, Bend EA

·         Junction City ACE

·         Woodburn EA

·         District 21 EA (The Dalles)

·         North Wasco ESP

·         North Clackamas EA

·         Clackamas CC PTFA

·         Chemeketa CC EA

·         Rogue CC EA

These locals came together on December 7- 8 to kick off their strategic planning process. Throughout the rest of the year, these locals will work through strategic planning retreats, create a Pilot Locals communications network, and become more active and participatory local unions.

As a key component of OEA's Strategic Action Plan, the Powerful Locals Pilot Program will focus on two areas: providing education, training and support to local leadership teams, and working with locals to identify, recruit, train and engage members in core union areas. The Powerful Locals Pilot Project, under the direction of OEA's Union School, will be a "learning lab" to identify the most effective strategies to build powerful, strategic and member-driven locals.

 *********************************************************************************

Jennifer’s Notes:

·         We must build capacity (have engaged members) NOW before bargaining gets underway and/or ugly and/or we need member engagement. No one will stand behind the bargaining team in the future if they aren’t engaged now.

·         We need to be pro-active, not re-active. The way to do this is to become more VISABLE to admin, to the other bargaining units, to the students and to the community. Some ideas:

o   Part-time poster (like Rosemary’s big, red A) in PTer’s offices. The poster could say something like: “Part Time FACULTY. We are united.”

o   PT posters in each department with tear off sheets with contact info (the blog address, our FB address, various emails- no personal info)

o   Announce / introduce “teacher of the month” at each Board of Ed. Members would nominate colleagues.

o   Donate time, money and/or talent to on- and off-campus events. For example, the PTFA could help with a blood drive.

o   Celebrate and announce PTFA successes

o   Publish in other newsletters (e.g. FYI and The Clackamas Print)

o   Partner with other progressive organizations, like Jobs with Justice, SIEU, BEW, etcetera. We volunteer for their events and they help us with ours.

More notes:

We need to develop a Strategic Plan for our local. We will meet with the Union School folks, who will guide us. A strategic plan would involve asking ourselves the following questions:

 

1. Who are we?

2. What are our strengths and weaknesses?

3. What are our outside threats and opportunities?

4. What are our values and vision?

5. What is our course for the next year or so?

 

Strategic planning also involves:

1. finding a establishing community ties (other locals, Jobs for Justice, etc)

2. being involved (somehow) in politics

3. keeping unions strong so we have a middle class

 

Conflict Resolution Workshop

Given by the U of O LERC (Labor Education and Research Center).
I've been to several LERC workshops. They are VERY informative.

Saturday, Dec 8th
9:00 to 3:30pm
U of O Portland: 70 NW Couch (a beautiful building)

$65.00

http://pages.uoregon.edu/lerc/pdfs/stewardsskillbuilding2012.pdf

If just a few folks want to go, I'll see if the PTFA board won't pay your way. Jennifer

E-Advocate for Higher Ed Members

Hey all,

It's Mary Ellen Flannery, the NEA Advocate editor. I hope you all are well!

Two things: First, the next issue of the Advocate is in the works. (Already!! I know! I feel like I'm saying this all the time...) If anybody has any news from their states or affiliates that they'd like to share via the newsletter, please let me know.

Second, we have a new communications tool: a monthly eAdvocate, which is basically an email newsletter for higher-ed members. It's content is similar to the regular Advocate, but a little more action oriented (I.e., call your Congressman about impending budget cuts or check out the new Thought & Action call for papers…)

If you'd like to receive it, you (or anybody) can sign up here: http://pages.email.nea.org/EnewslettersSubscription/

If you can, it would also be helpful to share that link with higher-ed leaders/members.

Thanks — and happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Mary Ellen

Contract issues / bargaining

Dear part-timers, it's that time again! Because it took us a year and half to settle the last contract, we have arrived at bargaining time again quickly. Our current contract will end on June 30th, 2013. Admin and the other bargaining units are eager to start bargaining sooner rather than later, perhaps as early as January.

Please discuss the contract here. Do you want to see any changes? Are you happy with the way it is?

Possible discussion points can be:

1. article 16
2. recognition of more members not currently in the barg unit
3. mileage
4. office hours
5. instructor evaluation / due process / termination
6. access to being hired full-time
7. grievance process if not given a class
8. disciplinary meetings
9. prof development fund
10. Health insurance reimbursement

Thank you!

As we enter the final 5 days of the election we wanted to make sure that you are aware of all the volunteer possibilities out there that will help us win our pro-public education agenda. Please help us close the deal and help encourage our members to participate.

At this stage, our focus is on GOTV. Here are all the GOTV possibilities:

OEA-PIE Recommended House Candidates in targeted races:

Campaigns and Locations:

• Barton, HD 40: 421 High St. Suite 220, Oregon City
• Gorsek (OEA MEMBER!!!) & Fagan, HDs 49 & 51: 4322 SE 182nd Ave. Suite C, Gresham
• McKeown, HD 9: (South Coast) location varies, contact Courtney Flathers: (541) 260-4323
• Gomberg, HD 10: (Central Coast) location varies, contact Angie Albee (515) 326-2122
• Unger & Gallegos, HDs 29 & 30: 238 SE Washington St., Hillsboro
• Hosticka, HD 37: 18861 SW Martinazzi Ave Ste 219, (Tualatin Office) or 421 High St. Suite 220, (Oregon City Office)
• Lively, HD 12: Machinists Hall, 1116 South "A" Street, Springfield

Times that you can show up (these times work for all of the campaigns listed above):

• Friday, Nov. 2: 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm
• Saturday, Nov. 3: 10 am, 2 pm
• Sunday, Nov. 4: 12 pm, 3 pm
• Monday, Nov. 5: 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm
• Tuesday, Nov. 6: 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm

Ballot Measures 84 and 85

Go here to sign up to canvass for the ballot measures http://www.defendoregon.org/superhero-squad/\.

We will be knocking on Portland doors and leaving from the Defend Oregon office at 404 SE 6th Ave.

· Friday, 11/2, 10 am

· Friday, 11/2, 2 pm

· Saturday, 11/3, 10 am

· Saturday 11/3, 2 pm

· Sunday, 11/4, 10 am

· Sunday, 11/4, 2 pm

· Monday, 11/5, 10 am

· Monday, 11/5, 2 pm

· Tuesday, Election day!, 10 am

· Tuesday, Election day!, 2 pm

· Tuesday, Election day, 4 am

Triangle Connection: GLBT Newsletter

Please click here for a link to the GLBT Caucus Newsletter

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzbec1gMkMbzbEdMc1o0VktMMHM/edit

It's terrible late of me to post. I apologize because now all the dates listed in the newsletter have gone by, but there is info on a privte GLBT Facebook page.

Become a PIE member

Help support PRO-education candidates by donating to OEA's Political Action Committee (PAC). NO dues go into the PAC at any time. Your donation is Oregon state tax-deductible.

I donate every month because it's so important to elect pro-education candidates.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzbec1gMkMbzaE9LOTJSVkphOWc/edit

Adjunct Faculty article "Dismantling the Profesoriate"

"Colleges and universities are relying ever more heavily on part-time faculty while failing to support them adequately. The extent of that failure—and its impact on the majority of the higher education instructional workforce—is documented in a new survey long in the making and released this summer by the Coalition on the Academic Workforce."

Click here for the whole article

http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/oc/feature.cfm

Measures 84 and 85

Please see attached in from the OEA regarding measure 84 and 85.

Measure 84: Tax Break for Millionaires
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzbec1gMkMbzeUN2a0lRYjFySVE/edit

Measure 85: Corporate Kicker for K-12
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bzbec1gMkMbzUHowU1hIbmF5S0U/edit

PDF and Moodle, In-Service and CLC functions

The PDF committee will cover the following, as long as you have the stipend request signed by the workshop trainer. The stipend request is attached to the "documents" section of this blog.

• During inservice, the PDF committee typically pays $25 for attending the division meeting and $25 for the department meeting. 
• Three Days to Better Teaching: $100 per day, less if members just attended specific workshops.
• CLC and Moodle workshops: we pay $25 for an hour and $50 for a two hour session. However, if your department requires that you attend a Moodle 2.0 session, it will be paid for by your department. All unrequired Moodle 2.0 workshops will be covered by the PDF.

Questions? Please contact PDF Chair Kerry Cotter at KCotter@clackamas.edu.

From today's Chronicle of Higher Education

September 4, 2012

Columbia College Chicago Accused of Retaliating Against Faculty-Union Leader

 By Audrey Williams June

The National Labor Relations Board has charged Columbia College Chicago with retaliating against a faculty member because of her prominent role in a union for part-time instructors.
In a complaint filed last week, the federal board said that the private college had cut back Diana Vallera's teaching assignments, accused her of misconduct, and threatened to either fire or suspend her for being president of the Part-Time Faculty Association. The college had scheduled a meeting in mid-August to discuss disciplinary actions against Ms. Vallera, a photography instructor, but it was postponed.

The complaint is an amendment to one the board filed in late July. That original complaint cited the college for, among other things, refusing to bargain in good faith with the union, which is affilated with the National Education Association. The board has already ruled that the college violated federal labor-relations laws in its dealings with the union, and ordered it to cease doing so.

Ms. Vallera, in a news release, said that the amended complaint "affirms the necessary protections union leaders must have in order to serve members." The college has until September 11 to respond to the complaint, and a hearing is scheduled for late October.

Link to full article:  Columbia College Chicago Accused of Retaliating Against Faculty-Union Leader

OEA President’s Training: Aug 16 & 17, 2012

1.    OEA Reorganization:

The Strategic Action Plan, voted upon at a recent R.A. (representative assembly), was done in part to help the OEA recover from a more than 2 million dollar deficit. One reason the OEA had to re-organize is because so many teachers left the profession (since the recession), causing the OEA to lose dues income.

As of September 1, 2012, there will be 4 “centers”:

·         Center for Business and Finance (treasurer training, membership calculations & processing, IRS matters, forensic accounting, technology)

·         Center for Advocacy and Affiliate Services (bargaining assistance & research, grievances, legal dept, critical issues, education partnerships, workshops)

·         Center for Public Affairs (government relations [lobbying], school board elections, bonds & levies, member training, grassroots & community organizing)

·         Center for Great Public Schools (professional skills & practice and education innovation)

The OEA has moved from a “service” model to an “organizing” model. This does not mean that the OEA will no longer furnish services, such as help with grievances and bargaining, but that the OEA will be taking more time and effort to train and support locals so that they are more independently stronger (think ownership & pride) and less reliant on the OEA.

2.    NEA Member Benefits http://www.neamb.com/

·         Insurance programs, including complementary life insurance and specially negotiated auto and home rates

·         Credit programs, including an NEA credit card

·         Loan and mortgage programs

·         Savings & investment programs

·         Discount programs (Costco, auto purchase, click & save, magazines, moving & storage, H&R block, health & wellness, travel & professional services)

·         Professional liability and attorney referral program

3.    NEA Academy (http://www.neaacademy.org/):

·         Local officer training: treasurer, leadership, etc.

·         Tuition discounts

·         Application fee waivers

·         Continuing education

·         Certificates

·         Online masters programs

·         Spanish for educators

·         Much, much more

4.    Bargaining:

A.   A bargaining team should represent all bargaining unit members. In our case, instructors, librarians, nurses, coaches, etc.

B.   Personalities should include the loudmouth, the calm & collected, the intuitive, newbies and old hands

C.   The OEA (and NEA) can provide wording from other contracts

D.   Procedure

1.    Form a bargaining team

2.    Form a bargaining support team

3.    Survey the members for their ideas/issues (OEA has a survey)

4.    Bargaining team goes through the contract

5.    Meetings to discuss

6.    Prioritize the issues

5.    Newsletter communication:

·         http://www.oregoned.org/templates

·         Microsoft Word documents to make newsletters

·         Many other templates

·         Newsletter tips and content suggestions

·         How to get OEA and NEA sources

 

6.    Duty of Fair Representation: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=03001-04000&file=3544-3544.9

“The employee organization recognized or certified as the exclusive representation for the purpose of meeting and negotiating shall fairly represent each and every employee in the appropriate unit.” California Government code 3544.9

 

1.    Duty to represent all unit employees.

2.    Duty to negotiate on behalf of all unit employees…

3.    Duty to be familiar with the contract.

4.    Duty to advise unit employees of their legal rights…

5.    Duty to process grievances in a non-arbitrary, no discriminatory and…

6.    And five MORE duties