10-1-03 Higher Ed

TVI Employees Federation
Advocates for a Professional WorkPlace

Greetings!

News from the National is a regular electronic newsletter from the American Federation of Teachers Higher Education division. It includes links to stories on the AFT Higher Education web site about higher education issues, AFT affiliates, and other labor-related stories.

October 1, 2003

Oregon Grad Employees Reach Healthcare Settlement. The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation/AFT reached a healthcare agreement with the University of Oregon that lowers deductibles and provides a measure of protection against unpredictable rate hikes. "This is an excellent agreement considering the general financial conditions of the state," says Richard Schwarz, executive director of AFT Oregon. Read the full story.

Good News and Bad for Students Who Receive Pell Grants. The U.S. Senate took two actions in mid September that will affect aid amounts for Pell Grant recipients. In one action, the Senate voted to pass an amendment that leaves intact the federal needs analysis formula used to determine who qualifies for Pell Grants and how much aid they should receive. The Senate's other action will have an even more significant effect on grant recipients. The Senate failed to pass a bill sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would have raised the maximum Pell Grant amount to $4,500 (up from $4,050). "We believe that students with the greatest financial need are not receiving sufficient Pell Grant aid to attend college," says Gabriella Gomez, a senior associate in the AFT legislation department. Read the full story.

Colorado Faculty Respond to Tenure Attacks. Faculty at Metropolitan State University have started organizing around issues of tenure. They are confronting an activist board of trustees that has rewritten the faculty handbook without input or involvement from faculty. Faculty fear that the revised handbook could serve as a way for trustees to manipulate and eventually abolish tenure at the university. In the state Legislature, Republicans recently put forth a plan to create an "Academic Bill of Rights" that would encourage--if not require--state colleges and universities to hire faculty with more conservative viewpoints. Read the full story.

UConn Postdocs Vote for Union. Postdoctoral fellows at the University of Connecticut Health Center made history on Aug. 28 by voting for representation by the University Health Professionals (UHP), an 1,800-member AFT Connecticut affiliate. The 138-member unit took the first step towards better salaries, more respect and greater control over the direction of professional training. Calling the vote a "tremendous victory," AFT Connecticut president Sharon Palmer praised the perseverance and resolve of the unit, noting, "The postdocs have endured much hardship because of their commitment to science. Today they have taken action to gain a voice in the workplace and still maintain their commitment to their work." Read the full story.

Academic Staff in Ohio Join Faculty Union. Lab technicians, librarians and child care workers at Owens Community College in Ohio voted to join the 10-year-old Owens Faculty Association/AFT. The academic staff workers first came to the OFA last fall, motivated by the frustration of dealing with inconsistent college policies. Read the full story.

Take part in Campus Equity Week 2003 (October 27-31, 2003). Campus Equity Week 2003 (CEW), is a national week of action to highlight issues of inequity for part-time/adjunct faculty as well as other contingent professionals in higher education. AFT is taking an active part in CEW at the national, state and local level and we encourage anyone interested in improving fairness and equity in higher education to join with us. For more information and samples of materials to use on your campus for CEW, visit the AFT Higher Education Web site.

Mark Your Calendars!
Next year's AFT Higher Education Issues Conference is tentatively set for March 5-7, 2004 in Seattle, Washington. The conference will be held simultaneously with the National Education Association's higher education conference with several joint sessions and activities.

Read more News from the National at the AFT Higher Education web site.

August 14, 2003

GET-UP Meets Presidential Candidates. A member of Graduate Employees Together (GET-UP), the graduate employees organization at the University of Pennsylvania, briefed Rep. Richard Gephardt (D.-Mo.) and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean about the atmosphere for labor organizing at the university. Joanna Kempner, a GET-UP member and former spokeswoman for the organization, was one of eight labor union representatives who met with the two presidential hopefuls on July 31. The candidates pledged their support to the union. Read the full story.

New Formula Hurts 84,000 Pell Grant Recipients. At a time when disinvestment in public higher education is causing student costs to soar, the U.S. Department of Education has instituted a rules change to the Pell grant eligibility formula that appears to add salt to the wound for needy families. Read the full story.

UVM Part-Timers File for Election. In June, the United Professions of Vermont/AFT filed a petition with the Vermont Labor Relations Board, seeking an election for the unit of roughly 200 part-timers. Shortly after UVM part-timers filed for the election, university spokesman Enrique Corredera was dismissive. "We're of the mind that unions are not necessary," he said. Part-timers disagree. "The life of a part-time teacher at UVM can be fraught with uncertainty; contracts only last a semester, says Cami Davis, a UVM part-timer who taught eight courses last year--more than a full-time load--with a salary under 30,000 a year. Read the full story.

OSU Grad Employees Secure Health Benefits. Members of the Coalition of Graduate Employees/AFT at Oregon State University have achieved one of their top goals in forming a union three years ago--adequate healthcare coverage. After months of negotiation, this summer, the union secured a letter of agreement from the university granting the 700-member bargaining unit comprehensive health benefits for now and its own plan down the road. Read the full story.

House Committee Proposes Front-Loading Pell Grants. One idea being floated in Higher Education Act reauthorization discussions is that of "front-loading" Pell Grants--or giving students the greatest amount of financial aid in the first two years of college. Its proponents suggest that it could be a method of improving college access for needy students. Martin Hittelman, president of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) Community College Council, said "the front-loading of Pell Grants is short-sighted and offers false promises to students whose financial need remains the same and sometimes even increases from the first to the third and fourth year." Read the full story.

Washington State Adjuncts Win Summer Health Benefits. Imagine a health insurance plan that only covers three-quarters of your body: Anything breaks below the knees, tough luck! Sound ridiculous? Washington state adjuncts had to live under the harmful strictures of a similar fraction until a June state Supreme Court ruling in Mader et al. v. The Health Care Authority. Court justices ruled that any part-timer who carries at least a half-time workload has the right to state-paid health insurance during the summer months, thereby making amends to countless adjuncts. Read the full story.

State Budget Roundup
As state legislatures sat down to write budgets for the 2004 fiscal year, most were still trying to come up with funds to close gaps in 2003 budgets. Here's a state budget overview--of how our unions have fared in more than 15 states where the legislatures have finished their budgets. Read the state budget roundup.

Read more News from the National at the AFT Higher Education web site.

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