Vol. 39, No.4 July 09, 2008
Hors d'oeuvre, Chicken Wings & Rabbit Food,
But,
WHERE'S THE MAIN COURSE?
BARBARA'S CONTRACT SQUAD COMING TO YOUR CAMPUS TO SELL YOU THE GOODS!
After all those parades, demonstrations, letter-writings, telegrams, e-mails, vigils before Board meetings and on and on, we now have a contract which is not what our Dear Leader promised, but rather what the Board and City and State leadership decided to give her (and poor us) because she, our Dear Leader has ZERO credibility in this state. The leader who not long ago hired a convicted felon as an attorney in the PSC office, has an inexperienced Marxist at the negotiating table, and who invites any and all members, experienced in negotiations or not, to join at the negotiating table cannot expect to get much for her membership. The Patriot's sound advice - that of hiring a well-paid top-notch professional negotiator - has not been implemented.
Instead, our Dear Leader keeps spending our dues money on issues in Mexico, war in Iraq, immigrants' rights and so on and on -- issues not related to the purpose for which she was elected. When other similar unions, such as UUP (SUNY's United University Professors) recently got a four year contract with an average raise of 4.6% annually (Click here), when public school teachers represented by Randy Weingarten of the United Federation of Teachers got a 7.15% salary increase (Click here) and (here), and when arbitrators gave police officers a 9.7% raise over 2 years and significantly increased the low starting salary of new recruits (NYT 5/20/08), we are disgusted when our Dear Leader Barbara proudly presents us with a deal giving 3.15%, 4.0% and 3.0% in the next 3 years, with "some major advances."
The "advances": a sick leave bank allowing full-time faculty and staff to contribute a portion of their own sick days for another member in acute need; ability to use up to 3 accrued sick days per year for the care of an ill family member; the right to use college email systems for distribution of PSC communications; (a lovely self serving win) and the right of faculty and staff to use college email addresses after retirement (PSC Website) (which has miniscule cost). Are you thrilled with these advances? We are not. They're O'douvres, Chicken Wings & Rabbit Food. SALARY is the main course - and there's NO satisfying main course on the dinner plate.
Last week, your elected delegates to the Delegate Assembly were granted exactly fifteen minutes to look at the many details of the new contract and were told that they had to vote. Those who requested more time to consider and reflect were roundly excoriated by Barbara. By the end of the evening, they of course rubber-stamped it, for the delegates were told that there will be nothing better forthcoming ever, so they had better get something (something is better than nothing).
Next, Barbara's Contract Squad will be making its rounds on the campuses. They will tell you anything they think you want to hear to sell the contract and urge you to vote "Yes" for its ratification. We here at The Patriot want you to make an educated judgment in this important matter. For that we suggest the following if and when the Contract Squad comes to your campus:
1. Please attend the meeting armed with a video camera, but at the very least with a tape recorder. Record the proceedings for the benefit of the colleague who could not come, for your own library and/or to donate to The Patriot Returns archives.
The Patriot will be pleased to pay the cost of the tape for its archives.
Contact: patr@patriotreturns.com
2. Listen to the speaker, be polite but remain steadfast and steady in asking one of the following questions. Without being confrontational, persist in seeking a full and complete answer. Do not allow the speaker to change the topic or go round and round in circles in answering the question. Insist on a straightforward answer.
QUESTIONS FOR THE CONTRACT SQUAD
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The salary increases in this agreement are beneath inflation. And since inflation will increase for the next several years, it will turn out to be even worse than it appears now. Don't you know that members are hurting? How can you do this to us?
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Because over the past 8 years, the PSC has not been able to negotiate a good money contract for its members, there is serious talk among the membership to pressure the union to reduce its dues from the current 1.0% to 1.05% of an individual's annual salary to ¼% next year. Would you please react to this recommendation?
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It appears that many groups in the union are not happy with this contract and are meeting and organizing to urge people to vote "No" on this contract. Do you think you will go to the table to re-negotiate the contract?
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I heard that many people are saying that President Barbara Bowen and V.P. Steven London should resign for being unable to deliver a good contract. I have also heard that many campus chapters are discussing a "no confidence vote" in the PSC leadership. Do you have any reaction to this?
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On 5 CUNY campuses, adjuncts are not fully paid for the 15th week of the semester instead they are paid for only 2 hours (2.4 hours on one campus) for the final exam. Since the PSC LOST the arbitration on this issue, why was fixing this inequity (a low-cost item in the context of the contract) not negotiated to help our oppressed members?
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Why did the PSC exclude adjuncts when it negotiated family leave?
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We understand that the family leave provision has little chance of happening. Why is this provision not being removed from the agreement now - before the ratification vote - and the money used to boost paltry salaries?
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Why does the contract not add any salary steps to the top of any salary scale, full-time or part-time? Please DO NOT SAY that you've added more to each top step. That is a pittance and not even close to what a new step would pay.
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Do you believe that it is democratic to expect PSC members to deliberate on a contract when a very great number of them are on annual leave, the vast majority are not on campus and many are away and unable to receive mail or participate in sessions such as these?
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Was this time of year deliberately chosen by the PSC for the contract agreement & ratification, to assure that the opposition will be muted?
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The "contract campaign" has been an abject failure. Will PSC Treasurer Michael Fabricant, who was in charge of that effort, be asked to leave his position on the PSC Executive Committee? Or have Barbara & Steve finally realized that the "campaign" is not a substitute for competent negotiation?
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You have not made any progress towards reduction of workload, especially at community colleges. There are senior colleges, such as NYCTC, which were transformed from community colleges long time ago. Yet their faculties are still teaching heavy schedules. How is it that you have not made any progress in that area?
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How hard did the negotiating team have to work to get the right to use college email systems for distribution of PSC communications, and for the right of faculty and staff to use college email addresses after retirement. This sounds to me ridiculous and a joke, since both of these privileges currently exist in CUNY.
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As I recall, the provision of a sick leave bank is in the DC 37 Contract. So how much time did you have to waste and how much hard work and demonstrations were needed to get these provisions that were already negotiated by DC 37?
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Why do you think HEO's are angry about the contract? Is there something that you promised them and could not deliver?
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With results like these, do you think that PSC officers deserve to keep their full released time?
Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Editor-in-Chief
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