From: Santa Fe Community College AAUP
Date: February 28, 2019 at 5:00:28 PM MST
Subject: AAUP Update: February 28
Dear Colleagues,
Here is your AAUP update for the week of February 28th. In this week’s update:
· Update: SFCC-AAUP and Administration Officially at Impasse
· Update: PPC Hearings Scheduled for March 4th and 6th Cancelled
· New: Questions for Presidential Candidates
_________________________________________________________________________
Update: SFCC-AAUP and Administration Officially at Impasse
In order to allow for continued bargaining, SFCC-AAUP has agreed to declare we are officially at impasse with the administration and to drop the Prohibited Practice Complaint (PPC) filed for “bad faith bargaining.” In turn, the administration has agreed to drop the PPC counter-filed against SFCC-AAUP. Although the declaration of impasse might seem antithetical to further negotiations, it actually obliges the administration to return to the bargaining table in a mediated setting. We hope that this will provide another opportunity for our parties to come closer toward agreement with each other on key issues rather than moving directly toward arbitration.
Update: PPC Hearings Scheduled for March 4th and 6th Cancelled
Because the first PPC filed by SFCC-AAUP and the one counter-filed by SFCC administration have been dropped, the hearings scheduled for March 4th and 6th have been cancelled. The hearing for the second PPC filed by SFCC-AAUP (regarding compensation issues) has been postponed so that the parties may fully focus on negotiating at the table. We will keep you updated on the status of the second PPC as information becomes available.
Please note, a regular Labor Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6th at 9:00 in the Governing Board Room. The agenda is available here: https://www.sfcc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SFCC-Labor-Board-Agenda_Final-JFK_3.6.19.pdf
New: Questions for Presidential Candidate Forums
As we have now all heard, the five presidential finalists have been announced and will be visiting our campus in the coming weeks. SFCC-AAUP encourages faculty to attend as many of the below scheduled forums as possible, and we invite faculty to send along any questions—especially those related to union issues—you might like to pose to the candidates:
March 1, Jemez Rooms: Raul Rodriguez
March 4, Jemez Rooms: Kim E. Armstrong
March 7, Board Room: Kimberlee S. Messina
March 11, Jemez Rooms: Rebecca K. Rowley
March 12, Jemez Rooms: Rey Rivera
As always, feel free to contact us with any of your ideas, your questions, or your concerns.
Sincerely,
SFCC-AAUP Executive Committee
From: Santa Fe Community College AAUP
Date: February 20, 2019 at 5:00:04 PM MST
Subject: Reminder: Union Meeting This Friday, February 22, 11-12:30 in Room 410
Dear Colleagues,
Please join your fellow faculty members for our monthly SFCC-AAUP meeting THIS Friday, February 22nd, in room 410 from 11:00-12:30.
The agenda for our meeting is as follows:
· Approval of Agenda
· Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
· Reminder: Celebration for John Le Doux this Friday from 3-6 pm
· Discussion: Faculty Experience with Independent Studies
· Labor Board Update
· Planning for Governing Board Meeting on Monday, Feb. 25th
· Planning for Governing Board Election
· Bargaining Update: Understanding Arbitration
· New Business
We look forward to seeing you there!
SFCC-AAUP Executive Committee
**********
From: Santa Fe Community College AAUP
Date: February 14, 2019 at 5:00:27 PM MST
Subject: AAUP Update: February 14
Dear Colleagues,
Here is your SFCC-AAUP update for the week of February 11th, 2019. In this week’s update:
- New: Summary of the February 6th Labor Board Meeting; Upcoming PPC Hearing on March 4 & 6
- New: Invitation to Celebration of Colleague John Le Doux
- Reminder: Next SFCC-AAUP Meeting, Friday, February 22nd, 11-12:30
Summary of the February 6th Labor Board Meeting
On Friday, February 6th, SFCC’s Local Labor Relations Board met in the President’s Conference room with the purpose of scheduling a hearing date for the Prohibited Practices Complaints (PPCs) filed by SFCC-AAUP and one counter-filed by SFCC’s administration and to hear arguments pertaining to SFCC-AAUP’s request that the board excuse its regular counsel, John Kennedy, during the upcoming hearings.
Although SFCC-AAUP’s formal request to excuse the counsel chosen by the administration was denied, the outcome of the February 6th hearing was a positive one for our union; it granted us the substance of the formal “relief” we requested ensuring pour desired long-term outcome: legal counsel that does not give any impression of bias during the upcoming PPCs and a Labor Board that wants its own autonomy. In addition to this development, the Labor Board set the date for hearing the arguments for the PPCs filed—in the Governing Board Room, March 4, 9:00-5:00 and March 6 if additional time is needed. The details of the proceedings are as follows:
At the beginning of the meeting, Amy Jaeger’s appointment as interim counsel was renewed for the purpose of the upcoming deliberations regarding the Board’s regular counsel. Then, the hearing date for the PPCs was set for March 4th, with the 6th reserved in the case that the hearing goes overtime. The Board subsequently heard arguments from both SFCC-AAUP’s attorney, James Montalbano, and the administration’s attorneys, Keith Mier and Mariposa Sivage, regarding SFCC-AAUP’s request that Kennedy be excused at the March hearing. After recognizing Kennedy’s professionalism throughout his time serving the Board and after emphasizing that no impropriety had yet been enacted, SFCC-AAUP recommended Kennedy’s removal due to the legal statute stating that such bodies must “give every appearance of fairness” so that there is no question of bias. Because Kennedy has been employed by firms that have worked exclusively on the side of management during labor disputes, including fighting against AAUP’s sister-union, the AFT, a potential for bias did seem present. The union also noted that bias could be present due to the Governing Board, a body representing the college’s administration, directly hiring Kennedy as the legal advisor without consulting the Labor Board, what should be a neutral and independent decision-making body. During the administration’s presentation, they emphasized the Governing Board’s right to hire legal counsel of its choice, noting that Kennedy serves only as an advisor to the board and does not have any actual decision-making powers. After some clarifying questions posed by the Board, the board members retired to closed session to deliberate.
The Board returned after an hour and approved a motion to deny the union’s request to excuse John Kennedy. However, they granted the union’s formally requested “relief” by immediately noting the importance of preventing the appearance of bias and stated that steps would be taken to prevent such possibility going forward. For one, although Kennedy will continue as main legal counsel for the Board through his contracted time, ending in March, Amy Jaeger will replace him during the closed sessions regarding the PPC hearing on March 4 and 6. Then, Marlene Schwalje, the chairperson of the Board, moved to present a MOU (Memorandum of Understating) to the Governing Board requesting that a process be created to allow the Labor Board to engage its own counsel rather that having its counsel appointed by the college’s Governing Board. This way, when Kennedy’s contract ends in March and a new attorney is contracted to represent the Labor Board, the Labor Board will essentially act as the independent body it is intended to be with regard to choosing its counsel.
We look forward to seeing as many of our fellow faculty members as possible at the upcoming PPC hearing, beginning on March 4th, 9:00-5:00 in the Governing Board Room, and we look forward to continuing to work with our Labor Board whose members continue to impress us with their fair and equitable approach.
New: Invitation to Celebration of Colleague John Le Doux, Friday, February 22, 3-6
Chair of the Foreign Languages Department, Carole Chavez Hunt, invites all faculty to a “Sweet and Savory Treat Party” at her home to honor our dear friend and colleague from the World Languages Department, John Le Doux, on Friday, February 22nd, from 3-6 pm. After many years at SFCC, John was diagnosed with ALS and is the process of retiring from teaching. Please bring along a treat to share and consider also bringing a donation for a gift for John and his family. Carole’s address is 19 A Dean’s Court, located just down the road from the college. We hope that we’ll see many, many colleagues there as we celebrate an amazing teacher, colleague, and friend.
Next SFCC-AAUP Meeting, Friday, February 22nd, 11-12:30 (location TBA)
Mark your calendars for our next all-faculty union meeting on Friday, February 22nd from 11-12:30 pm. Our meeting location will be announced next week.
As always, please feel free to send us your ideas, your questions, and your concerns.
Sincerely,
SFCC-AAUP Executive Committee
**********
University of New Mexico Faculty Petition for Union Election
https://www.aaup.org/news/university-new-mexico-faculty-petition-union-election
*************
From: Santa Fe Community College AAUP
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2019 5:00 PM
Subject: Labor Board Meeting and Spring Semester Meeting Schedule
|
**********
From: Santa Fe Community College AAUP <info@email.actionnetwork.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 5, 2019 1:00 PM
Subject: AAUP Reminders: February 5
|