Category: eBulletins

VOTE 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden has a plan for higher education and for safely reopening our nation’s schools.

The Democratic nominee for President has outlined a plan to increase the number of Americans in college and put forward measures to increase teacher salaries nationwide.

Those are just two of the reasons why our national union, AFT, has endorsed  Joe Biden for President and running mate Kamala Harris for Vice President.

TAUP is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, and the state federation supports the reelection of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and state Treasurer Joe Torsella.
Additionally, we are thrilled by the candidacy of Nilofer “Nina” Ahmad for Pennsylvania Auditor General.

Ahmad is a molecular biologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and first-generation Bangladeshi American. As president of the Philadelphia NOW, she led the fight against workplace discrimination and harassment of women and People of Color.

On Nov. 3, six Congressional seats are up for grabs in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties. We ask that you vote for the following candidates endorsed by the state AFT:

Christina Finello, D-1 (Bucks and parts of eastern Montgomery County.)

Brendan Boyle, D-2 (Northeast Philadelphia and parts of North Philadelphia)

Dwight Evans, D-3 (West Philadelphia and parts of Center City)

Madeleine Dean, D-4 (Montgomery County)

Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 (Delaware County)

Christina Houlahan, D-6 (Chester County)

TAUP’s Committee on Political Education has made a select number of endorsements for the PA legislature:

Nikil Saval D-Senate 1

Joe Hohenstein D-House 177

Malcolm Kenyatta D-House 180

Chris Rabb D-House 200

If you do not live in these districts, consider the endorsements from AFTPA or the PA AFL-CIO.

As Election Day approaches, we ask that you consider joining in the Labor Movement Get Out the Vote campaigns.

This year, our phone banks are virtual, volunteers can participate from home with their computer. For more information, click here.

If you have any questions or would like more information, below is a list of Labor 2020 organizer for our areas.

Philadelphia: Aja Beech, 215-609-5559, ajab@paaflcio.org

Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, Chester: Kate Martucci, 412-398-9827, kate@sepaalf.com

Greater PA: Bob Butterworth, 760-277-1683, bbutterworth001@gmail.com and Valerie Butterworth, 760-277-1172, valerieb001@gmail.com

How to help when students are hurting

A message from Mary Stricker
NTT Constituency Council member
TAUP Department Organizer in Sociology
She stood outside my classroom with tears in her eyes.

She was worried about “messing up” on a quiz.

I was worried because this young woman – my student – was without a home.

She’d been living at a friend’s moms house and sleeping on the floor. For this young woman, going back to her family was just not an option.

TAUP’s FAST Fund (Faculty and Students Together) provided $500. We’ve helped almost 200 students. FAST Funds were created to offer quick financial relief from incidents that might keep undergraduate students from continuing their studies and completing their degrees.  We typically provide funds to students within a couple of days of applying.

With the FAST Fund, I was able to give my student a few more days of temporary housing and some hope of completing the semester with a roof over her head.

Of course, all of this was before the pandemic turned our lives upside down. Now, we know students are hurting even more. We get a glimpse into their lives when connecting on Zoom. We get the anxious emails from students in quarantine and hear stories of their roommates who are sick.

Normally, I would be asking you to refer students to the FAST Fund, but right now our funds are completely depleted, and so we don’t want to offer students a false promise.  As soon as we replenish the FAST fund, we will let our members know so that you can send their students our way. 

TAUP administers one of 18 FAST Funds across the country, funded by Believe in Students, a 501 (c) (3) founded by TAUP member and Professor of Sociology and Medicine Sara Goldrick-Rab. 

If you are able to help us, please consider a donation.  The easiest way is to donate online, and please specify that you want your donation to go to TAUP’s Fast Fund.

All funds collected are used exclusively for this purpose and are tax deductible.

Even a small contribution could make all the difference in the world to a student who is struggling to afford food, housing or transportation.

Your contribution may prevent that student from giving up on a college education. 

For more information, visit taup.org/fast-fund

Why the selection committee for Temple’s next president is unacceptable  

On Sept. 14, the Administration of Temple University formed a committee to select our next President.

Late Sunday and in response to widespread criticism, the Administration added two more women to this committee, bringing female representation to just 22%.

Fewer than a one-third of its members are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

This is not reflective of our community, and we are demanding change.

In an open letter to the Board, TAUP calls on the university board of trustees to appoint more women and People of Color to this selection committee.

“If the University is genuinely dedicated to “prioritizing recruitment and retention of faculty and employees of color” as stated in Temple’s brand new Anti-Racism Initiative, the imbalance of this search committee does not reflect this,”  said Jill Luedke, a member of TAUP executive committee and Librarian Constituency Council Chair.

“The composition of a search committee should be representative of the institution and signal to candidates the values the institution holds,” said Luedke. “The lack of diverse representation on the current Presidential Search Committee is disconcerting and a clear message from the Board that it is devoted to diversity at Temple University merely in talk and not in action.”

TAUP believes strongly that any presidential selection committee should have representatives from the neighborhoods that surround Temple University and more representation from our student body.

Women make up 54% of Temple students, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Four in 10 Temple students are considered minorities and People of Color.

Click here to read our open letter to the Temple University Board of Trustees.

In these extraordinary times, the power of union is more important than ever. If you’re not a member, JOIN TAUP.

Join the conversation on TAUP’s Facebook , Twitter and Instagram.  Call 215-763-2287 or email taupaft@gmail.com