Category: eBulletins

February 2, 2018

TAUP Proposed Changes to Bylaws on Dues

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At our Executive Committee meeting last Friday, the EC unanimously voted to approve a change to our bylaws on dues collection to give TAUP the flexibility to use an alternative method to collect dues temporarily if circumstances arise that constrain the collection of dues through the usual method of payroll deduction. It is now up to you to vote on these proposed changes; a change to the bylaws requires the approval of 2/3rds of those voting. You can vote here and the specific changes can be found below, but first, I want to explain the challenges that have moved us to propose these changes:

Adjuncts voted to join TAUP over two years ago, yet Temple is still working on a method for their payroll dues deductions. The contract guarantees that automatic dues deduction will be phased in by Summer II of this year. But adjuncts should want and do want to pay their share as soon as possible. To do this for this semester, due to the great variations in adjunct compensation and complications in finding a collection system that will accommodate us, we may need to set a flat rate based on the base rate negotiated in the contract. Passing this provision would allow us to use this flat rate if needed, for up to one year.

We have seen attacks both in Pennsylvania and outside it on automatic dues deduction for public-sector Unions. For instance, in the most recent legislative session, PA Senate Bill 166 aimed to make it illegal for dues to be deducted for political action funds, even though these contributions are entirely voluntary and dues are never used for contributions to political purposes. The bill was defeated, but the vote was close (90-102).

There is reason to believe that not only will it return this coming session but that there may be proposals to outlaw ALL automatic dues deduction. This has been proposed in Texas, Michigan, and Alabama in the wake of Wisconsin’s notorious Act 10, which in 2011 outlawed automatic dues deduction, among many other assaults on Unions. We must be vigilant and ready to resist such attacks, which will not stop anytime soon.

If this were to happen in Pennsylvania, TAUP needs the flexibility to institute other ways of collecting dues–again, only for a limited time. Any proposal to change the structure of dues beyond a year would have to gain the direct approval of the membership for such a change, as the bylaws normally require (see clause 1, below).

Let me be clear that this change, if approved, will not increase TAUP’s dues. We just want to ensure that we are not crippled financially if automatic dues deduction were to be prohibited.

Other changes are more minor. We no longer offer a reduced first-year rate, so that clause is no longer relevant, and has been eliminated from the new language. We also correct an error in the text; adjuncts do not pay pass-throughs, which are increases in the per capita fees we pay to our state, national, and international affiliates. These increases are already built in to the per caps that adjuncts pay.

The proposed changes are in red:

VII: Dues

1. Changes in the dues structure must be made by the membership voting by secret ballot. The proposed change must be distributed to the members no fewer than twenty-one (21) days prior to the balloting. A simple majority of votes cast is required for passage of changes to the dues structure.

2. Annual TAUP dues shall be:

a. Untenured faculty, Probationary Librarians and Academic Professionals – 0.85% of base salary;

b. Tenured faculty, Librarians on regular appointment, and post-probationary Academic Professionals – 1.1% of current annual base salary.

c. The upper limit to TAUP dues shall be based on the average salary of a full professor at Temple University, as reported annually in the AAUP publication Academe. This limit shall be adjusted every July 1 following the publication of ‘Academe’s’ annual salary survey.

~~d. Those who are on half dues currently for the first year will continue at that rate until their first year is up.~~

e. In addition to above percentages, dues will include all constitutionally mandated increases passed on to TAUP by our affiliate unions since 2002, in accordance with the constitutions of the AFT and AFTPA.

f. For adjunct faculty, 0.55% of base monthly pay, plus required per capita fees to our affiliates ~~and all accumulated pass-throughs from affiliates.~~

3. In exigent circumstances, such as the absence of or removal of automatic dues deduction for one or more constituencies in TAUP, an alternative mode of collecting dues can be substituted for one (1) academic year if this alternative is unanimously approved by the Executive Committee. Any extension of this change requires the approval of membership as per clause 1., above.

January 18, 2018

Welcome Back Spring 2018!

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TAUP welcomes you back for the start of Spring 2018! Over the break, TAUP’s leaders have been busy charting a way forward for our Union, and we need your ideas and your energy!

Membership Campaign and the 2019 Negotiations

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be joined by members and allies from the United Academics of Philadelphia for our Spring Membership Campaign. In a little over a year, we’ll be heading into contract negotiations, and having a strong membership base gives us much greater strength at the bargaining table. We look to members as we set the agenda for negotiations, and as you know, only members can vote when it comes to the contract ratification process. Later this term, we’ll be initiating the formal process for assessing issues by sending out a bargaining survey. Keep an eye out for it, and know that these efforts are centered on gaining a greater understanding of the issues that need to be addressed for TAUP members.

If you would like to join TAUP, you can now do so online here.

Constituency Council Elections, and Committee Openings

We’re looking for new leaders! There will be elections this semester for slots on each of our Constituency Councils and we hope many of you will consider running. The Constituency Councils are, in part, advisory groups that we rely on when we have questions about the specific constituencies that TAUP represents (tenured/tenure track faculty, NTTs, Librarians, Academic Professionals and Adjuncts). Meetings occur once or twice a semester, often via video conferencing. If you are someone who understands issues that your constituents face, and if you have ideas and are interested in helping to improve the conditions we all work under, call the office so we can talk further and answer any questions you might have. You may also know someone who you would like to nominate to run. Let us know, and we’ll contact nominees for further discussion. We also have slots on two new committees afforded by the adjunct contract: one addressing Adjunct office space, and one on affirmative action. Let us know if you’re interested!

New Initiatives

Speaking of elections, we’re working with AFTPA, our state affiliate, to help our members work effectively on this year’s local, state, and federal elections. This is among our new initiatives, along with our work toward gaining Child Care on campus, tuition remission at other universities, and the important work of Fighting Institutional Racism Caucus. We welcome your input on these issues.

The FAST Fund for Students at Risk of Dropping Out Due to Financial Hardship

Finally, we are proud to announce that Prof. Sara Goldrick-Rab has designated TAUP as the administrator for the seventh FAST (Faculty and Students Together) Fund that she has established. The FAST Fund is designed to give modest amounts of aid (capped at a few hundred dollars) to help students faced with car repairs, a utility bill or some other urgent expense they can’t pay that puts them at risk for dropping out of school. As the research of Prof. Goldrick-Rab and others has shown, a troublingly high percentage of current college students are food- and housing- insecure, and these small amounts of aid can make the difference in their ability to stay in school. We are finalizing our procedures for the Fund and will soon send them out to our members. We know that our members care deeply about their students, and we’re very pleased to be in the position, thanks to the FAST Fund, to realize that care in a concrete and effective way.

We wish you all exciting and productive Spring semesters.

December 14, 2017

The Hour is Late and the Stakes Are High: We Must Oppose GOP Tax Reform!

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We must do what we can to stop the GOP’s proposed Tax “Reform,” which may include provisions particularly harmful to higher education: taxing graduate tuition remission as income; prohibiting deductions for student loan interest; and taxing endowments at some schools. Recent reports indicate that the first two will not be in the bill emerging out of conference, and opposition is mounting toward the third; our efforts and those of our allies are having an effect! But we cannot rest until we are sure these provisions are not in the bill, and even without them, the bill would be a disgrace. As TAUP member and economist Don Wargo shows here in his clear-eyed analysis , it is founded on lies or mistakes; it disproportionately benefits the wealthy while doing serious damage to millions among the less-well-off and swelling the deficit; and it sets up draconian cuts to programs that millions of children, adults and senior citizens rely upon.

So how can we act as Republicans in Congress speed this monstrosity toward a vote?

Here are three ways:

1) Work with TAUP leaders who have been calling colleagues living in districts represented by Republicans who may be persuadable—Ryan Costello (6^th district), Patrick Meehan (7^th—though he looks like an unlikely ally), and Brian Fitzpatrick (8^th district). We are giving these members a way to contact their representatives and urge them to vote “no” and to specifically combat any provisions that threaten higher education. To help us call members in these districts, contact us at taupaft@gmail.com.

2) If you live in these districts, call 877-795-7862; you’ll be asked to provide your zip code and will then be connected to your legislator’s office. If you talk to an aide or leave a message, make sure you mention your address so that they can be sure they know you are a constituent.

3) Attend an action— protest outside a legislator’s office, a townhall, etc. Go to the American Federation of Teachers’ page, http://allin.rtp.aft.org/. It provides a wealth of information about what’s wrong with the proposed bills. Scroll down to find various resources including actions put together by Indivisible, Americans For Tax Fairness, and Not One Penny.

It’s the end of the semester and all of us have tons of exams, essays,final projects or performances to grade. Many of us are looking longingly toward the Break. But it is critical that we spare any time we can to raise our collective voice against these wrongheaded, destructive and immoral proposals. There is too much at stake, and signing online petitions is not enough. It is time to act.

In Solidarity,

Steve Newman

TAUP President