Category: Goverrnance

TAUP Elections 2018

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The TAUP Nominating Committee is proud to present the nominations for TAUP elections for 2018.  Election ballots will be distributed on or about April 16 and voting will close at noon on April 30.  Results will be announced at the TAUP General Membership Meeting at 4 PM in a location to be announced and by e-Bulletin.

Candidate Slate

Tenure Track Constituency Council (2 positions)

Barbara Ferman (CLA:Political Science)
I have been a faculty member at Temple for 26 years, during which time I have seen many changes.  Some of these have been quite positive—modernization of classrooms, research support for faculty—while others have been fairly negative—an increasing reliance on underpaid and overworked non-tenure track and adjunct faculty, increases in student tuition while the university pursues building an unnecessary football stadium, and a continued dismissal of faculty concerns from the board of trustees and top-level administrators.   As a public institution, Temple can do better by its students, faculty and neighbors.

Terry Halbert (FSBM:Legal Studies)
I’ve been a TAUP member since the hard-fought times of the early nineties, and have always admired the work of my colleague Art Hochner in leading our union forward. I feel fortunate to have been represented so well for so long. Being on the Council will give me a chance to contribute in my own way. As a faculty member in Fox since 1981 I know my college well, and as the director of General Education for its first 5 years, I know something about the University too. I’m a good listener, and I promise to be a reliable and discreet conduit, hearing out fellow tenure and tenure track faculty on their concerns over the contract, and relaying those concerns to TAUP’s Executive Committee.

Bernie S. Newman (CPH:Social Work)
I have been a continuous member of the union since 1989 when I first joined the Temple faculty (with the exception of two years serving as interim chair after chairs were taken out of the union).  I reinstated my membership as soon as I stepped down from being chair in the summer of 2017. TAUP has been an important part of my life in my years at Temple. For example, shortly after I arrived, I stood on the picket lines and marched in 1989-90 when the faculty went out on strike.  I have served in the union advocating for adjunct faculty to become members, recruiting new members in this most recent effort and years ago served as a liaison between the union and the faculty in my role on the Faculty Senate Liaison Committee. My history of being an active union member also includes serving as one of the plaintiffs in TAUP’s efforts to obtain domestic partnership several years ago.  I am a full-time tenured faculty member in the school of social work and see the need for all faculty to be represented and have voices heard. If elected, I will do my best to represent adjunct, non-tenured, pre-tenure and tenured faculty because I believe that equity should exist across the board.

Shana Goldin-Perschbacher (Boyer:Music Studies)
I work on popular music and identity, especially feminist, queer, and transgender theory and race and ethnicity studies.  This is my 4th year teaching at Temple.  Before that, I was employed briefly by 3 other universities in the roles of lecturer and postdoctoral fellow.  In my four years here I have made friends with people working at nearly every level of faculty at Temple and throughout the region.  My experience as an academic has been shaped by membership in an intellectual generation in crisis due to employment precarity and the changing nature of academia.  Because of this, my colleagues’ and students’ abilities to do our jobs and thrive as human beings are especially important to me.  I’d be glad to serve as a contact to discuss our work of being teachers, researchers, and artists.

 

Non-Tenure Track Constituency Council (3 positions)

Alex DeVaron, Boyer (Boyer:Music Studies)
First, I’m aware that 15 years ago, being an NTT at Temple was a painfully temporary position.  If one did not find a tenure track position here or elsewhere, one was let go.  The situation has completely changed.  Now, largely because of the union, being an NTT is as valid a career option as being a tenure track appointment: it carries a good benefit package, multi-year contracts, and the possibility of promotion.  Serving the union is one way I can thank it for the stability and quality of the position I currently hold.

If elected, I would be committed to exploring the following question: Can we work with the administration without descending into the rhetoric of a solidified “US vs. THEM”  that currently pervades our national culture?

I’m inspired to make sure that NTT’s, especially those working in the arts, have a clean communication pipeline to the union leaders.

The labor movement in this country has a rich musical tradition. As a representative from the Boyer College, I would like to explore starting our meetings with a song!

Stan McDonald (CLA: English/First-Year Writing Program)
Since 2007 I have been teaching in the First-Year Writing, a program that relies heavily on contingent faculty to teach its classes. This experience has given me the opportunity to develop into an award-winning instructor, while building relationships with students, staff, and faculty across all ranks. Through the first few years of teaching at Temple, I was a proud dues-paying member of TAUP. By 2014, I felt the need to serve TAUP and my colleagues, and was elected to the Executive Committee for a two-year term. During that time I learned more about the role of our union at Temple, participated in the adjunct unionization effort, and received training for organizing faculty. I am running for a seat on the NTT constituency council to continue serving our union and our colleagues. To build the strength of TAUP, we need an NTT constituency council driven by a sense of mission. I hope you will consider me for another term on our constituency council.

Jeffrey Lee (CLA:Intellectual Heritage)
I have been at Temple University as a non-tenure track assistant professor since 2013; I was an adjunct here since 2010 in the Intellectual Heritage Program. I have been a union member since 2010, and I was a union member at Community College of Philadelphia from 1997-2002, where I was a tenure-track Assistant Professor. We went on strike at CCP and won a better contract for all of the full-time and part-time faculty. After earning tenure at CCP, I went to U Northern Colorado, where unions were not allowed, and working conditions were far worse than anything I have ever seen.

For those whose careers depend on their minds, time is a kind of capital with inestimable value. Therefore, I believe faculty need to have their time protected because time-poverty hurts intellectuals especially badly. So I am concerned when class sizes and teaching loads are raised without compensation and without regard for how much time it costs the faculty. (There seems to be no regard for how bigger classes and higher teaching loads hurt our students either.) I am concerned when faculty are asked to do many little jobs related to teaching without any compensation. I am also concerned with fairness and transparency regarding job assignments, promotions, and reappointments.

I would advocate for more pay and better working conditions for all of the full-time and part-time faculty, which I believe would ultimately serve our students far better.

Dan Spaeth (CST:Biology)

First, I am coming up on my 20 year anniversary at Temple in the Biology Department. This give me some historical experience with Temple and the many changes that both the University, our college and department have gone through. Second, as a lab coordinator, I interact with a variety of faculty so know their thoughts on a variety of subjects. I would like to enlarge that circle to include more faculty in both the Biology Department and beyond in CST. Third, given that Temple is still changing, those who should be primary in directing the change, Temple’s educators who are the faculty need to be informed about the changes and the union need to know what they are thinking. Indeed, because of the great variety of faculty, particularly in CST, between tenured and tenure track faculty, those actively pursuing grant funded research projects and the teaching faculty, generally non-tenure track,  making sure the two groups interact or at least know what the other group is thinking is important. I look forward to this challenge.

Mary Stricker (CLA:Sociology)
I am excited to be running for the NTT Constituency Council.  I have been an NTT  faculty member on the teaching/instructional track in the Sociology Department since 2001.  I was promoted to NTT Associate faculty member in 2008 and am currently up for promotion to NTT Professor.   I have been very involved in my Department as a member of the Executive Committee, Undergraduate Committee, and Merit Committee for most of my years here and have worked hard to protect and advance the interests of my fellow NTT faculty.  If I should be elected I would like to work towards creating a Certificate of Continuing Employment system as the NTT equivalent of Tenure.  These certificates are currently used at CUNY and in the Univ. of California system.   I would also like to create a way for NTT faculty to communicate with each other across departments and colleges so that we can work together more effectively and create a real community.  I look forward to working with and for all of you.  Thank you for your consideration.

 

Adjunct Constituency Council (7 positions)

Ben Curtright (CLA:English)

I’m an adjunct instructor in the English department at Temple, and  I’ve been working at Temple in some capacity for three years now. I taught for two years as a graduate assistant; 2017-18 has been my first year working as an adjunct instructor. The transition has been eye-opening. As a TUGSA member, I made less in take-home pay than I do as an adjunct (my last contract was somewhere in the range of $17,000/yr) but felt, incredibly, more financially secure: I had a two-year contract, health care was included, and I always knew, at least a few months in advance, what classes I’d be teaching. Adjuncting is, to be frank, much scarier.

As recent direct actions, including the West Virginia teachers’ strike, the University and College Union strike in the UK, and the Illinois-Urbana Graduate Employees’ Organization, have underlined, our best vehicle for improving the lives of teachers and workers is a strong union with an activist base and a thorough understanding, born from dialectical materialism, of the essential conflict between administration and faculty. That’s why, as an adjunct, I’ve sought to get more involved in the union by visiting coworkers with Abbey Bricker and talking strategy with fellow adjuncts like Sam Allingham. I graduated too recently to have taken part in the adjuncts’ push for union membership, though I’ve already seen the benefits of our first TAUP contract. My hope is that, if elected, I can play a role in our next fights: for better wages, longer contracts, more consistent courseloads, and more comprehensive benefits.

Zoe Cohen (Tyler:Visual Studies)
I am a visual artist and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Tyler School of Art here at Temple.  I also teach at Moore College of Art and have taught at The University of the Arts, and outside of higher ed and labor unions, I have years of experience as an administrator and organizer of artists, arts organizations, and educational programming.

I first taught at Temple from 2014-2015, during the campaign to unionize adjuncts. I was inspired and energized by the campaign, and wanted to learn as much as I could about organizing. I had to leave adjuncting for a year to work a full-time arts administration job when my husband was laid off. Part of my decision to return to adjuncting was that I wanted to be  involved in building our contingent faculty labor movement. I became involved with United Academics of Philadelphia, helping to build membership with the UAP Organizing Committee, of which I am now the chair.

I was thrilled to be hired again at Temple, both because I love the students and the program I teach in, and because of the amazing opportunity to build power within a union that we won together. I feel that my work as an adjunct is now inextricably tied to my work as a union activist. As a current and potential future Adjunct Constituency Council member, I am committed to working together as contingent faculty to improve our working conditions, and by doing so, to hold Temple’s administration accountable to the ideals of an institution of higher education.

Melissa DeGezelle (CLA:Intellectual Heritage)

I’ve been a part of organizing activism with TAUP, but more broadly, AFT, since 2013. I’ve worked on both the Contract Campaign and Bargaining Committees. I’ve been an Adjunct Constituency Council member since 2016 and served as co-chair of the UAP Racial Justice Committee. I’ve presented at several union sponsored events, mostly regarding the subject of sexual assault on college campuses.  I was there in Harrisburg on the day we won the right to form this union. The anxiety and elation and celebration were feelings akin to the birth of a baby.

I’ve taught consistently in the Intellectual Heritage department since 2010. I also teach writing and social justice courses at CCP and Jefferson University, where I was hired this past year for a temporary full-time position. The experience has given me a profound perspective.

I work as a patient advocate (counselor) at the Philadelphia Women’s Center, as a labor doula, and as an instructor of patient-centered sexual health exams. I maintain all of my side jobs because they are important, but also so that I can continue teaching. I’m skilled at holding space, listening, reflecting, and speaking out when I witness injustice. I value respect, trust, and transparency. I’m scrappy, not afraid of risk, and am completely committed to building a robust union with values that center university workers, the students and their access to real education, and the wellbeing of the surrounding community. I love Philadelphia and I love what Temple can become. This union is my family.

Ryan Eckes (CLA:English/First-Year Writing Program)
I’m a long-time adjunct in the English department who helped unionize Temple adjuncts from 2014-2015. Having spoken directly with hundreds of our colleagues over the last few years, I have a strong sense of what our union can accomplish heading into 2019. As a member of TAUP’s adjunct constituency council, I remain committed to establishing job security and better working conditions for all faculty, and helping our union build solidarity with other workers and organizations that are protecting students, educators and Philadelphia residents from the racist, anti-intellectual agenda of neoliberal plutocrats.   

Jack Krick (Engineering:Electrical and Computer Engineering)

I have been teaching Technical Communication in Temple’s College of Engineering since 2011 and have worked for more than 40 years in the telecommunications and computer industries as a technician, a journalist in the computer industry trade press, and, finally, as a technical writer producing documentation in software development environments.  I want better pay for adjuncts and more guidance on how to arbitrate disputes with students.

Melanie Marchand (CPH:Kinesiology):
My name is Melanie Marchand. I have been an adjunct professor at Temple since the Fall of 2014. I work in the Kinesiology Department KPAP Program and am currently teaching a course entitled Fitness for Life, 2 sections. I also teach Cardiovascular Fitness and Weight Training.

I am a native of New Orleans, LA but have been living in Philadelphia for almost 26 years. I have an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University (1984) and an MBA from the Wharton Business School (1991). I worked in Corporate America for a total of 13 years before resigning to pursue my passion which is Health and Fitness. I worked as a Process/Efficiency Engineer for 5 years before acquiring an MBA. Upon my return to the Corporate world, I worked as a Business Analyst, Product Manager, Technical Sales Rep and Marketing Manager. I worked for Union Carbide Corporation and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Upon resigning, I launched my own personal training business, Sisters in Shape, Inc. Six years later, I opened my own 5000 sq ft Fitness Center.  A year later, I opened a healthy foods café a few feet away from the gym in the same building.

I am interested in serving on the Adjunct Constituency Council because of my personal experience and the desire to help others who may find themselves being unfairly treated. The union has been extremely supportive of me and there is no way I would have been able to accomplish what has occurred thus far without them.

Canan Tanir (CLA:Gender Studies and Women’s Studies)
I have been teaching as an adjunct for the last 4 years. During this time, I have come to witness the difficult conditions adjunct faculty face as precarious labor in the business model of higher education. I have experienced the day-to-day challenges that these conditions entail. I strongly believe that the work we do as part-time instructors deserves better recognition, higher respect, and equity, as it is this significant work that the university relies on. As a potential member of ACC, I intend to voice our rights for a decent livelihood that we all deserve, as well as promoting the interests of all members of TAUP.

Run for TAUP Office and Nominate Candidates for Constituency Councils

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T A U P Elections 2018

 

Do you want to shape working and teaching conditions at Temple?  Do you have ideas for how to help TAUP better serve members? Do you have goals and ideas for the next contract campaign? Do you know someone who would be a good representative for your field or school? TAUP is seeking members  to run for a seat on one of three faculty Constituency Councils: Adjunct, Non-Tenure Track, and Tenure Track.

Constituency Council members are the active voice for their constituents among our nearly 3,000 members. They serve as the communication channel between our Executive Committee and our membership, making sure that the Executive Committee is aware of each constituency’s voices and that each constituency is aware of initiatives and questions raised by the Executive Committee. Constituency Council members help engage and recruit members so that the Union can be responsive to its members and can do the work it needs to do.  Each Constituency Council meets at least once per semester. If you want to run or have a good candidate in mind, let us know!

 

Constituency Council members typically serve three-year terms. Delegates serve one-year terms.

We also have seats for alternate delegates who can represent TAUP at affiliate meetings, such as the AFT national convention.  These posts are open to all dues-paying members—faculty, librarians, and academic professionals.

Incumbents may run for re-election.  There are no term-limits on Constituency Council or Delegate seats.  

 

How to Get on the Ballot and Election Timetable

The Nominating Committee is responsible for drawing up the slate. Any dues-paying TAUP member interested in running for a seat on their Constituency Council should send a declaration of interest and a statement of purpose (max. 250 words) to the Nominating Committee, c/o taupaft@gmail.com by March 30. (Members can also get on the ballot through a petition; for details, see Article I.2 of the TAUP Bylaws.)


Ballot information will be emailed to all dues-paying members on or about April 2.

Elections for the Constituency Council will take place from April 16-23.

(Note: Paper ballots will be provided upon request and will be available on or about April 16.  All paper ballots must be received at the TAUP Office (Ritter Annex 721 (004-15)) no later than noon, April 23.)

Ballot counts will be announced at a General Membership Meeting, details TBA.

Offices Available and Length of Term

 

  • Tenured/Tenure Track Constituency Council:

 

2 Three-year positions from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2021

 

 

  • NTT Constituency Council:

 

2 Three-year positions from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2021

1  One-year position from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019

 

 

  • Adjunct Constituency Council:  

 

4 Three-year positions from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2021

1 Two-year position from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2020

1 One-year position, May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019

 

 

  • Delegates:

 

Five alternate positions from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019

 

If you have any questions about running, please contact the TAUP office (taupaft@gmail.com).

Current Executive Officers (terms expire April 30, 2019):

President: Steve Newman, CLA/English

Vice President: Jennie Shanker, Tyler/Art

Treasurer: Norma Corrales-Martin, CLA/Spanish & Portuguese

 

Current Constituency Council Members

 

Tenured /Tenure Track NTT Adjunct
Cheryl Hyde

CHP/Social Work

Term expires April 30, 2018

Stanley McDonald

CLA/Writing Program

Term expires April 30, 2018

Timothy Clifford

CLA/History

Term expires April 30, 2018

Joseph Schwartz

CLA/Political Science

Term expires April 30, 2018

open Zoe Cohen

Tyler/Visual Arts

Term expires April 30, 2018

Will Jordan

EDU/P,O &L

Term expires April 30, 2019

Laurie Fitzpatrick

FSBM/Marketing

Term expires April 30, 2019

Melissa DeGezelle

CLA/Intellectual Heritage

Term expires April 30, 2018

Jeffrey Solow – AT LARGE

Music/Instrumental

Term expires April 30, 2019

Andrew Mossin –AT LARGE

CLA/Intellectual Heritage

Term expires April 30, 2019

Ryan Eckes

CLA/Writing Program

Term expires April 30, 2018

Damien Stankiewicz

CLA/Anthropology

Term expires April 30, 2019

Donald Wargo CHAIR

CLA/Economics

Term expires April 30, 2019

Matthew Ray

SMC/Advertising

Term expires April 30, 2018

Karen Palter -CHAIR

CST/Biology

Term expires April 30, 2020

Jeffrey Doshna

Tyler/Planning & Comm

Term expires April 30, 2020

Open
Marsha Weinraub

CLA/Psychology

Term expires April 30, 2020

Kolson Schlosser

CLA/Geo & Urban Studies

Term expires April 30, 2020

Andrew Babson

EDU/Secondary

Term expires April 30, 2019

Fred Rowland

Paley Library

Term expires April 30, 2020

Milca Dubon

CLA/Spanish & Portuguese

Term expires April 30, 2019

Suzanne Seesman

Tyler/Foundations Program

Term expires April 30, 2019

Sam Allingham -AT LARGE

CLA/English

Term expires April 30, 2020

Paul Dannenfelser

CPH/Social Work

Term expires April 30, 2020

Open
Wende Marshall -CHAIR

CLA-Anthropology

Term expires April 30, 2020

Seth Steinbacher

CLA/Writing Program

Term expires April 30, 2019

 

TAUP
Temple Association of University Professionals

1301 Cecil B Moore Avenue (004-15)

Ritter Annex 721

Philadelphia, PA 19122-6091

Phone: 215.763.2287   email: taupaft@gmail.com   web site: www.taup.org

This message is from Temple Association of University Professionals (TAUP). If you received this communication in error, please reply to the sender that you have received the message in error and delete the message or notify us immediately at (215) 763-2287

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.