Tag: Janus

August 28, 2018

Quick Update Day 1, Fall 2018

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To everyone returning to Temple this semester, welcome back! And to those of you who are new to the University, greetings, and welcome to you!

This week, you’ll be receiving a short e-Bulletin from TAUP daily. It’s our way to update you briefly on the work we’re engaged with, and what we’ll be focused on in this academic year.

Summer Work: Unions Post-Janus

As you may know, powerful private interest groups are investing heavily in disempowering unions representing public workers and higher ed is a key target. The Supreme Court’s Janus decision was the focus of every public sector union this summer.

TAUP worked alongside other AFT locals* in membership trainings, events and drives. As a result, educators in the City of Philadelphia have gained greater power to fight back against groups that oppose unions and want us all to have less of a voice in our workplaces.

As part of our resistance to Janus, we intensified the work we have already been doing. We had a great summer that included members meeting with members, knocking on doors, and listening to the issues of concern. We thank everyone who took the time to talk, invited us into their homes, shared their experiences and ideas and committed themselves to this work.

We look forward to this new school year, and enter it with a stronger membership, and with a greater understanding of the work we need to do together in the upcoming year as we head toward negotiations in Spring 2019. You can help. If you’re not a member, join TAUP. If you are a member, contact us to set up a time to talk about your interests. If you have questions about the contract, from salaries to health care to grievances, or questions about any other issue or suggestions, please contact us at taupaft@gmail.com or 215 763-2287.

Tomorrow: an update on projects and committee work that TAUP members have been involved in.

*Including the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) and the Faculty and Staff Federation of Community College of Philadelphia (FSFCCP.

June 29, 2018

After Janus: What’s Your Union to YOU?

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As the various reactions to the Janus decision come pouring in, we want to address one that is inaccurate and pernicious. The claim runs: The Janus decision means the end of public-sector unions. This decision hurts, no doubt about it. It will mean many local, state and national federations will get less in dues and thus have fewer resources to do important collective work. Some members at other unions who paid a mandated agency fee to cover the cost of administering the contract will choose to benefit from the work of their unions for free. Some members, tempted by the “give yourself a raise” rhetoric peddled by anti-union forces, will resign. Ironically, by resigning they make it harder for their union to improve their working conditions. But the labor movement has been preparing for this decision for a long time; we have been engaged in a re-commitment campaign and other strategies to make sure that this decision opens a door to a new era for organized labor. This is not a death knell, and we’re not going anywhere. We are in this fight for the duration. That’s what Janus means– it’s an opportunity to remind people why unions matter. Fighting back against Janus, getting more involved with your Union is a way to refuse the despair many are feeling by joining together for concrete, passionate, and compassionate action towards justice.

If you are wondering what Janus means for you, you should also be asking about your own union. What does TAUP’s work mean to you? What’s it worth?

We know that for many members, what’s key is that TAUP is working hard to improve your working conditions–especially salaries and benefits. Last October, we ratified a contract that won a 15% raise to adjunct minima and extended the current full-time contract by a year–with the highest raise of the four years of the contract and with no health-care clawbacks. We head into next year’s negotiations determined to extend those gains, which are the result of decades of determined collective action by your union.

But, as important as bargaining for wages and benefits is, we do much more than that. We are in the midst of analyzing the merit data we have received to make sure the proper amount was disbursed. We have recently submitted proposals on increasing childcare benefits and tuition benefits at other schools and await the administration’s response. We have filed numerous grievances to protect the rights of our members on issues including protecting safety and health and fighting discrimination based on disability, gender, and national origin; some of these cases are scheduled for arbitration. We have started a Fighting Institutional Racism Caucus. We have run financial planning seminars and workshops on filing for unemployment. We have have increased our outreach to our members both in person and electronically, visiting departments and colleges and schools and sending out surveys on issues such as NTT renewal and promotion. We will, of course, be sending out bargaining surveys to all members to find out which issues need to be prioritized as we look toward negotiations next year.

But for our Union to do its work, we must also look more broadly than just our own contracts. We need to stand up for our values and to forge alliances with others where we can find common cause. Guided by a survey in which you told us you opposed an on-campus football stadium 3:1, we have entered into a coalition with our neighbors in North Philadelphia. We have learned from them what Temple is and isn’t doing to be a good neighbor, and the No Stadium, No Deal coalition has been crucial in delaying Temple’s bid to move this misguided plan forward. We will continue to keep the pressure on to make sure it is abandoned for good. We administer the FAST Fund, which provides money to students in financial crisis to make sure they stay in school. We have partnered with our student government and other student groups to support Temple’s becoming a Sanctuary Campus.

Using voluntarily-donated funds kept strictly separate from dues, we have endorsed candidates–Chris Rabb, Joe Hohenstein, and Malcolm Kenyatta–who won their primaries, which bodes well for a Philadelphia coalition in Harrisburg that will protect union rights. We will also be contacting you about ways to get involved in the crucial elections this November. Finally, through our national union, the American Federation of Teachers, we have been fighting on a range of issues: for the rights of immigrants under attack by cruel, counter-productive, and illegal policies; for an end to gun violence; for making sure Puerto Rico is not forgotten in the wake of Hurricane Maria and partnering with Operation Blessing to deliver 80,000 water filters; against economic policies that favor the rich over everybody else; and, of course, for public education in the face of calculated assaults.

So that’s what your Union is doing, and Janus will only strengthen our resolve. The Janus case was brought to the court in part because unions engage in important civil rights and social justice work. This work goes hand in hand with representing and protecting workers.

If you want to know what you can do in response to Janus, here’s what we’d suggest.

First, if you’re not a dues paying member of TAUP, it’s time to join. Second, carve out time this summer and in the fall semester to do some union work. We are preparing for negotiations and the more people are involved in helping to prepare, the more prepared we’ll be. We need at least one person from each department to act as a contact person who can relay information to and from members while we’re at the table. Third, join us in our work around the upcoming elections.

For us to be successful in as we move forward, we need YOU–more than ever. If if the values we have articulated matter to you, we need you to stand up. We need you to join, and we need you to become more active. The reasons to do so are easy to find, just as they were before Janus. We invite you to contact any of the officers or other leaders below.

Officers:

President: Steve Newman stevenewman1970@gmail.com 215.983.8905

Vice Pres.: Jennie Shanker jshanker1@gmail.com 215.917.4373

Treasurer: Norma Corrales-Martin taup.treasurer@gmail.com

Tenured/Tenure Track Constituency Council:

Chair: Karen Palter kpalter@gmail.com

At Large: Jeffrey Solow solowcello@gmail.com

NTT Constituency Council:

Chair: Andrew Mossin amossin@gmail.com

At Large: Kolson Schlosser kolslaw@hotmail.com

Adjunct Constituency Council:

Chair: Zoe Cohen zoeart@gmail.com

At Large: Sam Allingham sallingh@gmail.com

June 29, 2018

Supreme Court Rules Against Unions – What’s Next?

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The Supreme Court has now ruled in favor of Mark Janus and against unions. Following up on our message of May 25th, we want to say more about the broad implications of this lamentable decision for unions and for TAUP in particular.

Janus claimed that in lieu of paying his dues, contributing even a reduced percentage, a fair share, to his union to defray the cost of bargaining his wages and benefits, and protecting his rights, violated his right to free speech.

Unions keep dues strictly separate from funds collected specifically for political donations. This was not a case about the contributions that unions make to political candidates who are committed to the rights of workers. Janus’ suit was part of a concerted effort by anti-union groups with very deep pockets to weaken unions and diminish the power that individuals can access when they experience wrongful treatment on the job. It shifts the very understanding of union work from advocacy in the workplace into the realm of actual politics. This is a direct attack on workers and their unions.

Now that Janus has been decided, many locals, state and national federations will see a decrease in financial resources. Our state and national affiliates, the AFTPA and AFT, will be affected. We often rely on them for assistance in legal and legislative issues, strategic advice, training, and building our data handling capacity. They have offered great support for our ongoing organizing, and without their help, TAUP would not have been able to grow in size and force by bringing adjuncts into the union.

TAUP does not have fair share–that is, if you choose not to pay dues, you don’t have to pay anything. Even though no member of the TAUP bargaining unit pays fair share, the Janus ruling against AFSCME will affect you. There will likely be aggressive outreach from anti-union activists, and it is very possible that you will be contacted. Anti-union groups have been preparing to contact union members to encourage them to quit their union: “Give yourself a raise!” You don’t have to pay anything!” They may also make offers to provide services like basic legal support and health insurance, though the benefits they offer are inferior.

We want to reiterate the differences between these types of outside groups and TAUP. TAUP bargains for more than an outside business is able to. We have the right to negotiate workplace policies, for example. Outside entities have no say in the majority of issues that affect the quality of your work or your life. Only TAUP can negotiate over job security, workload, tenure, merit or promotion. In contrast to these businesses, TAUP is a collective of your colleagues who work here at Temple. Officers, Executive Committee and Constituency Council members are elected by you, and they are not here to financially profit from this work. We work simultaneously on behalf of ourselves and our colleagues, because we are all in the same boat. We are in solidarity with each other. That is what makes us strong.

Like the rest of the labor movement, TAUP will rise to the challenge of Janus by working harder to organize and to demonstrate the value of belonging to the union in your workplace. If you are not a dues-paying member of TAUP and you appreciate that you are working in a unionized workplace, it’s time to join. It’s never been more important.

If you have any questions or would like to work with TAUP in protecting workplace rights at this critical time, reach out to a TAUP officer, Constituency Council Chair or Member at Large to talk about your interests, skills, and availability.