Welcome to the Faculty Federation of The Art Institute of Philadelphia, AFSCME Local 3397. The Federation is the local union representing all full- and part-time faculty at The Art Institute of Philadelphia.

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June 20, 2008

Executive Board Election Results

Incumbent president Cheryl Leone was reelected by acclamation when no one offered to run against her. Alan Gross, Executive Vice President; Wayne Urffer, Treasurer; and Megan Dennis, Secretary, were likewise elected by acclamation.

The election results for Vice Presidents at Large were returning incumbents Cherie Haines and Linda Kudzmas, along with newly appointed Linda Karp. Jay Pastelak continues his position as Chief Steward. George Schwab was elected as Open Trustee.

Congradulations to all elected board members.

Software Grievance Settled

The long-standing grievance over the rollout of software is finally settled.
The union was about to call in a mediator since the 180 days allowed under the terms of our grievance withdraw were just about up. Much of the delay came from administration’s apparent inability to respond to union proposals in a timely manner. Negations had been going on with the Dean of Academic Affairs, Ray Becker.

When acting Chief Steward Jay Pastelak called Kathy Teeple to ask if management had any objections to the union’s hiring the mediator directly, Kathy said she hadn’t been in the loop and pulled the paperwork. In under a week she returned language so close to the union’s that we were able to settle.

The agreement requires a 90-day lead period prior to the installation of new programs in the classrooms provided the school has access to the software.

Software Rollout Agreement

With regard to the implementation of software upgrades, the parties agree to the following:

1. The Dean of Academic Affairs, in conjunction with the Director of Technology, will announce software upgrades no less than 90 days prior to the scheduled implementation of the new software.

1.1. Announcement of the upgrade will be made to the entire faculty through a memo in faculty mailboxes plus an e-mail sent to the faculty member’s AiPH e-mail address. Faculty members on leave or sabbatical will be notified by mail. While announcement of software upgrades may be made at end-of-quarter faculty meetings, such announcements alone shall not constitute adequate notice.

1.2. Should the Collage be unable to comply with the 90-day requirement, it shall notify the union leadership with the planned implementation date and the expected date the software will be available to faculty as soon as it is aware of the specifics of the implementation. Members of the administration, in conjunction with the union leadership will assess the number of affected faculty, the extent of the upgrade and the proposed time line for implementation and make appropriate recommendations to insure that faculty who teach the software package in question are able to do so successfully.

1.3. Software upgrade announcements to faculty members will identify tile developer’s recommended system requirements, which typically include processor type, operating system, memory and hard disk space.

2. AiPH will make the upgraded software available for loan to faculty through the library subject to the provision of Article 15, Sections 7, 8 & 9, to the extent the license agreement permits the software to be copied and distributed.

2.1. Software as defined in Section #2 above will be available for sign out by affected faculty within ten (10) days of the announcement of the upgrade.

2.2. Sufficient copies must be available for all affected faculty members.

2.3. Should the Employer be unable for any reason to make software available to faculty within ten (10) days of the announcement, the situation shall be considered to be a less than 90-day announcement and subject to the provisions of Section 1.2, above.

3. Affected faculty will have the upgraded software installed on their workstations within thirty (30) days of the announcement.

3.1. While AiPH adheres to a policy of replacing faculty workstation computers on a three-year cycle, cases in which the software upgrade requires a hardware upgrade for the software to run shall be treated as a special circumstance for those affected faculty only. Affected workstations may be upgraded with additional RAM or other internal/peripheral components as necessary or replaced outright as conditions warrant.

4. The Employer will provide training in the new software package to those affected faculty members who request it.

4.1. Training may be offered on-line, through guided tutorials, as classroom instruction (in-house or elsewhere) or some combination of the three.

4.2. The number of faculty members who request training may determine the training method however every effort will be made to accommodate individual schedules so that all faculty members who request training will receive it.

4.3. The school will assist faculty in the acquisition of reference texts.

Are Academic Directors Involving Themselves in Grading?

At the end of the spring quarter, faculty in the Digital Media Production program where surprised when their AD arrived at portfolio review and insisted a student who’s work wasn’t very good be failed. The student had met all the requirements of the portfolio class, and while all agreed that while the student wasn’t the most talented, the faculty and outside judges all defended the student’s right to graduate. The student’s talent and the student’s ability to meet course requirements may not match.

We’ve all had students who manage to get through our classes with a low C or a D and just keep the GPA high enough not to be asked to leave. Even when we know students aren’t going to make it in the professional world, it may not be our job to derail them here.

The union has heard anecdotes about students visiting their AD to complain about a grade and having the AD suggest that the student return to the instructor and ask the instructor to reconsider the grade, implying that grades are negotiable. It may be that the AD is merely trying to return the student to the source, but suggesting the grade might be open to negotiation is not a good thing.

The union leadership has begun investigating this issue.

The union’s position is that grades are the prerogative of the instructor. The teacher has a better understanding of the student than the AD, who may only see one project. We believe it is overreaching for the department director to demand a student fail or that a grade be changed.

Zuchmans Receive Fellowships

Phil Zuchman and his wife, Deborah Gross-Zuchman, have been selected for 6-week fellowships at the Julia and David White Artist’s Colony in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica.

The Julia and David White Artists’ Colony was established by Dr. White in 1998 as a memorial to his children, both of whom died tragically as young adults. Julia was an astrophysicist and accomplished poet and playwright; David a highly talented composer and woodwind player.

Phil is an Associate Professor here at AiPH, teaching in General Education. His work represents America as a “Cultural Ambassador” for the United States Art in Embassies Program. His work is exhibited internationally.

Debbie retired as an Art Demonstration Teacher from the School District of Philadelphia and presently is a project manager for Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. Her paintings are in many public and private collections.

Shorter Quarter, Longer Classes

Summer’s here and the time is right for extending the class day an extra 25 minutes?

It’s another short quarter. Administration wants a week to process the fall start, which is always the largest incoming group, so summer quarter gets shortened from eleven weeks to ten.

The problem is, we’re licensed to provide 44 hours of instruction per quarter, and lopping off one week shortens the instructional time to 40 hours. Fortunately—or not as the case may be—four hours equals 240 minutes which, divided by 10, equals 24 extra minutes per class. It’s been rounded to 25.

New faculty should note that morning classes begin at 7:35 a.m., afternoon classes run until 4:55 p.m., and evening classes begin at 5:35 p.m. Office hours, however, only need to be scheduled for four hours.

Smaller Paychecks in the Summer

After almost a year with the inconvenience and hardship of faculty having to miss a pay week right after the Fall and Spring break, we now have a new pay schedule that took effect in January 08. Faculty now are paid 26 times a year instead of 24 times a year. Although this method will ensure steady, uninterrupted paychecks, some of faculty paycheck amounts will be slightly lower because of the added two weeks. All faculty members should have received a sample comparison of the current pay schedule and the proposed new pay schedule of how the amount in pay checks will change. A copy of the new pay schedule with a sample of how your pay check amounts will be altered is available HERE.

AFSCME Recommended Summer Reading

As summer approaches, here are a few books that would be worthwhile reading for anyone with an interest in the labor movement and the struggles of American workers, whether in today’s economy or in America’s past.

State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence – Philip M. Dine, an award-winning investigative reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, combines a strong narrative of the lives of union members with insightful analysis of American labor’s triumphs and recent struggles.

The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker – New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse gives readers a behind-the-scenes view into the lives of American workers being squeezed by low wages, disappearing benefits and a lack of job security.

Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign – Noted labor historian and University of Washington-Tacoma Professor Michael K. Honey tells the story of the 1968 AFSCME sanitation workers strike in Memphis. Honey analyzes a strike that was a defining moment for our union and the modern labor and civil rights movements. Princeton University Professor Cornel West calls the book “A magisterial treatment of this neglected period.”

President: Cheryl Leone
Executive Vice President: Alan Gross
Vice President at Large: Cherie Haines, Linda Karp, Linda Kudzmas
Treasurer: Wayne Uffer
Recording Secretary: Megan Dennis
Chief Steward: Jay Pastelak

It's always the little things that make the difference…

The coffee cups on our page are a reminder of the union's organizing days.

Back in 1984, the administration of The Art Institute increased the full-time workload by 20%, without increasing pay, while decreasing part-time salaries by the same 20%. Immediately afterward, like a little insult, that same administration began charging ten cents for a cup of what had been free (and not very good) coffee. Charging for coffee was that tiny issue that became a symbol of the administration's disregard for its workers. The coffee cup remains as a reminder of that disregard.

To find out more about the Faculty Federation, click on the links. Our contract is posted on this site, as well as our history and other assorted information.

Thanks for visiting.