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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New Contract is Ratified!

On Tuesday, March 24th, at 5 pm at the Union Hall, a vote was cast among the 40 attending faculty members.  By a unanimous vote, the contract was ratified!

Special thanks were given to negotiating team members Cheryl Leone, Jay Pastelak, Linda Kudzmas, Colleen Farrell and Megan Dennis. 

ATTENTION FACULTY

Soon you will be receiving a notice in your mail boxes concerning graduating student grades.  It is very important that if you have a graduating student in your class the student’s grades be submitted by the deadline.  Poll your classes and check roll sheets for graduating student status. 

Failure to do so may result in disciplinary actions.

The union wants to stress that if faculty does not adhere to administration guidelines, we cannot prevent disciplinary actions.  We can assure that you will be treated in a fair process.

Your cooperation is appreciated by both administration and the union.

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December 14, 2008

A Year in Review

Since it’s the end of the year those of us here at the Federation News thought it would be a good time to catch up.

In all, it’s been a pretty quiet year, which is a good thing. Here are some of the highlights:
By now, all faculty computer workstations should have been upgraded. Everyone’s computer should now run Adobe Creative Suite 3 and the latest version of Microsoft Office. In all, 97 faculty workstations were upgraded, along with computers in common spaces like the third floor in 1622 Chestnut Street.
After threatening to boycott Open Houses due to the condition of room 504, the main Photo classroom, photography faculty got a new projector and blackout shades. We’re glad admin was willing to do the right thing.
We held another get-together back in April. Alan Gross and Megan Dennis planned the event at AFLA on Walnut Street.
We held an election, with Cheryl Leone, Alan Gross, Megan Dennis and Wayne Urffer being reelected by acclamation.
Another round of titles was awarded after the faculty ratified the new language. The awards took a bit longer than anticipated, but that was due to getting the committees together.

And finally, it’s not only the Holiday season but it’s negotiation time as well. The team has met to brainstorm, and will continue to do so.

Chicago Art Institute Foils Union Vote

Faculty at the Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago, voted on union representation December 3 through 5. Unfortunately, the faculty there voted against the union.
Management held mandatory anti-union meetings, had administrators patrolling the hallways, sent out an anti-union DVD and assembled a group of anti union faculty to aggressively pursue individuals who were pro union. Management ran a successful disinformation campaign, stoking fear among the full-time faculty, who are in the minority, that the part-time faculty would take over the union for their own ends and disenfranchise the part-timers.

One would hope the faculty there would wholeheartedly endorse the union campaign, for the chance to have a voice in their work lives, but only 20% of the faculty voted yes.

For more information, see their web site, www.aifacultyunited.org.

Stewards: the Backbone of the Union

Department stewards are the backbone of the union. Stewards serve as the conduit between the union leadership and the members. Stewards carry information down to the members and bring the members’ issues up to the leadership. Stewards are also the primary agents for enforcing the contract at the departmental level.

Don’t know your steward? Stewards are listed HERE. Have an issue that needs to be addressed? See your steward. Stewards should understand the contract, or know someone in the leadership who can answer the question. Stewards can file grievances on issues that violate the contract.

Stewards are invited to the local Executive Board meetings, twice a quarter, and can participate in the discussions to gain a grasp of issues affecting the union. In addition, steward meetings are held once a quarter where the stewards can gather to discuss issues, gain insight into the contract, and just share items in their departments.

Believe it or not, there are some stewards who have never attended one of these meetings. If there are long-standing, unresolved issues in your department, ask you steward if those issues have been brought to the board.

But remember, even the best steward can’t do anything about a problem if s/he doesn’t know about it. That’s why it’s imperative faculty members know the steward in their departments and keep in touch.

One of the tasks stewards have been asked to do is gather home e-mail addresses prior to contract time. Some stewards have them already, but others do not. Please provide your steward with your address when asked.

President’s Corner

Dear Faculty,
Is there a possibility we are not having a Christmas party this year because we will be negotiating a new contract at the beginning of next ? Is administration sending us a message? Other Art Institutes are having their Christmas Party. Why not Philadelphia?

The party was the event that made the AIPH a family. A time where staff, administrators and faculty could enjoy each others company. A time when we ate good food, had a social drink, danced, dressed up, strolled around the room to meet new members of the AiPH family and celebrated in our accomplishments.

Not having the party this year was a loss to many. Several faculty reported that since AiPH couldn’t afford to have a Christmas party they were willing to pay out of their pocket for themselves and a special guest for this event. Faculty understand that cut backs are necessary due to the economy but felt that the Christmas Party was to let everyone know they did a good job.

Whatever the reason is that we are not having the party I know we are all outstanding faculty members and do our jobs well! We care about our students, and our AiPH family. That in itself is a celebration!
I wish all of you happy holidays.

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.