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Your Vote Matters!

February 7, 2008

A Special Meeting was held February 6, 2008 to ratify the newly proposed title language to be added to the contract. The meeting took place at District Counsel Office, 1606 Walnut Street at 4:45 PM.

Although several faculty members attended the meeting, there were not enough in attendance to qualify for a vote. The faculty constitution language does not allow a motion from the floor and vote unless there is a quorum: 10% of the union members.

One more faculty member was required in order to qualify as a quorum.

The vote to ratify the new title language will now have to wait until the 12th week union meeting.  Faculty members are advised to review the language before the meeting so that an informed vote can be cast.

The new language can be found HERE.

To those faculty who took the fifteen minutes to attend Wednesday evening’s meeting, Union President Cheryl Leone and the rest of the Union Executive Board extend their appreciation for their participation.

American Young Ambassadors Program

Dear Colleagues:

Over the weekend I attended the AFL-CIO Conference in Atlantic City. While
there I met a lot of new contacts and learned some of the services our union
provides to our faculty through AFL-CIO. I am expecting a PDF file on new
services provided to you through AFSCME/AFL-CIO

I picked up a newsletter from United Way and found this article and thought
some of you may be interested.

"Youth Leaders Sought for Young Ambassadors Program
The American Young Ambassadors program is a global leadership program for
thirty exceptional U.S. High school students (ages 15-18) who have been
recognized for the work they have accomplished in their communities.

The Youth selected for the program are of significant accomplishment
academically, athletically, and/or through public service efforts in their
community They will represent the United States as Young
Ambassadors-at -Large at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. All
applicants must be U.S. citizens. Visit the AYAL website for complete
program.

I am not sure what the AYAL web site means. Possibly you do. The
newsletter is published by the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania. If
you are interested possibly you can do some research to contact the right
agency.

Cheryl L. Leone, Prof.

Many of you know that Gemma Cretella has worked very hard at trying to
resolve the faculty storage space issue. Committee is being creating and we
need help to resolve this overwhelming charge.

Here are the "Proposed" expectations of members serving on this committee. Faculty Work Space Task Force Proposed Members:

a.. Administration/Staff: Two AD's (one being Donna Daley - Interior
Design); one Asst. AD; Randi Howard
b.. Faculty: One from 1610, 1622 & 2300
a.. Charges:
a.. Review current workspace and storage being utilized by all faculty
b.. Ascertain needs of current faculty
c.. Propose a process for allocating workspace and storage for all
faculty
d.. Recommend layout changes for more effective and efficient
utilization of space
e.. Develop a plan for additional workspaces and storage for new faculty
f.. Propose a process for faculty to request additional space,
relocation, etc.
Like to hear your thoughts and if any of you are interested in serving on
this committee. Contact Cheryl L. Leone

AiPH Granted Middle States Candidacy

If you haven’t heard, The Art Institute of Philadelphia has been granted candidacy status by Middle States. That means we’re headed to regional accreditation. It also means a lot of work over the next few years.

What this does for us is increase our stature. It’s a boon for our graduates, whose degrees will now have more value. We have heard stories of graduates being denied entrance to graduate programs because the schools to which they applied refused to consider their degrees valid because the school was not regionally accredited. Middle States means we’re a college not a trade school.

What won’t happen: Middle States will not magically change course loads or hours of work. Class sizes won’t suddenly shrink. And while MSA is not as strict as ACICS when it comes to degrees, it may still be necessary to hold an advanced degree to teach upper level courses.

The middle states steering committee, chaired by Heather Ramsey and co-chaired by Jay Pastelak, now begins work on the self study. Over five years the committee will look at what we do and how we meet MSA requirements. This will involve input from many people and needs to be faculty-driven. If asked to participate, please consider doing so. The more people who participate the more valid the study and the greater our chances of full acceptance.

Jackie Jackson, steward for the General Education department, has resigned effective the end of fall quarter 2007. Jackie has served her department well in her tenure. She leaves to devote more time to her degree and other projects.

The union conducted a steward election at the Union Fall Quarter meeting, and Jim Schreyer was elected to the position of Gen Ed Steward. Please take the time to congratulate Jim and to thank him for volunteering his time to fill the position.

The steward is the person in the department responsible for serving as liaison between the union leadership and the individual members. Stewards process grievances, poll union member, bring issues to the executive board and generally serve as the leadership’s “eyes and ears” in the department. Stewards are invited to join twice quarterly executive board meetings to present issues from their department. There is also a quarterly steward meeting, where issues and strategies can be shared.

Occasionally the union runs into issues where a faculty member hasn’t gotten the schedule s/he requested. Often, when the schedule request is reviewed, it’s too generous or too vague.

Remember the contract doesn’t mandate that administration grant all schedule requests, but if there are days on which one cannot come in, a “NO” in the appropriate box is required. And if there is a class you really don’t want to teach, state that emphatically. Again, there’s no guarantee that class won’t show up on the schedule, but the more emphatic one is the better the chance of not seeing the subject turn up. A series of emphatic “Noes” can help the union pursue the case if the class keeps showing up.

Finally, keep a copy of the schedule request until the schedule is released. If there are any serious discrepancies—the schedule conflicts with outside work—alert the AD promptly, and copy the appropriate steward.

AFSCME’s International Executive Board voted to endorse Senator Hillary Clinton following an extensive 10-month, member-driven endorsement process—including candidate appearances, interviews and membership polls. The union’s polls show that Senator Clinton enjoys deep support among its members.

“We’ve looked at these candidates closely,” Gerald McEntee, International President, said. “We looked for the candidate who will fight for working families and who has the greatest ability to win, the candidate who will motivate our members to make calls, knock on doors and talk to their co-workers like never before.”

AFSCME plans to spend more than $60 million on the 2008 campaign, and will mobilize a 40,000-member army of volunteers to elect Senator Clinton.

It’s snowing and you really can’t get in to class. But school is open. The contract covers that situation: individual faculty members get to make the determination to take a snow day. Article 13, Section 15 states, “…no faculty member shall be penalized financially or otherwise should inclement weather prevent that person from performing his/her normal duties, provided that person…gives reasonable notification of his/her absence.…” This means individuals do not have to call in sick or use a personal day. All that’s required is a timely call in.

SCHOOL CLOSING NUMBERS:
1044–Day Classes 2044-Evening Classes
Listen to KYW NewsRadio 1060 for announcements or check online at www.kyw1060.com
or on
www.artinstitutes.edu/philadelphia.

If the college is closed due to inclement weather, the message on the college’s switchboard at 215-567-7080 will be changed to include this information.

A number of faculty at the 12th Week Union Meeting asked for Bill Hooper's mailing address: 

Bill Hooper
4729 Cedar
Philadelphia, Pa 19143.

I am sure Bill would appreciate get well cards and or a small note to let him know he is thought of.

October,30, 2007

Massive Miscommunication with the Installation of CS3

A series of unfortunate events lead to miscommunication concerning the installation with the upgrade of Adobe Design Studio CS3.  The tech department had serious issues with labs not able to run the software, thus leaving them unsure of when they would be able to successfully have the labs properly equipped to run the upgrade.  Rumors circulated as to when the upgrade was to be implemented, but no written official announcement was ever given.

When faculty found out that the upgrade was to happen for the Fall Quarter (almost by accident, mind you), it was already 10th week of the Summer Quarter, giving faculty members less than three weeks notice to alter syllabi and lesson plans.  The attitude of the tech department and administration seemed to be that even though the faculty had no knowledge of when the upgrade was to happen, we should have been prepared when given a moments notice. 

Blame for the miscommunication bounced from the tech department to the technology committee to Administration.  Richard Jackson and administration seemed to think that the installation of CS3 on the computer behind Lil in the Education Office at the beginning of the Summer Quarter was sufficient notice and provided adequate training.  The tech department also seems to have the misconstrued notion that faculty workstations are only for email and word processing and does not require any design software the Art Institute possesses.

If there is any positive effects that come from this situation it is that the union has recognized a better communication plan regarding software upgrades needs to be implemented.  Jay Pastelak had met with Ray Becker and is negotiating clear language as to exactly how much notice faculty will have for changes in software, what training will be provided and prompt installation of said software on faculty workstations.  Be assured that the union is working to make sure incidents like this will not reoccur. 

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 will take effect in January 08.  Faculty now will be 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.

The comminication problems surrounding the upgrade to CS3 prompted faculty to share horror stories with their experiences with software upgrades installed in labs without sufficient notice.  There has been incidents were faculty have walked into a computer lab on week one and found the software they were teaching had been upgraded without any notice what so ever. 

There has also been talk of faculty being deprived of reliable, working equipment, and securing computer access in labs needed to teach sections of classes.  Many faculty consider this an inconvenience, find ways to work around problems, and do not take the proper demands to their AD’s or alert the union.  This is counter productive.  By letting ‘little’ problems slide, this sets the stage for larger problems. 

The first person you should take your concerns to is your AD.  If he/she is not aware of a problem they cannot help solve it.  If your AD is uncooperative, then you should alert your department steward or any executive board member of any problems in the classroom.  Reasonable requests should not be ignored by administration.  Not every complaint leads to a grievance nor should any faculty member be afraid of retaliation for demanding the proper equipment/software/computer lab needed to do their jobs.  Many problems can be solved with open and honest communication.

Remember the purpose of the union is not only to protect your rights, but to ensure a safe and productive classroom environment.

After much speculation, Health Care will remain as it is, without changes.  It seems Administration deemed any changes unnecessary and plans will remain the same.

Also note: November is enrollment for Health Care.  Expect packages mailed to your home soon with instructions on how to change health care options or how to retain your current selections.

There are a few personnel changes on the Union Executive Board.  While Bill Hooper recuperates from surgery, Jay Pastelak will serve as Chief Stewart.  Linda Kudzmas will fill Jay’s seat as Vice President at Large until Bill returns.  James Morningstar has stepped down due to business and personal commitments and Brain Dickerson has agreed to serve as Vice President at Large until the next election. 

Faculty wishing to obtain software for training or for courses they currently teach are able to check out software from the library.  Forms for software loans are easily acquired from Richard Jackson and a signature from your AD is required.   The completed form is then presented to the library front desk where faculty will receive a copy of the requested software. Faculty then has seven days to return the software to the library.

Titles Update

Those who declared their intentions to seek an academic title in this first go-around should remember the window for submitting application materials runs from March 9 to April 10. Applicants were notified by letter that the process has changed. The Academic Directors have been removed from the process as the committee felt their participation was unnecessary (not to mention they have enough work) and some ADs had reservations about having their advice misinterpreted by their faculty.

Individuals are free to discuss their applications with their ADs, but titles materials should be presented directly to the committee through Michael Alleruzzo, Director of Training and Development, located on the second floor of 1622.

Expect a number of revisions to the titles policy as a result of this experience. The Academic Directors’ participation seems unnecessary, and while there probably won’t be any kind of “pro forma” application for future years this experience will give the Promotions Committee some basis for sound advice thanks to the “pioneers” participating in the program this first time out.

It should be noted that 61 individuals have submitted their intention to seek a title. That’s something over one-third of the total faculty, a pretty good showing for the first time.
It’s expected that titles will be granted initially in July and the next round will begin as stated in the document in October. Between July and August appeals will be heard; hopefully everyone will qualify and this step will be unnecessary.

Read the titles document.

City-poisoned rats crawled into 1622 Chestnut and died this quarter, rendering the basement largely unusable for two weeks. That, of course, didn’t keep the basement from being used, it just made teaching (and learning) merely intolerable.

Davio’s dumpster is drawing the rats. A complaint to the city led to the city putting out poison. Rats eat the poison, then crawl into our walls to die. The problem was complicated by the power outage in week seven; the generator brought in spewed diesel exhaust so the air handlers couldn’t bring in fresh air.

Faculty members were allowed to reschedule classes to other available classrooms, but the school made no public comment. The odor permeated the 1622 lobby. It’s not like no one noticed. We hope there’s no next time but if there is we suggest the school be more proactive in communicating with the school community.

When was the last time you looked in your personnel file? What you find there might surprise you.

Recently, a faculty member preparing his title application found documentation from a resolved grievance stored there. While this is unusual (and the school has agreed to remove the grievance materials) it’s a reminder that mistakes sometimes happen so It’s a good idea to review your file periodically.

All faculty members have the right to look at the contents of their files as described in Article 35, Personnel Records. You only have to make an appointment prior to the review. You may also have anything of interest copied for you by the school.

Keep in mind that the school has a right to keep other files, in the AD’s office as well as the Dean of Academic Affairs, and you don’t have a right to look at those files. But the personnel file is the big kahuna. You also have the right to insert rebuttals or other commentary.

Small student-teacher ratios are good for education while large ratios are good for profit. But really tiny sections—two or three—aren’t good in either case. So we batch.

The union agreed to allow different subjects to be combined in one class (batching) to save the ironically now-defunct illustration program. Management agreed to allow the union to approve batches. If the union withheld it’s approval, the classes would be made into separate sections.

We have more batches this quarter than ever. And the numbers aren’t small, either. Combinations like 21 and 2 or 19 and 1 are routine.

Granted, it makes no sense to run a section of one or two. And yes, a section is allowed to go as high as 26. But teaching two different subject to two different groups is not an easy thing. So a large section of batched subjects can be unmanageable. Students in one or the other section could legitimately complain about a lack of instructional time. What if a student in a batched section asks for a refund? Legally, he may be entitled.

The union makes its decision based on the faculty member’s response. If you have too large a section in a batch, you have the right to say no. There is no consequence to denying a batch, it actually may make a class for someone else to teach.

Last January’s union anniversary party and winter siree at Bistro San Tropez was a rousing success. About 40 faculty members gathered for drinks, snacks and conversation to celebrate the union’s turning 20.

Attending the event was union founder Larry Palmer. Larry began working on the union back in 1985 with a small cadre of co-workers after attempts to solve myriad problems internally were rebuffed by management. Larry served as president and chief negotiator in that first contract, negotiated from the fall of 1986 to the spring of 1987. Larry stepped down from the union presidency in 1988, and left the Art Institute a year later to run a real estate development company in Valley Forge.

20 years and a number of contracts later Larry’s creation is going strong, with a big celebration this past winter.

[In the conversation about management’s proposed changes in the health care package, part of the discussion has been about reducing the waive credit offered to those full-timers who choose not to participate in the plan. What follows is one opinion.]

Health care benefits are offered as a package to all new employees. Every employee has the option to participate in a health care plan. The waive credit is part of a benefit offered with employment. To reduce this benefit is to reduce a particular amount in a faculty member’s paycheck.

Looking at the cost of the family plan, an employee who opts out of the health care plan saves the Company $233.81 per month ($470.17 employer contribution for family – $236.33 waive credit) . Think how much it would cost the company if all employees enrolled in the family plan or single plan.

Health care is part of an employee’s earnings. When the union negotiates with the company the company comes to the table with so much money. The company doesn’t care how it is divided as long as it is the amount they planned to spend.

Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman-Sach’s CEO, received $54.3 million in salary and bonuses last year, plus benefits. If the Company wants to “help families” perhaps Lloyd Blankfein ought to pony up. There’s nothing in the contract that prevents the employer from contributing more to the health care pot.

Think about this: a faculty member is hired and earns $32.00 per hour, is married with two children and a spouse who earns less than $12.00 per hour. The spouse has a better health care plan so the faculty member opts out of our plan and receives the $236.33 each month. Is it fair to this faculty member who has accepted the terms of employment to lose the benefit, causing his/her family to suffer, because s/he depended on this additional income?

So management wants us to accept the same health plan as the other Ai schools. The rationale is that, because those here who take the family plan pay on average $75.00 per month more than Ai faculty nationwide, if everyone pays something those who take the most expensive care can pay less. It sounds all nice and egalitarian but the question is why? What’s in this for management to make this suggestion?

It’s interesting to note that staff and management receive the same benefit monies as the faculty. Could it be that the motivation to adjust the cost structure comes from the fact that the benefit structure here may make it more difficult to hire young administrative and staff personnel?

Management says it’s not interested in reducing its contribution to the health care pot. But by accepting the same benefit structure of the other Ai schools we’d be allowing that to happen since the company contribution at the other Ai schools is around 63% while here it’s closer to 70%. And if the goal was simply to reduce the cost to families, management could simply put more in the pot for families. There’s an egalitarian gesture, but you’ll probably not see it since health care is rising at three times the rate of inflation. You can’t blame management from wanting some relief from a constantly escalating cost.

So they want the costs shifted to us. The cost doesn’t go away, we just gore a different ox and maybe no one will notice the blood. Or maybe that’s not the thought; maybe we’re just cynical. But it’d be nice to know what prompted management to put this on the table.

Federation Election Held in June, Pastelak Wins by 3 Votes!

The election is over. And unlike most other years where the president was elected by acclamation, we actually had an election when Karen Girton-Snyder challenged Jay Pastelak for the presidency of the union. Jay won by only three votes of the 81 ballots cast.

In the other races, Cheryl Leone was re-elected Executive Vice President, Judy McAnulla was elected Secretary and Linda Kudzmas, Cherie Haines and Dan D'Angelo were all elected as Vice Presidents at Large. Bill Hooper and Wayne Urffer are the Chief Steward and Treasurer respectively. There was no election for those positions as there were no challengers.

At the end of spring quarter a faculty member informed his AD that he would be taking personal time during the first week of the summer quarter to care for his children. The employee was subsequently called back into the AD's office and told he would not be allowed to take personal time.

Even though the contract does not provide management with any explicit right to deny personal time to an individual who requests it, management felt justified in denying the time to this faculty member. The argument: that the time was anticipated and therefore fell outside the definition of personal time. We believe the denial was based on the fact that the time was requested during week one of the quarter.

But if the administration has the right to deny personal time, what would prevent the administration from denying an individual sick time? Would the school insist an instructor come in to teach if he/she were ill? And if not, why should an individual who has a pressing need, anticipated or not, be required to deny that need so he can shuck and jive for management? [Incidentally, the language at the end of the section on personal time says it should be used for "...personal business that cannot be scheduled outside of a faculty members assigned teaching schedule or could not be anticipated," (italics added) meaning that the personal business might be anticipated but cannot be rescheduled.]

We believe administration has far over stepped its privilege in this instance. The fact is, there is no specific right of approval granted to management in the contract. In fact, there is no mandate for a faculty member taking personal time to divulge the nature of the need for the time. And so we offer the following:

• Personal time belongs to faculty members to use at their discretion provided the faculty member has the time coming (hasn't already used the time allotted). No one who has the time available can be denied.
• Faculty members are advised not to divulge the nature of the need for the time. If asked, the reply should be that the nature is personal and leave it at that.

Anyone who might have been denied personal time in the past is asked to contact his union representative.

The contract requires administration to set aside a pool of $20,000 for faculty to attend seminars and other professional developmental activities. The maximum amount allowed is $2,500 per event and the money is to be distributed on a "first-come, first-served" basis.

Wow, what a mistake—not that we did it but how we determined the distribution. People began lining up for the money (which was allocated in June, at the end of spring quarter) at 5:30 in the morning! One faculty member who was there described it as lining up for concert tickets.

When we negotiated this benefit last spring, the previous $10,000 pool had never been exhausted, so we thought that doubling the pool and making the pool school wide would work for everyone. We were surprised when the money went quickly last June and even more surprised at this quarter's turn of events.

Needless to say, we have to revise the system as well as increase the amount of the pool. A number of ideas have been floated, including returning the money to the the departments and allotting it on a quarterly basis. The executive board is discussing the issue and it's been broached with administration who agreed the process needs to be changed, including increasing the amount in the pool. But don't expect it to change before next year. Both parties are cool to reopening the contract and renegotiating the benefit since any re opener has the potential to put other unrelated issues on the table as well.

It was decided by the membership, and agreed upon by administration, that the union would present an award to a graduating senior in memory of faculty members Ralph Malatesta and Bob Arufo. The award will be for $250.00. Wayne Urffer will construct a plaque on which the student's name will be engraved and the plaque will hang in the school.

Students will apply for the award and a faculty committee will make the determination. The union president or his designee will make the presentation.

Karen Girton-Snyder has agreed to chair the review committee. Please help Karen and her committee publicize the award to graduates.

OK, we know this is difficult to hear, but you can't end your class early without opening yourself up to disciplinary action. We know, we know: technology doesn't work, students don't show up, students seem to really like being dismissed early (heck, some of them dismiss themselves early on a regular basis).

We don't believe there has been widespread abuse but lately administration has been on a tear about this, checking classrooms to see if class is still in session. Night classes seem particularly targeted. Now, administration has the right to set class times and we, because we're paid to be there, have the obligation to be in class. And, as juvenile and demeaning as it feels, they do have the right to check on us.

Obviously the parties will have to discuss what might constitute an appropriate early dismissal of class—if all the students leave of their own volition, are we still obliged to sit in the empty room—but unless something happens to force the issue that's for the next contract in 2006. The best advice we can give at this point is, if your class is in diaspora, leave a note on the board stating where you can be found or where the class is supposed to be. Stay in the building and keep yourself available.

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