The
OFT kicked off a new organizing drive at the University of Cincinnati
on Monday and today (October 30th) will be pressuring legislators
to support legislation giving part-time/adjunct faculty and graduate
employees the right to organize. Release for today's events
are below.
PRESS
ADVISORY
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Darold Johnson - (614) 309-3762
djohnson@oft-aft.org
Faculty,
Legislators and Union Leaders
to Hold Press Briefing at State House on October 30th
OFT Calls for Action on Legislation Granting Collective
Bargaining Rights to Adjunct Professors and Graduate Employees
Columbus—At
9:30 am on Thursday, October 30, The Ohio Federation of Teacher,
AFT, AFL-CIO will host a press briefing in Room 311 of the State
House. The event will feature a wide array of adjunct faculty
members, graduate employees and state legislators. All will
be available for interviews.
During the briefing, OFT will call for fairness and equity in the
treatment of the state’s adjunct professors and graduate employees.
It will also call for action on legislation which would grant these
workers the same collective bargaining rights that are afforded
to Ohio’s full-time professors. The legislation, known as
HB 249 was introduced in the House earlier this year by Rep. Fred
Strahorn. A companion bill in the Senate chamber will be introduced
later this week by Sen. Eric Fingerhut.
“Ohio colleges and universities rely more and more on adjunct
faculty and graduate employees to teach the majority of courses.
But, the extremely low pay, the lack of health insurance and the
unprofessional working conditions are unacceptable. The only
reason the institutions get away with this is because these employees
are not organized. That must change,” said Tom Mooney
who is vice president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
and president of AFT’s state affiliate, the Ohio Federation
of Teachers (OFT).
OFT is already organizing adjunct faculty at the University of Cincinnati.
It is also organizing graduate employees at Ohio State University.
Ohio’s public institutions of higher education may recognize
unions representing adjunct faculty and graduate employees.
Under existing state law, however, they are not required to do so.
==================================
WHAT:
Press Briefing on legislation granting thousands of Ohio part-time
professors and graduate employees collective bargaining rights
WHO:
Tom Mooney, President OFT
Sen. Eric Fingerhut (D-Cleveland)
State Representative Fred Strahorn (D-Dayton)
Marian Lupo and Owen Thomas, Adjunct Professors (Columbus State)
Dr. Roland Heyne, Adjunct Professor (University of Cincinnati)
Alistair Fraser, Teaching Assistant in Geography (Ohio State University)
Howard Konicov, University of Cincinnati Coordinator of Part-time
Faculty
WHEN:
October 29, 2003 – 9:30 am
WHERE:
Room 311, State House
==================================
“I introduced HB 249, because Ohio is the only state in the
country that provides bargaining rights to full-time faculty and
not to part-time faculty,” said State Representative Fred
Strahorn. “With other Big Ten schools allowing part-time
faculty the right to bargaining collectively, Ohio is at risk of
losing talented faculty members.”
“Our graduate students and part time faculty are a critical
part of the success of higher education in Ohio. This bill will
enable them to work together to raise the standards at all of our
institutions,” added Sen. Eric Fingerhut.
Earlier this week, the University of Cincinnati Adjunct Faculty
Association—an affiliate of OFT/AFT/AFL-CIO—launched
a major drive to obtain signed “collective bargaining authorization”
cards from more than 1,400 U.C. adjunct faculty members. If
successful, U.C. adjuncts would be the first in the state to unionize.
The events at U.C. and the State Legislature coincide with the international
observance of “Campus Equity Week.” During Campus Equity
Week 2003, which is scheduled for Oct. 27 – 31, union members
at colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada
will shed light on the important work and continuing struggles of
graduate employees and adjunct faculty. For information on
AFT’s Campus Equity Week 2003 events in the U.S., visit www.aft.org
or contact Jaime Zapata at (202) 879-4458.
The AFT represents over 125,000 college and university faculty nationwide—more
than any other union. The figure includes more than 50,000
adjunct faculty and 15,000 graduate employees.
The AFT represents more than 1.2 million pre-K through 12th-grade
teachers, paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel,
higher education faculty, nurses, healthcare workers, and federal,
state and local government employees.
_____________________________________
Craig P. Smith
Assistant Director
T: 202-879-4559
F: 202-393-6386
E: csmith@aft.org
AFT Higher Education
A division of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
555 New Jersey Ave. NW
Washington DC 20001
202/879-4400
www.aft.org/higher_ed/
Contact:
See article above