A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Margaret West's being told she would no longer be offered classes at the college where she has taught for twenty-one years. I should also mention that another adjunct faculty member, Brent Todd, was given the same message from the same dean at the same school and there is some indication that there might be others. Several people have responded to the post, both here and on other web sites, so I thought I'd give an update and respond to a couple of the responses. As you will see a good deal has happened since I last wrote about this.

Jeanette Nodorft asked on the original post, "What can the union do for this member?" One answer to that question is to talk about what "the union" has done.  Since Margaret's firing, AFT Washington has worked with the local union to file:

• a grievance on past practice in relation to deciding who get classes;
• an unfair labor practice relating to the firing/release/non-rehire of a union president;
• a grievance on age discrimination since both Margaret and Brent are over 60; and,
• a complaint with the state human rights commission and the EEOC on age discrimination;

In addition, Edmonds Community College has been chastised by the president of the state labor council and the Washington Education Association board of directors passed a motion asking Edmonds to reconsider the action.  All of this activity and attention has also resulted in several legislators and the Governor's office beginning to look into the situation.  So the first answer is to say that the union can do plenty . . . and has.

However, to really understand the answer to this question, I submit that we have to understand that we, Margaret's colleagues, are the union. Yes, we pay dues that cover the costs of being organized - from paying salaries to staff so that they can dedicate more of their time doing the work that we are too busy to do, to covering the expenses of having a central office so we have somewhere to go when we need support.
 
But the real work of the union is done by us, the members, and that is where our true power lies. In Margaret and Brent's case, for example, members of AFT Washington are sending e-mail and letters to the president, vice president of instruction, and the dean who made the decision to let them know how outraged we are. If any FACE Talk readers would like to join us, the contact information is:

• Jack Oharah, President of Edmonds Community College: joharah@edcc.edu
• Marty Cavalluzzi, Vice President of Instruction: marty.cavalluzzi@edcc.edu
• Joan Penney, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences:  joan.penney@edcc.edu

We are asking those that contact ECC administrators to focus in on these main points:

• Part-time faculty with years of loyal service to a college and their students deserve the dignity of due process and just cause, even if they aren't specified in the agreement.
• Removing a part-time faculty member from his or her position without just cause perpetuates a culture of insecurity and intimidates other part-timers who want to get involved in faculty leadership or speak honestly about their opinions of college governance issues.
• Removing a part-time faculty member from his or her position without just cause creates tension among faculty and runs counter to the culture of collegiality.
• The dismissal of a union's local president without cause appears on its face to be unfair to labor.

We also have several members who are ready to show our support in an "informational picket."  Our strength lies in our numbers. Paying our dues is one thing, being willing to stand together is much more effective.

Both Barry Edwards and Jack Longmate pointed out in comments on my original post that this is another example of the importance of bargaining job security for part-time faculty, and of course they are absolutely correct. Margaret and Todd are two examples of an injustice that occurs to part-timers across the country. In fact, a writer at another blog asked why we were making such a big deal out of this case when the same thing happens to many contingent faculty members. Quite frankly, part of the answer is that their union activity seems to be one of the factors in their losing their jobs and we want to stop the colleges from using these kinds of intimidation tactics.

Another part of the answer is that, because Margaret and Todd are active in the union, they knew where to go for support. Too many part-time faculty view the union as either the enemy or some distant organization that won't help them. Too many of us suffer quietly and alone because we don't fully understand what a union is.

We need to quit waiting for others to fix things for us, roll up our sleeves, and start getting involved. We need to stand together, not only for Margaret and Todd, but for all of us, and for ourselves.  I hope you will all join us in this fight for Margaret, Todd, and all contingent faculty.