Spring 2018
Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to the Spring Stated Meeting of the Faculty. I'm glad that you could come.
I'd like to call on Professor Laura Rabin, who will provide a report from the Committee on Review.
Standing Committee on Review
Professor Laura Rabin gave the report on behalf of the Committee on Review. She stated that the committee had reviewed the minutes of the meetings of the Faculty Council and found them to be in order.
Thank you, Laura. And now I'd like to ask Professor James Davis to give remarks from the PSC.
Remarks Professor James Davis, PSC-CUNY Chapter Chair, Brooklyn College
Thank you and good afternoon. Negotiations for our next contract began last Wednesday, and as you know the union has an ambitious bargaining agenda. The demands for full-time faculty, adjunct faculty, and the professional staff titles remain ambitious despite the ill winds blowing from Washington and Albany. Our contract campaign begins as the Supreme Court prepares to deprive public sector unions of the right to charge agency fees, also known as fair-share fees, to everyone they represent. It begins as the governor proposes to underfund CUNY's senior colleges in his Executive Budget. And it begins amid uncertainty about who our next chancellor will be. Nevertheless, there is cause for optimism.
Whatever happens in the Supreme Court, the PSC will emerge from the Janus v. AFSCME decision a stronger union. Yes, the union will lose some revenue with the loss of agency fees. And of course, the PSC has been working to contain that loss. On the other hand, new members are joining every week, as people learn about the Supreme Court case. They may not otherwise have been approached or considered the value of union membership or the political context in which their union operates. This could be a net gain, in other words, and as we saw recently with the West Virginia teachers, even being prohibited from collective bargaining does not mean being deprived of the collective power of organizing on behalf of one’s professional interests.
Another cause for optimism is the teaching load reduction. The teaching load reduction, first of all, is not a workload reduction. It is, however, a redistribution of our workload, and in my view it's one of the best things that's happened for CUNY students and faculty in recent memory. We will not feel its full force initially. It will be phased in so the university doesn't incur the full, immediate cost of replacing so much teaching power. So next year, full-time professorial titles are expected to teach 20 hours; then 19 hours the following year; and 18 hours in the academic year starting fall 2020, and 18 every subsequent year. Every year thereafter. This is the value of the teaching load reduction: that we can now recruit job candidates to a college whose teaching load is 18 hours per year; that we can do our current jobs—mentoring students, pursuing our research agendas and creative endeavors, developing curricula, and serving on the committees that keep the college running—enabled now by a teaching load that aligns with our peer institutions. This is a huge achievement; it couldn't have happened without the advocacy of many people in this room, including department chairs and President Anderson.
It also shows us that major breakthroughs are possible even in a context of scarcity. We should not be deterred from naming what we need to do our work effectively and serve our students well. CUNY is not in handout mode, and yet in the last contract, they recognized that the teaching load reduction was legitimate and broadly supported by the faculty. We have to remember that lesson as we enter another contract campaign. The bargaining agenda includes big-ticket items that may seem outlandish, but only if we accept the inevitability of scarcity from Albany. Our adjunct faculty deserve $7,000 per course at CUNY; our college lab technicians deserve higher salaries; our students deserve more full-timers and academic advisors to support them to graduation. How can you help to make these and other bold demands a reality? First and foremost, contact your state Senate and Assembly members. Their budgets will compete in the next few weeks with the governor's Executive Budget. The PSC represents nearly 30,000 faculty and staff, so our elected officials in Albany should receive 30,000 calls and e-mails this spring underscoring the need to fully fund CUNY's senior colleges.
Thank you.
President Anderson's Address
Today I will share with you a video and Powerpoint slideshow (pdf) to visually present the latest pertinent information regarding the college's Strategic Plan.
I wish all of you a successful semester.
Brooklyn College Stated Meeting 2018
