AAUP Executive Board meeting, Wednesday 21 October 2016, 3:30-5:20pm, (ATG) conference room 406, University of Washington, Seattle.  Dial in: 206-315-1785 (code 609912#, UW Global Net)

STRATEGIC PLANNING PLANKS

1.          Improve conditions for lecturer faculty at the UW

2.          Engage in advocating for better higher ed funding in Washington State; work in coalition with other stakeholders.

3.          Faculty Senate Resolution to get faculty representatives on search committees for deans, provosts Board of Regents faculty representation

4.          Partner with other universities for appeals to the legislature

5.          Faculty unionization

6.          Work to repair the UWÕs faculty grievance adjudication system

7.          Build faculty understanding of ÒActivity Based Budgeting

8.          Involve the AAUP in the Faculty CouncilÕs committee on intellectual property.

9.          Work to increase the capacity of faculty to provide better oversight to unpaid internships.

10.       Examine the shared governance issues associated with the UWÕs move towards an on-line learning undergraduate degree completion program.

11.       Monitor search process for open University administrative positions to ensure they are open.

Attendance: Amy Hagopian/secretary, Diane Morrison, Jay Johnson, Bruce Kochis, Eva Cherniavsky, Hwasook Nam, Jim Gregory, Michael Honey, Libi Sundermann, Jim Liner (phone), Rob Wood/past-president, Max Lieblich, Abraham Flaxman/List server VP.

Absent: Bert Stover/treasurer, Charlie Collins, Duane Storti, Christoph Giebel, Ann Mescher, Dan Jacoby/president.

Guest: Jim Bakken, AAUP Pacific Northwest Lead Organizer

1.     Introductions*

2.     Announcements:

a.     Upcoming meeting schedule: Nov. 17 (ATG-406), Dec. 15 in UW Club (Rob will be gone), and RETREAT Jan 13, 9:30 to 3:30 pm (needs a location; Rob will look). At the retreat, we will update our strategic plan priorities. Should we invite the membership to this meeting? Amy will ask Peter House to facilitate again, as he did four years ago.

b.     Invitation: SEIU Faculty Forward Nov. 19 conference at UW Tacoma William W. Philip Hall (WPH), 9 to noon, for all paid members. From 1 to 4, there will be a symposium on lecturer issues as well, same location. The symposium is open to all.

3.     Welcome Jim Bakken, AAUP Pacific Northwest Lead Organizer

a.     Bio: He started organizing with unions in 1999, went through the AFL/CIO union organizing program, where he was sponsored by AFSCME in Indiana. Went to work for UFCW retail local in Chicago for five years, where he served as director during the latter half of his tenure there. Then to AFT in Illinois for several years, then moved to AFT in Wisconsin, where he worked to win faculty rights in the U Wisconsin system. They won rights in 2009, and then suddenly lost them in 2011 when Scott Walker became governor. At that UW he organized a number of campuses, and led a drive at UW Eau Claire. Things in Wisconsin went sour in relation to unionizing, so he and his wife (who is also a union organizer) moved to Oregon, where he went to work for SEIU 503, public sector/home care/childcare workers.

4.     Do we want an AAUP Regents Watch this year? Next meetings TH Nov. 10 in the HUB 334 [Rob will attend], then TH Dec. 8 in the Petersen Room of the Allen Library. Sign up to speak here: https://www.washington.edu/regents/meetings-information/request-to-provide-public-comment/

a.     ÒWatchÓ duties include speaking at the meeting (sign up in advance), then post a short report on what you observed at the meeting on the AAUP list server.

b.     The Regents whose terms are up this year (September) are William Ayer [Alaska Airlines], and Pat Shanahan [Boeing].

5.     Amy and Jay attended a higher ed policy makers gathering at the home of Gerry Pollet on 9/25/2016. They reported on the value of this informal gathering of people who think about higher ed state policy.

a.     Bill Lyne, chair of United Faculty of Washington, mentioned in a sidebar his interest in floating a legislative initiative to encourage state universities to establish tenure lines by creating a Òmatching program.Ó Also, we would like to take him up on his offer to do some co-lobbying. ACTION: Amy was encouraged to follow up with Bill to find out more and how we could help.

b.     Amy will announce the ÒStarving the BeastÓ film to be hosted by the UW Alumni Association, Dec. 5 (7-9 pm), Kane Hall, on the AAUP list server. ACTION: done.

c.     Bruce Kochis is assigning his students to follow particular higher ed bills in the legislature this year; we can let him know which bills weÕd like to track.

d.     Bill Lyne was reported to be open to revising the university faculty collective bargaining legislation to allow organizing at the school or campus level, as long as itÕs not dividing faculty by rank. Jim Bakken can explore the topic too. We can see if Seaquist might be interested in this, too (if he gets elected). WFT and WEA were integrally involved last time the legislature considered this topic. One of the unions has to own it, pay for it, write the bill and work it, and the various stakeholder unions need to agree. Then the Faculty Senate would have to weigh in, which could be tricky. There is an existing Class C resolution supporting the existing Òone big unionÓ legislation. The UW lobbyist, of course, will oppose. No bill exists yet as far as we know.

DECISION/ACTION: Amy will reach out to the relevant union parties to check the appetite on revising the collective bargaining legislation. Diane will check on AFTÕs views on this.

 

6.     Faculty Senate issues (standing list)

a.     Draft executive order 64 (to supersede the last one) was announced and is awaiting the comment period, after which it will become the UWÕs the salary policy

                                               i.     There is concern there has been little discussion of this policy change, although technically it was circulated with the Faculty minutes by Mike Townsend (law, new Faculty Senate secretary). It was appreciated that previous Executive Orders have been virtually secret.

                                             ii.     The Senate can object and ask for changes.

b.     What ever happened with the Dental School bailout plan?

                                               i.     The Dental Faculty Council voted against the bailout plan, yet it seems to have been approved without any concern about that. The debt has grown from $29 million to $32 million. Dean Joel Berg remains in office.

ACTION: Rob will follow up with the Dental Faculty Council.

           

Not discussed this time: Salary Policy, FCFA Work on Lecturers, Fee-based masterÕs students, Research Misconduct policy, ABB survey

7.     AAUP/SEIU/United Faculty relations

a.     AAUP and SEIU relationship

We recapped some of the history and discussed possible ways forward.

12/11/2014 AAUP board meeting with SEIU and Dawn Tefft of AAUP; Dan & Amy have lunch with Bill Lyne

1/2015 We start ÒprobeÓ meetings with fellow faculty to explore attitudes towards unionization

2/3/2015 Michael Young resigns UW presidency

3/25/2015, AAUP executive board adopts motion: ÒThe UW chapter of the AAUP supports partnering with SEIU in a campaign to form a faculty union at the UW." We start collecting PERC cards

10/13/2015, Ana Mari Cauce becomes the 33rd president of the UW

11/2015? Faculty Excellence forms

2015-2016 various events and forums are held, card gathering stalls

Spring 2016 we form a voluntary union; bylaws discussions; Faculty salary policy endorsed by the Faculty Senate fails

Nov. 19, 2016 Faculty Forward founding meeting scheduled

Jim Bakken said AAUP encourages advocacy chapters to behave like unions even if they donÕt have formal collective bargaining. They can negotiate agreements even absent the legal authority. We recapped our interest in having formal relationship between AAUP and SEIU.

 

SEIU Starter list of issues: lecturer status, race/equity, Regents appointments, funding & tuition, workload/working conditions, and Òuniversity in communityÓ (transportation, housing, childcare)

 

8.     Housekeeping, reports & other business:

a.     Regents Watch assignments: Nov 10 HUB 334 Ð Rob Wood

WHO WILL DO Dec 8 Petersen Room, Allen Library? (may be canceled)

b.     TreasurerÕs report (Bert wasnÕt present to report)

 

*Board membership in 2015/2016 includes: Christoph Giebel, Michael Honey, Jay Johnson, Bruce Kochis, Max Lieblich, Ann Mescher, Diane Morrison, Duane Storti, and Libi Sundermann. Five new board members join us: Hwasook Nam, Charlie Collins, James Liner, Eva Cherniavsky, and Jim Gregory. Officers are Dan Jacoby/president, Amy Hagopian/secretary, Bert Stover/treasurer, Abraham Flaxman/VP for mailing list, and Rob Wood/past-president.

AAUP Meeting schedule 2015/2016 (3:30 pm to 5 pm)


Next meetings: Nov. 17 (ATG406); December 15, UW Club; Retreat on Friday Jan 13, 9:30 to 3:30 pm (where?)

Faculty Senate meetings:10/20, 12/1, 1/26, 3/2, 4/20, 5/18