Dear UFCT Member:  I am pleased to announce that the UFCT has scheduled two General Membership Meetings for the fall 2010 semester. These meetings are open to all dues paying union members. [Agency fee payers are not permitted to attend!]  Both meetings will be open forums dedicated to discussing our upcoming spring 2011 negotiations. The current 2007-2011 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is due to expire on August 31, 2011. We would like to call for negotiations to begin six months prior to the CBA’s expiration.  Note the times and location for both meetings (both meetings will be catered):
Monday November 22nd
12:30pm-2pm
Alumni Reading Room
Wednesday December 8th
5pm-6:30pm
Alumni Reading Room  As each meeting will be catered, please RSVP ASAP (kyecarbone@gmail.com; 718-636-3614).  In Solidarity,  Kye
Meeting Notes (November 22, 2010)
At least fifty faculty attended the November 22 meeting. Kye Carbone reported that 210 petitions were delivered to the administration in support of obtaining a 50% buy-in for adjuncts’ health benefits, in addition to explaining the history of this issue (the joint union-administration committee on the Visiting status), and the gradual shrinking of the number of Visiting faculty vis a vis the Adjunct/Full-time status. Pratt’s faculty is currently composed of 130 FT, 325 Adjunct, and 430 Visitors, marking great progress over the past 6-7 years, when the Visiting category had ballooned. Next, he began to cover issues related to the upcoming negotiation, beginning with salary, and emphasizing that the Union can only negotiate minima (floors), and that it is to the benefit of the whole faculty when a new faculty member’s salary raises the bar. He also addressed workload. Topics from the floor included raising minima for PT faculty, the FT/PT faculty ratio, and the procedures for insuring that members’ have a voice in the preparation for negotiations. Kye assured those present that there will be weekly open meetings in Spring 2011 to allow faculty to voice their desires and concerns.
Please try to attend the December 8 Meeting, 5-6:30, Alumni Reading Room (Pratt Library). RSVP keycarbone@gmail.com, or 718-636-3614.