Dear Union Member, I am sincerely hoping that all of you and yours are safe & healthy in these trying times. These last two-three months have been both surreal & stressful, and the uncertainty that lies ahead only exacerbates the underlying dread & anxiety. On a personal note, my wife & I have been comfortably ensconced in our upstate schoolhouse since early March, which although idyllic wasn’t enough to shield my wife from the overwhelming anguish of having to countenance

Dear Faculty Union Member, This Friday, November 3rd, is our “ARPT Forum” — 22 attendees are confirmed, and there’s 8 spots left! (ARPT is “Appointments, Reappointments, Promotion, and Tenure”). It will be at Da Ciro, on Myrtle, from 4:30-7pm. Join us to hear from faculty panelists about their departmental standards and criteria, recent developments, and best practices. Share what’s going on in your department, and learn how to strengthen this essential, faculty-driven proc

Dear Member: If you are receiving this email you are a dues-paying UFCT Local 1460 member. Greetings, I hope this email communique finds all well as we immerse ourselves in the 2017-18 AY — the second year of the current 5-yr Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). As some of you know, I was away on sabbatical leave for SPR’17 — my second BTW, which leads me to remind all FT tenured and Adj CCE faculty to please avail yourself of this hard-fought-for-and-maintained faculty ben

During Spring semester 2017, a committee of 18 faculty from across all five schools met to discuss the possibility of transitioning the ARPT (Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure) process from paper to a digital tool. In our first meeting, we discussed the specific needs our departmental PRCs (Peer Review Committees) had, what features a digital tool would need to have, and what challenges we might anticipate. You can read minutes from that first meeting below.

Quick-turnaround grants of up to $250 are available now on a rolling basis to Faculty-led, spontaneous responses to current events. Bring a speaker, host a workshop, create a pamphlet, plan a screening, etc. All faculty are eligible (full- and part-time, adjunct and visitor) and collaborations with students and/or staff are welcome. Email a brief proposal along with a basic budget to pfu.feaf@gmail.com. Coordinated by Darini Nicholas, Erum Nagvi, and Anna Moschovakis.

Email from Kye to Membership, December 12, 2014 —————— Dear Concerned Members, W/respect to the ‘extreme’ Cigna cost increases being imposed on Pratt faculty, please read the attached grievance statement as filed on 12/10/14. The UFCT Local 1460 is determined to pursue arbitration if the Administration’s response to the attached formal grievance statement is less than satisfactory. Warm Regards, -Kye MEMORANDUM TO: Peter Barna, Provost FROM: Kye

Email from Kye to Membership, November 24, 2014 Dear Members, (There are four parts to this email, from bottom-up: (1) HR’s open-enrollment announcement, (2) UFCT VP: Emily Beall’s response to delegates, (3) my latest letter to HR Director Tom Greene, and (4) what follows, my email to members which hopefully goes some distance in explaining the matter of Cigna’s drastic cost-increases…) Many of you are rightfully concerned about what are from any objective stand-point, exorbi

We will hold a General [Union] Membership Meeting on Thursday, November 14th from 5:00 to 7:00 in the Alumni Reading Room [3rd floor, Brooklyn Library]. The single topic for discussion will be: ‘Equity’ & ‘Parity’, in particular, for Part-Time Faculty… What is meant by equity? What is meant by parity? How do we get there if at all? Please bring your ideas and questions to this open-discussion, as this is a ‘global’ issue affecting faculty across higher-ed and the nation. Over

Union Delegates will meet on Wednesday, October 2nd from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in South Hall Room 105. Food will be served for vegetarians and omnivores alike. This meeting is for Union Delegates only and is not a general membership meeting. Feeling excluded? Find out how to be a Delegate here. Wondering what the Delegates Assembly is? You can find out more here.

For many years now, Pratt’s Faculty Union has been holding ARPT Forums to help members better understand our rights in regards to appointment, reappointments, promotion, and tenure. Functioning departmental peer committees are essential to the establishment and protection of these rights, and past ARPT Forums have served to motivate and inform members about their responsibility to maintain healthy peer committees across the Institute. Whether you are a veteran unionist or a n

Dear UFCT Members: It is hard to believe that this semester’s end is upon us! Seems like yesterday that we started the semester w/a bang; sixty UFCT members in attendance for a highly successful ARPT Forum, and on the heels of a newly ratified Contract! Naively I thought we would be able to savor such successes… but, to quote John Lennon: “Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans.” … In any event, I had initially planned on having at least two ‘General

Here is an enlightening article from Bloomberg Business Week that demonstrates that “employment of administrators jumped 60 percent from 1993 to 2009, 10 times the growth rate of tenured faculty.” Here is the link.

Proposal for the next UFCT Forum put forth by Emily Beall and Chris Jensen Beyond the Contract: Fostering Union Dialogue and Action In early September, UFCT members participated in a very successful ARPT forum. In addition to learning about our rights and responsibilities in the faculty ARPT process, members also began some important discussions on a range of matters, especially about what is happening “on the ground” from department to department. In order to continue these

…at a Board of Trustees meeting to protest salary proposals that would actually add up to pay cuts! The Pratt Faculty Union supports our Ohio brethren in their fight for fair treatment. Here is a link to the story.

Dear colleague, As mentioned at Friday’s event, the existing ARPT from multiple departments are available on this website. In the right-hand column, under Categories, please click on “ARPT Criteria and Documents.” Best, Suzanne Verderber VP, UFCT 146o

Dear UFCT Member: I am pleased to announce that the UFCT will be hosting our third annual “ARPT Forum” on Friday, September 7th, from 10:00 to [no later than] 3:00. This year’s forum will again be held at ‘Anima Italian Bistro’, 458 Myrtle Avenue (between Washington and Clinton), 718-422-1122. Article XVI: Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure (ARPT) is the “due process” article of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) we have w/the Pratt Administration; the ‘h

The Union will be conducting its third annual forum on Friday, September 7 (specific time and place to be announced) to discuss with faculty issues related to the promotion and reappointment process (“ARPT”–Appointments, Reappointments, Promotion, and Tenure). Please mark your calendar and try to attend. In the past, important information has been transmitted & received.

Dear UFCT Member: I am pleased to announce that with 198 votes cast in favor, and 11 opposed, the 2011-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement has been ratified by an overwhelming 94.73% margin. In Solidarity, Kye

Re: Question about the When and How We Vote on the MOU Dear Kye, Could you and/or vote-net provide information about its security protocols and if and how they preserve the secret ballot process: that they assure that votes are legitimate (from an eligible voter); cast only once; and secret/confidential (voters remain anonymous and free from outside influence and retribution). Also, does the MOU have a sunset clause that compels immediate action during the off-semester? Thank

Dear Pratt Faculty Union member, If you would like to make a public comment about the memorandum of understanding that will appear on the website, you may: 1. Comment upon an existing post, after logging in (comments are moderated by me, but I promise to post comments directly, unaltered). 2. Write a post that will appear on the front page, again, unaltered. The easiest way to do this is to just email your post to me (sverderb@pratt.edu), and I will then post it on the websi