Broadside 9-15-17

September 19, 2017, 9:40 am

≪ Previous: FFECC members support DACA with college officials

FFECC Broadside 9/15/2017

Welcome to the first FFECC Broadside of the 2017-18 academic year. If you want to inform your colleagues about what you or your department are doing, please email a short summary to delaney@ecc.edu and rojas@ecc.edu.

NY Constitutional Convention – Vote NO on Nov. 7 - Opening Pandora’s Box

Under the NY constitution the people are asked every 20 years a simple ballot question: “Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same?” This will appear on the BACK of the ballot on Election Day (Nov. 7).

Well, why not? This is just democracy in action, right?

There are two problems with that idea:

The state constitution can be amended by another, cheaper method: passage of individual bills by two separate state legislatures. The change then appears on the November ballot. This process has been used 200 times since the last major constitutional revision in 1894.A “yes” vote on a convention will involve electing 3 delegates per state senate district and 15 at large delegates in the next general election. These delegates almost always end up being sitting members of the legislature, political party leaders, or other office holders – they have the organizations, staff, and war chests to launch a campaign to be elected delegates – private citizens usually do not.

Convention delegates meet in Albany the following April for as long as it takes and then publish their suggested amendments. The proposed changes are submitted to the voters with another referendum vote no sooner than 6 weeks after the adjournment of the convention. This process has been used nine times, the last time being in 1967. At that time, after a long and expensive convention, all the proposed amendments were voted on in a single package and were defeated by the voters, at a huge cost to the taxpayer.

The constitution establishes the fundamental rights you enjoy as a citizen of NY State or as a public employee or future retired employee, including:

The right to a free public educationProhibiting reductions in public pension benefitsWorkers’ compensationThe rights to be a member of a union and bargain collectivelyProtections to the natural environment.

It should not come as a shock to anyone that there are powerful moneyed interests in NY State who would like to erode some or all of these protections and who would help fund the campaigns of delegates who are willing to do their bidding. Another downside to a convention: it will cost NY taxpayers an estimate $340 million.

Voters rejected the last required call for a constitutional convention in 1997. Many groups from all sides of the political spectrum worked together to convince voters that holding a convention was not in the best interest of the people of NY State. Some of these groups included:

Public and private organized laborEnvironmentalists and conservationistsAdvocates for public education at all levelsFiscal conservativesGovernment watchdog groups

These groups will need to work together again. Because 2017 is an “off” election year, we must concentrate our efforts on getting out the vote.

So, get involved with your union local, get informed on the important issues and most important, urge your families, friends and colleagues to vote on Election Day, and to vote “NO”!

Upcoming FFECC Events:

FFECC Department Chairs Retreat with Dr. Hocoy – September 22, 12 – 4 pm, NYSUT 270 Essjay Rd, Williamsville

Trainings for Core FFECC members regarding threats to public sector unions and building a stronger, more participatory union. NYSUT 270 Essjay Rd, Williamsville, 3 – 5 pm, refreshments provided:

10/2

10 /11

10/24

“I Love Public Education” 5K Walk/Run – 9/23, 10:30 AM, Wilkeson Point, Outer Harbor, Buffalo

Buffalo Zoo event – TBD fall 17

Local brewery tour – TBD fall 17

Seasonal celebration – TBD December 2017

Please contact Sara (FFECC office) at 270-2938 or ffeccoffice@ecc.edu if interested in any of these events.

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Broadside 9-22-17

September 25, 2017, 6:48 am

≫ Next: Results from the "I love public education 5K"

≪ Previous: Broadside 9-15-17

Broadside September 22, 2017

Thumb Drive Contracts

For your convenience and information, the FFECC has a searchable 2009-2020 contract on thumb drives. To get these drives, please contact your campus’ FFECC vice presidents:

VP, City campus VP, North campus VP, South campus

Patricia Kaiser Adrian Ranic Jason Steinitz

716-270-5639 716-270-5828 716-851-1305

kaiser@ecc.edu ranic@ecc.edu steinitz@ecc.edu

FFECC Website

The FFECC website (www.ffecc.org) is a valuable resource for union related information, initiatives, and activities. Recent FFECC activities featured:

Our union’s recent involvement in an ECC sponsored DACA eventConvocation presentations on future challenges to our union delivered by NYSUT Executive Vice President Jolene DiBrango, NYSUT labor relation specialist Elizabeth Vignaux, and our FFECC officers.

Need to view the current contract?

Login to the Members section to access the current contract, the FFECC Constitution and Bylaws, or Executive Council meetings minutes.

Updating your professional status? The Members section also has Rank Advancement forms, Evaluation forms, and Retirement Information.

Contact information for our Officers and Executive Council (http://www.ffecc.org/about) if you have any Union issues or questions, please refer to that page to contact the appropriate personnel.

Unions connect YOU to the bigger issues! See the Links page for information about the upcoming Constitutional Convention referendum or to contribute to Vote-Cope (which allows us effective political action)

The Links page (http://www.ffecc.org/links) connects to other organizations like NYSUT, AFT, and the NEA.

What Having a Union Does for You – reprinted from 5/22/17 FFECC Broadside

The Supreme Court will likely hear one or more cases this term that could affect your ability to have a union at ECC. Seriously. One such is Janus v AFSCME, but there are others.

The essence of these cases is whether to allow agency fees. In 21 states including New York, agency fees are the fees that public sector unions collect from employees in the bargaining unit who choose not to join the union. These fees are not union dues but consist of a large portion of the money that union members pay as dues, excluding that part used for political activities.

Public sector unions, such as FFECC, are required by law to bargain for and represent non-union members in their bargaining unit, and to protect all their rights under the contract. These fees support these activities on behalf of non-members, preventing what is called “free riders” or sometimes “freeloaders” to benefit from the activities of the union while doing nothing to support it.

If the Court decides in favor of the plaintiffs in any of these cases, all states will become “right to work” states, which means agency fees will be outlawed. However, the union will still have an obligation to provide all non-paying non-members the same protections as paying members. If this happens, and a public sector union’s paying membership falls below 50% of the bargaining unit, the union can be de-certified. Then it would no longer exist.

Let us pause for a moment to consider what some of these protections are. The median weekly earnings of unionized workers are nearly 30% higher and more secure than non-union workers in equivalent positions. Without salary schedules in your union contract, individual employee salaries could be changed arbitrarily without regard to any fair standard. Union contracts prevent employees from being arbitrarily fired – it is your contract, not the law, that provides this protection. In our case, your FFECC negotiated union contract secures tenure/permanent status for full-time members, which entitles those members to multi-stage progressive discipline, due process, and mandatory arbitration in cases of termination. Without these protections all college employees would become “at-will” employees subject to termination for no reason at all.

Furthermore, without the contract, management would be free to change our health insurance without bargaining, or reduce it to the bare minimum coverage currently required by the ACA. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiff in Janus v AFSCME and New York along with all other states become Right to Work states, these protections that we enjoy and depend on will probably disappear.

All public sector unions are under threat. Please inform yourself about the upcoming Supreme Court case, Janus v AFSCME, and talk with your union representatives about these.

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Results from the "I love public education 5K"

September 25, 2017, 10:19 am

≫ Next: Broadside 9-29-17

≪ Previous: Broadside 9-22-17

Angela Crocker, State Senator Tim Kennedy, and President Andrew Sako at the I love public education 5K in Buffalo.The FFECC sponsored the event which took place on 9/23/17 on the outer harbor.Congratulations to President Andrew Sako who placed 3rd in his age group.

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Broadside 9-29-17

September 29, 2017, 10:10 am

≫ Next: Constitutional convention phone banking - volunteers needed

≪ Previous: Results from the "I love public education 5K"

September 29, 2017

FFECC Member Mobilization Initiative

FFECC is sponsoring educational sessions and discussions about the future of your union at NYSUT Regional Offices, 270 Essjay Rd., Williamsville NY 14221 on one of the dates below:

October 2, October 11, and October 24, all from 3 pm to 5 pm

The presentations will be in two parts:

Upcoming legal challenges to public sector unions - pending Supreme Court cases, such as Janus, that will probably change the way your union can operate; andHow to build a stronger, more participatory, "transformational" union. If the whole country becomes “right to work” (a likely outcome of the Janus case) the unions that survive will be those where large numbers of members have a small personal stake in running their union – a true sense that “the union is all of us.”

We hope many of you can attend one of these sessions. We are looking for a lot of members to do just a little bit - maybe an hour a month.

Discussion about how all this may affect your union, the FFECC, will follow. Snacks and beverages will be served at 4:30 pm.

Please let Sara in the FFECC office (email: ffeccoffice@ecc.edu, (716) 270-2938) know if you plan to attend one of these sessions, and if so, which one. We need a count for refreshments.

Where Your Union Dues Go

FFECC Union Dues are $714 per year for full time employees. Of that $714, $378 goes to New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), $236 is split between the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and $100 goes directly to the FFECC.

Part time dues are 3% of gross earnings up to 50% of full time dues, where it stops. Many part time members never reach the 50% level.

Your union dues are tax deductible.

NYSUT (https://www.nysut.org/) is our sponsoring union and provides us with many services, protections, and benefits. Among these are:

Creates higher salaries than non-unionized workers through the contract processProtects our jobs with negotiated contractsEmploys Labor Relations Specialists who help with contract negotiations, grievances, employee disciplinary matters and union buildingProvides union training to FFECC officers, Executive Counsel and membersProvides political action funding and advocacy through the VOTE COPE program (not funded by union dues) – aids the local in its political activities as requiredNYSUT Legal provides representation in qualifying situations and legal advice and counsel to the Federation PresidentAdvocates and protects our retirement pensions through having representation on the various pension boardsArranges for financial and legal advisors for members through their member benefits programsOffers group discounts through member benefits on a variety of personal services (travel, shopping, insurance, car purchases etc.) – we have a seat at the tableOffers both national and state higher education conferences

For more information, visit https://www.nysut.org/members Have your NYSUT membership number available.

FFECC improves our work environment and our standard of living by:

Negotiating a fair contractProviding job stability and security to members who maintain their professionalismProtecting members’ rights under the contract in disciplinary situationsAssuring regular step pay increases related to years of service and credentialsGuaranteeing contractual right to tenureStandardizing promotion processes through evaluationsSecuring regular vacation time for our technical and professional staffArbitrating grievancesReducing health insurance costs by collaborative participation in the Labor Management Health FundContinuing health insurance coverage and sick-day conversion to HRA after retirementHosting social events and recreational activities as requested by memberProviding union-related education to membersProvide political action on the County and local level that affects our Board and our fundingSupporting professional development and training for our membersProviding contractual academic unit autonomy in hiring practicesGuaranteeing academic freedom

For more information visit http://www.ffecc.org/ .

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Constitutional convention phone banking - volunteers needed

October 2, 2017, 10:37 am

≫ Next: New FFECC memorandums of understanding

≪ Previous: Broadside 9-29-17

NYSUT will have Constitutional convention phone banking on the following dates:

10/16, 10/17, 10/18, 10/19, 10/23, 10/24, 10/25, 10/26, 10/30, 10/31, 11/1, 11/2, 11/6 and 11/7

Time slots are from 4-6pm or 6-8pm.

NYSUT will also be doing door knocking on Saturday 10/21, 10/28 and 11/4 from 10am-2pm.

NYSUT has been working to communicate to members the need to VOTE NO on the constitutional convention.

Please contact Sara Riggie at 270-2938 if you'd like to volunteer.

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New FFECC memorandums of understanding

October 3, 2017, 11:13 am

≫ Next: Broadside 10-13-17

≪ Previous: Constitutional convention phone banking - volunteers needed

Attached please find a Memo of Understanding signed by the FFECC and College Administration in response to many requests from our full time and part time members. This MOU changes the number of distance learning courses both full and part-time teaching faculty are allowed to teach. It increases the number of DL courses that adjuncts are allowed to teach in a semester to two, and it increases the number of DL courses full-time faculty may take as overload courses to a total of two. Other contractual rules that are in place now do not change: full time faculty must still have two seated classes in their load, and this makes explicit the intent of that language - the two seated classes must total at least 6 contact hours.

Please keep in mind that, to ensure equitable distribution, according to Article 25 1. b. of our contract, overload courses must be offered to full-time faculty by seniority on a round-robin, one course at a time basis.

For other information about course scheduling and faculty rights to courses please read Articles 36, 37 and 25 of the FFECC contract, available at www.ffecc.org and on the www.ecc.edu website on myECC, left-hand menu, Administrative Departments, Human Resources and Payroll. Also available from your FFECC Campus VP as a thumb drive.

There is also a a Memo of Understanding signed by the FFECC and College Administration to create a new academic department by separating English as a Second Language (ESL) academic offerings from those of the English unit.

Both MOU's have been added to the contract document available in the members section of the website.

In Solidarity,

Your FFECC Leadership Team

Andrew Sako, President sakoad@ecc.edu

Patricia Kaiser, VP City kaiser@ecc.edu

Adrian R. Ranic, VP North ranic@ecc.edu

Jason Steinitz, VP South steinitz@ecc.edu

Denise Crowden, Secretary crowden@ecc.edu

Kristin Kozlowski, Treasurer kozlowskik@ecc.edu

Michael Delaney, Grievance Chair delaney@ecc.edu

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Broadside 10-13-17

October 13, 2017, 5:53 am

≫ Next: FFECC endorsements 2017

≪ Previous: New FFECC memorandums of understanding

FFECC Broadside, October 13, 2017

If you want to inform your colleagues about what you and your department are doing, please email a short summary to delaney@ecc.edu and rojas@ecc.edu.

Academic Department Professional Hours (Formerly Known as 91 Hours)

There have been widespread misunderstandings of the purpose of the full-time teaching faculty professional hours (unfortunately known as the 91 hours.) We hope this article will provide more clarity.

These hours are not for the use of administration. They are for academic departments to plan their own priorities and divide up the work through a collective conversation among the department faculty. It’s not intended that faculty fill these forms out separately and hand them in to the chair without talking with each other. There should be a departmental conversation about what needs to be done and who is going to do it. There are only a few rules about what work qualifies and what does not: you cannot use them for teaching-related activities such as office hours or prepping for classes, and you cannot use them for activities for which you are otherwise being compensated via reassigned time or pay. Beyond that, whatever work your department decides needs to be done qualifies.The hours were already in the contract. They were the “13 faculty responsible days.” 91 hours = 13 days times 7 hours. At first, under the “responsible days” system, Erie administration assigned 13 full workdays of tasks every year to teaching faculty (exclusive of courses and office hours) and required them to come to campus to do these tasks. The days and tasks for the coming year were communicated via a memo in May from what is now the Provost’s office. For the past 20 years or so this system has been obsolete and not maintained by administration. FFECC leadership worked with Provost Rick Washousky to make this system more flexible and adaptable to departmental needs, despite efforts by ECC’s former chief negotiator (hint: Legal VP) to make it more prescriptive and administratively controlled.During our recent contract negotiations, the FFECC team often heard what we call “the bad faculty” narrative: the idea that our faculty don’t do their jobs and generally do very little work. We will tell you more stories about our last negotiation in a future article. Collecting data from our faculty about what they actually do, to counter the “bad faculty” narrative, is one of the main purposes of filling out and handing in these forms.We had heard from a few departments that the chair is expected to do most or all of the work of running the department, despite our contractual requirements that faculty participate in departmental committees. We hope this system helps departments to share their workload more equitably.Please put down all the work you do on your forms, no matter what you may have been told, or how many hours are involved. 91 hours is a floor, not a ceiling. The data collected about how much work our full time faculty does over and above their contractual obligations may be useful to FFECC leadership in advocating for additional departmental full time faculty or for more faculty compensation.

For more information about this topic, please contact your FFECC campus vice president, as listed below. We are happy to attend your department meetings to explain all this, or other matters of concern to your members, given a request. You can also send a request to the FFECC office manager at ffeccoffice@ecc.edu.

Accelerated Increase in the Adjunct/Overload Rate

Article 73 Sections 9 and 11 of the FFECC contract states in part “In the event there are 45 or more retirements between ratification and January 1, 2017, the parties agree that the adjunct professor and overload rate will increase to $700 on January 1, 2019 rather than January 1, 2020 as outlined herein.” Accordingly we have confirmed there were more than 45 retirements during the timeframe previously referenced and as a result the adjunct professor and overload rate will increase one year earlier than noted in the contract. However, there was not enough retirees during this timeframe to cause the adjunct professor and overload rate increase to $750 on January 1, 2020.

FFECC Leadership Team:

Andrew Sako, President sakoad@ecc.edu

Patricia Kaiser, VP City kaiser@ecc.edu

Adrian R. Ranic, VP North ranic@ecc.edu

Jason Steinitz, VP South steinitz@ecc.edu

Denise Crowden, Secretary crowden@ecc.edu

Kristin Kozlowski, Treasurer kozlowskik@ecc.edu

Michael Delaney, Grievance Chair delaney@ecc.edu

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FFECC endorsements 2017

October 13, 2017, 8:52 am

≫ Next: Broadside 10-23-17

≪ Previous: Broadside 10-13-17

FFECC endorsements 2017

Erie County Legislature

District 1 Barbara Miller-Williams

District 2 April Baskin

District 3 Peter Savage

District 4 Kevin Hardwick

District 5 Thomas Loughran

District 6 Ed Rath

District 7 Patrick Burke

District 8 John Bruso

District 9 Mike Quinn

District 10 no endorsement

District 11 John Mills

Erie County comptroller

Vanessa Glushefski

Erie County Clerk

Michael Kearns

NYSUT members running for local office

Jacqui Berger for Amherst town board

John Mrozek for North Collins town council

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Broadside 10-23-17

October 23, 2017, 6:21 am

≫ Next: Members attend the NYSUT community college conference in Saratoga

≪ Previous: FFECC endorsements 2017

FFECC Broadside, October 23, 2017

Our Health Insurance Rates Will Not Increase

By Andrew Sako, FFECC President

As a result of collaboration between the College and the Faculty Federation, partnering with the Labor Management Health Fund (LMHF), we have worked diligently to keep our health insurance and pharmacy costs at a very low level. As many of you know, two years ago SUNY Erie Community College was at risk for drastic increases in our health insurance premiums. Erie’s healthcare utilization was more than $1.5 million above the LMHF “stoploss” limit (the maximum dollar value to be used per year), and the whole college (including all bargaining units and the Senior Executive Staff) spent more on health care than almost any of the LMHF partners. The cost sharing in our most recent union contact, our two retirement incentives, and the College’s wellness initiative have all drastically decreased our overall spending on health care and thus brought the college’s “experience rating” (the basis for our insurance rates) to a more reasonable level. I am pleased to announce that our health insurance rates for 2018 will not be increasing, and the College and all its bargaining units will be sharing in the savings. All other LMHF groups will increase their rates by 2%. Health insurance rates in the private marketplace are typically going up by 18% in the coming year while ours are staying level.

Affordable Instructional Materials Faculty Incentive Program

Many faculty have been asking about the incentive program to use Affordable Instructional Materials (AIM – formerly AEM) for our classes. AIM classes are low cost, defined as $30 or less. Hopefully, the following will clarify the program:

If you missed Saturday’s SUNY OER workshop sponsored by the Center for Professional Development, there will be many other opportunities to attend a CPD workshop or “sandbox” session on AIMs (there will be many scheduled) or another SUNY OER workshop SUNY OER Workshops - sunycpd.eventsair.com. If you go to another SUNY OER session you will need to provide attendance verification.Stipends are $1000 for any AIM courses run between fall 2017 and spring 2020 for any two semesters (not necessarily consecutive). Stipends are paid after the second semester of the course. There are additional requirements for the stipend – see below.If you run any AIM courses for four semesters, you will receive $300 more after the fourth semester. For six courses, an additional $200 after the sixth semester.Stipends are available for full- and part-time teaching faculty. Adjunct faculty must receive departmental approval of their course.Participating faculty must report student pass rates and textbook savings to ECC Excels Access committee, comparing that data with previous, non-AIM classes. The material for the AIM courses must be of high quality, which will be determined by a faculty peer-review committee.Participating faculty must make good-faith commitment to using AIM courses for at least, two years after spring 2020 (Program’s end date) and to collaborating with colleagues to develop their AIM courses.Faculty teaching courses that traditionally do not require purchased materials and faculty using ECC Master Courses that contain AERs will be paid 50% of the stipends.The College commits to making every effort to find funding to defray the costs of course materials in subjects in the arts and technologies and other areas typically requiring student-bought tools and materials, making faculty in those programs eligible for this incentive program.

Lunchtime Workshops to Help Students Succeed

The START Orientation Department has partnered with Starfish and the Counseling Departments to offer a series of lunchtime workshops at each campus. There are three sessions left, and they are designed to improve student study and test-taking skills, learning strategies, and time management, which are all crucial elements for student success. Complementary pizza will be provided to attendees.

The Low Down on High Achievement: How to Identify Your Learning Style and Develop a Learning Strategy -- Wednesday, November 1, 2017, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., South Campus, building 5, room 5101Doing It All . . . Well: Balancing School and Life While Being Great at Both, Thursday, November 16, 12:45 to 1:45 p.m., City Campus room 420Stay Calm and Test On: Reducing Test Anxiety for Students Who Want (NEED) an A Grade -- Friday, November 17, 12:45 to 1:45 p.m., North Campus Bretschger Hall, room 209

Please, inform your students of these workshops; many will be interested and will benefit from attending. The following link is the RSVP:

https://baseline.campuslabs.com/p/Project.aspx?q=374ce58babcf1d0416cc38456a5c55e09b4d9b88bee151a75f8b37f0a7e0634457f37bd651faaaaf7995e74c6bb3bcf9d0c2aa9cf89f9cb634ba771f44af2757&r=160474ec-d68b-460f-b194-414f232ea473

Faculty Peer-Sharing Sessions

One of the more successful ways to improve our teaching is by sharing strategies and practices with our faculty peers, by discussing in class experiences, problems, and successes. With this in mind, we are sponsoring a series of peer-sharing sessions on teaching, learning and classroom practice. There are five sessions left:

2017

Monday, November 13: 3 - 4 p.m. South Campus, building 1, room 1107

Monday, December 11: 3 - 4 p.m. City Campus, room 162

2018

Monday, February 12: 3 - 4 p.m. South Campus, building 1, room 1107

Monday, March 12: 3 - 4 p.m. North Campus, Gleasner Hall, room 106

Monday, April 9: 3 - 4 p.m. City Campus, room 1107

All faculty are invited. The idea is to build some social cohesion and group problem-solving, so the more sessions you attend, the better the experience will be for you and your fellow faculty.

FFECC Leadership Team:

Andrew Sako, President sakoad@ecc.edu

Patricia Kaiser, VP City kaiser@ecc.edu

Adrian R. Ranic, VP North ranic@ecc.edu

Jason Steinitz, VP South steinitz@ecc.edu

Denise Crowden, Secretary crowden@ecc.edu

Kristin Kozlowski, Treasurer kozlowskik@ecc.edu

Michael Delaney, Grievance Chair delaney@ecc.edu

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Members attend the NYSUT community college conference in Saratoga

October 30, 2017, 6:44 am

≫ Next: Broadside 11-3-17

≪ Previous: Broadside 10-23-17

Pictured above/below are: Brian Jusiak, Grievance Chair - Michael Delaney, Nick Jakubowski, President - Andrew Sako, Shauna Pandolfino, South VP - Jason Steinitz & Jacqui Bollinger

FFECC President - Andrew Sako with NYSUT Executive members

FFECC President - Andrew Sako

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Broadside 11-3-17

November 3, 2017, 7:42 am

≫ Next: Broadside 11-21-17

≪ Previous: Members attend the NYSUT community college conference in Saratoga

FFECC Broadside 11-3-17

NY Constitutional Convention – Vote NO on Nov. 7 - Opening Pandora’s Box

Well, why not? This is just democracy in action, right?

There are two problems with that idea:

The constitution establishes the fundamental rights you enjoy as a citizen of NY State or as a public employee or future retired employee, including:

Public and private organized laborEnvironmentalists and conservationistsAdvocates for public education at all levelsFiscal conservativesGovernment watchdog groups

These groups will need to work together again. Because 2017 is an “off” election year, we must concentrate our efforts on getting out the vote.

So, get involved with your union local, get informed on the important issues and most important, urge your families, friends and colleagues to vote on Election Day, and to vote “NO”!

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Broadside 11-21-17

November 21, 2017, 11:36 am

≫ Next: FFECC seasonal celebration raises money for the WNY Food bank & political action

≪ Previous: Broadside 11-3-17

Broadside – November 21, 2017

Our union contract guarantees tenure, academic freedom, salary schedules and steps, and protects against arbitrary discipline and firing. These protections are not provided by federal, state, or local laws. If we lose our contract we will lose most, or if not all, of these protections.

That’s okay for right now. We do have a contract. We do have a union. Are we in danger of losing those things? Read on, please.

Facts About the Supreme Court Janus Case – How the Decision May Impact You and Your Union:

It is likely that the Supreme Court next year will render a decision in the Janus vs AFSCME case that will make the entire nation ”right to work.” This will mean that charging “agency fees” will become illegal.Agency fees are charged to employees in the bargaining unit who choose not to join the union, to cover the union’s cost of bargaining and representation. By law, non-union-members are still represented by the union in disciplinary cases and they benefit from the contract negotiating activities of the union – salaries, benefits, and other protections. These fees are at least 90 percent of union dues, and in some cases they are equal. But under a decision in favor of Janus, non-members would pay nothing.At present, New York is a “fair share” state where members of the bargaining unit who choose not to join the union pay agency fees, to prevent what is called “free riders” – people who benefit from the union’s bargaining activities, contractual protections, and disciplinary representation but do not support their union financially and are not union members.If the Supreme Court finds in favor of the plaintiff Janus, then the number of non-paying, non-member free riders in our union could increase dramatically. If that happens, FFECC’s finances would be severely distressed. Perhaps more dire than that, if union membership falls below 50% of the bargaining unit, the employer can request that the union be decertified – in other words, the union and its contract would cease to exist.

If this happens, the following are likely outcomes:

You would probably no longer have tenure. Then you would become an “at-will” employee, which means you could be fired with no due process and for no stated reason.There would be no requirement to lay off employees (or re-hire laid off employees) on the basis of seniority. Thus, more senior and more expensive employees would become likely targets.You would likely lose employer subsidized health insurance, both while active and certainly in retirement.You would almost certainly lose automatic salary steps.You would lose academic freedom. The institution could dictate to you the content of your courses and the materials you are allowed to use, and even the opinions you are allowed to express about your subject area.You would have no right to grieve the college for contract violations, since there would be no contract.

If the court finds in favor of Janus, then it will become crucial that you, the members of the FFECC, support your union. If the court does not find in favor of Janus, there are many other legal challenges to public sector unions waiting in the wings to be heard.For more information visit www.ffecc.org

Or read an Update on the case from NYSUT:

https://www.nysut.org/news/2017/september/with-janus-case-labor-faces-another-court-challenge

Who Can I Contact for Questions?

FFECC Leadership Team:

Andrew Sako, President sakoad@ecc.edu 851-1026 Patricia Kaiser, VP City kaiser@ecc.edu 270-5639 Adrian R. Ranic, VP North ranic@ecc.edu 270-5828 Jason Steinitz, VP South steinitz@ecc.edu 851-1305 Michael Delaney, Grievance Chair delaney@ecc.edu 270-5332

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FFECC seasonal celebration raises money for the WNY Food bank & political action

December 8, 2017, 8:23 am

≫ Next: Broadside 12-11-17

≪ Previous: Broadside 11-21-17

Thank you to all that attended the FFECC's seasonal celebration at 800 Maple.We raised $200 for the WNY Food bank & $200 for our political action account. Additional photos from the evening are available in the Gallery tab.

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Broadside 12-11-17

December 11, 2017, 11:23 am

≫ Next: FFECC members enjoy the Lion King

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Broadside – December 11, 2017

Additional Erie County Aid for SUNY Erie

We are pleased to announce that the Erie County Legislature and County Executive Mark Poloncarz have passed the new Erie County budget, which includes additional funding for SUNY Erie to the tune of $500,000 a year, every year, starting with 2018-2019.

Your FFECC political action committee (PAC) and many individual members were instrumental in making this funding possible. Our PAC committee and other FFECC members attended many fund-raising events, legislative committee meetings, and public hearings to advocate for badly needed additional funding. Our advocacy efforts have included frequent communication with every level of county and state government. FFECC’s annual legislative breakfast has been a game changer in raising awareness among local office-holders of our college’s challenges. The many FFECC members who have attended county public hearings and committee meetings wearing red shirts have focused attention on our college’s needs among elected officials.

We have made local office-holders aware that we are suffering from legacy problems left behind by the previous college administration. With a new college president and a new era of cooperation, respect, and transparency, we can now ask for additional student-focused funding, and feel confident that it will be used appropriately.

I will continue to advocate, along with our PAC committee, for incremental increases to our maintenance of effort base aid from both the county and the state. “Maintenance of effort” aid is that which is required to continue from year to year by law. Our goal is to achieve the funding levels for operating expenses prescribed in New York State law – 40% from the state, 27% from the local sponsor (our county) and 33% from student revenue. The actual levels for SUNY Erie are now about 29% from the state and 18% from the county, leaving about 53% to be covered by our students.

FFECC and NYSUT must now begin our plans for lobbing state officials in February, as New York starts its budgeting process.

Like the other SUNY community colleges, SUNY Erie is a place where our students transform their lives. It’s an opportunity for second (or third, or last) chances. The power of our college is in what each of us does every day to enhance the personal and intellectual growth of our students. Elected officials and the public need to be continually reminded of our students’ stories and what we all do to help them achieve a better life and greater engagement with their communities.

This additional county funding of $500,000, as well as county support for the new STEM building, college labor agreements, retirement incentives, and infrastructure improvements have all a result of, or enhanced by, your union’s political advocacy and relationships.

Contributing to the FFECC VOTE Cope drive is what make this all this possible, as well as the time you volunteer for PAC committee activities and attending functions.

The relationships and trust that we have developed over time on both sides of the aisle are necessary to make SUNY ERIE STRONG AGAIN… We do this for the institution and the students we serve.

I’d like to thank the following FFECC members for their help in our recent political action activities. I apologize if I’ve left anyone out (and I’m sure I have). – Andrew Sako, President, Faculty Federation of Erie Community College

Dale Bacchetti , Ray Barker, Derek Bateman, Angela Crocker, Denise Crowden, John Danna, Christine DeHoff (retired), Michael Delaney, Craig Gassman (retired), Thomas Grace, Kristin Goss, Russell Grosjean, Michael Higgins, Shawn Hill, Beth Holleran, Nicholas Jakubowski, Jason Januszkiewicz, Dorothy Johnston, Brian Jusiak, Patty Kaiser, Cooper Lansing, Kristin Kozlowski, Jill O’Malley, Marie Owens, Colleen Quinn, Verlaine Quinniey, Adrian Ranic, Rene Rojas, Michael Rio, Gordon Soderholm, Jason Steinitz, Susan Theeman, Richard Wacienga, Robert Zaffram

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FFECC members enjoy the Lion King

December 15, 2017, 7:10 am

≫ Next: Two new recently signed Advanced studies MOUs

≪ Previous: Broadside 12-11-17

Members of the Faculty Federation enjoyed an evening at Shea's. All photos are available in the gallery link.

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Two new recently signed Advanced studies MOUs

January 23, 2018, 10:24 am

≫ Next: Broadside February 5, 2018

≪ Previous: FFECC members enjoy the Lion King

Dear FFECC members,

Two recently signed MOUs clarifying the rules regarding advanced studies courses have been uploaded to the "members" section of the website. Please read.

Department Chairs: please share this information with all faculty doing advanced studies courses including part-time faculty, if any.

Please contact your campus VP with any questions or concerns.

Thank you from your FFECC leadership team,

FFECC Leadership Team:

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Broadside February 5, 2018

February 5, 2018, 6:49 am

≫ Next: Spring 2018 FFECC Call for Nominations

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Broadside – February 5, 2018 (this is a reprint of our Broadside of 11/21/17) – MD and RR

That’s okay for right now. We do have a contract. We do have a union. Are we in danger of losing those things? Read on, please.

Facts About the Supreme Court Janus Case – How the Decision May Impact You and Your Union:

If this happens, the following are likely outcomes:

For more information visit www.ffecc.org

Or read an Update on the case from NYSUT:

https://www.nysut.org/news/2017/september/with-janus-case-labor-faces-another-court-challenge

Who Can I Contact for Questions?

FFECC Leadership Team:

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Spring 2018 FFECC Call for Nominations

March 1, 2018, 6:55 am

≫ Next: Higher Education lobby day 2018

≪ Previous: Broadside February 5, 2018

MEMO TO: Members of FFECC

FROM: Elections Committee

DATE: February 28, 2018

SUBJECT: Call for Nominations

The Elections Committee of FFECC requests nominations for the following positions:

Ten (10) members that include the three campus Vice-Presidents, and one Chair appointed by the President for the Grievance Committee. - Six (6) members will be elected, consisting of two (2) representatives from each campus. These positions are elected for a two (2) year term.

Three (3) representatives to be Auxiliary Services Representatives/ASC Board- At least one representative from each campus are needed. This term is for two (2) years.

Six (6) Faculty and three (3) Counselors to be the Judicial Board- Two (2) Faculty from each campus is needed. One (1) Counselor from each campus is needed. These positions are elected for a two (2) year term.

One (1) delegate, one (1) alternate at large for the Faculty Council of Community Colleges Delegate & Alternate- At least two representatives from any of the three campuses is needed. These positions are elected for a two year term.

Seven (7) representatives for the College Leaves Committee. At least one (1) representative from each campus is needed. This term is for one (1) year.

Ten NYSUT/AFT delegates and any number of alternates to start September 2018 and to represent FFECC at the NYSUT Representative Assemblies (yearly, alternately in Buffalo, New York, and Washington DC) and the NFT Convention (every other summer, if the FFECC chooses to send anyone, at major east- or west-coast cities.) May be full- or part-time FFECC members. The term is three years. The top ten vote-getters will be delegates and the rest alternates. Commitments: to attend conventions out-of-town, to attend sessions, and to review, discuss and vote on resolutions that affect education on a national level, and to work local leadership and NYSUT directors as needed between conventions.

***Individuals interested in serving in these positions should notify the Elections Committee member on your campus no later than Tuesday March 6th, 2018. If you would like to nominate an individual, you must confirm that individual is willing to serve. Current office holders must re-nominate. Self-nominations are allowed in order to be on the ballot, or the term will end at the end of this academic year. Please do not submit a nomination without that person’s approval.

Elections Committee Members:

Denise Prince, City/Mathematics Department, 851-1047 princed@ecc.edu

Taheera Shaheed-Sonubi, South/Library, 851-1773 shaheed@ecc.edu

Greg Gillis, North/ Construction Tech Department, 851-1546 gillis@ecc.edu

Kimberli Cruell-Munn, South/Counseling 270-5279 cruellk@ecc.edu

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