Many thanks to the AAUP leadership and members for their willingness to fight this worthy cause on behalf of full time faculty and the college community as a whole. Everyone benefits when all are treated respectfully and are appropriately rewarded.
I was able to make it to the Rockville meeting last night, and I just wanted to chime in with those below and encourage everyone who couldn’t make it to that meeting to attend the TP/SS meeting tonight. There is a lot of new information about what is happening with both our contracts for 2017-18 and future contract negotiations.
I agree that we need to stand united as a faculty union right now. We discussed ideas about how to show support, and I hope—with many faculty engaged—we will see actions as well.
Hello, I also attended the AAUP meeting last night. I am so proud of the work our executive committee is doing on behalf of Full Faculty. We support their efforts 100% and will continue to attend update meetings where we discuss all matters related to the important role the Faculty play in the success of the College. Please take the time to attend the TPSS meeting this evening. Our team has important information to share with you.
AAUP Works for me.
I too attended last night’s update meeting in Rockville. Our AAUP chapter is in an important battle for our rights against an administration uninterested in negotiating in good faith. The chapter executive committee representing us works tirelessly to make sure that each of us is paid fairly, receives decent benefits, and that we are able to work under as favorable conditions as possible. We have MUCH to be grateful for in terms of the committee’s work and unflagging support. We are also fortunate to have a competent attorney representing the chapter. NOW is the time to support them in return, to become informed, and to get involved in your own future here at MC.
I would like to chime in with my faculty colleagues and emphasize the fact that we all need to stand behind our union at this time and show solidarity as one united body of faculty who care about our students and about each other. I attended the AAUP meeting last night and learned so much! I would like to urge everyone who could not attend the meeting last evening to please, please attend the TP/SS meeting tonight. It is crucial that the administration sees that we stand together.
As faculty, we were supposed to receive a 6.25% raise this year, 3.5% increment and a 2.75% GWA. As chief negotiator, our team signed this contract 3 years ago with Management and the BOT in good faith. Management and the BOT decided last year not to honor our contract, because of their claim of no funds. However, look at all the contacts that were signed recently after our contract was in place, including IT contracts, coaches for our classes and probably many others. Management and the BOT had a fiduciary duty to honor our contact first before signing any other contract. This is truly an administration and BOT uninterested in negotiating in good faith.
Thank you all. Last night’s meeting was very important. I encourage all faculty to keep Bill’s salary percentages in mind and do the math. This is very serious. Thank you Harry and the whole team for your tireless efforts on our behalf. Our AAUP attorney is outstanding, seasoned, and clearly concerned about the legality of the College’s avoidance tactics. It’s unfortunate that it’s gotten to this point. It didn’t have to.
I would like to add my voice to those urging faculty who were unable to attend last night’s AAUP meeting to attend the meeting tonight at TPSS to learn more about the status of negotiations for both our 2017-2018 contract and our 2018-2019 contract. Last night’s meeting was very informative, and it’s more information than could be easily communicated in an email. Our union reps have been working tirelessly for us. I am grateful for their diligent work to ensure fair contracts and treatment for faculty. These negotiations affect us all, and we need to stand united with our union.
I didn’t see many of my Germantown colleagues last night at the AAUP meeting, and it really was important information about several different initiatives. One of the major points was how important it is to be visible in our support of AAUP and its leadership right now. (Also, having done the reverse commute to DC for years, I can vouch for 270 South not being bad at the end of the day when you’re going against traffic.) I think it’s well worth the trip!
Thank you to the union leadership for advocating so fervently on behalf of the faculty. The meeting on the Rockville campus last night was very informative. Please try to attend the Takoma Park meeting tonight if you were unable to attend Wednesday’s meeting. Our strength comes from our solidarity.
If you weren’t able to go last night, go tonight. Spending the time listening to colleagues and leaders helped clarify much of what has been happening.
Yes the meeting was fantastic, great information provided. I really enjoyed meeting the attorney. Please attend tonight if there is anyway you can. Your paycheck depends on our support for AAUP!
I can’t echo enough the appreciative comments that have been offered to our AAUP team, or the sense of urgency that goes along with the issues discussed last night. There’s no better time than now to ask questions, talk with one another, and generally keep on top of developments. I think those sorts of activities will have a useful momentum of their own.
I support AAUP. They speak for me and I am incredibly thankful for all there hard work.
Thank you to the AAUP, which in serving faculty, serves our students and the well-being of our institution.
Now is a crucial time for all of us to be aware and to support our union. AAUP works for me.
I also want to echo the sentiments of my colleagues.
The AAUP Team has represented us well and they have our full support.
Great meeting last night! I am grateful to have AAUP representation in the current climate nationwide. We must not take our union team’s hard work for granted. Let’s advocate for ourselves and our students with one voice through support of our MC AAUP.
Montgomery College AAUP chapter speaks for me and I will not fall for any external “divide and conquer” tactics.
I want to thank AAUP and all the faculty that are pulling together to allow us to work in a productive and healthy atmosphere. We deserve respect. We deserve dignity. We deserve honesty. Let us strive to hold those in power accountable so that those after us won’t have to fight these same battles.
I’m wearing the button. I urge the union to stay strong in this extremely urgent and difficult situation.
Thank you to all of our AAUP representatives for your efforts. Thank you for keeping us informed every step of the way through this unfortunate series of events. Lets hope at some point responsibility to agreed upon commitments will prevail in the mindset of the college.
I have always been impressed by and happy with the college, Administrators, Staff, and Faculty all working in a collaborative effort for the good of the college and the students. Student success, College success, Employee success and a harmonious friendly work environment have always been the hall mark of Montgomery College. We don’t want an “us or them” atmosphere to infect our college.
The AAUP supports me and I support it. My hope is that we can arrive at an expeditious resolution within the scope of integrity.
I also support AAUP and I would urge those who are paying just the service fee (which is $7.70 per pay period) and not the full membership dues to consider filling out the paperwork to do so. Here is the link
I’ve repeatedly heard MC leadership profess a commitment to social justice, but negotiating in bad faith and questioning the integrity of union leadership undermines that commitment. Social justice is more than a talking point. It’s more than catchphrase. A genuine commitment to social justice mandates that the administration honor our contract and treat our well-organized faculty with respect.
Many of us walked paths through life and encountered obstacles that aren’t dissimilar to those faced by our students. Our students know those stories and are inspired by them. They’re hopeful that if they persevere, they, too, will achieve comparable levels of professional success and recognition. What message do they receive about their potential—and their power—when they see the administration devalue our contributions by dishonoring its commitment?
Like so many others, I support our union and appreciate the efforts of Harry and the rest of the executive committee. AAUP stands for social justice, and I stand with AAUP.
The irony of their social justice initiative and how they are treating faculty might be lost on them but I encourage you to echo these sentiments at our AAUP closing meeting. You articulate this so very well and other faculty members should hear this too as we are dealing with these types of inconsistencies way too often.
I also support AAUP and encourage my colleagues to become full members. Thanks for all you do.
I would like to echo my colleagues’ thanks to our AAUP leadership for keeping us informed and working on our behalf for a fair outcome to our contract situation. I greatly appreciated getting such a clear explanation at our meeting last week of the events that led to where we are now. After hearing that, I’m even more confident that the AAUP executive committee is doing the right thing by us. I will be there at our meeting in May. I encourage my colleagues to attend as well, and to join our AAUP chapter as full dues-paying members.
I really praise the hard and dedicated work of AAUP leadership to guard and improve our working conditions and compensation. I felt so sad to see the humiliation that our representatives have been through during the process of negotiations. On the top of this, it is a very challenging task to contest a court against this management. Brett: Harry Zarin is going to post the complaint and the management’s motion to dismiss on the union web site that will answer your questions.
For many years, the management has cancelled or reduced our contracts and I am hoping that justice will prevail on June 14th. This looks so unfair that they the management mostly argue that they have power not to honor the contract.
Now that we are doing so much more work, including
- Enhancing face to face classes with blackboard
- Having additional office hours
- Substituting for our colleagues when they are called by the supervisors for additional
- tasks (such as search committees)
- Sacrificing our winter break to teach the winter sessions
- Creating course materials to eliminate the cost of text books
- and in return the management does not even want to honor a contract that they signed.
United we stand
I am grateful, professionally and personally, for the work of the union leadership and the tenacity of the negotiating team. Thank you!
As a daughter of life long union members (garment workers, railway), I am grateful for AAUP representation and its defense of my professional welfare. Thank you.
A heartfelt thank you to AAUP for all the work they have put in to have fair practices in place here at MC.
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