Newsletter 11/15/2021

Hello, Faculty!

As we move toward a hard-earned Thanksgiving Break… wishing you all a restful and pleasant holiday…

News in brief: 

·        The FA and the administration have completed contract bargaining, and barring unforeseen complications, we will present the new contract to Faculty very soon:

1. A joint press release with the administration stating that we have reached a tentative agreement will be issued

2. We will present changes to the contract to the DRC on December 2 (See below)

3. DRC will distribute to units

4, There will be a full membership vote right at the beginning of the Spring semester (Only FA Members can vote on the contract ratification)

·        Operating Papers are crucial to maintaining agency and shared governance within units, particularly with regard to qualifications for Directors. The FA and the administration have a signed Memorandum of Understanding that old Operating Papers are in effect until new ones are approved. That MOU provides for a mechanism to handle conflicting Operating Papers. Reach out to the FA if you need help with Operating Papers.

·        The SIUC Faculty Association has proudly and effectively represented tenured and tenure-track faculty at the Carbondale campus of Southern Illinois University for more than 30 years. Faculty Association members are entitled to obtain legal counsel through the Illinois Education Association (IEA)/National Education Association (NEA). We represent Dr. Mingqing Xiao, Ph.D., a mathematics professor at SIUC since 2000. 

We urge faculty, students, and the general public to familiarize themselves with the issues at stake when freedom to research is constricted with ethnicity as a main focal point by reading the Stanford Letter, signed by faculty from across the country. We join the Faculty Senate in urging you to sign.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdLeKxr4pIfGb-mfmz4wbGsVqg0wAP2VsJoTRo1AqAqoRe04g/viewform

Some important upcoming dates:

All Bargaining Unit (includes non-dues paying members) Information Session on Zoom, Tuesday November 30 7:00 PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3636844593

Meeting ID: 363 684 4593

One tap mobile

+13126266799,,3636844593# US (Chicago)

+16465588656,,3636844593# US (New York)

DRC Meeting 5:00 PM, Thursday, December 2, Parkinson 202– Zoom access will be provided. DRC watch for a link in your email.

All best,

Anne

Anne Fletcher, President SIUCFA

Sept 2021 Newsletter

FA Newsletter 9-19-21

Hello, Faculty!

IMPORTANT: There is some confusion regarding the Chancellor’s statement about 2% raises. The raises he mentioned are for the administration and non-represented, not TT, NTT, or Civil Service employees. 

This statement does NOT mean no raises for SIUC Faculty!

It sets a bar of at least 2% from which we will bargain.

At the request of the administration, the FA bargaining paused until after the September 16 Board meeting. We have resumed bargaining in earnest about raises.

In solidarity,

Anne

Statement I read to BoT on Sept 16, 2021

Many of you have met me before. I’m Anne Fletcher, President of the SIUC Faculty Association, and I’m here to talk to you about what it would mean to make Faculty at SIUC a genuine priority at this university. 

We are happy to see that the current proposed budget now includes a salary increase plan for SIUC. The rationale for the plan states that “adequate salaries for our faculty and staff are a high priority.” In light of inflation and essentially the pay reduction it has caused, “adequate” isn’t exactly inspiring language at an institution that prides itself on excellence. 

This isn’t the place to bargain salary. We return to the Interest Based Bargaining table to begin discussion of finances tomorrow. But here’s what you could do, today, to show that fair salaries for Faculty are a real priority. Faculty are grievously underpaid. Recognize the Faculty who facilitate the university’s teaching and research: we are the university’s essential employees. SIUC Faculty have gone the extra mile to help the university weather a budget crisis and, now, a public health crisis. Every day we enter the classroom, the laboratory, or the studio, we put our disciplinary expertise—and, in the confusion of a pandemic, our health— on the line. We have helped turned around SIUC’s declining enrollment. We have taken on extra work to fill gaps as colleagues have left. We can’t afford to keep losing good Faculty, and we cannot expect good people to keep working for a university that allows their real wages to erode year after year. 

Commit to put an end to the real decline in Faculty salaries, this year— and with long-range planning for the years to come. Develop a long-term plan to get SIUC Faculty caught up with inflation, with our peers at other research universities, and even with the other schools in the SIU system (as indicated by the chart provided at the conclusion of today’s Agenda).

We believe SIU can be more than “adequate.” Make Faculty a genuine priority, and you’ll take the single most important step you can toward recruiting, retaining, and motivating the Faculty we need to make SIUC the excellent university it aspires to be. 

Thank you.

Time Sensitive Items and Voting

FA Newsletter 9-28-20

Three time-sensitive items have arisen. The FA needs your thoughts. If you have concerns related to the first two items, please respond a.s.a.p.

1. Many of you have received instructions concerning the modalities of classes for Spring 2021 (filtered down from the Provost to Deans to Chairs). Communication has been inconsistent at best. Some Faculty have received the entire unedited directive from the Provost. Some have received requests from their chairs simply asking for a description of what their classes will look like in their given modalities. Some have received what appear to be directives asking for “justifications” or “class plans” and/or a quick response. Some have (as of Friday) have received nothing. Please reach out to the Faculty Association if you are confused or, more importantly, if you feel the request you received may infringe on your academic freedom.
2. The provost is soliciting “in-put” re: an “opt-in” on the part of students for PASS/FAIL again this semester. We need your in-put by Oct.2.

A number of issues arose from this practice when it was implemented last spring, among them:

• Some students exercising the pass/fail option failed to get a letter grade on their record that they might have needed in the future.

• The pass/fail option set up students to fail to meet the achievement thresholds they needed to satisfy degree and prerequisite requirements.

• Programs were pressured to accept pass grades that did not meet degree or certification requirements.

• The pass/fail policy eliminated minimum grade requirements that should have been applied for a course to serve as a prerequisite in the future. 

Please reach out to your DRC member and/or to me or another member of the FA leadership with your concerns (afletcher849@gmail.com)

It’s time to vote on the new contract!

• You will soon receive a copy of the new contract (with changes indicated), a list of “talking points” that outline significant changes, and instructions for “drive-thru” voting on ratification. Voting will take place on October 5 (time and place forthcoming). ONLY FA MEMBERS CAN VOTE! Now would be a good time to join the union if you are not already a member! New member form will be available at voting. The FA website can be accessed (siucfa.org), although it remains “a work in progress.” Thanks for all you do!

In solidarity,

Anne Fletcher

President, SIU Faculty Association