Agreements between the FA and Administration for return to face to face instruction

Hello, Faculty – Below is the signed agreement between the administration and the Faculty Association concerning some important health and safety concerns as we return to F2F on Tuesday. We just received it.I am simply posting the document because time is of the essence. We will communicate more soon. Watch for another one-page Q & A on Tuesday. Best, Anne

Update on Spring 2022 Bargaining

We want to provide an update on bargaining related to the health, safety, and other working conditions surrounding the return for Spring 2022 with the ongoing Covid pandemic particularly with the Omicron variant. We have had several bargaining sessions with administration held jointly with NTT and GAU.First, we want to acknowledge and celebrate the Chancellor’s directive moving many of the first week of classes online to allow for the testing of all students, faculty and staff to be done in a more orderly fashion. This was a direct outcome of the work of our bargaining team. This isn’t what we demanded nor do we believe our work is done– but bargaining is ultimately about finding common ground.Moving forward, the situation remains fluid. Depending on a variety of factors, there is always a possibility that there may be some extension of online instruction. We have heard from many of you about the challenges this poses for your pedagogy and programs and we have heard you. We have expressed concerns to administration about the way in which the list of face-to-face courses was determined and produced. If there is an extension, we will make sure that there is additional opportunity for those that feel that face-to-face instruction is vital to their pedagogical needs to request such opportunity. We will closely monitor how such determinations are made by admin.We are working on a number of other issues to expand the health and safety protocols to make the return to campus and the classroom as safe as possible. Please know that we are working to represent the constituency and its diverse views in our bargaining. Our hopes remain that admin will work with us to allow for the safest and most pedagogically sound return to instruction, following the guidance of the masters of the pedagogy, the instructors of the courses. We will continue to fight and continue to push. If you have any PPE requirements please request them ASAP of your local administrator. We have been told there are enough surgical-style and cloth masks to fully cover campus. N-95s are also available on a first come first served basis.Please let us know if you have additional comments or questions.

In solidarity,

Jeff Punske, Impact Bargaining Team Leader

Joint Press Release

Dear fellow Salukis: On behalf of Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the SIU Carbondale Faculty Association, we are pleased to announce that we have come to a tentative three-year collective bargaining agreement, which is a result of collaboration and working together in the best interest of the university and our people. The contract covers salaries, operating papers, tenure and promotion, among other issues. Details will be available later. The members of the Faculty Association will review and vote on the contract early in the spring semester.We appreciate everyone’s commitment to shared governance.

Sincerely,Austin Lane
Chancellor, SIU Carbondale

Anne Fletcher,
President, SIU Carbondale Faculty Association

No Chancellor Lane. We did not vote against the USG’s resolution.

In response to the email from Chancellor Lane about student concerns. The FA explicitly refrained from weighing in except to say we had the same concerns about implementation (prerequisites, etc), etc. we have had in the past. We did not poll the bargaining unit because our concerns have gone unheard in the past. We are, OF COURSE, concerned about student well-being. We have contacted University Communications and asked them to correct this misinformation.

All Bargaining Unit Meeting 11/30/21

(RSVP Link in Attached PDF)

Posted on Behalf of Member Ed Benyas

Dear Colleagues from SIU and around the country,I’m speaking to the SIU Faculty Senate tomorrow to encourage them to follow the lead of over 800 research faculty Stanford, Princeton, Cal Berkeley and Temple and call on Attorney General Merrick Garland to end the Trump era’s “China Initiative.” Please encourage your Faculty Senate representatives to join these illustrious institutions and approve the proposed letter to AG Garland (for those of you at SIU). In addition, over 1000 faculty from all 50 states have signed on to the Stanford letter individually. Anyone with an edu email address can do so. I’m respectfully requesting that each of you also sign on to the Stanford letter here:https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdLeKxr4pIfGb…/viewform That link provides additional background, and makes it incredibly easy to sign on. Thank you in advance for standing up against racial profiling and discrimination. Ed Benyas

Press Release about Salary Increase

Faculty Association Fall Gathering 8/21

Fall 2021 COVID Impact Bargaining Agreement

The Impact Bargaining agreement about class room procedures and Faculty rights is posted under the Current Contract tab. Thanks to the FA Bargaining Team (Anne Fetcher, Sam Pavel, and Jeff Punske) for their hard work on this agreement. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact a member of the Team. Here’s to a safe and productive semester.

President Fletcher’s Remarks to the BoT 7/15/21

Statement to Board of Trustees July 15, 2021 (available as read on BoT website)

Good afternoon. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Anne Fletcher. I am a Professor in the School of Theatre and Dance. I have been at SIUC for 20 years. I am here today in my capacity as President of the SIUC Faculty Association.The Faculty Association works with administration in settling and even preventing grievances, implementing the Collective Bargaining Agreement, navigating reorganization, and more. We are currently in collective bargaining. Employing Interest Based Bargaining, the joint team’s relationship remains open and friendly. I urge you to take the opportunity to build into the FY 2022 budget meaningful salary increases for Faculty. Except for Promotion and Tenure, Faculty have received in total a 2% increase in salary across the last decade. Salary compression has become acute. Morale is extraordinarily low. While I recognize that “feelings are not facts”, Faculty perception is that we are simply not a priority. Faculty numbers have decreased by at least half in my time here, currently totaling approximately 425. Arguably, the student body has shrunk proportionately. However, in terms of class preparation, office hours, committee assignments, recruitment and retention, and other service activities, work has increased. There are fewer Faculty to complete daily operational tasks. Students and Faculty, teaching and learning, are the heart and soul of a university. We hope that SIUC will recognize Faculty and stand committed to the people who have committed themselves to SIUC.Thank you for your time.