The UAFP contract proposals have been met repeatedly with flat rejections by the Pace University negotiating team. In view of this lack of cooperation the union has sent the following letter to Pace University President Stephen Friedman and the Pace Board of Trustees urging the fair and reasonable negotiating process our adjuncts deserve.
More and more adjuncts have been signing this letter. Join your colleagues in telling the administration that your hard work and dedication is worth more than “just say no.” Add your signature by clicking here!
An Open Letter to President Friedman & the Board of Trustees of Pace University
Union of Adjunct Faculty at Pace (UAFP)
Local 6379, New York State United Teachers/AFT
139 Fulton Street, Suite 708
New York, NY 10038
January 2016
To Pace University President Stephen Friedman and the Members of the Board of Trustees,
Approximately six months ago, the Union of Adjunct Faculty at Pace (UAFP) entered into contract negotiations with Pace for a successor agreement to the one we bargained three years ago. Our union presented a number of fair and reasonable proposals that would serve to attract and retain the very best teachers and, in turn, would attract and retain the very best students. Given our mutual interest in making Pace the best it can be, we expected that the parties would reach agreement on a new contract in just a few months’ time. We expected that Pace’s bargaining team would see the merit of our proposals and work to reach agreement with us as quickly as possible.
We sure were wrong about that!
Instead of finding our union’s proposals fair and reasonable and instead of working with us to reach an agreement, the administration’s bargaining team flatly rejected our proposals, labeling them “poison pills”, telling us that it would be “very, very difficult to convince us of the merits of these proposals – that they’re good for us.”
We are completely mystified by Pace’s response.
Here is some of what we proposed:
- a modest salary increase of 3% across-the board, in lieu of the current unfair merit pay system which doesn’t use a clear and transparent evaluation system.
- guaranteed reappointment after teaching for eight consecutive terms, a modicum of the job security to which we are entitled for having passed Pace’s high teaching standards and having been reappointed for a good many consecutive terms.
- paid office hours in order to meet with students in a manner other than “on the run” which would improve our students’ academic performance and raise student retention rates, which we know to be problematic.
- paid sick leave beginning on the first day of employment for ALL adjunct faculty and part-time instructors in accordance with NYC’s Sick Leave Law, eliminating the current two year waiting period.
These proposals are not “poison pills.” They are sound proposals which would benefit the Pace community, students and faculty alike. The intent is for excellent faculty members to continue to teach at Pace and for excellent students to continue to study at Pace. It’s a win/win situation.
We are writing to urge you to direct the administration’s team to come to the bargaining table prepared to negotiate with us, rather than dismiss our concerns. We fear that if Pace continues to reject our proposals for fair pay, job security, paid office hours, and sick leave, among our other concerns, the next generation of Pace adjunct faculty and part-time instructors may well be populated mostly by professors who accept assignments at the University only because they cannot secure positions at other Universities that treat their adjunct faculty and part-time instructors with the respect they deserve.
We know that Pace can do better. We trust that Pace wants to do better. Many of us have worked at Pace for years and even decades. We are committed to our students and the institution and believe that we should be treated in a way that recognizes the important contributions we make as members of the Pace Community. We hope that you will protect the ability of the University to attract and retain the most qualified and dedicated adjunct faculty and part-time instructors for years to come by directing your negotiating team to bargain with us over our concerns, recognizing that we teach a majority of the classes and we make important contributions to Pace. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Respectfully,
Joshua Dean Acord, Performing Arts
Rosario Adler, Modern Languages and Cultures
Katie Albany, English
Barry Amper, Teach for America
Lolita Anuada-Maksom, BS Nurse Education
Judith Anuada-Gumban, BS Nurse Education
Ioana Atanassova, History
Lori F Baker, Mathematics
Andrea Baron, Publishing
Janice R Barringer, Performing Arts
Golbarg Bashi, History
Tracy Basile, English
Gloria Bautista, Modern Languages and Cultures
Robert Benjes, Information Technology
Nicole Biscardi, Management and Mgt Science
Cheryl Blonstein, Psychology
Paula Bloom, Modern Languages and Cultures
Steven Bookman, English
Lori Borelli, Psychology
Robert Bove, English
Anthony Branda, Marketing
Thomas Rene Brennan, PPA Academic
Margaret Brewer-Laporta, Chem/Physical Sciences
Akissi Britton, Sociology and Anthropology
Robert Browner, Biology
Elizabeth Brown-Jordan, English
Susan Brownmiller, Women’s & Gender Studies
Elena Brunn, English
Elizabeth Bush, Public Administration
Jeremy Buttman, Philosophy and Religious Studies
Linda Carlson, Education
Stacy Casden, Psychology
Mark Cassata, Fine Arts
Carolyn Chalker, Women’s & Gender Studies
Corrine Chateau, Psychology
Karishma Chawla, Psychology
Sammy Cheraki, Mathematics
Francis Cheslik, Communication Studies
Karima Clayton, Psychology
Gerard Clock, History
Christy Cobb, Philosophy and Religious Studies
Deirdre Courtney-Batson, History
Virginia Cox, Performing Arts
Susan Crawford, Media and Communications Arts
Rosemarie Cristina, Modern Languages and Cultures
Kathleen Curcio-Pollio, Modern Languages/Cultures
Nuno De Campos, Art
Susan Del Bene, BS Nurse Education
Augusto Delgado, NACTEL
Jean Deniro, Communication Studies
Victoria deVries, English
Donna Drake, Performing Arts
Gabriel Dugue, Modern Languages and Cultures
Jennifer DuJat, English
Janet Dunson, Communication Studies
Jill Edwards, PPA Academic
Aida Egues, BS Nurse Education
Geraldine Erman, Art
Andrea Fernandez, Modern Languages and Cultures
Gretha Fievre, BS Nurse Education
William Flank, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Katherine Flynn, Biology
Kenneth J Fordyce, Management/Mgt Science
Mark Fox, Publishing
David Frank, Drama
Carl Fudge, Art
Richard Furlong, English
Elizabeth Garrett, ELI
Leslie A Giammanco, Performing Arts
Edna Glassman-Lackow, BS Nurse Education
Anders Goldfarb, Art
Michael Goldfried, Performing Arts
Baris Gokturk, Art
Paul Grossman, English
Jose Guevara-Escudero, History
Paul Guzzone, Dramatic Productions
Debbie Hamilton, English
Helen Haselnuss, Modern Languages and Cultures
Elliot Hearst, English
Lauren Helpern, Performing Arts
Iris Hershenson, Information Technology
Kailey Horan, Psychology
Kathleen Hulser, English
Matthew Hutcheson, History
Carl Jensen, Economics
Annette Joseph, Communication Studies
Louisa S Katz, Psychology
Joyce Kong, Education
Renee Krochek, Psychology
Frances LaBarre, Psychology
Georgianna Labella-Saracco, Communication Studies
Monica Lake, Psychology
Mary Law, Dramatic Productions
Avery Leider, Information Technology
Barbara Lerner, Communication Studies
George Levine, Mathematics
Michael Levine, Sociology and Anthropology
Nathifa A Lewis, Information Technology
Angelo Liberta, English
Ily Likhtina, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Joshua Loeffel, Media and Communications Arts
Maureen Lynch, BS Nurse Education
Holly Mandel, Performing Arts
Joyce Mandell, English for Professionals
Pamela Marcus, ELI
Kathryn Marohn, Fine Arts
Daniel D Martino, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Chuck Maryan, Communication Studies
Marcella Massa, ELI
Atsuko Matsuyama, Modern Languages and Cultures
Elena Mauer, Publishing
Claudia Mausner, Environmental Studies
Nedra McClyde, Performing Arts
Mercedes McCormick, Psychology
Rose M McGough, English
Maria I Milan, Modern Languages and Cultures
Christopher A Mitchell, Women’s & Gender Studies
Daniel Molina, Psychology
Theresa Morris, Philosophy and Religious Studies
Theresa Nahim, ELI
Susan Ner-Friedwald, ELI
Leslie Nilsson, Management and Mgt Science
Carlyle Owens, Performing Arts
Emanuel Pantelidis, Communication Studies
Rosalie Peck, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Peter Pizzola, Biology
Maria Plochocki, English
Mary Ellen Polentz-Bernard, Performing Arts
Marvin J Preiss, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Anne Purdy, BS Nurse Education
Bill Quinlan, Psychology
Louis Quintas, Mathematics
Michael Ragon, Mathematics
Rebecca Rass, English
Sarada Rauch, Art
Maria Corazon Reano, Psychology
Joshua Rice, PPA Academic
Michelle Richter, Publishing
Nicholas Rispoli, Fine Arts
Beth C Roberts, English
Melissa Rogers, Mathematics
John Eduard Rosello, BS Nurse Education
Gary Rosenblatt, Communication Studies
Martin Rosensweig, Mathematics
Allen Rubin, English
Corrina Sager,Media and Communications Arts
Kathy Sandler, Publishing
Maralyn Schlanger, English
Thomas M Schmidt, Computer Science
Wendy Scribner, English
Raymond Seltzer, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Sharmilla Shakya, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Lester Shane, Performing Arts
Janet Shanks, ELI
Carla Shapiro, Fine Arts
Leighsa Sharoff, BS Nurse Education
Alexandra Silber, Performing Arts
Paulanne Simmons, English
Rachel Simon, English
Sheldon Siporin, Psychology
Oxana Skorniakova, Modern Languages and Cultures
Giliian Sneed, Art
Barbara Sommers, BS Nurse Education
Stacy L Spencer, Arts and Entertainment Mgt
Julia Steinmetz, Women’s & Gender Studies
Christopher Stephens, Performing Arts
Meghan Stevenson, Publishing
David L Sweet, English
Fabio Tavares da Silva, Performing Arts
Karen Thornhill, English
Jack Toolin, Art
Rebecca Tuffey, Performing Arts
Yunus Tuncel, Philosophy and Religious Studies
Sarah M Ulicny, English
Robert Walkup, Communication Studies
Alan Walowitz, Education
Katharine Wildish, Performing Arts
Chris Williams, Chemistry and Physical Sciences
Eric Dean Wilson, English
John Xouris, Mathematics
Christopher M York, Performing Arts
Vicky A Youngman, Fine Arts
Christopher Zaccardi, Performing Arts
Elza Zagreda, Women’s & Gender Studies
Joanne Zipay, Performing Arts