Adjunct Faculty Association at

Nassau Community College

VANGUARD

Charles Loiacono, Editor             Special Edition                           February  2010

PERB RULES LINCC BELONGS TO THE NCCFT

Inside This Issue:

The Union's Position
Viewpoint

Pay dates

Sexual Harassment

       Shock was the word most heard on campus when the PERB ruling finally came down. The ELI/LINCC debacle has plagued NCC for years. The departments did not want ESL, so they did not balk when the administration moved ESL into adult education. The administration viewed ESL as an unimportant academic pursuit, but one that could be a potential money maker. Bypassing union involvement was soon seen as a first step in diminishing union strength.

          The AFA  leadership  immedi-

ately focused in on the prize the administration had its eye on. Allowing the administration to begin removing courses from our jurisdiction would be the beginning of the end. We, therefore, fought for years until we got a precedent decision that wrote in stone, “unit work for unit employees.” With that decision in hand, our jurisdiction was secure.

           With our sympathy to the NCCFT, we declared good riddance to ELI/LINCC. Our aim was to protect the integrity of  the AFA contract. With the arbitration decision and now with the PERB decision, we have succeeded in protecting our contract. We will not appeal the PERB decision (we’re afraid we might win), and we will not pursue the LINCC arbitration.

          The reader deserves to view some excerpts from the PERB decision. It shines a bright light on the character of the Fanelli administration, as well as the tricks and machinations of their legal team. The excerpts will be in bold italics. Editorial comments will be in Times New Roman.

“Ann Muth, the Dean for the Lifelong Learning and Weekend College, testified that ELI-A is not a program, but merely a series of courses…Muth explained that the term ‘program’ can only be used to refer to a registered program, which is a course of study that has been designated as such by the College and had been approved by both SUNY and the New York State Education Department.”

Since such approval has never been sought, how could such a non-program be considered full-time? Of course, Muth was testifying that LINCC belonged within the jurisdiction of the AFA. John Gross was having her testify toward that end. That was before the 180 degree turnabout.

“On July 31, 2007, Kravitz issued a memorandum to ELI-instructors advising them that, as of September 1, 2007, ELI-B was to be replaced by LINCC. Kravitz’ memorandum invites ELI-B instructors to apply for the LINCC position, described as a full-time lecturer, ‘a new faculty category.’ ”

This was the first step in molding an adult education position to look like a full-time position, even though:

“LINCC lecturers who work both the fall and spring semesters received an equivalent annual pay of $37,180. If calculated as an hourly rate of pay, LINCC lecturers earn less hourly than both AFA and NCCFT faculty.”

Fanelli knew what he was doing. He was getting ready to shaft one of the unions. He was already shafting the “lecturers.”

“LINCC lecturers work a total of 25.25 hours per week…According to Mary Ortlieb, the College’s coordinator of international student affairs and a member of the ESL Advisory Board, lecturers generally work an additional 5 to 10 hours and are required to tutor, advise and give guidance to their students…LINCC lecturers are responsible for evaluating students upon entrance to LINCC; they evaluate reading placement essays and tests and conduct placement interviews. LINCC lecturers also sit on committees, such as the textbook and curriculum committees for LINCC, and are required to observe their peers as a means of staff development, collaboration, and to establish common best practices. They participate in faculty development. They attend weekly faculty meetings with LINCC’s co-coordinators.”

Those 25 hours plus the 10 additional hours are clock hours. Those 35 clock hours translate into 42 contact hours per week. Considering all the other responsibilities heaped on these folks, they are putting in more than a laborer’s 40 hour week. Indeed, one witness said the following:

   “When he taught LINCC courses, Fioretta worked Monday to Friday and classes were scheduled from 8:00 a.m. through 4:45 p.m.”

.       At $37,180 a year, can anyone guess what Fanelli’s real motive was? It’s no small wonder that he fought the AFA so long. This was Fanelli’s dream come true: Today ELI/LINCC, Tomorrow the world.

          What of the pretense that LINCC was a whole new concept in teaching English that the administration created and developed in two weeks following the admission that ELI belonged under the jurisdiction of the AFA?

          “Fioretta testified that the only difference between ELI-B and LINCC are the two weekly hours of required laboratory work, the lack of summer and evening classes and compulsory office hours. According to Fioretta, the student populations and curriculum of ELI-B and LINCC are similar; both programs emphasize a holistic approach and use the same textbook, the North Star.”

and spring and do not teach during the day. We have more adjuncts teaching during the day than at night, and we had 1,500 adjuncts teaching this past fall. If the reader finds that excerpt incredible, read what’s coming and you’ll know that the record was muddied.

“That contractual provision essentially divides the work of teaching between the two units based upon when a course is taught. As a general matter, daytime courses taught during the spring and fall semesters are assigned to NCCFT unit employees as part of their full-time course loads and evening and summer semester courses are assigned to AFA unit employees…When 010 and 020 ESL courses were offered through the College’s academic departments, they were taught by both AFA and NCCFT unit employees, following the foregoing work division.”

           That understanding is completely wrong. All courses that are not part of a full-time program in the fall and spring are reserved for adjunct assignment. That includes day, evening, weekend, interim, and summer courses. How could a PERB administrative law judge be led so far from the mark? When 010 and 020 courses were taught by the departments, adjunct professors taught them during the day in all semesters.

“Further, if the AFA believes that article 14 requires that the work be assigned to AFA unit employees, the AFA may seek its remedy in the appropriate forum.”

 Of course, the ALJ is here referring to arbitration. No thanks!

            We have already directed our attorneys to drop the pending LINCC arbitration. The AFA knows a gift when it sees one. Fanelli hoped to encroach on our jurisdiction, and with that first step to then further the encroachments. He underestimated our resolve, our understanding, and our willingness to do all that was necessary to preserve the union.

            We believe that the NCCFT will do no less. We pledge our support and will do anything to aid them in fending off this anti-union campaign. An injury to one union is an injury to all unions.

            This is the end mark in Sean Fanelli’s legacy. All the saccharine resolutions and syrupy whereas phrases won’t erase the true record of his tenure.