Frederick Community College Faculty Pledge To Reject Exploitative Faculty Lead Position Until Union Contract Is Reached
Dear President Cheek,
We, the undersigned full-time faculty members of Frederick Community College, refuse to apply for the position of Faculty Lead until a union contract is ratified between United Academics of Maryland FCC and Frederick Community College.
The restructuring of departmental and programmatic leadership has been lacking in transparency, rushed, pursued in direct opposition to faculty and community demands, and will steal both essential labor and compensation from bargaining unit members. We vehemently oppose the unilateral change to wages, hours, and working conditions in this renaming of Chair and Program Manager duties as undefined faculty lead labor. The new faculty lead position is currently not being offered with adequate release credit for the time, effort, and subject matter expertise it will require of faculty. Faculty stand united in our choice to reject this position. We pledge ourselves to this act of solidarity despite fear of personal jeopardy. We refuse to take on additional, underpaid labor dressed as "leadership" until all faculty receive improved wages and clarity in the newly created roles in our respective areas.
As a union, we urge the administration to consider the value that faculty truly bring to this institution and recognize that value at the bargaining table. As educators, we are fully committed to this institution and want to see it succeed - and to have our voices valued in shaping that solution. However, we believe the labor involved in the new lead positions is unclear and insufficiently resourced for the current demands of quality program management. Faculty expertise as subject area experts is integral to maintaining the strong reputation FCC has with local industries and for the transformative relationships FCC has with our students. Our labor is the essential function of this college: education. We currently support both students and administrators who rely on our expertise and understanding to “create the right conditions” for FCC. In order to do our best work, we need clarity in our job expectations and compensation commensurate with our work load and experience. As such, we implore the administration to expeditiously and in good faith bargain a contract that codifies fairness and transparency in workload and compensation.
11 Comments
The exploitation of FCC's faculty ends now! To create the right conditions for our college to thrive, the administration must recognize that faculty are the foundation of these conditions. Treat us with the respect we deserve!
This has been a difficult position to be in. We care about our program, we care about our students, we care about our faculty. Moving our low-paying workload to administrative positions removes our input and subject matter expertise. We should be collaborating rather than pitting faculty against administration.
This whole thing is just insulting. We put in so much extra time and they just add more on our plates without any real support or pay. Enough is enough.
I would like to be considered as a valuable member of the FCC community. I have been teaching full-time for over 26 years. I have served on multiple committees and as a co-recipient of several federal research grants. I have a lot of knowledge and experience to contribute to the crafting of a successful educational institution. I would also like to be treated with respect, dignity and consideration. Thank you.
Faculty are nation builders. We help build our students, who in turn build their families, the community, and the nation(s). We earn the right to fair pay for the work we do every single day. No nation prospers without an educated, skilled workforce. We, the faculty, the highly skilled professionals, make this happen.
Support
I reject the Faculty Lead position. By eliminating a Chair, who is elected by faculty, we have lost our voice. The Faculty Lead role is not elected, but chosen by submitting a letter of interest to the Provost. Who sees this letter? Who is deciding who gets the role? The elimination of the Chair role hurts all faculty, both full-time and adjunct. The new Faculty Lead role will not have the same representation with administration when it comes to matters such as scheduling, hiring, and providing support for faculty. This restructuring, the layers, upon layers, of administrators will not further student learning, retention, or success, either. Administrators do not feel the pinch when they schedule more classes than we have the human capacity to teach. In Math, both full-time and adjunct faculty step up to take on overloads every semester due to not having enough faculty to teach scheduled classes. We need more full-time faculty, not more administrators. Bring on the FAIR contract for Faculty!
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Frederick Community College Faculty Pledge To Reject Exploitative Faculty Lead Position Until Union Contract Is Reached
Dear President Cheek,
We, the undersigned full-time faculty members of Frederick Community College, refuse to apply for the position of Faculty Lead until a union contract is ratified between United Academics of Maryland FCC and Frederick Community College.
The restructuring of departmental and programmatic leadership has been lacking in transparency, rushed, pursued in direct opposition to faculty and community demands, and will steal both essential labor and compensation from bargaining unit members. We vehemently oppose the unilateral change to wages, hours, and working conditions in this renaming of Chair and Program Manager duties as undefined faculty lead labor. The new faculty lead position is currently not being offered with adequate release credit for the time, effort, and subject matter expertise it will require of faculty. Faculty stand united in our choice to reject this position. We pledge ourselves to this act of solidarity despite fear of personal jeopardy. We refuse to take on additional, underpaid labor dressed as "leadership" until all faculty receive improved wages and clarity in the newly created roles in our respective areas.
As a union, we urge the administration to consider the value that faculty truly bring to this institution and recognize that value at the bargaining table. As educators, we are fully committed to this institution and want to see it succeed - and to have our voices valued in shaping that solution. However, we believe the labor involved in the new lead positions is unclear and insufficiently resourced for the current demands of quality program management. Faculty expertise as subject area experts is integral to maintaining the strong reputation FCC has with local industries and for the transformative relationships FCC has with our students. Our labor is the essential function of this college: education. We currently support both students and administrators who rely on our expertise and understanding to “create the right conditions” for FCC. In order to do our best work, we need clarity in our job expectations and compensation commensurate with our work load and experience. As such, we implore the administration to expeditiously and in good faith bargain a contract that codifies fairness and transparency in workload and compensation.
11 Comments
No data supports the administration's new reorganization plan and its hiring practices for the "Lead Teachers" and "Assistant Dean" positions are inconsistent and do not involve faculty input. No applications without a faculty contract!
The exploitation of FCC's faculty ends now! To create the right conditions for our college to thrive, the administration must recognize that faculty are the foundation of these conditions. Treat us with the respect we deserve!
This has been a difficult position to be in. We care about our program, we care about our students, we care about our faculty. Moving our low-paying workload to administrative positions removes our input and subject matter expertise. We should be collaborating rather than pitting faculty against administration.
This whole thing is just insulting. We put in so much extra time and they just add more on our plates without any real support or pay. Enough is enough.
I would like to be considered as a valuable member of the FCC community. I have been teaching full-time for over 26 years. I have served on multiple committees and as a co-recipient of several federal research grants. I have a lot of knowledge and experience to contribute to the crafting of a successful educational institution. I would also like to be treated with respect, dignity and consideration. Thank you.
Faculty are nation builders. We help build our students, who in turn build their families, the community, and the nation(s). We earn the right to fair pay for the work we do every single day. No nation prospers without an educated, skilled workforce. We, the faculty, the highly skilled professionals, make this happen.
Support
I reject the Faculty Lead position. By eliminating a Chair, who is elected by faculty, we have lost our voice. The Faculty Lead role is not elected, but chosen by submitting a letter of interest to the Provost. Who sees this letter? Who is deciding who gets the role? The elimination of the Chair role hurts all faculty, both full-time and adjunct. The new Faculty Lead role will not have the same representation with administration when it comes to matters such as scheduling, hiring, and providing support for faculty. This restructuring, the layers, upon layers, of administrators will not further student learning, retention, or success, either. Administrators do not feel the pinch when they schedule more classes than we have the human capacity to teach. In Math, both full-time and adjunct faculty step up to take on overloads every semester due to not having enough faculty to teach scheduled classes. We need more full-time faculty, not more administrators. Bring on the FAIR contract for Faculty!
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No data supports the administration's new reorganization plan and its hiring practices for the "Lead Teachers" and "Assistant Dean" positions are inconsistent and do not involve faculty input. No applications without a faculty contract!