GSU Academic Calendar

GSU Provost's Office Documents

GSU Campus Weather

UPI/GSU Calendar of Events

UPI/GSU Executive Board Meeting Minutes

AFT On Campus

UPI Local 4100

Free Exchange

Judge Says Faculty-Staff Handbook Rules

University of Idaho Retired Faculty Lose Law Suit UPI/GSU President Marsha Katz alerts us to the following story: MOSCOW - A group of 268 University of Idaho retirees have lost their bid in court to have early retirement benefits restored. In granting summary judgment to the university, 2nd District Judge John R. Stegner ruled the retirement agreements incorporated the UI Faculty-Staff Handbook by reference. That document reserves the right of the State Board of Education and the university to change benefits, Stegner ruled.

Elizabeth Ruiz Named UPI/GSU Interim President

UPI/GSU Executive Board Appoints Ruiz Dr. Elizabeth Ruiz, Associate Professor of Psychology in the College of Education has been appointed our UPI/GSU Interim President by the GSU UPI Executive Board. She will serve during the sabbatical absence of Dr. Marsha Katz. Elizabeth has taught at Governors State University since 2000. She has served as chapter treasurer and assistant grievance officer. Just prior to her apoinmtment she served as UPI/GSU Vice President. She can be reached at e-ruiz@govst.edu or by phone at (708) 534-4903.

Single Payer vs. Public Option Health Care Here is President Obama's Address to Congress on Health Care, September 9, 2009: The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation representing 11.5 million workers in 57 international and national unions, endorsed a Single Payer health care system by unanimous vote in favor of Convention Resolution 34. The vote took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 after President Obama addressed the AFL-CIO Convention. The resolution cites HR 676 as one of a number of single-payer bills suppoorted. Still, the Single-Payer health care idea supported by so many unions throughout America seems, at this writing, to be less and less likely to pass in Congress. The concept was that only one insurance organization, most likely the federal government, would insure all Americans. It is presented in the article on this Web site entitled, Three AFT Faculty Unions Endorse HR 676 - A Single-Payer Health Care System. It meant that private insurance companies would be out of luck. Although a Single Payer system no longer seems politically likely, there is still the possibility of a Public Option. That is, that U.S. citizens would have the option of buying their insurance from our federal government or from a private insurance company. Currently, the Public Option proposal has nothing in it to provide health care for undocumented aliens. Most of us at GSU have money deducted from our pay and sent to a private insurance company. If, through a federally run Public Option, the government could keep costs low enough by insuring such a large number of people (with or without subsidies and with no need for profits) there would be enough savings to provide health insurance for everyone in the entire nation including over 40 million people currently uninsured. This is called a Public Option because nobody would be forced to buy their insurance from the government if they preferred to buy their insurance from a private company. Government run insurance would only be an option. The Public Option, while a fall back from Single Payer, is still controversial. Opponents of the Public Optioon idea believe that having our federal government in the health care business is too much socialism. A similar logic would call for the end of Medicare which already provides government-run insurance to our country's senior citizens. It has also been suggested that the federal government no longer fund the Interstate Highway system. Another reason some people oppose any public option is that they believe it would drive costs to the insured down thereby hurting insurance companies and restraining free trade, so to speak. There are those in Congress that believe that without a public option, we will have made no real progress toward health reform. Many have declared their unwilllingness to vote for any proposal that has no public option. Others in Congress will not vote for a bill with a public option. The battle continues. Below is President Obama's attempt to explain to us what is meant by a public option. His speech below does not reflect his behavior in the past few weeks where he has been criticized for backing away from the public option and then returning to it as his preference. -Jeffrey S. Kaiser- September 6, 2009 Here is President Obama on The Public Option, June 23, 2009:

Senator Ted Kennedy Dies at 77

Senator Edward Kennedy died at his home on Cape Cod on Auguast 25, 2009 after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. He was 77. The AFT, UPIGSU's parent organization, has a long history of supporting our members and friends during times of need. For more than four decades Sen. Kennedy had been a leading voice in the Senate advocating for excellent schools, a decent healthcare system and labor policies that support hard-working Americans. His leadership on these issues was unparalleled. Sen. Kennedy also was an honorary member of the AFT. Then AFT President Edward J. McElroy bestowed that honor on the senator at the 2006 AFT national convention in Boston. During this difficult time for Sen. Kennedy's family, please remember all the good things he did for our country and for Education in particular. "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die." - Senator Ted Kennedy, 1932-2009 - A Chronolgy of Senator Kennedy's Life VP Biden on Ted Kennedy

GSU Professor Honored

Paper Named Highly Commended In a recent paper, Individualism/Collectivism, Selected Personality Traits and Psychological Contract in Employment: A Comparative Study, co-authored with Lijun Chen, of Zhejiang University, PRC (Management Research News, Vol. 31, No. 4, 2008) part of the Emerald Literari Publishing System in Britan, Dr. Jun Zhao's writing was selected as one of the journal's three Highly Commended Papers for 2008. The award winning papers are chosen following consultation amongst the journal's editorial team, many of whom are eminent academics or managers. In the award citation, the editors said that this paper was selected because it was one of the most impressive pieces of work the team has seen throughout 2008. Dr. Zhao is an Associate Professor in GSU's College of Business and Public Administration Campus Extention 4953 / Email: j-zhao@govst.edu For an abstract of her publication, see .

UPI Officers Retire, New Leadership Begins

UPI President Sue Kaufman Retires (L to R) Incoming President Ellie Sullivan and Retiring President Sue Kaufman (L to R) UPI President Ellie Sullivan and UPI/GSU President Marsha Katz at Leadership Conference (L to R) UPI Executive V.P. David Carpenter UPI President Ellie Sullivan UPI Secretary-Treasurer Hank Davis UPI Recording Secretary Normajean Niebur facilitate UPI Leadership Conference, August 2009 UPI members said good-bye to our three retiring Local 4100 officers -- President Sue Kaufman, Executive Vice President John Murphy, and Financial Secretary Don Geren. Folks got together after the leadership conference at a Chicago restaurant. State Rep. Chapin Rose brought a resolution passed by the Illinois House commending Sue for her service over the years. -Photos from UPI Locall 4100-

Funding the State Retirement Systems: Comparison of Governor Quinn's Proposal and the Current System

Here is what Governor Quinn is attempting to do:: To eliminate part of the deficit for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 Governor Quinn has proposed a mix of reducing the required state payment by almost $3 billion and establishing a lower tier of benefits for new hires including: A reduction in the benefit formula from 2.2 percent to 2 percent for those not covered by Social Security, and from 1.67 percent to 1.5 percent for those who are covered. Raising the normal retirement age to 67 across the board. Currently the systems have varying retirement ages depending on years of service. For example currently teachers have the option to retire at age 62 with five years of service, at age 55 with 35 years of service or age 55 with 20 years of service at a discounted annuity. State employees retire at 60 with 8 years of service and 55 for early retirement with a minimum of 25 years of service. Capping annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs) to 50 percent of the CPI or 3 percent, whichever is less. Ending compounded COLAs. Determining final average salary by a participant's highest eight years of service instead of the current highest four years of service. For the complete report, click here Dr. Marsha Katz and Dr. Julia Yang protest in Springfield with hundreds of others over proposed changes in pension plan.

UPI/GSU Members Attend House of Delegates

We were well represented at the UPI House of Delegates April 17th & 18th 2009 in Chicago: Standing L to R: Jeannine Klomes, Maribeth Kasik, Edna Fry Seated: Marsha Katz, Lydia Morrow-Ruetten

President Obama Signs Senate and House Agreement: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Federal Legislation Supports Schools and Universities with Less Money than Originally Expected: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R.1) passed the U.S. House of Representatives on 1/28/09, the Senate on 2/10/09, and both reached agreement on a modified bill on 2/11/09. President Obama has now signed the bill. The original House bill had $79 Billion for Education. The Senate bill had $39 Billion for Education. In the final version of the bill, USA Today (2/12/09-pg. 4A) reported that there is $54 Billion for Education, $10 Billion of which is for "school modernization". More than 40 AFT leaders from 20 states traveled to Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4 to lobby members of the U.S. Senate to support the national economic recovery plan. AFT leaders were pushing a number of key issues addressed in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including the bill's significant investment in education; an increase in funding for Medicaid, which would help reduce some of the program's growing burden on state budgets; ample funding for school construction and modernization; and opposition to efforts to reduce the bill's support for Pell Grants and other higher education programs. Passage of the recovery act has been the current top priority of the AFT. For an update: Although the bill is now law, an update on the final discussions leading to the agreement between the Senate and the House. see theNY Times article by clicking here. Synopsis: For a brief U.S.A. Today chart of the details of major portions of the bill along with very brief explanations, click here. For the U.S. Government Web site on the bill, click here. The bill: Establishes a State Fiscal Stabilization Fund that focuses primarily on restoring cuts in state aid to school districts and public universities. This assistance will help avert cuts that could lead to larger class sizes, overcrowding and attendant disciplinary problems; less access to proven and promising programs that are improving student achievement; delays in the purchase of up-to-date textbooks and state-of-the-art technology; and higher tuition rates at public universities;   Provides significant, additional funding for priority programs such as Title I, IDEA, Head Start, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Pell Grants and other forms of financial aid as well as training for healthcare providers;   Offers significant financial support to help make infrastructure improvements in our public schools and public universities;   Increases funding to states to help offset rising Medicaid costs;   Provides significant resources toward unemployment benefits, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and other programs that support struggling families; and Offers tax relief for working families.

Three Articles on the Use of Adjuncts

These three links to articles on the use of adjuncts come to us from Larry Gold, AFT Higher Education : Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/12/03/adjunct USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-12-03-part-time-professors_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip#uslPageReturn Chronicle: http://chronicle.com/daily/2008/12/7951n.htm

SURS Press Release on Pension Stability

Photo is of Mitch Vogel, SURS chair and former president of UPI, giving a presentation to UPI's Executive Board. The following is a Joint Statement of the Teachers´ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, the Illinois State Board of Investment, and the Illinois State Universities Retirement System    Press Release 10/09/2008 Illinois Pension Systems Issue Statement on Stability of Retirement Benefits Members of the Illinois state retirement systems can rest assured that their retirement benefits remain secure despite the current volatility in the global financial markets. The benefits delivered by the state pension systems are constitutionally protected and cannot be reduced due to investment losses or for any reason. Those protections also exist under the contracts clause of the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, the state retirement systems have structured their investment portfolios to effectively endure market declines over the long term. The Teachers´ Retirement System, the Illinois State Board of Investment, and the Illinois State Universities Retirement System each have investments in a number of different asset classes. This diversification has minimized recent investment losses and maximized returns when the financial markets have performed well. Each system employs a stable of investment professionals that have the expertise and experience needed to effectively navigate the plans through the unstable market conditions. Finally, while the systems recognize the grave realities of the current financial markets, we are well-equipped to look beyond the fear that has permeated our society in order to make investment decisions that are in the best interests of our members. The state retirement systems remain stable and our benefits are reliable.

Illinois Voters Said "No!"

Illinois voters overwhelming rejected the call for a constiturional convention (Con Con) defeating the measure by nearly 1.5 million votes on November 4th. The ballot question that is required to be placed before the voters every 20 years was also rejected by a 3 to 1 margain in 1988 (IFT Insight Winter 2009 V14 No.2). AFT, IFT, and UPI union members throughout the state played a key role in its defeat urging the "no" vote pictured below.

National Council of Women's Organizations' Women's Health Task Force

In 2008, 11,070 U.S. women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 3,870 women will die from this disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Yet, cervical cancer is 100% preventable. See the Web site at: http://www.womenshealthtaskforce.org/health_programs

Assault on Teachers' Unions

Heads Up! National Campaign Against Teachers' Unions Starts March 11, 2008 From AFT LeaderNet 3/7/08: On Tuesday, March 11th, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) will launch what the organization describes as "an unprecedented, $1 million advertising assault on teachers unions". CUF will be airing commercials on CNN and Fox News, and buying full-page ads in the New York Times and USA Today. The attack ads will promote its campaign Web site. "We suspect these ads, which focus on union actions in 20 school districts across the country, also will include distortions about tenure, claims that unions oppose worthwhile school reforms, and outright lies about what we do", says AFT president Edward J. McElroy. "The charges will be vicious and outrageous, and the ads may result in news coverage, particularly from anti-union media outlets. The AFT is currently developing its own attack plan," McElroy says, and will have additional information available shortly. Help fight back. See: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/teachersuniontruth

Porter Scholarship Available

The Porter Scholarship is now available. Porter_Scholar_Ad_2008.pdf

Three AFT Faculty Unions Endorse HR 676 - A Single-Payer Health Care System

HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident. HR 676 would cover every person in the U. S. for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care, chiropractic and long term care. HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private health insurance industry and HMOs. HR 676 currently has 88 co-sponsors in addition to Rep John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI). For the bill's text and its co-sponsors, click here. HR 676 has been endorsed by 358 union organizations in 48 states including 94 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 32 state AFL-CIOs (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO, MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL & CA). College faculty unions in three states have endorsed HR 676, legislation that would institute a single payer system in the U.S. In Anchorage, Alaska, the Representative Assembly of Local 4996, United Academics-AAUP/AFT, endorsed HR 676 reports local President Carl Shepro. The local represents 950 faculty members on the three major campuses of the University of Alaska system. In New York, Local 3998, Long Island University Faculty Federation, NYSUT/AFT, has also endorsed HR 676 reports local President Ed Donahue. In Philadelphia, AFT Local 2026 endorsed HR 676. Local 2026 represents 1,300 faculty and staff at the Community College of Philadelphia. Local 2026 Co-presidents, John Braxton and Karen Schermerhorn, said after the vote, “Health insurance was the single largest issue in our bargaining for our contract last year. We came away with our health benefits largely intact, but we know it will be even harder next time to negotiate a contract without health insurance take-aways. This country needs to catch up with the rest of the industrialized world and treat health insurance as a benefit that all citizens deserve, and take the responsibility away from individual employers and individual unions.” For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample endorsement resolution, contact: Kay Tillow All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676 c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO) 1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218 Louisville, KY 40217 (502) 636 1551 Email nursenpo@aol.com The above information comes to us from http://www.unionsforsinglepayerhr676.org/ 01/24/08

IBHE Chair Urges New Direction in Education Priorities

College is key to meeting workforce, state economic needs, Hightman says. CHICAGO – The state needs to change its thinking, broaden its vision, and act more strategically if it is to meet the education and workforce needs of its citizens in a rapidly changing global economy, Carrie Hightman, Chairwoman of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said today. Hightman, addressing a statewide conference of the Illinois Association of Graduate Schools at Loyola University Chicago, told the audience that higher education must have a more prominent role in state education and economic priorities for Illinois to sustain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. http://www.ibhe.org/Media%20Center/2007/HTM/1022_NewDirection.htm

The Faculty Agreement (The Contract) is on line at: http://www.upigsu.org/upi-agreement-final-06-09.pdf

Illinois Ethics Code Enforcement

UPI Releases Warning About Ethics Code Procedures (from Marsha Katz forwarded from UPI People and Issues Magazine) While most of us learned about the 2003 Illinois Ethics law by the “Ethics Training” which has been required of all state employees, a few recent events have signaled a much more serious and potentially threatening aspect of the law. The statute provides for the creation of a State Ethics Commission with jurisdiction over potential conflicts of interest or corrupt practices within the Executive branch of state government. As a result, numerous Executive Inspectors General have been appointed to investigate such allegations. More than one instance of these officers approaching university employees led to the request for legal advice. Stephen Yokich from the firm of Cornfield and Feldman, which represents UPI and its members in labor law matters, provided the memorandum below to advise us of our rights. In 2003, the General Assembly created the Office of Executive Inspector General. While the prime purpose of the Office is enforce compliance with the new State Ethics statute, the legislation itself gives the Inspector Generals the authority to investigate “waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance” by state officials and employees. The office has a staff of investigators, mostly retired law enforcement types. The Office does not have the power to investigate anonymous allegations or allegations which are more than a year old. The statute allows an investigator for the Office to “request” information and interviews. It also gives the Office the power to issue administrative subpoenas to compel testimony and the production of documents. If a subpoena is issued, the person responding to the subpoena may assert any rights or privileges available under federal and state law. [If an official or employee refuses to cooperate with a subpoena, the Office may recommend that the employee or official be disciplined or discharged. If the University decides to follow that recommendation, the official or employee has available any rights guaranteed by state and federal law. Id. Any discipline of an employee as a result of a recommendation must comply with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement covering the employee. If the Office determines that the law has been violated, there is an extensive statutory procedure for litigation of the alleged violation. The Office has taken an expansive view of its authority to interview employees and demand documents. Employees, though, should be cautious, especially if they have been requested to produce documents that they believe are confidential. The statute allows the Office to “request” interviews and documents. That language means the following: The office does not have the right to place an employee under arrest. The Office does not have the right to physically threaten or intimidate an employee. The Office cannot order an employee to appear for an interview or to hand over documents. The Office does not have the right to discipline an employee for not agreeing to the request for an interview or for documents. The employee has the right to terminate the interview if he or she desires. The employee has the right to place conditions on the interview, such as having a lawyer or a union representative present or tape recording the interview. The investigator may threaten an employee that it is illegal to refuse to cooperate and that the Office may recommend discipline or discharge for such lack of cooperation. These threats apply only to the situation where an employee has failed to respond to a valid administrative subpoena. Moreover, it is up to the University to decide whether to proceed with a recommendation of discipline or discharge. If the University proceeds, it must follow the provisions of our contract. If the employee exercises these rights and the Office obtains an administrative subpoena, the employee should consult a lawyer as soon as possible to determine what statutory rights he or she has in response to the subpoena. Before beginning an interview, the employee should ask three questions: 1. Can the statements made in the interview lead to criminal charges against hm or her? 2. Can the statements made in the interview lead to disciplinary action? 3. Is the investigator aware of the collective bargaining agreement that covers the employee and the employee’s rights under that agreement and under state and federal law? If the answer to the first two questions is “yes,” the employee is well advised to terminate the interview immediately and call for help. With respect to the third question, the law requires that inquiries of employees be “conducted with awareness of the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement that applies to the employees of the relevant State agency and with an awareness of the rights of the employees as set forth by State and federal law and applicable judicial decisions.” If the investigator answers that he is not aware of the contract and state and federal law, the employee is well advised to tell him that the law requires him to be aware of these things and to terminate the interview on that basis.

AFT and No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

AFT presses for research-based solutions to NCLB problems Many of UPI/GSU's faculty are involved in teacher preparation programs and administrator preparation programs. The following was just forwarded to UPI Webmasters from AFT's Communicators' Network: As the education community marked the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act on Jan. 8, the AFT continues to press policymakers on our members' concerns about the law and to identify research-backed solutions. AFT president Edward J. McElroy reiterated the union's position on NCLB in a Jan. 5 message to AFT leaders, he noted that although the AFT supports the goals of No Child Left Behind—including high academic standards, meaningful accountability and well-qualified school staff—the "NCLB train has slipped off the tracks." See McElroy's press statement and letter to members of Congress. For more information on NCLB, visit the AFT Web site , which includes a link to NCLB: Let's Get It Right campaign blog and join the discussion. In addition, AFT Public Affairs (202/879-4458) is available to help AFT leaders with any questions regarding media coverage of NCLB's fifth anniversary.

Negotiated Settlements Better Than Usual
	GSU's 16% settlement compares well   GSU's 16% settlement over 3 years compares very favorably to negotiations at other Illinois   universities.   See synopses of Illinois' negotiations at various universities by clicking here:

P T Faculty Offer Certificate in Conductive Education

GSU offers only online conductive ed. program Our own College of Health Professions recently took steps to become a world leader in conductive education (CE). CE originated in Hungary and has been successful in improving fine and gross motor skills, balance, mobility, and independence. Concentrated CE sessions provide time for clients to learn new skills, repeat, and reinforce these skills daily. In fall, the college faculty began offering a certificate in the Principles of Conductive Education. The certificate offered at GSU is the only one in the world available online. For more of this story, click here:

John Dewey, AFT Member
	Dewey one of many notable AFT members The AFT has always counted notable figures among its members. John Dewey (left) held AFT card number one. More about John Dewey (1859-1952):

Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision

Some Light For Some People The Windfall Elimination Provision of the Social Security laws have affected us for many years. We work for an employer (The State of Illinois) that does not withhold Social Security taxes from our salaries. There are only a handful of states in the U.S. that operate this way. The result is that for most of us, the pension we will get will likely reduce our Social Security benefits. However, if you have had employment outside your state job (outside GSU) you may have earned sufficient non-state employee income and paid Social Security Taxes on that income to have given you credit toward getting what you deserve. The problem is that you have to have earned what the Social Security Administration (SSA) calls a "substantial amount" in a year to get credit for that year. The "substantial amount" changes each year. The SSA has a chart that shows what "substantial amount" of earnings you must have earned outside of GSU to get credit for that year. If you reach 30 years of credit, your Social Security checks upon retirement are not reduced. The income level in any one year necessary to qualify varies from year to year. For example, if you worked at GSU in 1990 and earned additional outside income totaling $9525 or more, you would have qualified as earning the necessary "substantial earnings" for that year. Once you have reached 30 years of substantial earnings, you receive no penality for the job you held working for the State of Illinois (at GSU). The closer you get to that 30th year of substantial earnings the less your penality. For example, for 29 years of substantial earnings, your penality is only 5%. This is worth looking into, especially since many of us are on 10-month contracts. Those other 2 months provide an excellent opportunity to meet your goals each year. It is important to know how much outside income you must earn each year to have that year count for you. For 2006, the amount you must earn to have this year count as a "substantial earnings" year is $17475.00. So, if you are close to that, it might be worth the effort to work a few more weekends to make it. There are some members of Congress trying to do away with the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) because they understand how it discriminates against people in our situation. However, there are other members of Congress that argue that the WEP is fair because states are certainly allowed to pay higher-than-normal pensions to their state employee retirees to make up for the difference for what they will never get from Social Security. I don't believe Illinois has ever added money to the amount given to pensioners to make up for what pensioners lose because of not having Social Security Tax deducted from their pay and because of WEP. Also, it is unlikely that the WEP will be overturned in this present Social Security climate despite the good intentions of a few members of Congress. Here is where you can find the chart and the explanation of how it works. Don't be confused by the second chart showing a maximum of 90%. That 90% is only a part of a larger formula. 90% in that part of the formula is the maximum that anyone receives whether they fall under WEP or not. You may have heard some people argue that we shouldn't get Social Security because we don't pay into it. That would be true, but that is not the issue. The issue is that many of us have paid into Social Security throughout our life because of Social Security payments being deducted from our outside work. We don't even get paid our fair share from that amount. It is all because we work for the State of Illinois and because of the WEP of the Social Security law. Here is the official information and the chart(s).    You can phone the SSA toll free at : 1-800-772-1213. For the deaf and hard of hearing, call their TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

UPI/GSU Membership Ratifies 2006-2009 Agreement!

2006-2009 Agreement Ratified! Dear colleagues, The agreement between UPI and the administration passed with a 94% vote: 101 voted Yes; 7 voted No. Thank you for your support. It took a great deal of work, and I want to thank all of you. The negotiation team worked extremely hard, and so did all of the other support committees. You hopefully will see the 4% across the board increase in the last pay check of the year. It will be retroactive to August 31st. The equity portion will probably not occur until later. We will have that done as soon as possible. It also will be retroactive to August 31st. Thank you again for your support and patience. Marsha GSU/UPI Chapter President Governors State University University Park, IL 60466 (708) 534-4952 Here is the brief outline of the Agreement. The entire Agreement is posted below as ratified Highlights: The contract is for three years. The salary package is 5%, 5%, 6% which equals 16% over 3 years total plus PAI, Excellence, and promotion. The first year will be 4% across the board, + 1% equity. The second year's equity will between 1 and 1.5%. The third year will between 1 and 2%. The equity committee will be working on those issues starting next week. PAI will be $2500 a year (now $2400). Overload will be $600 (now $475). Voluntary overload is maxed at 20 cues. Degree completion rose to $2500. ASPs and Lecturers can earn senior status with $2450 boost; they must be rated highly effective 4 out of 5 years with a highly effective the last year. However they must maintain their highly effective levels or they can lose their senior status (but not the increase). The Annual Review for tenured faculty will remain substantially the same. The language has a minor change for clarification purposes... We did not get overload for ASPs, no work load reduction for Lecturers. However their merit increase went up to .75%. The requirement for attending graduation was thrown out. Status quo on grievance process was maintained. Language on travel was inserted. Retirees at half time can be bargaining unit members (Unit B). Here is the ratified Agreement for 2006-2009.

Full-time/Part-time Faculty Ratio Poses Growing Threat

Seventeen delegates from the seven Illinois UPI schools represented us at the American Federation of Teachers convention July 19-23 in Boston. The main business of the meeting was debate and voting on resolutions, including several that rose up from the 2005 UPI House of Delegates last October. Representing GSU were Marsha Katz, Rachel Berg, and Edna Fry. One of the many events was a speech by Senator Ted Kennedy. Some of Kennedy's strongest comments were cast at the White House's handling of the No Child Left Behind Act, a law that Kennedy co-authored. "The current administration has shown itself to be faithless to the worthy goals behind the No Child Left Behind Act", he charged, blasting President Bush for underfunding NCLB by $53 billion since its enactment. And he said the White House revealed its real priorities just this week when it joined with Republicans in Congress to push for private school vouchers—only four days after its own Education Department published research showing the "private school advantage" is a myth. Also at the conference, full-time/part-time faculty ratio was noted as a continuing threat. AFT convention delegates directed that union to create a national campaign demonstrating the dangers represented by a full-time/part-time faculty ratio of 30:70. The focus will be on having legislation introduced at the state and federal level that both restores full-time faculty lines and provides equity for part-time faculty.

U.S. Limiting Free Speech?

The Supreme Court's decision last month that limits the free speech rights of public sector workers "will have a chilling effect on public employees all across this country," says the AFT executive council. In a resolution approved at its June 1-2 meeting in Washington, D.C., the council condemned the High Court's 5-4 decision in Garacetti v. Ceballos, handed down on May 30, that threw out a lawsuit from a Los Angeles deputy district attorney who was disciplined after he wrote internal memos raising questions about police conduct in a case. He was later denied a promotion and transferred to a job further from home. The ruling will have an effect on all public employees, including those in federal, state jobs, public hospitals and public schools and colleges. The decision may lead to placing unfounded limits on academic freedom in public colleges and universities, says the council. The decision "does a disservice to all American citizens who depend on quality essential government services," says the resolution. "When abuses occur in the public sector, government workers are usually the first to know and report them." As a result of this ruling, "public servants will no longer be protected for speaking out on the job and may be fired for bring abuses to the attention of a supervisor or for actions as basic as writing a memorandum." [Trish Gorman] -AFT- View Free Exchange Web site for ideas on protecting free speech:

State-wide Faculty Advisory Committee to the IBHE Pushes for Higher Ed. Funding

Wayne C. Evens, Chair of the Faculty Advisory Council, an advisory committee to the Illinois Board of Higher Education comprised of faculty from public and private universities and colleges in Illinois, is advancing the following statements about the need for Illinois to provide greater support for higher education in the future. These reports will be submitted to the IBHE at its April, 2006 meeting. As they are being provided to the governing bodies of constituent institutions prior to submission to the IBHE, the FAC is making public these statements at this time, subject to possible refinements in language and/or emphasis prior to its formal submission. These positions (See Below) are intended to open discussion on issues that the Faculty Advisory Council sees as important to the future of higher education in Illinois. Eight Theses on Higher Education in Illinois Higher Education is a Question of Quality

Conservative's Academic Bill of Rights Opposed
Conservative Activist David Horowitz	Conservating Activists Design a Bill in Congress called "Academic Bill of Rights" that could dangerously limit academic freedom. The bill is touted as encouraging a diversity of political and religious viewpoints, but may have such activities monitored through avenues such as tenure decisions, reading lists for courses, and campus speakers. AFL-CIO, AAUP, and NEA oppose such a bill.

UPI House of Delegates Resolutions
	Delegates meet, set resolutions, and assign responsibilities

Hubert Humphrey, an AFT Member
	Hubert Humphrey, an AFT member, taught political science in the 1940s before he was elected U.S. Senator from Minnesota and Vice President to Lyndon B. Johnson                                -Early Members and Guiding Lights                                      American Federation of Teachers-

Mary Church Terrell, an AFT Member
	Mary Church Terrell, writer and international women's and civil rights activist, was a charter member of AFT's first higher education local, founded in 1918 at Howard University                                -Early Members and Guiding Lights                                      American Federation of Teachers-

Albert Einstein, an AFT Member

Dr. Albert Einstein was a charter member of the AFT at Princton University in 1939. He is quoted as saying, "I find it important, indeed urgently necessary for intellectual workers to get together both to protect their own economic status and also, generally speaking, to secure their influence in the political field."                                -Early Members and Guiding Lights                                      American Federation of Teachers-

We need more photos of UPI/GSU members- candid, fun, or professionally related. Email your photos to j-kaiser@upigsu.org

Jeffrey S. Kaiser
UPI/GSU Webmaster
j-kaiser@upigsu.org



-->


-->