1650 HOLDS ELECTIONS

This fall the following positions are up for election: President, Vice President of External Affairs, Treasurer, and Area Representatives from even-numbered areas (Area 2 – English, Area 4 – Business & Math, Area 6 – Trade and Apprentice, Area 8 – Social Science, and Area 10 – Retirees). Additionally, there will be a special election for the position of Vice President of Internal Affairs; the elected official will serve for one year, when the election schedule will revert to its normal two-year cycle.

For all positions, nominations will close at the October 21 membership meeting, and elections will be held the following week. If you are interested in running for one of these positions, please inform Marsha Steele (room H-133G or msteele@hfcc.net) or your Area Representative in writing, or have your name nominated at the October 21 membership meeting.

INTERNAL VP STEPS DOWN

After 22 years as Vice President of Internal Affairs, Lynne Hensel resigned at the beginning of the semester in order to pursue her doctoral degree at Michigan State University; she is in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education (HALE) Program. Directly or indirectly, all 1650 members have greatly benefitted from her years of service to the Local, whether it was from her keen negotiating skills at contract time, or her interest in professional development as she solicited and helped to guide the work of Chairs for the annual Professional Issues Conference, or her mentoring of new faculty and new 1650 officers and activists. Generous with her time, her political and pedagogical insights, and her quick wit, she helped ensure that Local 1650 pursued conditions of employment that equally benefitted teachers and students. Saddened by her resignation but buoyed by the knowledge that will continue to be an engaged, valuable 1650 member, the Executive Board extends its deepest gratitude for her dedication and a job well done and its best wishes for her in her educational pursuits.

Between now and the regularly scheduled election date for Vice President of Internal Affairs in Fall 2003, the position will be filled as follows. Following President John McDonald’s recommendation, the Executive Board approved the appointment of Betsy Cohn as Acting Vice President of Internal Affairs at its September 9 meeting. In November, there will be a special election for a one-year period to complete the term of office.

1650 WELCOMES NEW TEACHERS

Local 1650 warmly welcomes several new teachers this fall: Sophia Beydoun, Nursing; Kathryn Fitzner, Technology Division; Cynthia Scheuer, Health Careers; Lori Grande-Swiatkowski, Nursing; and Sharon Wu, Health Careers. Local 1540 also congratulates Patricia Lanzon on her appointment to a permanent full-time position in Social Science. At an orientation session on September 10, new teachers were invited to meet and socialize with members of the Local 1650 Executive Board. Over refreshments, President John McDonald provided an overview of the Local’s role on campus and in the Dearborn community and described key features of the contract. The new teachers were encouraged to become active in Local 1650, by attending the monthly membership meetings and by joining one of the Local’s Standing committees.

1650 BIDS FAREWELL TO OLD FRIENDS

The 2002-2007 contract prompted many unexpected departures from 1650’s family. Under the Voluntary Employee Severance Program (VESP), 21 teachers opted for severance, thus securing the first three years of the new five-year contract. While most departures took effect in August, a few teachers were asked to stay for another semester or two in order to facilitate smooth transitions in their programs. Local 1650 extends its congratulations and its sincere appreciation to these teachers for their years of service to HFCC’s students, the College, and the Local itself: John Akowitz, James Armitage, John Azar, Esther Bay, Donald Beesley, Robert Cadez, Doris Colter, Harold Derderian, Olivian DeSouza, Rodger George, Mary Anne Hering (effective 5/20/03), Robert Hlavaty, John Holm, Catherine McCartney, Thomas Payette, Enrico Puzzouli, Dennis Quatrine (effective 12/16/02), Herbert Schroeder, John Smith, Richard Topolewski, and Donald Unsworth (5/12/03).

1650 PURSUES FULL-TIME LINES

Under two provisions in the contract, departments and divisions can pursue new hires of full-time teachers, which would bolster membership in the Union. The College must hire permanent, full-time teachers to replace those who retired or resigned under VESP; unless an exception is agreed to by the Union and Administration, a replacement must be made within the Area (Academic Education, Career Education, Student Services) from which a teacher resigned. Additionally, the contract provides for full-time hires if a department or division’s use of part-timers becomes excessive. As reported by John McDonald at the membership meeting on September 16, departments and divisions should assess their hiring needs immediately and notify Administration of them by the end of September.

OF GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS AND CLASS SIZE

Concerns regarding two subjects that deserve careful consideration have been brought to the Federation’s attention in recent weeks. The first is Dr. Mazzara’s call for an institutional reconsideration of graduation requirements. The second regards administrative breaches of contractual maximum class sizes.

Graduation Requirements

With respect to graduation requirements, a review of such may well be in order. What is of concern to the Union, though, is the characterization that faculty preoccupation with job security has, quoting Dr. Mazzara, "shackled" a long needed reconsideration of graduation requirements.

Further perspective and less administrative rhetoric might prove useful here. Ultimately, graduation requirements are determined by the College Organization. While individual faculty members and departments/divisions may hold strong views regarding the need for a particular requirement, these parties can not prevent the Committee Structure of the College Organization – which is the proper vehicle for formulating recommendations on such matters – from recommending changes in graduation requirements. Nor can individuals and/or departments prevent the College Organization from receiving and acting upon such recommendations.

In my increasingly lengthy institutional memory, at no time has any faculty member(s) or department/division prevented the College Organization or its committee structure from considering or implementing a change in graduation requirements. The case study for the opposing point of view often cited in this regard is that of the Political Science graduation requirement.

Whatever one’s feelings about the Political Science graduation requirement, the events surrounding a consideration of its revision in the distant past are these. A couple of decades ago, there was extensive and divisive consideration of revising the Political Science requirement within the Social Science Division. This focused upon whether or not History 151, which embraces the Colonial, Revolutionary, and Constitutional periods of American History, should fulfill the requirement. Heated consideration of this issue then moved to a committee of the College Organization, but the issue never came to the College Organization. While you, as I, might see logic and merit in such a change, the impetus to change the requirement arose because of pending lay-offs in the History Department. So the issue of "job security" was not "shackling" revised graduation requirements. It was unleashing consideration of them!

Knowledge of history – whether national or institutional – is important for many reasons. Indeed, it may well be appropriate to review graduation requirements, but the Administration should not revise history and, in so doing, inadvertently question the professionalism of HFCC’s retired and active faculty and overlook the determinant role of the College Organization with respect to graduation requirements.

Class Size

The second concern recently brought to the Federation’s attention is that of negotiated maximum class sizes. Maximum class sizes are established by contract. They exist not simply to provide instructors with a manageable teaching workload, but because a manageable teaching workload is in the best interest of student learning. To exceed established class size maximums is to dilute the time and effort that can be devoted to the instruction of students and fulfillment of course requirements. One might well argue that to assist a student in need of an override is to do a disservice to those students already enrolled.

Yet despite all of this, the Federation has historically permitted teachers considerable discretion with respect to overrides. The Federation has recognized that a hard, fast rule can not be expected to apply to every set of circumstances that a student might present in requesting an overload.

This semester, however, the Administration purged a number of students who had in fact paid their tuition and proceeded to give their open seats to others. Learning of its mistake, the Administration re-enrolled the purged students without offering the courtesy – much less fulfilling the contractual obligation – of seeking approval from the affected faculty. Moreover, even Division Directors were not informed.

The Federation has also been informed that students seeking overrides are being routinely directed to faculty by the Registrar’s Office. This should happen in only the most exceptional of cases, and then the student should be directed to confer with the faculty member during office hours and not to interrupt a class in session, as is now happening.

It should also be noted that contractual class size limitations apply whether the class is taught by full or part-time faculty. The Federation prevailed in a grievance regarding adjunct faculty class size some years ago. If you are aware of adjunct faculty being pressured by Administration to override class size maximums, please direct them to the Federation.

Divisions would be well advised to require a Division Director’s initial approval for an override in addition to an instructor’s approval . This would well serve HFCC’s large number of part-time faculty who may be unaware of class size limitations and would lead to less interruption of classes by students seeking overrides. An alternative policy might be to enforce class size limitations stringently while offering additional sixteen or twelve week courses to accommodate students in need of overrides.

While the Registrar may believe a "change in culture" with respect to overrides is in order and that teachers "can not follow directions," regarding overrides, he would do well to refrain from expressing such – particularly in a semester when the Administration has purged paid students from class rolls and has published conflicting drop-add dates.

John McDonald

1650 COMMITTEES SEEK VOLUNTEERS

With the first three years of a five-year contract safely secured, you may feel tempted to coast on 1650’s good fortune instead of increasing your involvement in union issues. However, there are pressing issues that require the membership’s full attention and participation. In particular, please consider joining one or both of the following committees:

The Legislative Committee will be active in the upcoming Board of Trustees’ Election and General Election. (For a summary of issues, see the "1650 Election Bulletin" dated September 12, 2002.) If you would like to learn more about the committee or would like to join, please contact Jim Wanless, Committee Chair, at ext. 9716.

The Insurance Committee will be researching cost containment options as well as preparing for implementation of LASIK insurance in the second year of the current contract and improving long-term care insurance coverage in the third year of the current contract. If you are interested in serving on this important committee, please contact Marsha Steele, Committee Chair, at ext. 6590.