INVISIBLE INK MEETS INVISIBLE REP—or HOW I JOINED THE UNION – PART II

Red Emma: "Look to the sky!"

By Red Emma

Dissent 5 - 4/14/98

News flash #1: Nobody from the union showed up at last week's meeting of the IVC Adjunct Organizing Group (AOG). Surprise. Yet despite its apparent lack of interest in, even disregard for what is numerically the majority of its potential voting membership, half of the dozen part-time faculty attendees left with the union's membership forms, vowing to join up pronto.

Here's a frightening thought: What if part-time faculty joined the union, used their new political power, and played a role in contract negotiations, workplace issues and the life of our academic community? Scarey, huh?

Yes, there is a price. No, it's not $14.00 a month. You may recall Red Emma's previous report, when he left readers on a precipice of curiosity regarding whether he'd be charged full or part-time dues. Payroll botched it, but happily, caught its own error. A kind staffer from SOCCCD took responsibility for the error and called to inform me that I would in future have $18.00 removed from my walloping big adjunct faculty remuneration.

$18.00. That's it. And, of course, getting involved.

Reminder: The AOG meets pretty much bi-weekly. We're prioritizing concerns, so please attend or communicate your interest to 497-3876 (Andrew's home number).

News flash #2: We did it! IVC Adjunct Assembly elections, facilitated by the A.S., now allow us to, among other things, elect Adjunct Faculty to two positions on the Senate. That's a start.

News flash #3: Telephoned by a part-timer last week, Red Emma found himself lacking information sufficient to answer questions regarding the newly passed contract and much-touted part-time faculty health benefits. The contract is meant to be retroactive, so that, figures R.E., Adjunct Faculty who qualify and have already worked five semesters should immediately query Personnel and the union rep, asking for details of enrollment in a health plan.

Some questions: Is summer session teaching included? Consecutive semesters? How soon can we enroll?

These questions should be directed immediately to SOCCCD Personnel and your Union Rep.

Finally, it's Springtime and, like the swallows of Capistrano, the urge to threaten somebody with libel returns in the form of a whimsical photocopy from an anonymous wag superimposed over Red Emma's previous communique. Interesting that the local cannot produce its own part-time faculty newsletter, instead apparently choosing to mess with Red Emma and Dissent.

As regards the Red One's report, he stands by all material and points out that the only legitimate potential slander issue here has to do with privacy. In fact, Red Emma's article effectively blew full-time Prof. Ray Chandos's (R.C.) well-protected and profoundly deep cover as Union Rep, a position thus far successfully concealed from over two hundred IVC part timers by him and the union local for years.

To that offense, Emma pleads, of course, guilty. —RE

SEE PART III of this series

Andrew Tonkovich