Friday, March 6, 2015

Still more on Bill Jay (Bill Jay and the union "Old Guard")

     (See our recent More on Bill Jay.)
     In the bad old days when a crew of unprincipled knaves (Sherry “the end justifies any means” Miller-White, Raghu Mathur, Mike Runyan, and pals) controlled the Faculty Association and its coffers, included among them was one Bill Jay.
     So, to the long-suffering union reformers, who, starting in 1996 (and until about 2001), struggled to replace that leadership and establish a decent union, Jay was among the enemy, a persistent pal to those notorious louts who sunk the district and its colleges into stunning controversy and incompetence, something from which it has only recently emerged.
     This is fully born out by my recent search for mentionings of Bill Jay in the old Dissent archives:

Dissent 2
March 9, 1998
MARCH 2 “RATIFICATION” MEETING
Ken Woodward
     I went to the union’s “contract ratification meeting” on the 2nd, and was surprised to find a great many faculty there. At about 3:00, ninety or so had gathered, and more arrived over the next half hour. With the exception of five or so IVC faculty, it was a Saddleback crowd.
. . .
     At one point, Sherry made her favorite point, that each percentage point (of raise) that the negotiating team failed to secure—owing to the unfavorable negotiating climate produced by those dastardly press-controlling, money-hating, anti-American  renegades [namely, faculty who fought to reform the union]—cost each faculty member $6,000! She said this, I think, after Bill Jay had waddled into the room in an apparent stupor.
      Sensing the need for support, Sherry  turned to Bill [Jay] and said, “Tell ‘em, Bill, about how much each unsecured percentage point is gonna cost each of us. You know, the calculations we made....?” Jay obviously had no clue what Sherry was talking about. He handily recovered by answering some other question--one not asked—for which he had a spiffy answer. I think Sherry was pissed.
. . .
     Jay was asked whether he thought the contract was “good.” “Yes,” he answered. (He did not discuss the peculiar fact that, in the end, only two members of the district’s negotiating team were involved in the contract negotiations—namely, Jay and trustee John Williams. What happened to the other three?)
     A person from counseling requested a breakdown of the cost of various elements of the contract—e.g., part-time benefits. Discussion revealed that only a tiny handful of part-time faculty were likely to avail themselves of the benefit. (Few are eligible.) Few noticed that this sort of answer contradicts the claim that such elements of the contract are significant union achievements.
Dissent
August 17, 1998
DISTRICT NEWS
Welcome Back! [from summer]
“Did you know…”
. . .
THAT, despite board president John Williams’ claims of wide representation on the chancellor search committee, the group included no students or community members?
 THAT board president John Williams rejected the search committee’s recommendation that two of the candidates (including the union’s man, Bill Jay) not be interviewed?
 THAT, on the 6th of August, on the third floor of the Saddleback Library, Bill Jay and John Williams had an argument in which Jay complained about Williams’ failure to keep his promise to appoint Jay chancellor?
     Jay resigned his Vice Chancellorship on the spot. He will now return to the classroom.
 THAT, at one point, the board had decided on Jay (4-3), but those who felt that the appointment should be unanimous prevailed, opening the way to Sampson’s appointment?....
Dissent 30,
September 20, 1999
TRUSTEE BILL JAY?

     The battle over control of the faculty union is far from over. Owing to preposterous provisions of the Faculty Association’s bylaws/standing rules, the Old Guard continues to control the PAC. (According to the rules, the PAC is made up of “former presidents” of the union. At present, there are no checks and balances on the PAC.)
     Insiders tell me that the geniuses of the “PAC committee” have already decided to dump Dot Fortune and support former Vice Chancellor and Old Guard crony Bill Jay for Trustee in 2000. (You’ll recall that Jay had an unseemly altercation with Trustee Williams on the “3rd floor” [District Offices] immediately after the announcement of [Cedric] Sampson’s selection as Chancellor. Evidently, Jay felt betrayed.)
     Unless changes are made in the union’s standing rules, Jay will get the full financial support of the faculty union in the upcoming election and will likely land a seat on the board. Good Lord!
* * *
     Back in 1999, Dissent featured a popular column, written by Red Emma, called “Ask Miss Fortune,” an advice column putatively written by, well, Miss “Dot” Fortune.
     The column below, from the December 13, 1999 edition of Dissent, reveals how Bill was regarded by Dissent and the reformers:


 
Sharon Macmillan
Hey Kids! Someone asked MISS FORTUNE for her Guide to Holiday Giving! And here it is! 
[Dissent 39 - December 13, 1999]  
     If you’re anything like me (and you are if you’re a confused, opportunistic, reactionary, gay-baiting Reagan Democrat in Republican South County), you’re wondering just what to get for those special little elves who’ve done their darndest to make every day a holiday at IVC and Saddleback.
     Yes, it’s the giving season. Here, then, are Miss Fortune’s modest gift-giving suggestions:
Give Sharon [Macmillan, Old Guardster] a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order.
Give Cedric [Sampson, then Chancellor] a goddam clue.
Sherry Miller-White
Give Lee Walker [Saddleback’s spectacularly stupid writing instructor] a pick, a lantern, and those cute little shorts, hi ho!
Give Curt [McLendon, Old Guardster] a colonic.
Give Caroline [Old Guardster] seat restraints.
Give Raghu the clap.
Give [Holocaust denying trustee and pal-o-Mathur SteveFrogue Poland and the Sudetenlands.
Give Sherry a job with Cal Trans (as a traffic cone).
Give Mas [Hayashi, astonishingly incorrect IVC math instructor and friend-o-Mathur] a No-Doz.
Give Bob [Kopfstein, “Baños Bob” of the Old Guard] an orphanage.
Give El Rey [the Old Guard’s Ray Chandos] jail time. 
Curt McLendon
Give Dean [HowardGensler another B.A. (and a coupla No-Doz).
Give the CTA a spine.
Give Howard…Walter. [Mathur pals Howard Dachschlager and Walter Flosser: you can’t imagine]
Give Glenn a muscle relaxant.
Give Armando [Ruiz, Old Guardster and corruption poster child] a copy of the First Amendment.
Give Walter…Howard. [Mathur pals Howard Dachschlager and Walter Flosser: you still can’t imagine]
     And, while you’re at it (and you know who you are), don’t forget to…
     Give Bobbie [Raghu’s long-suffering administrative assistant] a new boss. Give Roni [Lebauer of the reform unionists, given the task of making sense of the Old Guard’s financial records] the Box of Financial Records. Give Adjunct Faculty a paid office hour and proportional representation on the Rep Council. Give Miss Fortune a challenger in the next election (who isn’t Bill Jay). And give us each and every one Shared Governance and a democratic, progressive, just local that makes us proud to be educators at a public, non-corporate community college.
     Happy Holidays!


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