Unionization of Evergreen faculty

This article was originally published in the Cooper Point Journal.

Unionization of Evergreen faculty

By Ian Humphrey

A small gathering was held in Red Square this Tuesday announcing the unionization of our school's faculty. The union is called the United Faculty of Evergreen (UFE), and is a branch of the United Faculty of Washington State. Approximately twenty five people, two of whom looked younger then thirty, watched as the announcement was made while costumed students paraded past. Laurie Meeker, a faculty organizer and film professor announced that, "with an 82% attendance rate, the vote to unionize had won with a 55% to 45% majority." They promised to "form a faculty union to protect our best traditions of collaborative governance and to strengthen their ability, as faculty, to have a voice in the future of public higher education in our state." They spoke, as well, about "addressing real issues and problems." In an interview, Nancy Allen, a humanities professor, said that this is not the first time that a teacher's union has existed on campus. She recalled serving one year as president of this union, the AFT. However, because they did not have the ability to bargain with the administration, the AFT "petered out after 10 years." Allen said that "it was little more then a teacher's group." What makes the UFE different is that in 2002 the state of Washington passed a bill allowing employees to bargain collectively. This meant that the teachers, if they chose to unionize, could make decisions rather then recommendations when dealing with the administration. Unionization was first officially by the Faculty Governance DTF in two meetings held in spring of 2006. Two follow up meetings were held over orientation week leading up to the vote on Tuesday. The argument about whether or not to unionize was based on three concerns. Supporters hoped unionization would give more bargaining power over faculty salaries. Brian Walter, Chairman of the Agenda committee, said in an interview that the salary paid to faculty at TESC is "the lowest among public state schools." He added later that the difference in salary was "considerable." Another concern was the recommendations made by DTFs (Disappearing Task Forces), particularly having to do with growth. In 2005, the Enrollment Growth DTF decided that the student body needed to grow by five thousand people. The Faculty Governance DTF decided that they would be unable to guarantee such a growth immediately but would be able to do so in increments, the first one being 300 people. Citing Evergreen's curriculum structure and its commitment to a low student teacher ratio, the Faculty Governance DTF was unsure about how to allocate the additional faculty required for such a leap. The Enrollment Growth DTF also said that in order to draw more people there would need to be more offerings available to prospective students, specifically focusing on business and health studies which, in the words of Nancy Allen, "made the faculty nervous" worried that "Evergreen might lose its atmosphere." The faculty voted to wait until fall of 2005 before making any final decisions. The faculty was only able to make a recommendation, however, so the actual choice was left to the administration, who decided to move forward with the project. The teachers were hired and are working here now. This intensified union discussions amongst the faculty. Rachel Hastings, a humanities teacher in her second year here, noted that this "made a lot more people come forward" in the arguments over unionization. Those arguing against unionization were concerned that the "buddy buddy" relationship between the faculty and the administration might suffer. Many felt that this might create an "us versus them" environment. One particular concern was that the new administration/union dynamic would put the rotating dean system at risk. At most colleges, once one is appointed a dean you have left the ranks of the teachers forever. However, the Evergreen State College Faculty Handbook says deans are "solicited from within the faculty," and serve three and four year deanships, allowing them to rotate in and out of the position. Allen broke down the votes, saying, "If you thought the administration was cool of part of the gang, you voted for the union, but if you felt the administration wasn't representing you, then you voted union." The students have thus far been largely silent on the issue. Those who were interviewed were surprised to hear about it at all. "I didn't know," said Bernard Feinsod, a Freshman here. "I'm surprised no one's really talking about it."