Good News, Bad News,

Just Plain News

 

·          Both Camden County and the State of NJ have asked for salary freezes, but the adjuncts at CCC will be receiving their contracted raise of $20/credit hour starting this fall. This will raise our earning for a three-credit course to $1950.

·          Dues will be raised to 2% (from 1.75%) to put us in agreement with the UAFNJ constitution. This means that for a three-credit course, dues go from $33.07 to $37.80. This is more than offset by our pay raise.

·          Our present contract goes until December 31, 2009.  We anticipate beginning contract negotiations this fall. In the current economic climate, however, we are not rushing to the bargaining table.

·          AFT/NJ will be having a conference at the East Brunswick Hilton on September 11 and 12. If you are interested in attending, please contact us at ebobrove@verizon.net. There is no charge for the conference that will deal with making the union more effective.

 

 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Get in on the ground floor. Come be part of UAFNJ. We need members to serve on committees in order to grow our strength and get our message out to the public. Some of the first committees we need to staff NOW include Political Action, Organizing, and Communications.

 These are volunteer positions, but you will have the satisfaction of being in on the birth of one of the largest AFT locals in NJ and the US.

 If you are interested in serving on a committee or have any questions, contact Bill Lipkin at proflipkin@optonline.net.

ADJUNCT EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS

 

 Each year three outstanding faculty members are chosen to receive the Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. Nominations come from students as well as colleagues.  A committee made up of former recipients of the award reviews the nominations and selects one faculty member from each of the three college divisions. The awards are presented at the adjunct faculty open house at the start of the fall semester.

 Robert Porreca receives the 2009 award in the BCTS division.  Bob has taught  automotive repair courses at CCC since 2003.   With over 30 years of experience repairing cars, he is not only certified by Toyota in all the areas he teaches, he also holds Toyota certification to teach those classes. Both colleagues and students commented on Bob’s ability to creatively engage his students in the learning process as well as his support of his students.  One former student wrote, “With the skills that Mr. Porecca taught me, I went from knowing very little about the automotive field to becoming an ASE Master technician….the automotive program would not be where it is today without teachers like Mr. Porecca.”  Another student noted that Bob “is constantly challenging the class to think and support what we believe the right answer would be when a question is asked.”

 Jennifer Ensworthy receives the award in the MSHC division.  Jennifer teaches high school mathematics during the day and teaches statistics at the CCC Rohrer campus in Cherry Hill.   One recommendation noted that she is “successful in teaching both ends of the spectrum…academically accomplished people who need a statistics course to prepare themselves for graduate school [as well as] tentative traditional students who think they will never be able to master statistics.”   A student commented that “Jen is a fantastic professor who makes sure everyone is on the same page….”

 Guy Jones receives the award in the AHSS division of the college.  Guy teaches Introduction to Addictions. {He is scheduled to receive his doctorate in education in May 2009} One of his former students explained that his “enthusiasm and warm personality put me at ease and even made me excited to learn.”  The student went on to say that Jones continued to help her choose the right classes as she worked out her schedule at CCC; after she completed her associates degree, he encouraged her to continue her education at Drexel.

PERC Hands Burlington Adjuncts a Big Win

 

 The Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) awarded the adjuncts at Burlington County College a winning decision in a dispute with the BCC administration. A group of adjuncts, led by Robin Brownfield, have been trying to organize the adjuncts at BCC as a new chapter in United Adjunct Faculty of New Jersey (UAFNJ). The college prohibited staff people from AFT from entering the campus and further prohibited the distributing of union literature at BCC. The dispute was taken to PERC and the decision was in favor of the adjuncts. PERC stated, that according to NJ law, those who wanted to organize a union had the right to speak with other employees at their place of work so long as it did not interfere with their jobs and, in this case, the teaching of students.