May 19, 2006
FYI
The following is a leaflet that was distributed by the Illinois Federation of Teachers on our behalf to CEC shareholders attending yesterday’s meeting in Chicago
To CEC Shareholders:
What’s the story behind the drop in enrollment at Katharine Gibbs NYC?
The Gibbs NYC faculty voted for union representation by the United Federation of Teachers in May 2002. After three and a half years of negotiations, there is still no signed agreement.
With no contract, the following has happened:
- Enrollment down 50%, from 4,000 students to less than 2,000.
- Full time instructors reduced to less than 15% of the faculty body.
- Faculty turnover widespread.
- Gibbs NYC on “60 Minutes” for inflating graduation rates.
- Gibbs NYC dean arrested for check forgery.
- Gibbs NYC audited by NY State Ed Department last month, report is pending.
Is this any way to run a school? Now you know the real story.
A good union contract is good for business.
Make the faculty part of the team. Urge NYC Gibbs to sign a good union contract NOW!
For more information contact:
718-722-6923
335 Adams Street, 25th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201
May 18, 2006
SALARIES!
Why are people with lower degrees and teaching experience getting higher salaries than people with higher degrees and many years of service to KGSNY?
Yesterday we received a letter from the UFT showing a wide discrepancy of salaries within our school, with people who had Bachelor’s Degrees earning up to $ 45 an hour, while people with Master’s and Doctorates are often receiving far lower salaries.
The common theme appears to be that newer hires got more money. The degree doesn’t seem to matter and length of service seems to work against you. This is outrageous. Until this point much of the faculty felt that Chicago was responsible for most of the unfair treatment and mismanagement that goes on here. However when we see what appears to be an unfair system of compensation that has little to do with degrees and experience, it is reasonable to suspect that the bosses in New York are directly to blame. They, after all, made these absurd decisions when it comes to hiring and pay.
We have been fed lies like “we can’t give you a raise during union negotiations with the UFT, wages are frozen “. This was proven wrong when former President Julia Slick gave us a raise ( a tiny one but a raise none the less) during the ongoing negotiations. This seems to indicate that wages were not “frozen” as our bosses falsely claimed. We have also been told that we cannot get paid more than our current salaries. Look at the top of this list. They can afford to pay people with Bachelor’s Degrees $ 45 an hour. Yet many people with Bachelor’s Degrees have been told they cannot get over a certain amount because of their lack of a Master’s. To top it off many Bachelor’s degree faculty members have been misled and bullied into pursuing their Master’s, in hope of better pay. What they should have done instead is get hired in 2004.
It is obvious that CEC and our very own bosses do not respect us enough to treat us all fairly. The numbers don’t lie. Come to the Union meeting Thursday to discuss this and other matters. And if you feel like it go ask your boss why they are paying new hires more money than you even though they have degrees that are lower than yours.
Urgent Faculty Meeting
- May 18, 2006
- 6:30 PM
- at the Union Headquarters 52 Broadway 2 blocks south wall street
- 6th floor Conference room
May 5, 2006
Deal or No Deal?
For an update and history of the Katharine Gibbs Union, please click on the following link> http://www.uft.org/chapter/gibbs/
Compensation or Contempt?
If we ever doubted that Gibbs management disrespects the faculty, the “insults” thrown at us at the negotiation meeting of May 2 was proof positive that R-E-S-P-E-C-T is not a word in their vocabulary.
After three and a half years of bargaining, the three deep-pocket Gibbs representatives, led by law partner Doreen Davis, sat across the table from the UFT committee and offered us the same old salaries of seven years ago. Furthermore, the adjustments they made to their original salary proposal of September 2004 would have been laughable if they hadn’t hit so close to home.
According to Ms Davis, hourly paid instructors would get an increase of 35 cents an hour—up from 25 cents—one year after ratification of the contract. Wow! Are you counting the ways you could spend that extra 10 cents?
But there is more. Ms Davis didn’t forget full-timers. Salaried instructors would get a $450 across-the-board increase after ratification—up from $400!
Deal or no deal? Are you willing to settle for a 1% salary increase at some vague time in the future?
Healthcare
After stabbing us in the back, Gibbs “negotiators” refused once more to a separate clause in the contract so that faculty would have the right to negotiate for the best healthcare provider available.
Deal or no deal? Would you like significant help paying your medical bills?
Sick Leave
Five days it is, five days it will be! But, for those of you who don’t know, back in the “good old days” we had 10 sick days. Our absentee parent company in Chicago says: come to work when you’re sick, spread the germs. Your new healthcare provider probably won’t cover many of your doctor’s bills anyway.
Deal or no deal? Have you ever been sick more than 5 days in any year?
Supplies, Equipment, and FacilitiesWhy should we want to be sure that we’d get such things as office space, lockable files, and computers? Why should Gibbs comply with standards set by ACICS with respect to student-teacher ratios and instructional resources?Our proposal to include this clause in the contract was rejected. Surprised? Why? Remember—all we do is stand and talk (Doreen Davis). Deal or no deal? Do you think Gibbs should adhere to the accrediting body’s guidelines?
Send your answers to gibbsuft@yahoo.com
UNITED WE STAND. DIVIDED WE FALL.
WHICH WILL IT BE? IT’S UP TO ALL OF US.
April 24, 2006
Contract Negotiations for Dummies, First Edition
- On Friday, April 21, several teachers rallied and handed out flyers for the second time in two weeks before the impressive glass front, gold and black building at 50 West 40th Street.
- A number of students promised to make the call to President Salvage requested in the flyer.
- On Thursday, April 20, leading up to rally, teachers assisted in handing out leaflets, also in front of 50 West. Over 1,500 flyers were handed out over the two days.
- On Tuesday of last week, and again the following week, teachers conducted a student survey at both buildings. The survey sought to find out what bothered students most about the physical conditions of the school, their experiences with financial aid and admissions, and the availability of instructors and deans for consultations.
- The bargaining committee will continue to push for a contract.
- Prior to the State visit, the committee members sent a letter to the leader of the State audit team Kate Gulliver requesting a faculty meeting with the team. They got the letter, and we had a very positive and upbeat meeting on Friday, April 21 in the Gibbs Library. The auditors seem to empathize with faculty regarding several vital concerns. Everyone participated by asking questions, outlining general complaints, and offering comments.
- The blog—www.handus.com/uft—is updated frequently for your information. We plan to add photos and make site more interactive.
- To improve our communication capacity, we’re requesting all instructors to send their email addresses and phone numbers to kgsfaculty@yahoo.com
- How can these actions help us get a contract? The answer is not in the results of any survey but in the message sent by the actions themselves and the reaction displayed by our managers. They took notice and were not pleased.
- Police officers appeared out of the blue
- José was sent out to the sidewalk to take photos
- Security guards tried to chase us from the public sidewalks in front of the school.
- Even the receptionist at 218 W 40 issued a warning, presumably coming from Gibbs and other companies in the building! Where did they want us to go? In front of other businesses? That’s strange, coming after Ms Salvage’s criticism of our proposed rally in front of the Penn Club!
- Yes! We got their attention! Management has set another date for negotiations, after canceling a meeting on April 19.
Date: Tuesday, May 2
Time: 6 p.m.Place: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius at 101 Park Avenue
We’re pushing for at least two more dates in May.
We’re confident that a contract is just around the corner.
April 8, 2006
Teachers Appreciation Day
What follow is a recap of Friday’s event from one of our faculty who is now more in support of the union than ever.
Dearest colleagues,
As the spring quarter begins, we find ourselves in a unique place. Much of the contract has now been agreed to by both sides and only the economic proposal and a few other outstanding issues remain. While resolving these will not be easy, there is now more hope than ever, that we will have a contract to vote on and ratify soon.
There have been some rather intriguing developments since the last newsletter. The email account (kgsfaculty@yahoo.com and Gibbsuft@yahoo.com) has been an amazing success in promoting dialogue between the faculty members about the union and the negotiations. Interested faculty, have gone to UFT-CEC negotiations to voice their opinions, read over the contract and just see what is really going on. Many of us were pleasantly surprised
at how much of the contract has been agreed to, and how close we are to getting it done.
This last week alone the UFT and CEC had an all day negotiation session, which yielded much progress. Negotiations have gone increasingly well lately, and the old CEC stalling tactics seem to have disappeared.
The economic aspect of the contract is finally on the table. Seeing as we have received a paltry raise of $1.60 in the last 4 years, we hope that the monetary adjustment provided in the final contract will be
appropriately significant and robust.
There was some drama at the end of our in-house event on Friday, which we wish to address. At the end of a very engaging and thought provoking 6 hr. session on outcome assessment President Salvage spoke to us. She said that because of a planned union demonstration at the Penn Club, she had decided to cancel our dinner there. She said that our union planned to disrupt the dinner, and that this was a hard decision for her. It was at this point that Elizabeth Redly (veteran teacher and negotiations committee member) rather emphatically told President Salvage, that the notion that this union event was going to disrupt the dinner was completely false.
What had been planned was a show of solidarity by other UFT members for us. The faculty was to go inside and have dinner as planned, without any such disruption to the event. The union and faculty had gone to great lengths to insure that this was positive and legal show of strength and unity (we had a police permit), as we near the end of the contract. The dramatic ending, to what had otherwise been a positive discussion, stunned the teachers, as well as everyone else in the room.
The faculty then proceeded to demonstrate in front of Gibbs itself, along with those UFT members who had come to show us support. Many professors who had once feared retaliation by CEC grabbed signs and stood strong together. All in all, this did not go as planned, and we were denied our faculty dinner, but in the end we were able to demonstrate the kind of faculty unity which will get us a fair contract very soon.
We hope that CEC sees this for what it is: a faculty that is strong in its resolve to get a fair deal. We hope they continue to negotiate in a positive fashion, and do not resort to their old stalling tactics. We all want the contract resolved so we can teach in peace without job security issues, and economic worries.
As the negotiations appear to be in their final stages, we may need to put some more pressure on management and other demonstrations may be scheduled. They will continue to be positive in tone and may be a necessary tool to remind CEC that we are serious about this. Look for more emails as events unfold. Thank you for your time and feel free to voice your thoughts, ask questions or simply signup at: kgsfaculty@yahoo.com and Gibbsuft@yahoo.com
April 5, 2006
April 4th Negotiation Update
A Contract: Closer Than Ever
Negotiations for a first contract continued on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 with unprecedented success. The two sides to the contract met for seven hours without a break, but it was well worth it. Four clauses of the contract were tentatively agreed to:
-
Teaching and Other Professional Responsibilities (for full- and part- time instructors)
Posting of Vacancies
Bereavement Leave
Holidays
In addition, an updated compensation clause was proposed to Management. This proposal is framed to reflect fairness and competitiveness and to attract and retain a good faculty. The proposal also seeks to compensate part-timers equitably vis-à-vis full-timers since under the Teaching and Other Professional Responsibilities clause, full- and part-time instructors have the same responsibilities. We await Management’s response at our next meeting on Wednesday, April 19.
While we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, there is still some vital track work to be done. It is, therefore, very important now for faculty to come together for one final push toward ratifying our first contract.
Don’t forget—join your colleagues at the Gibbs Management Faculty Appreciation Dinner on Friday, April 7 at 4 p.m. at the Penn Club, 30 West 44th Street.
March 30, 2006
Special Announcement
It is recommended that all Regular Part-time and Adjunct faculty go to the Intranet and apply for the full-time teaching positions.
Please check the blog daily for updated information and pay particular attention to the April 4th and 19th negotiation dates update. Also, please check the UFT site for the link to our chapter - the link is http://www.uft.org/chapter/gibbs/
All faculty members are strongly urged to attend the faculty appreciation dinner Friday, April 7th. You deserve acknowledgement and appreciation for the dedicated hard work given to not only our students, but Katharine Gibbs School as well.
Thank you for the numerous comments received in support of this blog.
February 14, 2006
Negotiation Update
Continuing three years of meetings, negotiations resumed after the holiday break with a “meeting” on January 12, 2006. Two mediators, shuttling between the Gibbs room and the UFT room, did their best to secure agreement on the only four paragraphs outstanding in the clause on Employee Status.
Your Union representatives proposed certain changes in an effort to reduce the teaching load of full-time instructors and simultaneously increase the number of full-time positions so that the current twenty-hour teachers could become full time.
Management, in its unbending need to control not only the number of full-timers, but also who gets these positions, refused to reduce the full-time workload. Even worse was their counter-proposal, which would effectively leave all or most twenty-hour instructors with no jobs. This was an unconscionable move, and was therefore rejected by the Union. Management’s proposal “to post additional full-time position(s)…” obviously meant that it would be possible that only one twenty-hour instructor would secure a full-time job. What would happen to the others? Gibbs offered no answer.
Your Union continues to work toward a contract that you will want to ratify. Join us at the next meeting:
Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Time: 6 p.m.
Place: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, 101 Park Avenue & 40th Street, 39th Floor
The only way we’re going to get a contract is when we show unity.
Special Announcement
Criminal Justice From United Federation of Teachers / Gibbs Chapter
During contract negotiations on Tuesday, January 24, 2006, Gibbs Management presented information that is crucial to your future at Gibbs.
Management informed your bargaining committee that they intend to create in the very near future, a single full-time position.
If this actually comes to fruition, this will be the first full-time faculty position created in many years.
Your Union, welcomes the creation of this position as well as other full-time positions in criminal justice as well as the other departments.
Your Union had several questions for Gibbs Management. For those of you that are relatively new to Gibbs, Management has a long history of not properly conducting the creation, search, and fill for new positions.
Our two principle concerns, among others, were how you were going to be notified about the new position, and if they intended to conduct an in-house search first. (When we finish the contract, there will be clear procedures).
Management insist on ONLY posting jobs on the company Intranet site. Cecil.careered.com If you have log-in problems contact, Human Resources, IT or your Dean.
If they do not know how to log-in or you still have problems a union representative will personally help you with the log-in.
Contact us at GibbsUFT@yahoo.com
As of Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at 3:30 the Position was not yet posted.
Gibbs-UFT United We Will Not Be Defeated