COCAL Updates

Apologies for the lateness of the next two COCAL UPDATES postings. 

–Lee Kottner

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by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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Campus Equity Week
October 26-30, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK 2015 – Hi Everyone, I just finished listening to the planning meeting on the upcoming Campus Equity Week 2015 (Oct. 26-30). I will see whether I might be able to give you a recording of this meeting soon. You can access information both on facebook and here.

CEW 2015 planning webinar recording now available.

Here is the link to the NFM “store” at an ethical vendor (EthixMerch) where anyone may order different button designs (at $1 each plus shipping and handling) for Campus Equity promotion.

One design is the 2013 “Campus Equity Now!” message and the other is the eye-catching new artwork created by Jennie Shanker for the National Arts Project (you can hear and see more about this on the webinar). We intend to add a few more designs from CSAL (the Center for the Study of Academic Labor), a research partner of the NFM Foundation, that have proved very popular at the CSU Campus Equity events. The minimum order of 50 buttons and they will be delivered within 12 days. The larger the order, the less per button cost for shipping and handling.

Any other merchandise we are able to get into production will also be available at the NFM “store” link through Ethix Merch. NFM will not receive any profits from the sales of these Campus Equity related union-made items and Ethix Merch is keeping prices very low because of its commitment to social justice.

COCAL Updates

Apologies for the lateness of the next four COCAL UPDATES postings. 

–Lee Kottner

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by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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Campus Equity Week
October 26-30, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK 2015 – Hi Everyone, I just finished listening to the planning meeting on the upcoming Campus Equity Week 2015 (Oct. 26-30). I will see whether I might be able to give you a recording of this meeting soon. You can access information both on facebook and here.

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COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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Campus Equity Week
October 26-30, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK 2015 – Hi Everyone, I just finished listening to the planning meeting on the upcoming Campus Equity Week 2015 (Oct. 26-30). I will see whether I might be able to give you a recording of this meeting soon. You can access information both on facebook and here.

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COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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Campus Equity Week
October 26-30, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK, 2015

CAMPUS EQUITY WEEK 2015 – Hi Everyone, I just finished listening to the planning meeting on the upcoming Campus Equity Week 2015 (Oct. 26-30). I will see whether I might be able to give you a recording of this meeting soon. You can access information both on facebook and here.

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COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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NOTE #1:

Recent entry, of particular interest to contingent faculty, from blog Helenaworthen.wordpress.com from Ton Duc Thang U in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
Starting to Explore 2
by helenaworthen

Adjuncts everywhere will recognize this:

The office next to ours has a sign, Faculty Lounge, over the door. It’s a square room like ours with glass interior walls, a window looking outside, air conditioning and a dozen upholstered chairs around the walls. This is the office for adjuncts. It also serves as an ad hoc meeting room.

This afternoon the archetypical situation of adjuncts was taking place in that room: In one corner, a middle-aged woman was grading papers on one arm of her chair while nibbling her lunch which was laid out on the other arm of her chair. She had a dishtowel on her lap to protect her dress. Her book was open on a chair in front of her. On the opposite side of the room a group of students were meeting about something.

I have often seen adjuncts sleeping in this office. They go to the same corner chair, pull a scarf or a jacket over their head, and lean against the wall for a nap.

We’ve been told that many adjuncts in the Labor Relations and Trade Union Faculty are union staff.

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NOTE #2:

HAPPY LABOR DAY

1. From CA Fed of Teachers Comm. Dir. Fred Glass.

2. More on Labor Day from Jim Hightower.

3. Judy Collins, inspired by Rose Schneiderman and the 1912 Lawrence Strike (IWW)

4. Why unions on Labor Day.

5. The working poor are the major philanthropists of society.

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CCSF STRUGGLE NEWS

COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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CCSF STRUGGLE NEWS

1. State CC Chancellor’s task force report says replace ACCJC as accreditor.

2. CA CC system may seek new accreditor.

3. This from the AAUP Blog on the same topic.

4. And more from IHE.

5. And from CHE.

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INTERNATIONAL

1. Computer faculty in India fight for regularization in education ministry.

2. 26 Japanese universities to abolish humanities and social sciences departments.

3. Call for presenters, deadline extended, Challenging Academic Precarity symposium , Oct. 2-4, Trent U, Peterborough, ONT, Canada, CUPE Local #3908.

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UPDATES AND LINKS

COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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CCSF STRUGGLE NEWS

1. About the struggle at CCSF indirectly, by one of our colleagues
A very good interview about urban schools, racism and PTSD with an Oakland, CA teacher interviewed by one of our colleagues at City College of SF.

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INTERNATIONAL

1. Puerto Rican parents, students and teacher fighting to defend closed schools.

2. The big picture: adjunct and contingent faculty (Canada) You-tube video, 5 minutes, from a Canadian expert.

3. Philippine students strike over higher ed budget cuts.

4. Chilean student protesters demand more radical reforms.

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UPDATES AND LINKS

1. An informed reply to item on last Updates from the Washington Monthly on adjuncts. A useful caution as to sources. Reminds me of the Cold War days when the CIA sponsored liberal journals, writers, artists etc. and planted articles overseas. Maybe this is really the same thing, only “privatized.” If more discussion on this, send to my email below or take it onto ADJ-L discussion listserv.

The money shot from the article is the hawking of western governors university (Utah) , an online diploma mill.
and I don’t expect that you have forgotten that WM is Lumina funded, to the tune of about 3 million the past five years. This is “bought” journalism that uses the “adjunct” issue as a weak cover.

The Washington Monthly is funded by Lumina, to the tune of about 3 million in the past few years.

The money shot in this article, unwisely circulated by Joe in his updates, in my view, was the pitch for colleges “like” Western Governors University,a non-for profit–but almost totally online diploma mill.

Again Washington Monthly journalism, though previously a “progressive” publication, is now almost totally owned by Lumina and the Lumina agenda is driving the journalism.

The poor adjunct framing is, in my view, cover for the real message: HE can be done on the cheap if institutions moved from “poorly paid adjuncts” to online delivery.

2. Lee Kottner’s maybe-final answer to Magnuss, Jason Brennan, et al.

3. Grad union (GAU/AAUP) to rally at U of RI.

4. Chicago area conference for composition adjuncts at College of DuPage. Writing on the Edge. 9/19/2015.

5. Adjuncts have fewer options than grad students (from U of MO, Columbia).

6. U of Akron video protesting financial policies.

7. Universities and ethics (or not).

8. State U faculty in MN get raises in new contract and adjuncts get an extra percent.

9. A fairy tale of the sage, the scholar and the administrator.

10. A very good interview about urban schools, racism and PTSD with an Oakland, CA teacher interviewed by one of our colleagues at City College of SF.

11. A very well-though-out proposal to reform higher ed, by a U of Chicago grad student. Treat the badmin like bankers.

12. Toward a pedagogy of equality, put on by For a University Worth Fighting For at CUNY, a conference, series of workshops, lifestream, etc.

13. Grads rally at U of MO (Columbia) sparks faculty support.

14. Another order by NLRB to finally count the vote in the Manhattan College (private Catholic) adjunct election from 2011!!?? [May the religious exemption” from NLRA finally be disposed of once and for all.]

15. SF Bay Area Troublemakers school (Labor Notes sponsored). October 17, Sat, Berkeley City College [very much recommended!]

16. First quickie election under new NLRB rules results in union for PA nurses.

17. Adjuncts and Professional Devopment (Quotes Maria Maisto of NFM and Gary Rhoades).

18. Longer hours, more stress, no extra pay, it’s not just Amazon it’s the modern workplace.

19. The real reason behind the US teacher shortage.

20. This letter from the White House, in the name of a small business person in New Orleans, is an outrage. Painting what has happened to the schools and to many of the mostly poor Black working class residents (many of which never got back) and their children as a success for kids is lying of the worst sort. See reports ranging from the New Orleans Teachers Union (UTNO/AFT) to the TV series “Treme” and elsewhere for evidence. I hope progressive forces in NO and the national AFT responds to this.

In 2005, my husband Norm and I owned a sign-printing shop in New Orleans, right next to the Superdome. We were getting ready to celebrate our 15th year in business.

And then Katrina came.

As was the fate for much of New Orleans, the hurricane flooded our shop and forced us to move to Lake Charles, Louisiana. (Until Hurricane Rita hit a few weeks later, forcing us to move yet again.) Once the waters receded, Norm and I had to decide whether to abandon our business, or to go back and rebuild it.

We decided to rebuild. Just like our city did.

This afternoon, I’ll be introducing President Obama as he visits New Orleans to meet with residents like me who have rebuilt their lives since Katrina, and to talk about what’s changed in the city and what still needs work. Tune in here.

Over the past decade, we’ve learned our lessons from Hurricane Katrina, and we’ve made some pretty big improvements. For one, Louisiana has worked hard to be better prepared for future storms and extreme weather events — upgrading our levees and pump stations, as well as elevating homes and retrofitting our buildings.

But our efforts aren’t limited to making sure we’re ready when the next storm comes.

We’ve also worked to improve our schools, for our kids. New Orleans’ high school graduation rate before Katrina was only 54 percent; now, it’s 73 percent. College enrollment has almost doubled over that time period, giving our children a better chance at a future.

And residents like me who stuck with our home through the hardest possible time are expanding job opportunities for our neighbors — by creating jobs to rebuild New Orleans’ transportation systems, and expanding job-training programs in industries like high-tech manufacturing.

There’s still a lot of work left to be done, but we’re getting there. Our growth so far is a great example of what can happen when everyday Americans, community leaders, government agencies, and business leaders work together to make a difference.

I’m proud of my city. I’m proud to have rebuilt and to be celebrating 25 years of business this year. I’m proud of how far we’ve come in the last 10 years, and I can’t wait to see how much more we’ll grow.

Make sure to watch the President’s remarks this afternoon at 4:55 p.m. Eastern. And if you have your own story of how your community stuck together, or you know someone who does, share it here.

Best,

Michelle

Michelle Gobert
New Orleans, Louisiana

21. Berkshire CC (MA) adjuncts get office space (negotiated through the union??)

22. Controversy at Rutgers over head football coach remaining an adjunct over a student’s status in class. [Article fails to mention a key aspects, namely that not only is their respective pay radically different , but even more important, that their security of employment is also radically different.

23. Major decision from NLRB on responsibility of main employer for actions of contractors could make subcontracting and outsourcing (and privatization) much less attractive for employers. A real win for ease of unionization too.

24. Great satirical video from U of Iowa [my alma mater and former employer as well], which includes instant tenure for all contingent academics!

25. More on Manhattan College (NYC) NLRB decision to count votes.

26. Debt is death at WalSmart University (Robert Craig Baum).

27. Worth a look, video Capitalism is just a story.

28. The awful revolution: is neoliberalism a public health risk?

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NOTE: As noted previously, your COCAL UPDATES editor (Joe Berry) and his spouse/partner/colleague Helena Worthen, are teaching labor studies in Viet Nam for the fall 2015 Semester.  Unions in Viet Nam are grappling with how to deal with the influx of foreign (capitalist) direct investment there and the need to build local unions that can effectively fight for workers in this new context.

 

COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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PERSONAL NOTE:

Thanks to everyone (to many to answer) who sent me birthday (67th) greetings August 24. I had a great day, which included a surprise by my students in class and a surprise party, with presents, from my new colleagues here. (engineered partly by Helena I am sure). We are both well, very busy and learning as fast as we can. To follow our adventures, see Helena’s blog at <helenaworthen.wordpress.com>. Thanks again. Joe Berry, Editor, COCAL UPDATES

CCSF STRUGGLE NEWS

1. Workers Rights Board hearing on higher ed in SF.

2. A wonderful summary of why part-timers (and all contingents) need to join the struggle and how we might best do that by clearly pointing out in detail what all we do and mostly for “free”. See below for full text. By our PT colleague Danny Halford in AFT 2121 at CCSF.

Dear Union Members and All Colleagues,

At the part-timer’s union meeting on Flex Day, we discussed in small groups how to get student support in our struggle for a fair contract. Then a spokesperson from each group went to the mike to report back from their groups. Several colleagues said: When the students ask how much we earn, and we say $50 an hour, they’ll say: but I’m lucky if I can get $15. You’re rich! What’s the problem? (This is a paraphrase, of course, so no quotation marks).

Nobody really answered that, and it’s been bothering me ever since. So I’m doing it now.
First, this is not the kind of conversation we want to have with our students – but it may be inevitable, because most of them get paid by the hour, so that’s how they calculate income. So it’s natural for them to ask this question. It may be unavoidable.

So how do we deal with it? We need to explain that most of our students get paid for every hour they work; we don’t. Then we can list some of the many, many things that we do as teachers that are unpaid, or at least, not directly paid. Many of these tasks are officially required; others are not required but expected. Others are technically not part of our jobs, but in the current accreditation / enrollment crisis they are de facto absolutely necessary to maintain our beloved college as we know and love it, with its mission (including lifelong learning!), programs and campuses intact.

I’ve brainstormed a list. I invite you to add to it, and let me know what I’ve forgotten. I also invite you, in the coming week, to keep a record of how many unpaid hours each day you spend working for City College. Then add those hours to your paid hours, and divide the total by the pay you earned this week. Here goes:

Prep time – direct (e.g. for the 2.5 hour, L. 4-8 ESL class I’ve been teaching without a textbook since Aug. 2013, I often spend up to 4 hours preparing. )

Prep time – indirect, e.g. organizing materials, making xerox copies, setting up the classroom or lab, writing on the board before class, choosing new materials for next semester, etc.

Writing / revising course outlines

Individual student support before or after class: face to face or per email; writing references

Professional development, e.g. in ESL this includes the ESL Colloquium in Feb. or March, and Catesol (I don’t mean Flex Day because we get paid for that.) Tech training for all the new procedures.

Assessment of all kinds – which is now more than ever because of new requirements from Sacramento or ACCJC, e.g. student progress reports in noncredit ESL and all that SLO reporting

Committee work! In addition to monthly meetings, many committees involve hours of “homework” each month

Meetings: campus meetings, dept. meetings, student council meetings, etc.

Academic Senate work!

Our union precinct reps!

Political lobbying, marching and rallying – in this present crisis, all are crucial. (Pardon my stating the obvious.)

Other examples way too numerous to mention, but just one memorable example: the Civic Center Campus teachers cleaning and dusting their campus library during winter break – for nothing!

And last but most certainly not least: ENROLLMENT OUTREACH! (Ask me how many hours I’ve spent on that this week.)

I apologize if I haven’t list a task you spend many hours on!

My (Mexican) roommate earns $15 an hour, but his only unpaid task is washing his uniform once or twice a month. I maintain that with all my tasks at City College factored in, I am not getting paid more per hour than my roommate.

Thanks for reading and thinking about this,
Danny Halford, ESL Instructor
Co-Coordinator, CCSF Volunteer Enrollment Campaign
Member, Lobbying Committee of the Fight Back to Save CCSF Coalition
Member and Former Chair, ESL Noncredit Curriculum Committee
And of course proud member of AFT2121
—
Check out the Save CCSF Webpage here:

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INTERNATIONAL

1. Back to school with work to rule in Ontario, Canada.

2. Adjunct teachers need recognition (from Vancouver, BC, Straits Times)

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UPDATES AND LINKS

1. Another adjunct, a philosopher, talks about why he left and what he is doing now.

2. Interview subjects wanted for documentary
FYI – Bri Bolin interested in interviewing adjunct faculty – see below

“To improve the lives and livelihoods of contingent faculty undergoing financial hardship by providing charitable assistance to them in the form of cash assistance and/or grants;
To create and distribute educational media to the public, including parents, students, and college communities, that details how colleges function in the post-recession U.S. economy;
To create and design a searchable archive for contingent faculty issues in the news;
To conduct research on contingent faculty and their role in the economy of U.S. colleges to encourage a broader public understanding of how colleges budget their financial resources as well as what effects these budgetary practices have on faculty populations, student populations, and the general value of higher education.”

PrecariCorps
If any adjuncts out there are currently on public assistance and willing to be interviewed for a documentary on poverty (producers are willing to block faces or withhold names), please contact bri@precaricorps.org. Thank you!

3. U of MO, Columbia, grads threaten strike over health care subsidy cuts and they WIN.

4. More notices on the death of John Hess and from Hank Reichman, national officer of AAUP.

5. Request for survey respondents for PhD research on teacher and professor job satisfaction and career cycles.

6. Using sex appeal and video games to fill classes (SUNY Binghamton) [Adjuncts trying to survive. Where is the union in this?]

7. This notice about the death of Black Freedom Movement leader Julian Bond, who also was often a contingent faculty member in the DC area and elsewhere.

Since the passing of the civil rights leader Julian Bond, news has (re)surfaced of his 20-page comic book “Vietnam,” that was against the Vietnam War.
He wrote the text after he was kicked out of the Georgia state legislature for opposing the war. T.G. Lewis did the drawings.
Thanks to the Sixties Project for making it publicly accessible.

See the images here.

See article about it.

8. An important comment on race and racism for the Sanders campaign and for white progressives, by our colleague Bill Fletcher.

9. Death of my career: What happened to New Orleans veteran Black (mostly female) teachers.

10. Leslie Beggs: Modesto (CA) Junior College exploits underpaid adjunct professors.

11. SeaTac (WA) workers successfully defend $15 minimum wage.

12. Job Opening: Organizer, Teamsters for a Democratic Union

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is seeking an seeking an energetic, committed person to work full-time on organizing, education, and communication projects out of its New York or Detroit office. Women and people of color strongly encouraged to apply; Spanish fluency a plus. The job offers health insurance, generous vacation, and a salary up to $38,500 depending on experience. Send your resume and cover letter to TDU, P.O. Box 10128, Detroit, MI 48210, or info@tdu.org.

13. Like AFT, IAM (Machinists) members upset over Clinton endorsement.

14. Uber’s attempt to silence drivers backfires (all are contingent “contractors”).

15. Job opening, UC Berkeley Labor Center, research data analyst

16. VERY important new AAUP report of a Vanderbilt study: the proportion of African-Americans in NTT positions is more than twice that of whites.

17. 2% raise at TN St U to exclude adjuncts, all temporary staff and grads.

18. U of VT part-timers settle tentative agreement, with improvements (United Academics/AFT).

19. Ageism: a reality for teachers today despite shortages (Diane Ravitch blog).

20. A historian (adjunct and contingent) tried to discount the majority “adjunct” discourse and devalue our movement as such (and in so doing disrespects our colleagues in community colleges and forced to work in the for-profits). See the comments section on this too. And a reply and an addendum to the reply.

21. Catholic Church and Fight for 15.

22. Duquesne U (Pittsburgh, PA) sets $15 minimum for campus workers (but no mention of adjunct teachers).

23. Great visual joke on PA governor closing teacher lounges

Beth Emma Goldman shared Adjun’ct N’oise’s photo.
1 hr

24. See this map of most common job held by immigrants by state. In 4 states the most common job is college teacher (!) [Not sure of sources on this. Anyone with more details or information on this item, please email me.]

25. In SF Bay Area Adjunct Action is doing a panel of adjunct authors at the November Howard Zinn Book Fair, moderated by our extremely creative colleague/organizer, Jessica Lawless.

26. Sign petition to Temple U admin to let Temple adjuncts vote on unionization.

27. London Labour Film Festival solicits entries

We’re looking for short films about working people.
View this email in your browser
The third London Labour Film Festival will screen a selection of labour-related shorts throughout the film festival which takes place next month.

These short films will be screened between the feature length films.

We would like to invite you to be part of this.

We are asking people to submit short films to the festival.

The films and videos submitted can be made in the UK or anywhere in the world.

The films will be labour-related, they can be about any and every aspect of work, as well as those issues affecting unionised workers and those not represented by unions.

The selected (winners) will be chosen by a global panel of judges and shown as part of the festival.

The shorts selection competition is open to anybody. The purpose of the contest is to discover the hard work of filmmakers whose voices have yet to be heard.

The winners selected to be screened will be determined by a global panel of judges.

Deadline for entries: 8th September 2015

Click here for full details and an entry form.
Thanks — and please spread the word!
Eric Lee
Copyright © 2015 LabourStart, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
LabourStart
Suite 504, 394 Muswell Hill Broadway
London, England N10 1DJ
United Kingdom

28. Robert Reich on the upsurge in uncertain work.

29. Good long article in Washington Monthly, Stop chiseling the adjuncts.

30. How Brother Bernie is making Labor’s Day.

31. Here is an example of how a democratic union leader engages in discussion about the election with membership [Postal Workers national president].

32. Beth Emma Goldman

August 24 at 1:11pm

here’s a new title I have never seen in academia! – “Full-Time Temporary
Associate Dean of Adjunct Faculty” – http://jobview.monster.com/temporary-associate-dean-of-adjunct-faculty-job-huntingdon-pa-us-155671945.aspx
Temporary Associate Dean Of Adjunct Faculty Job in Huntingdon 16652, Pennsylvania US
jobview.monster.com
Temporary Associate Dean Of Adjunct Faculty job in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, US. Read the Temporary …

33. Blog about us on American Psych Assoc site.

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NOTE: As noted previously, your COCAL UPDATES editor (Joe Berry) and his spouse/partner/colleague Helena Worthen, are going to teach labor studies in Viet Nam for the fall 2015 Semester.  Unions in Viet Nam are grappling with how to deal with the influx of foreign (capitalist) direct investment there and the need to build local unions that can effectively fight for workers in this new context.

COCAL Updates

by Joe Berry
joeberry@igc.org

COCAL is the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor, a nearly 20-year-old network of contingent activists and their organizations that does a conference (now tri national – USA, CAN, MEX) every other year, usually in August. It also sponsors a listserv, called ADJ-L, and has an International Advisory Committee and a website and Facebook page.

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UPDATES AND LINKS

1. Union members seem to want Bernie over Hillary. Will union leaders follow through?

2. Even if SCOTUS make the public sector “right to work,” unions can still organize and win.

3. Indiana U Health system forced to un-fire a nurse who tried to organize a union (lots of parallels for us there) article by USW president Leo Gerard.

4. Adjuncts add value to college (says Republican in CN).

5. Adjunct Justice: For4s forum.

6. “Freelancing, schmeelancing, the adjunct army analysis” (a new NFM Blog).

7. Why is Duquesne U locked in this battle with its adjuncts? And more on Duquesne’s threat to outspoken adjuncts in NLRB filing.

8. Interesting blog summarizing some U of Illinois cases to date (Steve Salaita, Janet Wise, et al, but leaving out our colleague James Kilgore).

9. Very interesting blog discussion of UAW 2865’s (the union of U of CA grad employees) call to the AFL-CIO to disaffiliate the the Police union.

10. A critical article on OBAMACARE, calling for a single payer solution among other things.

11. Unpaid UN intern living in a tent.

12. Schools making a lot of money on adjuncts’ work.

13. Transforming society with the fight for 15.

14. Working for free on hope (sound like many of us?).

15. NLRB refuses to decide central issue in Northwestern football players attempt to unionize under law and here.

16 Appeal from United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) for start of school year donations. [This would be a good thing to propose to our unions and other organizations as an act of solidarity with a group that has been very active in supporting contingent faculty struggles nationally and in many local places.)

Dear Joe,

Last weekend, students from USAS locals across the country came together in Washington, DC to celebrate our campaign victories, share organizing strategies, and discuss the future of our movement.

USAS members celebrated international victories, such as forcing kids clothing brand, The Children’s Place, to pay $2.5 million to victims of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. Members also reflected on the important progress our movement has made in solidarity with campus workers, such as winning significant wage increases at the University of Washington and the University of Memphis.

These important victories are made possible with the support of allies like you. Click here to contribute to this year’s student organizers as they enter another year of building power alongside workers.

As the academic year begins, we are so excited to continue building on the momentum from our Summer Convention. This week, USAS members are headed back to their campuses ready to recruit more students and launch campaigns in support of our adjunct faculty, food service workers, graduate students, custodians, fast food workers, and garment workers around the world.

Help us start the year off right with a back-to-school donation.

With resources from supporters like you, we can hit the ground running building new USAS locals, educating more students about important labor issues, and launching powerful campaigns with workers around the world.

Thank you for your continued support.

Solidarity,

AJ James
Coordinating Committee Collective Liberation Representative
University of Alabama Local 144
United Students Against Sweatshops | USAS.org
Organizing for Student and Worker Power

17. U of MO grads demonstrate and talk union over loss of health insurance subsidies.

18. An important piece on Social Security (which also shows why we need to fight to protect it and fight for coverage).

19. Unreliable schedules mean doubt, discomfort and anxiety for workers.

20. Colleges use of adjuncts comes under pressure.

21. Syllabus bloat and its links to the corporatization of the neoliberal university (unfortunately does not link it to casualization of faculty as it might).

22. From fast food to non-profits, $15 hour in NY (Could this also apply to us in private-non-profit colleges?)

23. In Philly, Temple U and Drexel U speech codes restrict free speech.

24. New polls show union favorability ratings up.

25. NLRB regional to finally count ballots in Seattle U (WA) election (SEIU).

26. Interesting blog on people’s hopes for riches and how that effects their politics.

27. University endowments and foundations: a tax dodge for the rich.

28. National Center for the Study of CB in Higher Ed and the Professions, August 2015, E-Note [worth a look, good summary update].

29. Professional status and academic freedom: bridging the gaps.

30. Call for temp worker safety.

31. A much fuller story of murder and coverup in one of the most famous campus killings in US history, Kent State, 1970, 45 years ago. [Really mandatory reading for all and example of what can happen easily again on any campus.]

32. I look like a professor.

33. Decline of for-profit colleges continues.

34. On the adjunctification of America.

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NOTE: As noted previously, your COCAL UPDATES editor (Joe Berry) and his spouse/partner/colleague Helena Worthen, are going to teach labor studies in Viet Nam for the fall 2015 Semester.  Unions in Viet Nam are grappling with how to deal with the influx of foreign (capitalist) direct investment there and the need to build local unions that can effectively fight for workers in this new context.