Admin! Speak up!

[Wahoo Redux]

Let's try another example to paint the big picture.

The faculty are the furniture in the house that is the university. 

This is a pretty astonishing and revealing claim. Teaching isn't at the core of institutions of higher learning? I'd always assumed that the point of requiring students to pass classes and get a certain number of credits to graduate was based on the idea that you wanted them to take classes and learn things under the direction of professors, but I guess who those people are and whether they do a good job is just a tertiary detail? Do classes and degrees just exist so colleges can get the tuition dollars that allow them to replace the water heater in the Student Union?

Let's try another analogy to paint the big picture.

The faculty are the furniture in the house that is the university (yes, this is a really dumb analogy, but we'll go with it for now); the students are the boarders; the landlord is the administration.

In one corner we have a couch.  It is a very old couch which has been a part of the house since the very beginning---literally, right from when the house was built, this couch has been sitting here.  It used to be very nice, gaudy even, but has fallen on hard times.  The couch has been a cornerstone of every classical, modernist, and feng shui arraignment because, hey, it is a couch and thus axiomatically an important piece of furniture.  Virtually every boarder will need to sit in this couch at one time or the other, and so every single day someone is sitting on the couch.  In fact, the couch is grossly overcrowded by boarders who need a place to sit. 

However, for some reason the landlord only occasionally repaired or reupholstered the couch, and then only minimally.  In fact, most repairs are only temporary (patches, bricks where legs used to be, etc.) including the springs, which naturally complain under the heavy load.

Since the couch is central to the mission of the house to provide a shelter to the boarders, it would only make sense to make the couch as strong and as well equipped for its duty as possible.  Sure, the roof tends to leak occasionally, the back porch is sagging a bit, and so on, but these are the natural repairs that need to be made----it would be prudent to repair the structural aspects of the house, but it would also be prudent to maintain the central pieces of furniture (the dining set, the chairs, the bookcases, the TV, and of course the couch).  We might even put a little money aside and worry about the paint and wall-paper later as these are primarily cosmetic while the couch is largely necessary.

Unfortunately, the landlord would rather get the chic new plywood fold-out TV trays, because that's practical (or something), and instead of replacing the couch or bolstering the bookshelves, the landlord buys highly overpriced office-roller chairs.  The office chairs are actually a little less practical than the couch and no more comfortable, but this is what the landlord thinks the boarders want, largely because of cultural misconception of which pieces of furniture are really useful and the office chairs have a few gizmos (like height-adjustment and a headrest) which make them marketable (even if these are not really worthwhile additions).  What's more, the officer chairs will wear out pretty soon----so the landlord, rather than fixing the roof or repairing the other pieces of furniture, will simply order more expensive office chairs in the future (even though studies have more or less proven that this type of chair is damaging to boarders' postures).

To make matters worse, the landlord successfully begins a capital campaign, raises a few bucks, and uses the money to buy shiny new pleather recliners in the hope that rich friends will come over, watch football on the old TV, and then give (essentially the same amount of money that the landlord expended in the first place to buy the chairs) to the house----never mind that the local team only wins about 6 or 7 of every 12 games; football is exciting and therefore more important than the roof, or the porch, or the couch which most of the boarders will sit on.  Maybe we'll name the microwave after one of the landlord's rich friends.

In the meantime, certain shallow thinkers actually blame the couch for becoming careworn, as if it is the couch's fault the wear-and-tear from everyday use and lack of attention are taking their toll.  What's more, certain shallow thinkers actually blame the ancient couch for making noise when it is sat upon too hard or too heavily.  They would actually see the couch fall apart while praising the new electric can-opener.

Or perhaps we could work together to keep the house from falling apart, you know, since we all have a stake in how well the house and its contents stand the test of time.

[marshwiggle]

However, for some reason the landlord only occasionally repaired or reupholstered the couch, and then only minimally.  In fact, most repairs are only temporary (patches, bricks where legs used to be, etc.) including the springs, which naturally complain under the heavy load.

What does reupholstering the couch correspond to in this analogy? And what does repairing it correspond to?

[Wahoo Redux]

However, for some reason the landlord only occasionally repaired or reupholstered the couch, and then only minimally.  In fact, most repairs are only temporary (patches, bricks where legs used to be, etc.) including the springs, which naturally complain under the heavy load.

What does reupholstering the couch correspond to in this analogy? And what does repairing it correspond to?

Look up world class foam upholstery and Captain Nemo and the answer will become clear to you.

[FishProf]

Briefly, as I am in a rush.

Mahogany, you replied that you would need to know more before you'd decide to join, or abstain from, my union.  But later, you say that unions are always the best way forward.

That sounds contradictory.

Nevertheless, I''ll Ask:  What do you need to know to make your decision?

[mahagonny]

Briefly, as I am in a rush.

Mahogany, you replied that you would need to know more before you'd decide to join, or abstain from, my union.  But later, you say that unions are always the best way forward.

That sounds contradictory.

Nevertheless, I''ll Ask:  What do you need to know to make your decision?

Well it's alway a guess what kind of success or disappointment the future holds. But I'd tend to give it a chance if they sound like they want to go to bat for part timers. Some of the things I've heard about SUNY though have been really off-putting. It seems like the union only serves the full timers, mostly.
I guess part of it is I have a little bit of fight in me. Someone (the provost) says 'we don't recommend that you vote for union because a third party inserting itself into our relationship will be counterproductive. They don't know the academic culture) then my reaction is 'oh yeah? Screw you. First of all, we don't have a relationship. Second, academic culture has some serious pitfalls so there's no need to avoid shaking it up.' And so on.
Administrators just need to STFU about unions. They have no business meddling in your decision for union yes or no. That should be obvious to anyone. Still some persist. Maybe they need to get a life.

here's an interesting piece:   https://chroniclevitae.com/news/254-off-track-how-to-bust-an-adjunct-union

Mahagonny  (incidentally, I've found that 'Mahagonny' sometimes autocorrects to "Mahogany" - bummer.

[FishProf]

Mahagonny

I'm still not clear what, specifically, you'd be looking for.

Nevertheless, a follow-up.  As I said, we have a joint PT-FT union, and those groups are not equally served by union decisions. 

How would an adjunct-only union work at a particular University?  Only current adjuncts can be members?  Or are we talking more AFL-CIO kinds of stuff where it's a "if you don't hire union members, you don't hire anyone" kind of situation?  Which do you envision?

Oddly enough, I am a union member for the day school (TT), and a member with a different status (adjunct) at the night school (same union - different contracts).  I am not sure how I should feel about that situation.  The night contract pays me pays based on my day rank. 

This probably muddies the waters, but I am trying to get a better sense of what you (and others) are arguing for, in practical terms.

[ciao_yall]

The saying around our system is "Administration rents. Faculty own."

[mahagonny]

The saying around our system is "Administration rents. Faculty own."

Ha. Not when it comes to blame.