UWP Lecturers Message from Your Lecturer Representatives

[Lash Keith Vance]

  Link: File-List
  Link: themeData
  Link: colorSchemeMapping

  Greetings Fellow Lecturers,

   

  9/1/2009

   

  The new school year has almost begun, but it has
  started with some very disturbing news: the seven
  pre-six contracts that had been awarded were
  rescinded in a surprise meeting (on the same day as
  the No-Confidence Vote for Yudof), and those
  lecturers were given notices of potential layoffs
  for Winter and Spring quarters.  This alleviates the
  University from the legal obligation to fulfill
  these contracts.  This does not necessarily mean
  that there will be no classes for these lecturers,
  but this is disturbing none-the-less.

   

  Now, Julie Brett and I are not Union
  representatives, so we cannot write to you about
  labor law or contracts.  However, this is a time for
  solidarity in our teaching profession and with the
  other workers on campus who are currently
  suffering.  Clerical staff, for instance, are also
  facing a reduction in pay, furlough days, and/or
  layoffs.  We need to be mindful of their situation
  as well.

   

  This is not a call to sing songs around the camp
  fire, and we should not assume everything will be
  just fine by thinking it so, but we shouldn’t
  forget our history as lecturers and how we have
  prevailed through many skirmishes.  There have been
  attempted “reductions” to our numbers in
  1992-93, 1998-1999, 2004-2005; the last so-called
  reduction saw approximately fifty lecturers of the
  eighty employed by the English Department laid off,
  but many of us were back working the following
  September.

   

  Morale is obviously low.  There is no doubt.  What
  can we do about it?  There are a few things:

   

  1)      Know that we are in this together; for those
  whose jobs are currently threatened, know that many
  of the rest of us have experienced and still
  remember similar potential cuts.  You are not alone
  in this, and you have our support.

   

  2)      If you have a non-union work-related issue,
  let your lecturer representatives know about it
  (Julia.brett at ucr.edu or lashv at ucr.edu).  This would
  involve your interaction with UWP personnel and so
  forth.  If there are any further “surprise”
  meetings, please be sure to contact your lecturer
  representatives as well as your Union
  representatives.

   

  3)      If you have labor or work-load related
  issue, please contact your Union personnel (Paul
  Beehler, pbeehler at hotmail.com, Union President;
  Sandy Baringer, sbaringer at gmail.com, Legal
  Consultant; Stephanie Kay, , ss1kay at gmail.com,
  Grievance Steward; Ben Harder, blharder at gmail.com,
  Statewide Union Official).  They can help.

   

  4)      Julie and I will call a lecturer meeting
  once school has started, we have started our
  classes, and we have learned of any programmatic
  changes.  This meeting will be a chance to air any
  concerns and for discussion of our pedagogical (et
  al) reactions.

   

   

  In solidarity,

  Keith Vance

Lash Keith Vance, M.A., Ph.D., M.Ed
Director of Computer-Assisted Instruction
Lecturer Representative
University Writing Program
University of California, Riverside

Office: 1103C HMNSS
Email : lashv at ucr.edu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ucr.edu/pipermail/englecturers/attachments/20090901/2b201e54/attachment-0001.html