American Association of University Professors
February 24, 2005
Dear Colleague,
The attached ballot calls for your vote on a proposal that would authorize the Executive Council (EC) to add to our long-standing membership in the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) an additional or joint membership with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). By a roll call tally of 19 to 3, the EC recommends a YES vote on the ballot. I stand with full confidence among the 19 who favor joint affiliation.
A new feature of the proposed affiliation, added unanimously to the agreement by the EC, is that we recommend a three-year trial period, after which both the EC and the full membership will need to vote on a more permanent affiliation. In short, you are voting for or against a three-year trial joint affiliation, after which the affiliation will sunset unless specifically authorized by a majority of voting members for continuation. The three-year trial phase would begin if and when formal affiliation is signed, perhaps in October 2005, in which case it would last until October 2008. Since our current contract expires in June 2007, we would all have the added insight and information that would come from going through a contract cycle as a joint affiliate. The key assumption motivating this decision -- that joint affiliation with the AFT, and therefore with the AFL-CIO, will strengthen our bargaining power -- will be put to the test. We would also have a period of three years during which to assess the enhancement of our political effectiveness in Trenton, which is the other major advantage envisioned by proponents of joint affiliation.
The remainder of this memo presents a summary of the considerations raised both in favor of joint affiliation and against it, so that you will be in a better position to understand the EC’s recommendation and to reach your own judgment. Inevitably, the net balance of the presentation will be favorable to joint affiliation, since that is the position of the overwhelming majority of the AAUP leadership. But after due consideration, even if you do not agree with those of us in the EC majority, we urge you to vote, as we are all committed to a thoughtful, democratic process.
The Three Principal Advantages of the Agreement
1) Automatic membership in the AFL-CIO at the national and state levels, thereby providing RU AAUP with a seat at the table when unionized workers, blue collar and white, sit down to take action on our collective interests.
2) Access to political and legislative services and influence in Trenton and Washington, thereby giving RU AAUP a more powerful voice in shaping public policy and budget priorities.
3) Assistance from AFT staff resources in collective bargaining, research, membership recruitment, leadership training, and political and legislative campaigns, thereby bringing RU AAUP the professional expertise to make us stronger and more effective in working on behalf of our entire membership.
The Five Key Conditions of the Agreement
1) RU AAUP will retain its current complete autonomy as an AAUP collective bargaining unit, while gaining affiliation with the national/state AFT.
2) There will be no dues increase for our members as a result of joint affiliation because current revenue allows us to afford the AFT dues (set permanently at 50% of their regular dues rate).
3) RU AAUP will retain full control over collective bargaining decisions, political endorsements, legal actions, staff hiring and supervision, and our local treasury.
4) All current RU AAUP staff will remain in their positions.
5) The agreement will sunset in three years from its inception and continuance will require approval by a majority of the EC and a majority of voting members.
In the late 1990s, the RU AAUP undertook explorations about joint affiliation with either the NJEA or the AFT. These inquiries did not produce a positive outcome. The NJEA proposal did not preserve local autonomy and the AFT alternative was judged to be too costly. Several years passed and we entered a new bargaining cycle, one that foreboded difficulties from the outset and one that gave some urgency to addressing the problems that had spurred the initial inquiries into adding a politically powerful union to our existing AAUP affiliation. In September 2003 the EC invited fresh initiatives from both NJEA and AFT. The new NJEA proposal once again included a structure that would require abolishing our local autonomy. The new AFT proposal now offered a permanent 50% reduction in dues, sufficient to assure that joint affiliation would not trigger a future increase in member dues, along with their traditional allowance for full local autonomy.
Some voices questioning the current choice of the AFT have asked why we did not consider AFSCME or SEIU or some other way to become part of the AFL-CIO. The reality is that our joint affiliation committee did explore such alternatives and concluded that an affiliation with a higher education faculty union in New Jersey provided the approach of greatest benefit to our members.
With EC approval, I then appointed a widely representative ad hoc committee, co-chaired by Adrienne Eaton and Robert Angelo, each an acclaimed expert in labor issues, to flesh out the details of a possible joint affiliation with either NJEA or AFT or any other union. The committee retained as special counsel for the affiliation question the legal services of Kroll Heineman Giblin. Al Kroll, former New Jersey Commissioner of Labor, met with us and provided detailed advice on both the legal and political landscapes relevant to joint affiliation. We also received independent legal advice from Paul Schachter, our distinguished attorney of longstanding. Finally, national AAUP retained yet a third legal firm to render its responses on various issues. We are assured beyond a reasonable doubt (indeed, to the extent that anything can be said with certainty) that joint affiliation poses no grounds for a successful challenge to our status as the collective bargaining representative for the Rutgers faculty, TA/GAs, and EOF counselors. The Part-time Lecturer Faculty Chapter is a legally separate entity and as such will reach its own decision about joint affiliation.
Fears have been expressed that hostility to joint affiliation with the AFT and the AFL-CIO might cause some of our members to resign, weakening us and putting the organization at risk. Higher education unions that have considered joint affiliation in the recent past, whether the outcome was positive or negative, experienced subsequent increases in membership on the order of 10%. Such comparisons are complex and cannot be pushed too far but one observation may be suggested: the energy required of union leaders to consider such a major question as national affiliation, coming as it does with the inevitable recognition that joint affiliation can never be a substitute for stronger membership involvement, seems to result in an invigorated, more democratic, more receptive union, one that successfully recruits new members. We simply cannot allow the antipathy of a few members toward union solidarity, however heartfelt and vociferously expressed in the discussion forum, to veto the considered judgment of our duly elected, dedicated, and professional experts on the questions at hand. Both sides of the joint affiliation debate agree that there is no silver bullet here, no mere outsourcing of our shortcomings. All agree that with or without joint affiliation, RU AAUP needs to do more in its own house to recruit new members and to win over greater commitments of time and talent from our current members.
Other concerns raised in the discussion forum (still available for viewing, password = AAUPAFT, at www.rutgersaaup.com) and at chapter meetings were duly considered by the EC before a substantial majority of members reached an affirmative recommendation. The most troubling of these concerns is the assessment by some leaders at national AAUP that a Rutgers joint affiliation with AFT would weaken the national organization at a time when relations between AAUP and AFT are not good. My personal view is that the issue simply cannot be resolved or even adequately assessed. The three-year sunset provision newly added by the EC may relieve some of the tensions, perhaps providing time for a sufficient healing process at the national level to allow both organizations to function effectively together, which would surely be in the best interests of higher education nationally. What I can tell you with absolute assurance is that at the state level, relations between the AFT and the AAUP are excellent and unambiguously will be strengthened by joint affiliation, without any compromise of RU AAUP’s autonomy.
The estimated cost of the additional affiliation is $200,000 per year, based on the agreed-upon permanent dues reduction of 50%. AFT and AFL-CIO dues have risen only modestly over the years, at a rate less than RU AAUP contracted salary increases, and so there is no serious cause for concern about whether we can afford the cost. The real question is whether this is how we should spend our money. Could we provide better services and strengthen our union more with some alternative use of this money? Pouring the money into the political process through direct campaign contributions can be dismissed without further comment. We also intend to continue our abstemious and frugal ways at the union office, so the money is not needed there. In short, the alternative for using the $200K to benefit our members would be to hire additional staff, certainly a contract-enforcement specialist, possibly an expert in benefits issues, perhaps a public relations expert, why not a full-time lobbyist, and maybe a contract-costing expert at least during negotiations. But $200K only goes so far, and between salary and benefits and considering the skill levels we are dealing with, the alternative would be two new hires. I can assure you that we could employ them fully and you can assess for yourselves that no two people could actually do all that we need.
The majority of the EC judges that the proposed affiliation with the AFT is the better way to go. The agreement includes payment by them for one new staff position, with duties to include liaison with AFT but also to provide expertise in one of our critical needs areas. National AFT is a very large organization and will provide us with much needed assistance on contract-costing, making our negotiations less strident and more effective. Simply being fully represented at the table when AFL-CIO leaders talk with the Governor of New Jersey about labor and other public policy issues buys more than we can achieve on our own, no matter how much of our resources we put to the matter. President McCormick has done great work in representing the interests of Rutgers in the political arena, and we share 99% of his objectives (okay, maybe 95%) and gladly work on the same side on most issues. But the reality is that we also have paycheck concerns on behalf of our members and for these matters we need a powerful, independent voice. Other gains will come in the area of legal expertise on issues of national concern, such as distance learning, privacy, and control of work products.
Finally, joint affiliation would open to our members a series of individual benefits, including reduced rates on automobile insurance, consolidation for graduate student loans, and a variety of travel and member-purchase opportunities, including long-term health care. No existing AAUP benefits of this sort would be lost to our members.
As many of you already know, my term as your Council President will end on June 30, 2005 and I will be returning full-time to the classroom and to my research interests. The past two years as a RU AAUP leader have been rewarding in many ways and my interest in making the union as strong as possible in the service of its members will continue undiminished. Prospects for future leadership are as good as we choose to make them and the immediate situation appears to me to be excellent. We have turned a corner, and the union is ours if we decide to put shoulders to the wheel and do our parts. Joint affiliation with the AFT and the AFL-CIO will enhance the professionalism and power of our union, both at the bargaining table and in the political arena. The colleagues who serve in leadership capacities in the future will have even more effective resources at their disposal to accomplish their objectives on behalf of the membership. Joint affiliation is a wise investment by RU AAUP. I have had the good fortune to work with an outstanding staff at RU AAUP but they cannot do everything. We need both enhanced member involvement on our campuses and greater union solidarity and strength beyond our local confines. Your affirmative vote on joint affiliation is a step in the right direction for RU AAUP.
Fraternally yours,
Rudy Bell, President
Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters