Updates
4-18-23 "What happened at the BOT Meeting Last Night and What didn’t – Promotions"
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Sabbaticals were approved at the BOT meeting last night, which is wonderful news. Congratulations to the six people who received sabbaticals. But promotions were not on the agenda for last night’s BOT meeting. This, of course, was upsetting to a number of our colleagues. Even more disheartening was that the current members of our Executive Committee did speak to the BOT but only about increased healthcare premiums. They did not say a word – not a single word - about promotions. How could I have been the only person who spoke to the BOT about promotions????
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I remember the anxiety I had when I applied for promotion and that was during a time of relative quiet at NCC. Can you just imagine the level of stress and anxiety that our colleagues are experiencing if they applied for promotion and tenure this year? This is yet another example of our Executive Committee’s lack of focus and misplaced priorities.
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4-10-23 "Remember This When You Cast Your Vote"
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Today voting begins for the NCCFT Executive Committee! We all realize that getting a fair contract is our number one priority. Why don’t we have a fair contract? Our Executive Committee’s actions and tone when they interact with stakeholders is a key part of this issue.
Our NCCFT Executive Committee represents us as a faculty and as individuals. On October 11th 2022, NCC Board of Trustees meeting a student spoke of “troubling” interactions with the NCCFT Executive Committee. The excerpt is below and the website to the original document is also noted. It did not end there. Once the meeting was concluded, the student was approached by a member of the Executive Committee and had to be told by others to leave the student alone. This type of behavior has no place on our college campus. Students should not feel like they are being bullied by faculty members. This was not one student. It was a few students. Only one was brave enough to stand up and speak even though she feared faculty retaliation. Now it is our turn to stand up to leadership.
This unacceptable situation was created by the Executive Committee that we elected. They represent who we are as a faculty. When you cast your vote think to yourself, is this who we want to represent us and in turn is this who we want to BE?
“Student Government Association (SGA) President expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to speak publicly about a troubling interaction with an executive member of the NCCFT union. SGA values every constituency of the College community but is uncertain whether union members appreciate the role of SGA members as students. She affirmed that the responsibility of the SGA, in addition to advocating for students, is to manage a variety of school-related activities, events, policies, programs, and projects. Student government operates for the benefit of the students and their clubs. One of SGA’s tasks is the stamping of club fliers; and what is approved and not approved is a decision of the Executive Board. SGA has an ethical obligation to operate impartially and diligently, and does not endorse political movements, hate crimes, or other activities that do not align with its principles. SGA politely declined when NCCFT requested that SGA stamp fliers for its campaign NCCFOR2023 since it has no connection with clubs, and rather is a campaign for the union and not for students. The union tried to pressure SGA into stamping these fliers despite SGA’s offer to have a more in-depth discussion to which NCCFT never showed up. Subsequently, an NCCFT executive member’s lack of boundaries made SGA members feel uneasy, and, most significantly, disrespected by slamming the door on them in the middle of a conversation. Other students had been scheduled to speak today, but, like her, had to make a difficult choice, voicing concerns about possible faculty retaliation in the form of denial of access to their academic qualifications, letters of recommendation, and many other aspects of their student experiences. SGA will continue to speak out for the needs and concerns of students, and appeals to be treated with the same respect as they give to others.”
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4-6-2023 "Interesting Timing!"
​It is true that we should be very concerned about the horrible pay cut we have received and the outrageous retro portion that we had to pay today. Another thing to contemplate is the timing of the pay cuts. The initial deduction was applied as the election cycle began. Now the retro piece is starting just as the voting begins. Coincidence? I think not. This is a clear message from the Board that this is all happening because of the current leadership and their unprofessional antics. We must stand up and say no. We must say we do not agree with the current union leadership. We need to restore professionalism and begin cordial relations again so we can work together to secure NCC's future and protect our union.
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4-5-2023
There appear to be a lot of rules about campaigning.  But it apparently is okay to do it at the General NCCFT Membership Meeting.   My opponent used parts of the meeting to address points I made in Monday night’s forum.
Prior to the General NCCFT Meeting, I checked the agenda and there was no Question and Answer listed.  So, I didn’t think there would be one.  Then at the end of the meeting, they announced does anyone have any Questions?  If I did ask a question, I assumed I would be accused of campaigning yet again!  
At the zoom meeting (on 3/22), Beth Margolis (our lawyer) mentioned that the NCCFT offered for us to pay 6% of healthcare premiums, the college did not agree and didn’t even give a counteroffer. She also said that we are 95% done with the contract.   Just the healthcare and wages to settle.  Sounds a bit like some of my students, who feel they are 95% done with the semester, just the final project and Exam left.  
The NCCFT President did make some interesting points about the hiring a lawyer for negotiations.  But it does leave us with some overlap.  Our president has mentioned numerous times that she is a lawyer and we have hired a lawyer, Beth Margolis, to help with negotiations.  Do we need two lawyers?  The financial aspects are not the only important piece of the contract.  But it is important.  It seems to me that having a president with extensive financial knowledge and our lawyer, Beth Margolis, would be a good fit.    Legal knowledge and financial knowledge seem like a better strategy than what we have now.  What are two of our biggest issues right now?  Wages and healthcare benefits – the financial aspects.   
Also, my opponent implied that I said there was an issue between the way she and the college attorney speak to one another?  I never said that.   I have never attended any of the negotiation sessions so I have no way of knowing the rapport with the college attorney.   My reference was to the relationship between the Executive Committee and the Board of Trustees and the administration – the people who hold the purse strings.    A quick look at the Board of Trustees meeting minutes gives us an understanding of the relationship between the Board and the Executive Committee.   We will make progress towards a final contract because we will begin to establish cordial relationships and act as professionals. 
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"NCCFT President, criticized the Trustees for self-congratulating themselves on their job performance when they have been letting down NCC for 10 years. She blames the Board for a decade of failure of vision and imagination and of not listening to Full-Time faculty. She questioned why the Trustees have not upheld their responsibility to fundraise in order to secure an endowment like Suffolk County Community Colleges? She claims, if we continue with the same failed policies, we will get the same poor results. It is her opinion that the County Executive and State Governor should appoint a new Board with fresh ideas and an open mind and willingness to listen to faculty. She respectfully requested that all the Trustees resign. " (https://www.ncc.edu/aboutncc/ourpeople/board_of_trustees/pdfs/2022_bot_pddfs/04_2022_Apr_12_BOT_MINUTES.pdf) 
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“President, NCCFT…she expressed satirical concern about faculty families potentially struggling to pay rent and needing to avail themselves of The NEST.”  https://www.ncc.edu/aboutncc/ourpeople/board_of_trustees/pdfs/2023_bot_pdfs/02_2023_Feb_09_BOT_MINUTES.pdf 
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“NCCFT President, ……this Board, as led by its current Chair for the past decade, must be held accountable for its decisions and the current state of the College, which is not good. The Board’s years of mismanagement, failure to secure an increase in County funding for an operating budget 14 years ongoing, and support for administration’s ill-conceived policies, such as the recent transfer of Technologists, and for the diminished faculty voice in academic-related decisions have resulted in 47% loss of enrollment in the last decade, and this semester will witness steep declines, as well. The Board has faulted COVID as the culprit, but most of this debacle, as data demonstrates, has been ongoing and growing for a decade. She had hoped the Board would reflect on the poor judgment, losing strategies, and mismanagement, but apparently has chosen the opposite: with the appointment of a non-academic as presiding officer, the Board has bypassed all qualified academics and is determined to continue down its same misguided path.” https://www.ncc.edu/aboutncc/ourpeople/board_of_trustees/pdfs/2022_bot_pddfs/01_2022_January_11_BOT_MINUTES.pdf