Dear Brother Tolman, On October 5, 2016, the Hampshire/Franklin Central Labor Council (HFCLC) and Western Massachusetts Jobs With Justice (WMJWJ) convened stake holders and other UMass Labor Center supporters in Amherst. Attendees emphasized the critical role the Labor Center has played in the recruitment, support, and education of leaders, educators, and advocates of working people everywhere. They formed the “Save the Labor Center” Joint Committee of HFCLC and WMJWJ and will meet again next Wednesday, October 12. We are sending you this email on behalf of the Joint Committee and its sponsoring organizations. The Joint Committee and nearly 5,000 supporters (who have signed the petition at http://bit.ly/SaveLaborCenter) demand the restoration of full-funding to the UMass Amherst Labor Center and the following (language added by the Committee to the petition is in italics): 1. Two years guaranteed GEO-eligible fully funded Research and/or Teaching Assistantships for full-time graduate students who need them. 2. Externship positions for graduate students who need them, so that the Labor Center can accept working-class and diverse students. 3. Centrally funded part-time faculty positions to deliver the full curriculum including Labor Law, Collective Bargaining, Labor Economics, and other key courses. 4. Centrally funded staff positions, at least one full-time, that are dedicated to the Labor Center, including at least one dedicated administrative staff member, in addition to current staffing levels. 5. Faculty governance of the Labor Center—not by the Sociology department or the Dean’s office—and the right of faculty to choose the next Director. 6. A commitment that the Labor Center is an integral part of the University’s educational mission, not just a profit center to subsidize other programs. The University’s budgetary model is simply inappropriate and wrong. All the above should be fully funded by the University, as a central part of its mission, going all the way back to its establishment as a Federal Land Grant university, to serve the working people of the Commonwealth. The Committee took to heart your request to send you important stake holders left off your list, and it came up with a list. We request that you invite
· Beth Berry, former Assistant to the Director and Graduate Program Administrator To ensure that all those organizations significantly supported and affected by the Center are represented in this initial meeting, we request that you invite representatives from the following groups: · current residential Labor Center students, who are impacted by the courses offered, financial and other services, and the esteem the Labor Center has earned across the nation; · undergrads – CEPA/UMass Student Labor Action Project and the UMass Student Trustee, who are impacted by the courses offered, Labor Center services, and the esteem the Labor Center has earned across the nation; · part-time faculty, who can speak to their contributions; · Sociology PhD candidates, who are impacted by the role of the Labor Center within Sociology and the success of Sociology; · UMass Amherst unions not on the list: AFSCME, PSU, and USA; they are impacted by University budgeting and by all University labor relations; · the three other UMass Labor Centers (Boston, Lowell, Dartmouth), who are impacted by University budgeting; · major statewide/regional unions: MNA, SEIUs, UAW, UFCW, and others that are impacted by Labor Center services and students; · organizations that have provided Externships and can speak to the qualitative and quantitative outcomes of those projects; · the organized Labor Center Alums (http://savethelaborcenter.weebly.com/), who have taken the lead in defending their Alma Mater; · employers of UMass Amherst Labor Center graduates (unions, community groups, government agencies, such as the NLRB), who are impacted by and grateful for the courses offered, the highly qualified graduates, and the esteem the Labor Center has earned across the nation; · Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts – PHENOM – the statewide organization of public higher education stakeholders. Its work and advocacy is integral toward moving away from a profit-centered model of education toward one focused on education as a public good. In solidarity, Ron Patenaude & Jeff Jones Hampshire/Franklin Central Labor Council {note that Jeff will be at the meeting on the 17th in Ron’s stead} Jon Weissman Western Mass. Jobs with Justice Comments are closed.
|
AuthorThis blog is run and maintained exclusively by alumni of the Labor Center. Today we live all across the country, working in all parts of the Labor Movement. Archives
December 2016
Categories
All
|