Our Goals:

• To stop administration from eliminating vital programs on campus that impact our community:
• To share in the governance of Green River College in order to deliver the highest quality education.
• To participate in the process of reviewing the viability of our programs.
• To make informed and reasonable decisions about who and how we serve.

Our Message:

The administration is wasting taxpayer money and tuition dollars: Millions of taxpayer and tuition dollars have contributed to the new Trades building because the projections for the programs it would contain were positive. This is a failure in management. If the Auto body and Carpentry programs are eliminated, that will leave over a third of the building unaccounted for. Additionally, some equipment has already been purchased and is being stored at a cost.

The closing of these programs is a disservice to students and the community. Regardless of the College’s name change which did away with the word “Community,” the programs serve the greater Auburn community, not just a few faculty and staff. We are not against expansion, but by cutting these programs, students in our service area who are looking for opportunity to improve their circumstances will have fewer options than before.

Administration is not bargaining with faculty in good faith. Administration has failed to work with faculty to make things better. In a negotiation process that has taken over a year with no end in sight, the administration’s decision to RIF programs like Autobody, Carpentry, GIS, and Parent Education—programs that are connected to the faculty’s negotiation teams’ two chief negotiators and the Treasurer of the Union—is retaliatory and disrespectful.

There is a lack of fairness and transparency on campus that undermine the principles of shared governance. It's unfair that four programs have been slated for elimination yet the college has neither shared all of the data that was used to select these programs nor consulted with faculty, staff, and students about reviewing these programs. This administration has blatantly disregarded the past practice of program review. With less than three weeks remaining until the college moves to the next step of the reduction-in-force (RIF) process, stakeholders still have not received sufficient and accurate evidence that these programs are should be eliminated. It is difficult to refute information that you don't have (or that has been withheld?).

May 6, 2015:  Green River College’s faculty this week accused its college president of targeting union leadership and wasting millions in taxpayer funds when she announced plans to eliminate up to four academic programs.

This document answers many frequently asked questions regarding what the 2nd Vote of No Confidence means and what we are actually asking of Green River College.

Did You Know? All Medicare Advantage Plans must offer the same benefits as Original Medicare but are allowed to have different costs and restrictions. Some may offer additional limited benefits such as vision or dental coverage. If you have Original Medicare, Part A determines coverage and costs of inpatient hospital care and skilled nursing facility care based on benefit periods.

NYSCUT has announced that with 566 school districts reporting, voters adoped 558 school budgets and defeated just eight, for a pass rate of 99 percent. In 2014 98.2 percent of the budgets passed, and in 2013 the passage rate was 95.3 percent.

Op-Ed by BTU & AFT-Maryland president, Marietta English in The Baltimore Sun:

A new report finds five fundamental flaws with the financial and academic oversight of Louisiana’s charter schools.

Statement by Baltimore Teachers Union President Marietta English on the Family League of Baltimore Being Honored For Their Work On Community Schools: I am so pleased that our partners at the Baltimore Education Roundtable are being acknowledged for their work. Family League of Baltimore has been a diligent partner in ensuring that Baltimore city students and ultimately their communities get all the resources they need to... READ

By Jill Hynum

The Wisconsin Coalition of Annuitants (WCOA) held its 24^th Annual Conference on May 18.  The WCOA consists of statewide and regional organizations representing retirees in the Wisconsin Retirement System, and may include active as well as retired participants in the system. The Coalition is committed to achieve the most effective and efficient operation of the Wisconsin Retirement System, free from political interference with policy and investment decisions.

Update on WRS

Matt Stohr, Administrator of the Division of Retirement Services  at the Department of Employee Trust Funds, gave us an update on the WRS.  His presentation should be available soon on either the ETF or WCOA website.  Some statistics:

To Read report, click here

A Wisconsin Coalition for Retirement Security Report

MILWAUKEE, WI - Referencing annual reports by the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust funds, as well as a study of the Wisconsin Retirement System ordered by Governor Walker in 2011, the Wisconsin Coalition for Retirement Security warns that the proposal to privatize Milwaukee Public Schools - currently under consideration by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee - will have serious repercussions for state retirees and taxpayers.

Read the rest of the article here.