EXECUTIVE SESSION

The Board of Directors met in Executive Session to consider the grievance cases of two UH-Manoa faculty members.  One case concerned termination and the other related to the denial of tenure.  Directors confirmed the appeal of both cases to arbitration.

 

NEA HIGHER EDUCATION DIRECTOR’S REPORT

NEA Director Sally Pestana reported
the issue that received the most attention at the NEA Higher Education
Conference in Washington, D.C. was the increasing use of contingent
faculty at both two–year and four–year institutions across the U.S.  Because
the definition of contingent faculty varies from “less than half time”
to “full time, non-tenure track” the percentages quoted vary from 60%
to 70%.  That leaves only 30% to 40% full time faculty to
do student advising, committee work, and other non-instructional
responsibilities for the entire institution.

The negative consequences of such
high numbers of contingent faculty are staggering for the institution,
the students, and both the part time and full time faculty members.  Discussion of the ripple effects of high use of contingent faculty permeated almost every session at the conference.

According to UHPA statistics, UH system contingent numbers are far below the national average.  That is a credit to both the administration and UHPA for having reached contract language in the current 2003-2009 Agreement that
both provides job security to experienced lecturers and non-tenure
track faculty, while continuing to recognize the ultimate importance of
tenure in colleges and universities. . 

 

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

  • President
    Joseph Chernisky reported that there are currently 3,847 faculty
    members in Bargaining Unit 7, which is up significantly in recent years.  Of these, 3,057 are active UHPA members (card carrying union members) and 790 nonmembers.  As for UHPA’s contingent faculty, there are 133 active UHPA members and 170 nonmembers for a total of 303 members.  UHPA’s retired membership stands at 229.
  • He
    indicated that UHPA has a unique hybrid affiliation status with the
    Hawaii State AFL-CIO and National Education Association (NEA.)  The NEA and the AFL-CIO have a Labor Solidarity Partnership on the national level.  UHPA’s
    affiliation, however, is only with the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and not
    the national AFL-CIO organization, making it a hybrid of that
    partnership. For more information about the national partnership, go to
    http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/jointheaflcio/nea.cfm.
  • In March, UHPA sponsored seminars put on by the TIAA-CREF non-profit annuity company.  As
    a follow-up, TIAA is offering “Personal Financial Counseling” sessions
    on May 7 and 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Imin Conference
    Center at the East-West Center on the UH-Manoa campus.  Members who are interested are advised to schedule their appointments by going to http://www.tiaa-cref.org/moc.

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Executive Director J. N. Musto reported
that the majority of his time this last month has been spent on
grievances and the contract proposal.  (Note:  The
Directors would later consider and approve the contract proposal from
the Chief Negotiator Musto and the Collective Bargaining Committee.)
  However, UHPA is also active in monitoring bills impacting the UH and the faculty before the state Legislature.

Associate Executive Director Kristeen Hanselman provided the status of bills being considered at the Legislature that include ŒS.B. 2263, the disclosure of administrative salaries in exempt positions; H.B. 2500 HD1SD1 regarding funding for repair and maintenance of UH facilities (see  http://uhpa.org/newsitems/legislative-update-uh-maintenance-and-repair-money/ for more information); ŽS.B.1780, limits negotiated contracts to two years; and,  S.B. 2262 to repeal the sunset provision for HSTA’s VEBA program, that offers health insurance to HSTA members.  AED
Hanselman complimented Director Josh Cooper, Chair of the Ad Hoc
Committee on Special Projects, for his organizing a group of students
visiting the Legislature.  They met with legislators, UHPA staff and lobbyist, and provided testimony.  Director Cooper is enlisting students to do a Voter Registration Project.  There are 277,000 eligible student voters who are not registered.

Associate Executive Director James
Kardash expressed his appreciation to the Board of Directors and
Faculty Representatives who advised the faculty member to contact UHPA
early so that the staff was able to successfully counsel the individual
or provide an early resolution. 
wUHPA
has been monitoring questions that have been raised concerning
continuing faculty evaluations that are subject to five-year reviews.. 
wThere have also been problems with faculty members not completing the required sick leave forms.  When
a faculty member reports sick leave on Monday and Wednesday, the
administrative officers will assume that the faculty member was also
out of work the intervening Tuesday. In this case, faculty members
without a scheduled class on the Tuesday have not been reporting sick
leave days.  (Note:  There is a contract
proposal that was approved by the Directors that would specifically
only charge sick leave for the days the faculty members submits.    For information regarding sick leave, go to http://uhpa.org/uhpa-bor-contract/article-vi-leaves-of-absence-with-pay/ and http://uhpa.org/uhpa-bor-contract/2003-2009-references.pdf/view. 
wThe
Community Colleges in partnership with the Department of Education
(DOE) have a pilot project known as “Construction Academy” in several
of Hawaii’s high schools.  Similar to the goals of the
P-20 Council, this is to prepare high school students with the
necessary skills to pursue a career in the construction industry.  Students will be able to use credits they earn toward the degrees they seek in vocational and technical fields.  Hawaii CC, Honolulu CC, Kauai CC, and Maui CC are participants of the Construction Academy program.  UHPA is also investigating a number of issues with the evaluation of faculty members who work directly in the high schools.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Treasurer Ming-Bao Yue reported that UHPA has gone through 51.8% of its annual budget and we are in good financial standing.  She pointed out changes in the February 29, 2008 financial report.  Directors passed a motion to receive the Treasurer’s report and to refer it to the Finance Committee.

 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Hawaii Great Teachers Seminar will be held at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on August 10-15, 2008.  Similar
to last year, the Executive Committee has recommended that UHPA support
the participation of UH lecturers that are members of UHPA through
grants that will allow them to attend the HGTS.  Directors unanimously passed the motion to
fund up to $4,000 for UH lecturers who have taught at least 8 credits
in Fall 2007 or Spring 2008 and were active UHPA members
.

 

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING COMMITTEE (CBC)

The final draft of the Collective Bargaining Committee’s bargaining proposal were shared with Directors.  UHPA Executive Director Musto reviewed the document, section by section.  After much review and discussion, Directors unanimously approved the motion that the UHPA
BOD authorizes the CBC to submit the initial proposal for changes to
the current Agreement, with a demand to begin bargaining over a
successor contract, to the State of Hawaii, the Board of Regents, and
the President of the University of Hawaii.  The CBC and Chief
Negotiator are authorized to make changes in the language consistent
with the principles approved in the contract proposal
.

Directors passed a motion to
have the CBC put a summary of UHPA’s bargaining proposal on the website
and to provide updated reports on the progress of negotiations once
bargaining commences
.

Directors passed a motion to confirm the appointments of James De Ste Croix (Leeward CC), Karla Hayashi (UH-Hilo), Richard W. Morris (UH-Hilo), Richard Nettell (UH-Manoa), Derek Oshiro (Honolulu CC), Sharon Rowe (Kapiolani CC), and Glenn Teves (UH-Manoa) as members of UHPA’s Negotiating Team, and the appointment of Earl Hishinuma (UH-Manoa) as an alternate member.

Directors passed a motion to confirm the appointment of David Duffy (UH-Manoa) as a member of UHPA’s Collective Bargaining Committee.

(Note:  The Employer was notified that the entire CBC would be representing the Bargaining Unit 7 in the next round of negotiations.  The members, in addition to those above, include Joshua Cooper (Maui CC), David Duffy (UH-Manoa), and Mark Rognstad (UH-Manoa).

Directors passed a motion to reaffirm the appointment of J. N. Musto as UHPA’s Chief Negotiator for this round of negotiations.  (A. Valdez) The motion passed with two abstentions.

 

FINANCE COMMITTEE

In the absence of Chair Duane
Stevens, UHPA Treasurer Ming-Bao Yue reported that the Finance
Committee met on March 24 with Mr. Alan Hirota of AES Design, the
architect firm assigned to do the modifications to the UHPA buildings.  He
informed them on the status of the building permit and answered any
concerns they had such as the cost of installing new lighting, which
would be a great savings in the future.  Directors were
also informed that the Finance Committee approved the transfer of
$20,000 within the Corporate Legal category, which does not require
Board approval.  Directors were reminded that if they
wanted the Finance Committee to consider additions for the next fiscal
budget, the deadline is Monday, April 14, 2008.

 

LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE

Chair Richard Nettell reported
that the endorsements agreed to by the Board of Directors last month
were presented to the active membership, who responded with a 79%
position to support the endorsements.

 

NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE

  • Chair Adrienne Valdez reported on the activities of the Nominations and Elections Committee. 
  • Directors were informed that the elections of officers and members of the Executive Committee would be conducted on May 10.  Since President Joseph Chernisky has an initial two-year term, there will not be an election for that office.  Only current Directors may vote and participate in this election.  Should
    a Director whose term on the Board ends on August 31, 2008 is elected,
    that Director’s position on the Executive Committee will also expire on
    August 31.  Another election to fill the vacancy would then be conducted at the Board’s September meeting.  Directors
    received the proposed Standing Rules for the Executive Committee
    Nominations and Elections Procedures and will need to approve them at
    the next Board meeting.  Chair Valdez declared that
    nominations were open for the offices of Vice President, Secretary,
    Treasurer, and three members at large on the Executive Committee.  Directors would also be notified electronically.
  • Directors
    were informed that UHPA needs 10% of the membership or a little over
    300 people to mail in their proxy forms in order to meet the quorum
    requirement to conduct the vote on the Amended Articles of
    Incorporation and Amended Bylaws.  She reported that as of April 12, 340 proxies have been received.  Several hundred ballots on the repeal of the UHPA Constitution have also been received.  These ballots will be counted after the deadline on April 24.  A two-thirds votes cast in favor will repeal the Constitution.
  • The nominations and elections for delegates to the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly were done.  As
    a result, 13 people were nominated and declared elected by acclamation
    since the number of nominations received did not exceed the 21
    delegates UHPA is allotted.  Elected as delegates to the NEA-RA are Nina Buchanan (UH-Hilo), Jerome Comcowich (UH-Manoa), Robert A. Fox (UH-Hilo), Ruth Horie (UH-Manoa), Earl Nakahara (Honolulu CC), Sally Pestana (Kapiolani CC), Natalia Schmidt (Leeward CC), Jonathan Schwartz (UH-West Oahu), Gregory Shepherd (Kauai CC), Duane Stevens (UH-Manoa), Tom Stone (Kapiolani CC), Adrienne Valdez (UH-West Oahu), and Jeffrey Zuckernick (Kapiolani CC).
  • Nominations are currently open for Faculty Representatives in 67 Primary Academic Units.  Since
    the deadline to receive nominations is April 18, Directors were asked
    to assist the Nominations and Elections Committee in finding candidates
    for those constituencies without a candidate.  If there is only one candidate, an election will NOT be conducted and that person would be declared elected by acclamation.  If an election is conducted, it would be done electronically after April 18.
  • Directors unanimously passed a motion to approve the appointment of John Allen as the Faculty Representative for Primary Academic Unit 090, UHM Mechanical Engineering, effective immediately.  His term will expire on May 31, 2008.  Although
    he has agreed to run for the two-year term that begins June 1, 2008 for
    PAU 090, the Nominations and Elections Committee will get his
    confirmation.  Appreciation was extended to Director Amarjit Singh, who solicited his colleague’s service.
  • The Board of Directors’ election is complete.  There were only two contested races—the seat for Kapiolani CC and the at-large seats at UH-Manoa.  Elected to three-year terms beginning September 1, 2008 are:

HONOLULU CC:  Cory Takemoto, Assistant Professor, Development Studies

KAPIOLANI CC:  Sharon Rowe, Associate Professor, Philosophy & Dance

WINDWARD CC:  Leticia Colmenares, Assistant Professor, Chemistry/Natural Science

UH-Manoa Engineering, SOEST, Research, Institute for Astronomy:  Michael Mottl, Professor, Oceanography/SOEST

UH-Manoa LLL, SPAS, Hawaiinuiakea:  Ming-Bao Yue, Associate Professor, East Asian Languages & Literature

UH-Manoa Social Sciences, Social Work, Arts & Sciences, etc.:  Nandita Sharma, Assistant Professor, Ethnic Studies & Sociology/Social Sciences

UH-Manoa at-Large:  Catherine Chan-Halbrendt, Professor, Natural Resources & Environmental Management

UH-Manoa at-Large:  Robert Cooney, Professor, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii

UH-Manoa at-Large:  Vickery Lebbin, Librarian IV, Library Services, Hamilton Library

  • The Amended Articles and Amended Bylaws include an additional Board of Directors’ seat for Kapiolani Community College.  If these proposals are approved, the election for Kapiolani CC seat will occur in Fall 2008.

 

AD HOC COMMITTEE ON SPECIAL PROJECTS

Chair Josh Cooper reported that
he was on the last Aloha flight from California to Hawaii and
everyone’s heart went out to the flight crew.  It was a very somber flight.  He
announced that there would be a “Mahalo Potluck Picnic” for Aloha
Airlines’ employees on Sunday, April 13, from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at
Kapiolani Park picnic area #4.  Directors were asked to wear their UHPA shirts or caps and bring a dish to share.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Special Projects will be doing a lecture series on global amnesty.  Their first speaker is Dr. William Schulz, former Executive Director of Amnesty International.  Dr. Schulz’ schedule is:

Wednesday, April 16, 6:00 p.m., Queen Liliuokalani Center, Student Services Room 208

Thursday, April 17, 12:00 noon, Kuykendall, Room 210, UH-Manoa

Thursday, April 17, 5:30 p.m., Architecture Auditorium, UH-Manoa

 

ANNOUNCEMENT

  • The ILWU staff and the Pacific Beach Hotel employees are still not able to organize.  All
    unions in Hawaii have been notified about participating in 12-hour day
    picketing at the hotel in two-hour shifts from April 29 to May 6.  Vice President Valdez asked if anyone could help out, they should email the ILWU or for more information, contact her at avaldez@hawaii.edu.
  • The Teamsters are still requesting all union workers to continue to boycott Times Supermarkets.
  • President Chernisky reminded Chairs of UHPA committees that their annual written reports are due on Monday, April 14.