Harper College Adjunct Faculty Association

Supreme Court Ruling Sidesteps Questions Regarding State Constitutional Protections for Public Education

By Staci Maiers

Supreme Court affirmative action:  In a narrowly written decision, the Supreme Court held in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer that Missouri could not refuse a playground grant to a church solely due to the fact that the church is a religious institution. In so holding, the court noted that the case involved express discrimination based on religious identity with respect to such a grant, and that the court was not “address[ing] religious uses of funding or other forms of discrimination.”

The court’s refusal to rule broadly will surely be a disappointment to school voucher proponents who had sought to use the dispute over playground resurfacing grants to undermine state constitutional protections for public education. Continue reading →

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It’s very important for each of us to take action regarding the budget impasse in Springfield.  We have a lot at stake.  Please read the following letter from IEA’s Higher Ed Council Chair and then click on the link below to contact your representatives and senators.  We must work together.

HCAFA President,  Charmian Tashjian

Dear IEA Higher ED Leaders

The budget impasse in Illinois is nearing the cliff with the end of the fiscal year on Friday, June 30.  There’s a real possibility that higher education funding will once again be kicked to the curb.  This time, as recent news reports (https://www.usnews.com/news/ best-states/illinois/articles/ 2017-06-28/illinois- universities-in-jeopardy-of- losing-accreditation) have suggested, the result may be a loss of accreditation for Illinois colleges and universities.  This is unacceptable!

Please contact your Representatives and Senators on Friday, June 30, urging them to pass a budget which restores funding to higher education and averts the disaster of continued defunding and loss of accreditation.  Our members (faculty, staff, graduate students), the students who are building their futures in public higher education, and the communities which benefit in so many ways from the presence of colleges and universities, need the support of responsible legislators in Springfield.

Follow this link to contact your legislators:   http://www.capwiz.com/nea/il/ home/

Also coming up:  we’re looking for volunteers to do canvassing on higher education issues among union members in targeted legislative districts in the near future (the weekends of July 8 and July 15).  Stay tuned for more details.

Please send this request to your members. It is up to us!
In solidarity,
Beverly Stewart
Higher Ed Council Chair

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In case you were unable to attend the unemployment seminar held recently to inform adjuncts of the possibility of their obtaining unemployment compensation, you might be interested in these two attachments

Unemployment slide show 2017

Unemployment Compensation Links 2017

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Dear HCAFA members,

In celebration of May Day this year, HCAFA is asking our members to WEAR RED during the week of May 1-5. If asked before or after class time, tell your students about the importance of Unions for all workers.

This is how child labor laws were begun, how safety at work got started and how the rights of all workers are guaranteed. Unions set the standards for all workers and changed the laws so all are protected.

May 1 is International Workers’ Day.

If you would like to share the historical information, May 1, 1886 was the first May Day when thousands of workers across the U.S. walked off their jobs in support of the new concept of the eight-hour workday. Chicago was the epicenter of the movement which culminated in the infamous Haymarket Square Massacre.  If it were not for the union movement then and now, the eight-hour workday, the five-day work week, minimum wage — and, indeed the middle class — would not exist in this country.

Thank you for educating our students and others about the importance of unions.

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Check out the Harper Adjunct Advocate for explanations of what it means to be a union member as well as information on the new federal guidance that allows adjuncts to file for unemployment compensation.

Harper Adjunct Advocate – April 2017

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The contract for all adjunct faculty at Harper has finally been proofed and can be accessed on this website.  Full members of HCAFA will receive hard copies as soon as they are available.  If you don’t receive one, check to make sure that you are a full member (only $15 a semester more than partial membership, fair share membership).   We have discovered recently that some of our members had assumed they were full members when in fact they were only fair share members.)

To see the contract, click on the Documents tab and then scroll down to contracts.  Click on 2016 – 2021 Contract for Adjunct Faculty Teachers, Librarians, and Counselors.

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Check out the latest edition of The Harper Adjunct Advocate for details about our latest contract as well as information about other topics of interest for adjuncts.

Harper Adjunct Advocate – March 2017

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