|
|
|
On April 23, hundreds gathered to protest the dismissal of Parsons adjuncts.
|
ACT-UAW LOCAL 7902 STATEMENT ON FACULTY DISMISSALS
IN PARSONS FINE ART
On March 10, a dozen part-time faculty
members in the Fine Art Department at Parsons the New School for Design received notice that their teaching contracts will
not be renewed for fall 2009. ACT-UAW Local 7902 protests this unjust action and deplores the administrative mentality it
represents. The union has filed a number of grievances related to the dismissals, but contract violations are only part of
the problem.
Administrators are trying to hide behind a smoke screen of "curricular change" and other
management priorities to justify what amounts to the decimation of a department and the devastation of a faculty. This is
both ethically wrong and institutionally counter-productive. It is needlessly cruel to hard-working faculty members at a time
of terrible economic insecurity. It is also a terrible management decision, one that plays havoc with students' need for
a stable, experienced faculty and a robust curriculum in subjects such as painting and drawing. It has set alarm bells ringing
in the wider arts community, generating numerous statements of support for the Fine Art faculty and condemnation of the administration's
actions from cultural institutions in New York and beyond.
At a critical time for labor locally and nationally,
this inflammatory move strikes a blow at our entire membership as we head into contract negotiations, with our current contract
set to expire on September 1, 2009. Unfortunately, there is considerable truth in Interim Provost Tim Marshall's remark
to a New York Times reporter that these dismissals are "very typical of what happens in the school every single
semester, all the time, all over the place." The Provost's comment, and the dismissals themselves, signal all New
School part-timers (89% of the total university faculty) that we are viewed by the administration as expendable. Apparently
our talents, experience, and past contributions count for nothing in the face of corporate-style "innovation" from
above. We view this attitude as part and parcel of the problems that led to the December, 2008 New School faculty vote of
"no confidence" in the administration of President Bob Kerrey.
We call on Coco Fusco, the Chair of
the Parsons Fine Art Department, to make a course correction and re-appoint the affected faculty. We call on Provost Marshall
and the Deans to embrace a model of change that includes substantive involvement of all sectors of the faculty, part-time
and full-time, in the planning process. We call on President Kerrey to honor his recent commitment to accord part-time faculty
a meaningful voice in decisions affecting curriculum. By drawing on the creativity and capacity for innovation of proven faculty,
the university can--and must--break exciting new ground while preserving successful programs' existing strengths so as
not to short-change our students. "On Mar. 10, between one-third and one-half -- the exact number is in dispute -- of the fine arts faculty at Parsons
received letters from Fusco’s office either terminating their teaching assignments for the 2009-2010 term, reassigning
them out of the department or sharply cutting their hours."
"A dozen members of the fine-arts faculty at Parsons the New School for Design have been told that they will not
be teaching in the department in the fall. The move has ignited further conflict at the New School...." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Been called into a meeting with your chair? Know your rights!
Download membership signup form:
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ACT-UAW Local 7902 statement regarding charges against protesters at the New School
The part-time faculty union, ACT-UAW Local 7902 of the New School and NYU, is gravely concerned with
the New School administration's harsh response to the student protesters who occupied a university building at 65 Fifth
Avenue on April 10. President Kerrey's decision to summon a massive police presence in reaction to a peaceful student
occupation of a university building slated for demolition is symptomatic of the lack of democratic governance that sparked
the protest in the first place.
ACT-UAW notes that the university's own recent decision to modify the suspensions
of the New School students involved, allowing them to complete the semester, constitutes tacit recognition that they are not,
in fact, a threat.
In view of the declaredly non-violent intentions of the April 10 protest, the dangerously disproportionate
administration response, and the many doubts that have emerged about the veracity of some administration claims concerning
key events of April 10, we urge that all charges against the protesters be dropped. |
ACT-UAW Statement Regarding the April 10, 2009 Student Occupation of the New School
The part-time faculty union, ACT-UAW Local 7902 of the New School and NYU, is gravely concerned with
the Kerrey administration's harsh response to the New School students who recently occupied 65 Fifth Avenue, including
a massive show of police force. President Kerrey's statement
about the protest focused only on allegations of student misconduct, ignoring the serious issues raised by the protesters. We call on the administration to immediately revoke the suspensions of students pending
a full investigation of all allegations. The question should be asked
why student dissatisfaction with the administration needs to be expressed in the occupation of a university building. In our
view, this protest is symptomatic of the administration's failure to foster a healthy and democratic educational community
at the New School. |
Statement from ACT-UAW regarding the student protest at NYU Following the recent protest by NYU students who occupied a portion of Kimmel Student Center, The Joint
Council of ACT-UAW Local 7902 has voted to issue the following statement.
ACT-UAW Local 7902:
• Calls on the NYU Administration to refrain from all disciplinary action against
student protesters pending proper hearings by NYU's disciplinary board;
• Calls on the Administration to address
the serious policy issues that the protest has raised, by working with the faculty, students, and staff to establish a university-wide
fiscal accountability committee;
• Calls on the Administration to appoint an independent university committee that
will promptly investigate allegations of the use of excessive force against the protesters.
Local 7902 shares the view stated in an NYU faculty petition: "the Kimmel occupation [is] symptomatic of a deeper
malady afflicting NYU: a lack of educational community." The Local notes, in particular, the negative impact on educational
community of the disregard for workers' rights that the student protest highlighted. We therefore call on the Administration
to recognize and bargain with GSOC, the union for graduate student employees, as a first step toward improving the situation.
|
New School Unit Bargaining Committee Elected
More news >>
Get Involved: Four ACT-UAW committees are recruiting
|
|
