A Bellicose (Paid) Spokesperson and a Reasonable Staff Union Proposal
Update on 12.11.23
Last Thursday, staff union and employer teams met for one hour to discuss the way forward. After increasingly hostile input from employer spokesperson Rudy Fichtenbaum, and some troubleshooting by the staff union, Rudy indicated that if the union were willing to give up sabbatical then he might agree on staff’s core issue of telework. On Friday, the staff union submitted a package with the positions shown in the table below, and on Saturday via email, Rudy harshly rejected the package, repeatedly calling it unacceptable without further explanation. The only feedback he provided was a threat that the employer team would not return to the bargaining table for the planned session on Tuesday, 12/12, if the union did not accept the employer positions shown below, in the employer column. We were surprised by his bellicose attitude given the very reasonable package we submitted. The side-by-side comparison of our quite close positions is seen here:
Additionally, we would like to share a few facts about the compensation of the AAUP members on the employer bargaining team. In our previous Substack posts we remained silent on the issue. We felt it was a distraction from our values-driven campaign. However, given their horrific disrespect of the staff union during negotiations, especially recently, and the employer’s narrative that its own bargaining team are volunteers donating their labor for free for the good of the Association—in order to rein in unreasonable staff—now is the time.
AAUP members serving on the employer bargaining team are not volunteers. All are compensated as paid consultants for their negotiation work. To be clear, though they are faculty or retired faculty, they are paid consultants for the AAUP in this context. For full disclosure, the AAUP’s LM2 for 2022 (a mandatory filling with the Department of Labor that details annual union spending) and an information request by the staff union regarding 2023 consultants show the AAUP members of the employer bargaining team have been compensated as consultants for “negotiating services” in the following amounts:
$10,000 paid to Rudy Fichtenbaum ($5,000 in 2022 and $5,000 in 2023)
$10,000 paid to Nivedita Majumdar ($5,000 in 2022 and $5,000 in 2023)
$10,000 paid to Patricia Navarra ($5,000 in 2022 and $5,000 in 2023)
Furthermore, the LM2 also shows that Rudy Fichtenbaum receives tens of thousands of dollars annually, including $25,000 in 2022, from the AAUP to produce financial analysis reports for chapters and other consulting, and this does not include the $5,000 for negotiation services. The financial analysis reports are a useful resource for chapters, and Rudy is fairly compensated in return. The AAUP members on the employer bargaining team are fairly compensated as well. The staff union only asks for the same: fair compensation and reasonable work conditions.
Yet the employer team, led by Rudy, fights staff tooth and nail, wasting Association time and disrespecting staff and members in appalling ways. Why direct your ire inward when the staff have so much work to do against those outside the AAUP who attack our movement? Rudy, Patricia, and Nivedita, settle now. What we have offered is reasonable and workable.
And one last comment on volunteers. If we want to talk about volunteering for the good of the Association and union values, the staff union bargaining team and contract action team are volunteers, though we would compensate them for their union service if we could. They have dedicated countless unpaid hours outside of work to bargain a fair contract that ensures the stability of the AAUP, while leadership and most management seem dedicated to making choices that only further instability. Members of the staff union do this because they are deeply committed to each other and the success of the AAUP membership. As one staff union member put it, “The staff union is the best retention tool the AAUP has.” Tell Rudy, Patricia, and Nivedita enough is enough. Treat the staff with respect and settle now on the staff union’s reasonable proposal. Let’s wrap this up before the holidays.
If you’re an AAUP member or leader, please take two minutes to send an email to the AAUP members on the employer bargaining team and cc members of the Council now--even if you’ve already sent one in the past.
The email addresses of Rudy Fichtenbaum, Patricia Navarra, Nivedita Majumdar, and members of Council are:
rfichtenbaum@gmail.com, patricia.c.navarra@gmail.com, irene.mulvey@gmail.com, davisp1971@gmail.com, sinclair@aaup.org, longa@law.unm.edu, nmajumdar@pscmail.org, rawlsg@yahoo.com, antonio.gallo@csun.edu, karosemb@umd.edu, dmurch@history.rutgers.edu, davarian.baldwin@trincoll.edu
The members of Council are:
Irene T. Mulvey, President (2024), Mathematics, Fairfield University
Paul Davis, Vice President (2024), History and American Government, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Christopher Sinclair, Secretary-Treasurer (2024), Mathematics, University of Oregon
Ernesto Longa (2026), Law/Library Science, University of New Mexico
Nivedita Majumdar (2024), English, City University of New York, John Jay College
Glinda Rawls (2024), Counseling, Western Michigan University
Antonio Gallo (2026), Ethnic Studies, California State University, Northridge
Karin Rosemblatt (2026), History, University of Maryland, College Park
Donna Murch (2026), History, Rutgers University
Davarian Baldwin (2026), American Studies, Trinity College
Thank you for all of your support!