Ohio SB 5's "stealth death notice to public college teachers unions" -- faculty now "management"

[highplainsdem]

I found this first via OpEd News tonight

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Ohio-GOP-sends-a-stealth-d-by-Bob-Fitrakis-110404-122.html

but the original article was in the Free Press two days ago:

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/18/2011/4128

Ohio GOP sends a stealth death notice to public college teachers unions
by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
April 2, 2011

-snip-

SB-5 was passed in the face of bitter controversy and mass public demonstrations at the state capitol in Columbus. It was signed into law Thursday, March 31, by Ohio's new extreme right-wing Governor John Kasich.

But little attention has been paid to the following clause on page 272, which reads:

“With respect to members of a faculty of a state institution of higher education, any faculty who, individually or through a faculty senate or like organization, participate in the governance of the institution, are involved in personnel decisions, selection or review of administrators, planning and use of physical resources, budget preparation, and determination of educational policies related to admissions, curriculum, subject matter, and methods of instruction and research are management level employees.”

The obvious intent of this language is to bar public college faculty members from belonging to a union or participating in collective bargaining. By definition, "management level employees" are not allowed to unionize or strike.

-snip-

[EC]

1. Sounds to me they are describing

the profs that are department heads?

[highplainsdem]

2. No, not just department heads. According to the article,

"all faculty members participate in drawing up curricula. They also, as a matter of course, help choose fellow teachers and administrators, help govern their schools and the like." Which meets the criteria in the bill.

And the head of the Columbus State Educational Association, the union for the faculty at Columbus State Community College, is quoted as saying that the faculty in the union there will all be "management" -- with no right to collective bargaining -- as soon as the bill takes effect.

[enlightenment]

3. Nope - they're going after ALL faculty.

"as an individual, or through a faculty senate or like organization" - the faculty senate represents all faculty, and even if it were argued that the reading means only those who hold seats in the senate then the next part of that clause, "like organization" is vague enough that it could be applied to any committee, etc, that a faculty member might have some involvement in.

[madrchsod]

4. here in illinois the afscme union have signed up...

state of illinois mangers and supervisors. there`s a bill going through the house and senate trying to stop anymore unionization of the remaining supervisors and mangers. i think the state government of illinois has more union members than any other state.

[NoBlueDogs]

6. Stage a walkout

If this is illegal then let the State try to find cops to arrest them.

I doubt they will be able to find qualified scabs to teach in their place. The anti-union public can be as mad as they want to be, but that won't get them any teachers. Well, it'll get them unqualified people who can't teach nearly as well. That'll have immediate, terrible consequences.

Protest by non-participation. Protest by grinding the system to a dead halt and forcing a state of emergency. How much would it take to initiate a nationwide teachers' strike?

[snot]

5. K'd, R'd, and USED. Thanks!

[highplainsdem]

7. You're welcome! Thanks for the rec!

[amborin]

8. didn't this happen with nurses in the not too distant past?

charge nurses, perhaps, were recategorized as managers, to bust the nurse's union?