Resources

Frequently Asked Questions on what would it mean for us to join the Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (the 4Cs)

 

What is a union? 

A union is an organization of you and your coworkers using your power to win improvements you cannot win alone. We can use this power not only to win improvements to our pay and working conditions, but also to fight for the quality higher education in the state that our students deserve.

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How can unionizing improve our circumstances? 

We have more power to fix problems with our jobs as a group than as individuals. Through forming a union and negotiating a contract, we can secure things we like about our jobs and make changes in the areas that need improvement. Other adjunct faculty throughout the state have come together to win higher minimum pay per course, guaranteed annual raises, job security protections, benefits, tuition waivers for family members, compensation for canceled courses, the right to a multi-semester contract after a certain number of consecutive semesters taught, and more.
 

Why should we organize our union now? 

Our 2,000 unionized peers in the community college system will be bargaining for improvements to their contract this year, and if we organize now, we can join them as a more powerful group that can win even more than we can alone.

 

Do we have the right to form a union as adjunct faculty?

Adjuncts not only have the right – in many respects, part-time faculty need a union more than full-time faculty! All other adjunct faculty in the CSCU system are unionized. Adjunct faculty at the community colleges are in the 4Cs and AFT (American Federation of Teachers), while CSU part-timers are in the AAUP (American Association of University Professors). In the last round of negotiations with the Board of Regents, part-time faculty across all three unions won significant increases in compensation.

 

I thought that, as a state employee, I was already in a union as an adjunct faculty member at Charter Oak?

No; contrary to some popular misconceptions, state employees are not unionized by default. Every public sector union came out of the organizing efforts of the employees in that workplace: they formed a campaign and won a vote, just like you can.

 

How do we form a union?

The first step is to talk with our coworkers about the changes we want to make and how coming together collectively we can win those changes. As we build support for our union, we sign union cards that demonstrate we want a union at Charter Oak and an election to make it official. Then we file those cards with the state labor board to secure an election. Once we have won our vote, we get together to determine our top priorities, what we want to change, and what we like that we want to secure in a contract. We negotiate with the administration of CSCU (Connecticut State College and University), and pressure the state collectively to meet our demands. Once we have reached a deal on a contract, we vote whether to implement it. Once ratified, we have a set of guaranteed standards around pay floors, regular raises, benefits, job security, and other working conditions, and we start paying dues to keep our organization strong for the fights ahead.

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What is a union card? 

Union authorization cards are our demonstration that we support coming together to form a union. Our cards go to the state labor board to secure an election to officially certify our union. Our cards also include membership applications, meaning that we agree we will be dues-paying members once we have voted to ratify our first contract.

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If I sign an authorization card, will HR or Administration know that I’ve signed?

No, the union authorization cards we sign will go to the state labor board, not COSC management, in order to secure an election to win our union. However, our strength as a union comes from standing together publicly, which is why in addition to signing union cards, we are sharing with each other why organizing matters to us on a public flier we will circulate with each other.

 

Can Charter Oak administrators stop assigning me classes if they know I supported the union? 

No, it is illegal to retaliate against a worker for supporting a union. In the higher education public sector, it is rare to see this kind of retaliation. Right now Charter Oak administrators have the sole authority to hire and fire, for any reason – drops in enrollment, changes to curricular priorities, etc. When we come together with our coworkers to build a union and negotiate a contract, we will be able to win a contract that ensures basic guarantees rather than relying on the good will of individual administrators.

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I love my job and don’t have any problems with the administration of my program or the college – why should I join? 

That’s great! Everybody at Charter Oak deserves respect, fair pay, and supportive working conditions. When we bargain our first contract, we will deal with CSCU (Connecticut State College and University) Managers and Human Resources, not our immediate supervisors or administrators – most of whom are already in a staff union, so that they can advocate for their own contract rights as state employees. Bargaining allows us to codify the things we like about our jobs into a contract so they cannot be changed unilaterally, and to add reasonable improvements like regular raises, job security, and benefits.

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How much are dues? 

4Cs dues are 1% of what you earn from Charter Oak. We don’t start paying any dues until we have bargained and voted to approve our first contract, at which point the improvements we have won take effect.  

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We pay dues to have a fighting organization that can win real changes. By pooling our resources, we have the funds to support contract negotiations, contract enforcement, representation, member education, legislative work, and many other organizational priorities we determine as members.

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How and when may I discuss unionization efforts? 

Right now, we're not public with our campaign, meaning we are only having peer-to-peer conversations about our efforts.

 

Will we have to strike?

In the private sector, workers strike to force their employers to meet their demands if they refuse to do so at the bargaining table. In the public sector in Connecticut, if a contract cannot be reached at the bargaining table, there is an agreed upon process to resolve disputes through arbitration. If union workers build enough power to pressure the state at the bargaining table, you can win your demands without needing to go to arbitration.

 

If I teach 9 credits or more, will joining the 4Cs limit the amount that I can teach in the future?

No, credit thresholds for faculty in the CSCUs are guided by a state statute pertaining to healthcare rights. If you are currently teaching nine credits or more, there is no reason why a union contract should change that. 

 

How do I get involved?

You can sign a union card here, and get in touch by emailing charteroakfacultyforward@gmail.com to help move the campaign forward.