The Faculty Association of Monmouth University

Please Join FAMCO for a Teach-in to Debrief Trump’s First Month in Office
HOSTED BY THE FACULTY ASSOCIATION OF MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2025
GREAT HALL AUDITORIUM

Session 1: 10:05am-11:25am
Student Co-Moderators:
Nashalie Garcia & Rafael Martinez Ponce

Faculty Panelists:
Prof. Bobbitt
Dean Duckett
Prof. Giacobbe
Prof. Iannucci
Prof. Ludak
Prof. Shoemaker

Faculty MC:
Prof. Ragudaran

Session 2: 1:15pm-2:35pm
Student Co-Moderators:
Nashalie Garcia & Susan Mazzeo

Faculty Panelists:
Prof. Carley-Rizzuto
Prof. Deepak
Prof. Foster
Prof. Gilmartin-Keating
Prof. Williams

Faculty MC:
Prof. Rhett

This event is being hosted on the AAUP-AFT National Day of Action events.

Collective Response to Executive Orders

FAMCO E-Board Wrote an Open Letter to Students:
Home – The Outlook (Direct Link Coming Soon)

FAMCO and Other Faculty Leadership Called a Meeting with Administration

Frontline Solidarity Toolkit from AFL-CIO:
Frontline-Solidarity-Toolkit-December-2024.pdf

Updates and Calls to Action from the National Academic Labor Movement. We can help!

From AFT: Link share to testimony as part of AFT’s campaign to protect the NLRB, public education, and federal workers, under the biting humor banner of the Department of People Who Work for A Living:  https://deptofpeoplewhowork.org/  

From AAUP: Link to form to collect testimony on ICE interactions on campus:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSesVX7YcQUhtwul0u4BIrt3Fg4Haoz7kKq-YmEep_FFV9cvnA/viewform?link_id=4&can_id=ef3f77169d9fda3f47e586e032edc02b&source=email-follow-up-to-fridays-member-meeting&email_referrer=email_2614662&email_subject=follow-up-to-fridays-member-meeting

From AAUP: Link to form to share testimony on the impact of funding freezes on faculty research and teaching: form: https://airtable.com/appMQQqeVbCYe7DJM/paguiiD7gTnFqMSRn/form

NEXT STEPS:

AFT NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION: March 4

Dear Members,

On Tuesday, March 4th, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) National is calling for a national day of action to protect students across the country from the Trump administration’s attacks on public education.   

As an AFT local, FAMCO will be doing our part on March 4th to show our solidarity as educators by hosting a Teach-In on Trump’s Executive Orders. The teach-in, which will be facilitated in person and over three different class periods on March 4th, will be open to all students, faculty and MU employees who would like to come learn and participate in a free and frank discussion about the American shift toward authoritarianism. 

Thanks to the faculty who have already come forward to serve on the Teach-In panels, and to our undergraduate students who have volunteered to serve as Teach-In panel moderators.

Concerned students have told us that it is important to them to see faculty from all across campus come forward to share their expertise with the campus community in these dangerous times.

If you are a faculty member who feels called to contribute to this classrooms-without-borders event, please reach out directly to Dr. Johanna Foster, President, FAMCO (jfoster@monmouth.edu) so we can get you more details. 

We are happy to announce that the FAMCO Bargaining Team has SEALed the Deal for a fair contract from 2024-2027! 

This contract includes substantial wins that matter deeply to our members. Key gains have been made in all areas related to our member’s S.E.A.L goals.

• Stability for Our Students and Faculty
• Equity in Faculty Compensation and Workloads
• Accountability
• Livelihoods with Dignity

For details on the important wins in these areas see the highlights in the PDF below.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) for their expertise and support throughout this process, the faculty for engaging in various actions, and our students for learning about our negotiations and supporting us during this time.

This is just the beginning. Our commitment to the union has only grown stronger, and to keep building momentum toward even better contracts, we will maintain active engagement and collective actions. Only together can we ensure our next contract continues to meet and exceed the needs of our members.

September 25, 2024

Dear Members:

See below for the latest FAMCO bargaining update and FAMCO Call to Action:

—————————————————————————————————–

“DID YOU GET OUR LETTER?”

In this week’s negotiations, the administration came back to the bargaining table as if we were never in Great Hall. After over 100 faculty joined together last week to deliver our open letter to President Leahy to settle a fair contract, the administration put down a counter that moved the needle only on the surface. 

RED ALERT MEETING SEQUEL! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2:35pm

You can read more about the details of that proposal below, as well as reminder of your union rights to express your concerns about the conditions of your work, but in the meantime, here is what’s up next:

FAMCO strongly urges our supermajority to huddle at the Student Center steps in your red shirts and red pins on Wednesday, October 2 at 2:35pm in advance of the full faculty meeting. We will gather the supermajority there to hear a quick bargaining update, to pick up a special item to take into the faculty meeting, and to process together over to the Pollak Theater to participate in regularly-scheduled faculty business.

Please use the RSVP below so we are sure to have enough special items for you and your colleagues on hand!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejaeBJ4R3-Z8WcY6BsT8eiPiIyUbZ_kRFpf8Ck9KVvgke34Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH

In their response to our special letter delivery, the administration proposed salary increases of 3.5% for Y1 only with an $1,000 increase to the base for people earning under $100k, and $500 to the base for all people in Y2. 

To get that deal, though, our members would need to agree to an extension of our three-year agreement to a five-year agreement with subsequent increases set at only 3% in years 2, 3 and 4 and only 2.5% in year 5.

In this diminishing returns model, the administration also proposes to apply salary increases before any increases to the salary floors, claiming that to do otherwise amounts to “double dipping,” limiting the number of faculty that would benefit from the protections intended to be provided by the minimum base structure.

The administration’s lawyer admitted that, on balance, their out-of-the-blue five-year salary structure proposal levels out to a 3% increase over the five-year period, meaning the university’s latest proposal may do more for members in the first year, but would essentially amount to a payback over the course of a longer contract.

This, on top of the administration’s proposed extractive monthly healthcare costs that, instead of being a fixed dollar amount as has been our model, would now fluctuate based on questionable projected total cost increases capped as high as 10% each year!

When Marina Vujnovic, FAMCO’s current chief negotiator, questioned the administration on how this counter proposal meets the real economic needs of our members, namely the need for real and sustained earnings increases that accounts for inflation and healthcare costs, the university’s external lawyer questioned Marina’s ability to do math, advising her to ask for help from her math professor colleagues in the room if she was confused about the purported benefits of the administration’s offer.

As we know you all can do math, too, we have attached the bargaining team’s updated analysis of the possible increases in healthcare costs for your review.

GASLIGHTING TACTICS 

Overall, this week, the university’s lawyer extended the tactic of deflecting from the real issues of members’ concerns for an offer we can live on.  Their lawyer also avoided the answer to our members’ question of how President Leahy and his cabinet can continue to be “incredibly comfortable” with a bargaining position that allows President Leahy and his cabinet to be paid generously while putting down less than COLA for most members for most years of their proposed five-year contract.

It is worth noting that this tactic of insulting the intelligence of our FAMCO negotiators, and attempting to gaslight members around the reality of our economic conditions comes after the equally troubling communication from President Leahy last week where he misrepresented the facts of Wednesday’s special delivery of the open letter urging him to settle a fair deal.  In that message, President Leahy, who stated he was not present on campus for the delivery, wrongly accused FAMCO members of intimidating students and support staff during the action, adding to the administration’s expanding false narrative to discredit the union in our efforts to meet our members’ economic and healthcare needs.

YOUR RIGHTS TO STAY INVOLVED!

Vice President James Pillar’s recent email distribution of the MU Expressive Activity Policy indicates that our supermajority action had a big impact on administration. Lest any member misinterpret that policy, a reminder here of your legally protected rights to engage in union activity, including the special letter delivery action. 

Indeed, as our own FAMCO attorney notes, while it is legal for an employer to express their opinion about concerted union activity, or even lie about those actions to the community, the employer cannot impose repercussions on anyone engaged in such concerted union activity.

The MU administration, itself, acknowledges that fundamental right in the MU Expressive Activity Policy when it states, “Nothing in this policy shall be interpreted, applied or enforced to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.”

For further reference, Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act guarantees employees “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection,” as well as the right “to refrain from any or all such activities.”

In brief, despite the tone set by the administration last week in their policy reminders, FAMCO members have a legal right to collectively take action to improve our conditions of work under the NLRA.  

Let’s continue to use it! 

RSVP below for the Wednesday, October 2 Red Alert Sequel at 2:35pm in front of the Student Center for a prompt procession to Pollak Theater for our regularly-scheduled full faculty meeting!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejaeBJ4R3-Z8WcY6BsT8eiPiIyUbZ_kRFpf8Ck9KVvgke34Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

Go Union!

Sincerely, 

Your FAMCO E-Team

Dear Members,

Yesterday, the FAMCO bargaining team was back at the table working to advance our proposals for real earnings increases safeguarded from healthcare price gouging.

The big take-away is that the administration’s response sends us the message that they are unwilling to truly hear the faculty’s repeated and compelling testimony of the ways in which soaring inflation, salary inequity, and the burden of healthcare overcharging has directly impacted our lives, our families, and our work with our students.

On compensation, the administration countered with an increase to faculty base salaries of 2.75% the first year and 3% percent each subsequent year on the grounds that these increases are consistent with what FAMCO has previously been willing to accept as fair in our previous contract.

When it comes to healthcare, the administration continues to put down proposals that would increase monthly costs to our members by astronomical proportions depending on the member’s plan.  In some cases, the monthly costs to members could skyrocket by 70%.

In presenting their latest counters, the administration continues to disrespect the central contributions the faculty make to student learning at Monmouth by ignoring our members’ real economic concerns.  

In fact, in one jaw-dropping exchange yesterday, the administration’s external lawyer challenged the FAMCO bargaining team to explain to the administration why our members could not accept the same base increase numbers from the last contract, asking, “What has changed from three years ago” that faculty feel they deserve more than what we already get from Monmouth?

What has changed?? Wow, what a question.  

To even ask it reveals how woefully out of touch the administration’s team is with the reality of faculty’s lived experiences.

In a nutshell, despite the administration’s framing of their recent proposal as “as good as what you have now, and that is good enough,” their proposal yesterday actually amounts to a much weaker deal in the wake of inflation and their proposed healthcare gouging.

The administration’s suggestion this week that nothing has changed over the past three years to warrant more significant contract improvements for our members, let alone their presentation of a proposal that could weaken the financial health for some of our faculty, raises concerns about the administration’s engagement in surface negotiations. In light of this, FAMCO ended the week with the filing of an unfair labor practice charge against the university for their failure to bargain in good faith. 

The bargaining team returns to the table this Monday, September 9th and is committed to finding a path forward through that truly meets our members’ needs for a stable and equity workplace that affords us all the livelihoods and dignity we deserve. 

Sincerely,

The FAMCO Bargaining Team

John Comiskey
Megan Delaney
Gabrielle Hackenberg
Rose Knapp
Sue Starke
Marina Vujnovic

Dear Members,

Yesterday, the FAMCO bargaining team returned to the negotiating table to hear the administration’s latest proposals for compensation increases, healthcare rates, and a commitment to address the problem of a shrinking tenure-eligible faculty. 

We wish we could report that the administration moved significantly closer to a position on each of these key issue areas that meets our members’ needs.  

Specifically, the administration’s most recent proposal on compensation has yet to meaningfully address our members’ need for real earnings increases that are not washed out by inflation or healthcare cost overcharging.  At present, the administration is proposing salary increases that would, at best, leave over two-thirds of our members with a 3% or lower increase in the first year of the new contract, and nearly half of our members with a 3% or lower increase in the second and third year.   

In effect, the administration is still proposing salary increases that fail to amount to even a current cost of living adjustment, let alone address the recent years of our real earnings losses.

When considering the administration’s projected, and questionable, 9%-12% increases to healthcare costs over the life of the contract, many of our members would find themselves, yet again, in the jaws of a pay cut. 

The bargaining team was also disappointed that the administration came to the table yesterday without a response to FAMCO’s proposal to support our clinical faculty.

The administration also came unprepared to counter to our revised comprehensive proposal to find a path forward toward rebuilding a healthy tenure rank mix at Monmouth that stems the tide of contingency.

On a positive note, as of today, over 80% of our members have now signed on to our open letter of support for the bargaining team in their work to secure a fair contract!  If you haven’t had a chance to add your name, now is the time (you can find the letter here: https://forms.gle/cKQCbpCK2ChpYrbX8).

Finally, this week the FAMCO bargaining team was also gratified to see our colleagues turn out once again to serve as observers (see photo above).  We encourage our members to reach out to those who have served in this important capacity and get their feedback on their experiences.

To learn how you, too, can get involved to do your part to win a fair contract for you and your colleagues, please reach out to FAMCO Field Organizer, Sanjana Ragudaran at sanjanamaniam@gmail.com, or visit us at http://www.mufamco.org.

Sincerely, 

The FAMCO Bargaining Team
John Comiskey
Megan Delaney
Gabrielle Hackenberg
Rose Knapp
Sue Stark
Marina Vujnovic

Dear FAMCO Members,

We write with a Monday morning update on the status of last week’s contract negotiations. 

As of today, FAMCO has been negotiating for six months with the MU administration to settle on a fair contract for faculty, not only during this critical time in higher education more broadly, but at a time when we know many of our members are struggling to find the resources to do a good job for our students, and also their families. 

While the parties have been able to reach tentative agreements on important non-economic items that our members care about, as of last week, the administration’s proposals on salary and healthcare increases still fall far short of what our members need and deserve.  In fact, the administration has not, in effect, moved much at all on their non-starter positions since they first put down their economic proposals.

Nonetheless, last week, in a good faith effort to narrow the large gaps between the administration’s troubling position on compensation and healthcare costs and FAMCO’s proposals to provide meaningful salary increases that are not washed out by inflation and healthcare expenses, the union took a major step towards the administration in our counter proposals. 

In doing so, the administration’s team recognized FAMCO’s commitment to move toward settlement, and signaled that they were ready to return proposals to us that reflected their own willingness to advance toward a fair deal.  

We are back at the bargaining table on Tuesday, August 27th, and it is FAMCO’s expectation that the administration will also take significant steps away from their initial economic proposals that our membership has found to be out of touch with the reality of what we do as faculty who are core to the academic mission, and also where we do it as faculty laboring in a high cost region.

This week, our FAMCO field team will be reaching out to members to let you know how you can continue to let President Leahy and the MU Board of Trustees know that you expect they will work hard to SEAL a deal with FAMCO before Labor Day so we can all focus on a smooth start to the fall semester. 

Once again, we want to recognize the members of the full-time faculty who have signed on to the open letter of support for the bargaining team as we continue to press forward toward a settlement we deserve!  Currently, over half of the full-time faculty have now signed on to the open letter calling for a fair deal! If you haven’t signed on to the letter yet, you can find it here: https://forms.gle/cKQCbpCK2ChpYrbX8.

Also, a shout out to all of our members who shared public testimony last week on why a strong contract matters to you.  Below is a link to a short (6 min) video clip of some of your statements that were recently released on social media.  We encourage you to take a look and share widely as well.

We are at a critical crossroads in our negotiations, and look forward to returning to our members next week with news that the administration is willing to make meaningful concessions that allow us to reach a fair agreement.

Stay tuned-

The FAMCO Bargaining Team
John Comiskey
Megan Delaney
Johanna Foster
Gabrielle Hackenberg
Rose Knapp
Sue Starke
Marina Vujnovic