President
Farewell
José Padín, outgoing President (2016-20)
In May 2013 I attended a meeting of what, by late July, became the steering wheel, or “core,” of the PSU-AAUP organizing committee that organized the 2013-14 contract campaign that culminated with a strike vote. That was for me the start of a joyous 7-year ride that winds down today.
In 2014, the strike vote was supported by 95% of faculty and academic professionals, and it stopped a rogue administration led by then-PSU President Wim Wiewel that was intent on imposing: pay cuts, a shortening of contracts for non-tenure-track faculty (they were typically one year back then, they wanted them shorter), and a gutting of our collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Notably, PSU Administration wanted to remove the Promotion and Tenure Guidelines (which we shape through our other voice of shared governance, Faculty Senate, and we give extra protection by inclusion in the CBA).
The Board of Trustees was a new creation that came on board in 2014, and at one of their first public meetings, Trustees learned about the mettle of PSU faculty and academic professionals: a long procession of colleagues took to the microphone during the public comment period at that Board meeting to share with the Trustees their personal stories: “today I voted to call a strike on PSU because…” We got a good collective bargaining agreement in 2014, and that set the stage for an even better one in 2016 (COLAs, continuous appointments for NTT faculty, IPDAs, an equity/inversion/compression fund for faculty and an equity fund for Academic Professionals, better sabbatical-year salaries, and more).
In the midst of the contract campaign that led to a strike call, Winter Term 2014, our colleague Judy Patton (COTA, since retired), approached me. Her term as Vice-President for Grievances and Academic Freedom was winding down, and she urged me to run for that office. I did, and served as our VP for two years (2014-16). Around the same time, our PSU-AAUP President at the time, Mary King (Economics, since retired), and Anh Ly (Economics, current member of our bargaining team), approached me, and urged me to run for the presidency of AAUP-Oregon, a young state conference that PSU-AAUP and our sister faculty union at the UO had just restarted. I accepted, and served as President of AAUP-Oregon for three years (2014-17).
May 1, 2016 I officially started my term as your President, and I served a second term that started May 1, 2018.
April 30 was my last day serving you as your PSU-AAUP President, and I want to thank all of you for your confidence, your trust, and the opportunity to serve.
Universities with unions of faculty and academic professionals are universities with strong shared governance and are: better run, more just, better places to build a career, have healthier work environments, stronger due process protections, students are served better, and we have a stronger voice to protect for the integrity of our teaching and research mission.
PSU-AAUP today is stronger than it has been in its 42-year history. We represent about 1300 members and have over 85% membership. We are a member-run, member-steam-fueled union full of movement spirit! About 12% of us are active doing the work of the union at any given moment. That is about 150 colleagues working in the Executive Council, Bargaining Team, Grievances Committee, Organizing Committee, Legislative Committee, and plus about 95 Unit Reps! This is shared governance with real backbone.
Last Friday, May Day 2020, it was a great pleasure to greet the change of the guard in our PSU-AAUP. I welcome and look forward to the leadership of our new President, Jennifer Kerns (History), who has done great work for the last three years as our Vice-President for Membership and Organizing (for which she was recognized last year by the national AAUP). Jennifer Kerns and the new PSU-AAUP leadership team are outstanding and I am excited to join the rest of us in the “rank and file” to continue adding my small contribution to the work of the union!
Fellow academic workers, accept a belated Happy International Workers Day!
Ready to Serve!
Jennifer Kerns, new President
Greetings All. It is with great pride and humility that as of May 1, 2020, I will be serving as your PSU-AAUP President. I have been working with President José Padín and other member volunteer leaders for the last three years and I have learned a lot about how our union can serve as a vital force for our University to protect our academic workers, to advance their interests, to promote academic freedom and shared governance, to work collaboratively with our fellow union members across campus for substantial protections and gains, and to secure a faculty and AP led, student-centered University where people matter. José has been a terrific and invaluable mentor to me and many others involved in PSU-AAUP and it is my hope that I can work together with you all to continue the good work he carried forward with and for you. I am a “Non Tenure Track” faculty member from the History Department and it has been my interest to help orient our union to support the interests of the most vulnerable members of our union as a way to promote good working conditions for all members of our organization and the University at large. Thank you in advance for working with me to keep PSU #unionstrong. And again, let me say thank you to José Padín for his excellent leadership over these last several years working to make PSU-AAUP a strong voice on campus, advocating for all academic workers. If you see him soon, and I hope it will be soon, be sure to thank him for his tireless work for our members and campus community.
Vice-President for Membership and Organizing
Farewell (of sorts!)
Jennifer Kerns, outgoing VP (2017-20)
It was a true pleasure serving our PSU-AAUP members as VP for Membership and Organizing these last three years. I was able to meet so many terrific people across campus and was introduced to a whole host of issues that our colleagues face on campus. One of the things I was most proud to do while in this position was to work with members of the various caucuses we established early in 2017--representing persons of color, women, parents and caregivers, and members of the LGBTQ* community. Over these last three years we had several conversations, some of them not so easy, to identify ways in which our union can advocate best for members from these diverse groups. I am proud to say that those conversations led to a very equity-based collective bargaining platform. Your collective bargaining team heard you and while our bargaining is on a temporary pause, the administration knows that while bread and butter issues remain incredibly important to all of us, integrating social justice into the collective bargaining agreement is also an important priority for our members. Thank you to all who were able to work with me and members of the Organizing Committee---three cheers for our more than 90 Unit Reps who keep our members engaged! I am happy to give the reins over to Courtney Bailey, an incredibly accomplished activist and labor organizer who will help keep our membership strong and engaged, fighting for our members and our students.
Ready to Serve!
Courtney Bailey, new VP for Membership and Organizing
I am beyond excited (and a little nervous) to take on this new role with AAUP. I have been an active AAUP member since I began working at Portland State in 2013. I also came from a very activist-oriented union at The Evergreen State College-where I truly learned about the immense benefits of organized labor. My passion lies with organizing because of the emphasis on relationship building and I view organizing as the tool for creating social change, not just in our union but for our students, our fellow unions, and our community. We have tough times ahead of us, but tough times are where unions thrive. Even in the midst of all this uncertainty, I am certain that because of our incredible organizing team, bargaining team, unit reps, and members, we will bring about important changes, not just to PSU, but to the labor movement. I hope you’ll join our efforts because we need you! I look forward to working with and for all of you.
Vice-President for Collective Bargaining
Farewell (of sorts!)
David Hansen, outgoing VP (2016-20)
Though I will continue on the Collective Bargaining Team (CBT), the last four years as VP for CB have demanded a lot more than I had “bargained” for, including the Personnel Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Labor Management Committee. What was I thinking? I am most grateful to José, Phil, and Mark for doing most of the heavy lifting; without their help most of what has been accomplished in bargaining over the last four years would not have been possible. Having been involved in AAUP collective bargaining for more than ten years, I also want to thank all the CBT members with whom I have had the privilege to serve. Without their tireless dedication very little would have ever been accomplished at the bargaining table. Going forward, we are most fortunate that, even though leadership roles will change, our very experienced and determined CBT will continue to fight for a CBA we can all be thankful for. Remember, in spite of this challenging time at PSU, the success of your CBT is derived from the support of the membership, so do not waiver, be resilient, and persevere!
Ready to Serve!
Mark Leymon, new VP for Collective Bargaining
Over the past two years, I had the pleasure of serving both on the Executive Council and as a member of the Collective Bargaining Team. I am stepping into some big shoes, but I am lucky that David and the rest of the Bargaining Team has agreed to continue on and see these contract negotiations through. We started officially bargaining with the University last summer and we started preparing all the way back in Fall of 2018. At the current rate we see at least another 6 months of bargaining to go. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis has also changed things. We are bargaining virtually, and the University has asked to take a break from the main table until May 15th. We continue to work on issues in smaller groups with Admin and much of the past two months have been spent dealing with the impact of the pandemic on our members. We have worked to extend tenure clocks, extend deadlines on university grants, extend the deadline and create protections in evals of APs, among other things. Obviously, things are quite different than when we started, but the bargaining team is committed to fighting for the best contract we deserve. We know that not getting a COLA this year is unwelcome news, but the team has also made some meaningful progress on paid caregiver leave, advancement for APs, and we are pushing for improved workload language. We will continue to push for the economic gains our members need. Thank you for your continued support.
Our ability to get the best contract is only possible by showing the University the strength we have and reminding them that we, the employees, along with the students of PSU, make the university go. Showing up to bargaining, even if it is virtual, attending rallies, posting video on social media, and other ways of support are what gives the team the energy to keep going and puts the pressure on the University to come to the table with reasonable offers. A strong contract and the power of the union behind it is one of the best ways to protect the people of PSU.
Vice-President for Academic Freedom and Grievances
Jennifer Ruth
Hello! I continue as your VP for Academic Freedom and Grievances for another year before my term is up. I love this role, as in helping members manage issues they are having with the University, I get to know amazing people across campus. I am proud of our members and how good you all are at your jobs; your dedication makes it easy to defend you and rewarding to help you when trouble arises. I am also proud of this union. I have witnessed, firsthand, on almost a daily basis, over the last few years how much we do to not only protect our rights but expand them. The outgoing leaders have been tireless in their work and I’m grateful to them. I’m also delighted to say that the incoming leaders are just as committed and capable and will continue the good fight!