March-April 2018 Advocate: AFT 1493 By-Law amendments coming
Amendments to AFT 1493 Constitution & By-Laws to be voted on in up-coming union election
In February AFT 1493 launched a membership campaign. Among other things, we wanted to make sure that faculty who are fee-payers knew their status. Many fee-payers thought they were union members and they were shocked to find out they were not. Union membership also affords you certain rights and benefits. Voting is one of the most important rights of a union member.
This spring, in addition to electing new officers for AFT 1493, union members will be voting on amendments to our Constitution and the adoption of our By-laws.
Last fall, the Executive Committee worked on changes and additions that make our Constitution a stronger document, with clearer language that eliminates ambiguities. Additionally, our current Union Handbook, which was developed many years ago to clearly define the duties of officers and union staff, will be adopted as our By-Laws.
If you have not been approached by a member of our Executive Committee this semester and you are not sure if you are union member or fee payer, please contact anyone listed on the left column of page 2, and we will let you know. (Every faculty member has a payroll deduction for “AFT – Union Dues /Agency Fees”. This does NOT indicate whether you are a union member or not.) About 90% of the faculty in our District are union members.