Trouble getting class assignments, last minute schedule or textbook changes, sweetheart deals, inconsistent raises, non-standardized evaluation procedures, inconsistent administrative policies, lack of grievance procedures...working in fear that you had no other protection for your position other than the good graces of your superiors...whispering with colleagues in dark corners...knowing all the while that adjuncts deserved better--that there had to be a better way.
In 2002, concerns like these were all-too-familiar for the hundreds of adjuncts who were considered "casual and temporary" laborers at MCC.
As a result, two MCC adjuncts decided it was time to seriously address these longstanding problems and find a course of action to facilitate real change. One day at lunch, John Bousamra, long-time adjunct in French, and former full-timer/current Spanish adjunct, Joe Dipaola, made a bold decision: “Let’s form an adjunct union.” After approaching several higher ed parent unions, and often at their own expense, they partnered with the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and began their journey toward establishing an adjunct local at MCC.
It took months of legal battles as the college claimed we were “casual and temporary” labor and therefore had no standing to form a union. The Michigan Employment Regulatory Commission (MERC) agreed with MEA petitioners and granted a vote. That vote took place in the fall of 2003, and the response was overwhelming to form a union. As a result, the Macomb College Adjunct Faculty Association (MCAFA) was born. MCAFA became the first all-adjunct union at the community college level in the state of Michigan. The inaugural officers were John Bousamra, President; Joe Dipaola, Vice President; Dr. G. Hossein Azarbayejani, Treasurer; and Michael Johns, Secretary.
The next step was writin an inaugural contract. It was the summer of 2004, and the bargaining team consisted of long-time union advocate and Instructor of Economics and Psychology, Joe Miller; English Instructor, Andrew Kos; head negotiator and MEA Uniserve Director for our MEA district, Aaron Sheposh; History Instructor, Jeffrey T. Kass; and Spanish Instructor, Joe Dipaola. It took almost two years of bargaining to write the entire contract. The largest stumbling block was the issue of seniority. It took months of side bars to hash out what the MCAFA Bargaining Team agreed was not the “absolute” seniority (Section 4 in the contract) that they had hoped for ), but, given the circumstances, it was the best possible deal they were able to secure. Andrew Kos and Aaron Sheposh represented MCAFA in the side bars. John Bousamra, Jeff Kass, and German Instructor and special advisor to the bargaining team, Dr. Kendall Weeks, congregated in the South Campus Library each week and waited like expectant fathers for news of a breakthrough. It finally came in 2005. It then took about another year to work out evaluation language, grievance, load limits, pay and some other issues. Finally, in the spring of 2006, the membership ratified our first contract.
Also in 2006, John Bousamra and Joe Dipaola, believing the bulk of their work had been completed with the ratification of a contract, decided to step down before the end of their terms. In a special election, Richard Filbey, Instructor of Mathematics, and Jeff Kass, inaugural bargainer and Instructor of History, were elected MCAFA President and Vice President, respectively. Dr. G. Hossein Azarbayejani stayed on as Treasurer. Michael Johns also stepped down and was replaced temporarily with Philosophy Instructor, Theresa Catalano Reinhardt.
Jodi Monday from Media and Communication Arts eventually came on board as Secretary and Grievance Officer. Shortly after, Jerold Sommerville from the History department rounded out the Executive Board as its new Member-at-Large.
Meanwhile the relationship with the MEA, though strong at the beginning, began to deteriorate. The decision was made to hold a special election to decide whether MCAFA should stay with MEA or venture out on its own as an independent union. The membership voted to leave MEA in the summer of 2012.
The union was then renamed The Association of Adjunct Faculty of Macomb Community College or AAFMCC as we know it today. It soon became evident, however, that running a union with just a few officers was easier said than done. As a result, AAFMCC leadership began negotiating with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to become our new parent union. The final decision to join AFT, though somewhat controversial following our recent break with MEA, was made easier by political events when an increasingly hostile administration and legislature in Lansing passed Michigan’s first “right-to-work” law--a law which eventually proved to be a great challenge. The membership agreed that AAFMCC needed the backing of a national labor organization in order to thrive, and in May of 2013, the membership voted to to join the AFT.
Our union is by no means perfect. Organizing part-timers, many of whom work several jobs and commitments to make ends meet, is certainly a challenge. However, since 2002, our local has grown stronger and more resourceful. We continue to work hard to improve working conditions for MCC adjuncts, but it’s only with the growing support and determination of the membership that this will be possible.
by Jeffrey Kass
In 2002, concerns like these were all-too-familiar for the hundreds of adjuncts who were considered "casual and temporary" laborers at MCC.
As a result, two MCC adjuncts decided it was time to seriously address these longstanding problems and find a course of action to facilitate real change. One day at lunch, John Bousamra, long-time adjunct in French, and former full-timer/current Spanish adjunct, Joe Dipaola, made a bold decision: “Let’s form an adjunct union.” After approaching several higher ed parent unions, and often at their own expense, they partnered with the Michigan Education Association (MEA) and began their journey toward establishing an adjunct local at MCC.
It took months of legal battles as the college claimed we were “casual and temporary” labor and therefore had no standing to form a union. The Michigan Employment Regulatory Commission (MERC) agreed with MEA petitioners and granted a vote. That vote took place in the fall of 2003, and the response was overwhelming to form a union. As a result, the Macomb College Adjunct Faculty Association (MCAFA) was born. MCAFA became the first all-adjunct union at the community college level in the state of Michigan. The inaugural officers were John Bousamra, President; Joe Dipaola, Vice President; Dr. G. Hossein Azarbayejani, Treasurer; and Michael Johns, Secretary.
The next step was writin an inaugural contract. It was the summer of 2004, and the bargaining team consisted of long-time union advocate and Instructor of Economics and Psychology, Joe Miller; English Instructor, Andrew Kos; head negotiator and MEA Uniserve Director for our MEA district, Aaron Sheposh; History Instructor, Jeffrey T. Kass; and Spanish Instructor, Joe Dipaola. It took almost two years of bargaining to write the entire contract. The largest stumbling block was the issue of seniority. It took months of side bars to hash out what the MCAFA Bargaining Team agreed was not the “absolute” seniority (Section 4 in the contract) that they had hoped for ), but, given the circumstances, it was the best possible deal they were able to secure. Andrew Kos and Aaron Sheposh represented MCAFA in the side bars. John Bousamra, Jeff Kass, and German Instructor and special advisor to the bargaining team, Dr. Kendall Weeks, congregated in the South Campus Library each week and waited like expectant fathers for news of a breakthrough. It finally came in 2005. It then took about another year to work out evaluation language, grievance, load limits, pay and some other issues. Finally, in the spring of 2006, the membership ratified our first contract.
Also in 2006, John Bousamra and Joe Dipaola, believing the bulk of their work had been completed with the ratification of a contract, decided to step down before the end of their terms. In a special election, Richard Filbey, Instructor of Mathematics, and Jeff Kass, inaugural bargainer and Instructor of History, were elected MCAFA President and Vice President, respectively. Dr. G. Hossein Azarbayejani stayed on as Treasurer. Michael Johns also stepped down and was replaced temporarily with Philosophy Instructor, Theresa Catalano Reinhardt.
Jodi Monday from Media and Communication Arts eventually came on board as Secretary and Grievance Officer. Shortly after, Jerold Sommerville from the History department rounded out the Executive Board as its new Member-at-Large.
Meanwhile the relationship with the MEA, though strong at the beginning, began to deteriorate. The decision was made to hold a special election to decide whether MCAFA should stay with MEA or venture out on its own as an independent union. The membership voted to leave MEA in the summer of 2012.
The union was then renamed The Association of Adjunct Faculty of Macomb Community College or AAFMCC as we know it today. It soon became evident, however, that running a union with just a few officers was easier said than done. As a result, AAFMCC leadership began negotiating with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to become our new parent union. The final decision to join AFT, though somewhat controversial following our recent break with MEA, was made easier by political events when an increasingly hostile administration and legislature in Lansing passed Michigan’s first “right-to-work” law--a law which eventually proved to be a great challenge. The membership agreed that AAFMCC needed the backing of a national labor organization in order to thrive, and in May of 2013, the membership voted to to join the AFT.
Our union is by no means perfect. Organizing part-timers, many of whom work several jobs and commitments to make ends meet, is certainly a challenge. However, since 2002, our local has grown stronger and more resourceful. We continue to work hard to improve working conditions for MCC adjuncts, but it’s only with the growing support and determination of the membership that this will be possible.
by Jeffrey Kass