Shannon Bellum, a department administrator in Family and Child Studies since 2004, has had a successful career at Montclair State University. As department administrator, she assists the department faculty and Chair with non-teaching aspects of academia. This past spring, Shannon received a Performance Based Promotion (the only one awarded in 2013), but her time at Montclair State began with some challenges.

Before she became a department administrator, Shannon was an adjunct after completing her MFA in 2002. She teaches courses in the areas of Studio Arts and Fashion Studies for the department of Art and Design. (Teaching on an over-load basis while working as a professional staff member is permitted by our Statewide Agreement in Article XVI.J.) As both an adjunct and professional staff member, Shannon has maintained an excellent rapport with students and particularly enjoys seeing them graduate.

When hired as a department administrator, Shannon complied with a directive to limit her teaching load to one course per semester, since she was under the impression this was a requirement of her full-time position. A semester later, she was told that she must teach outside normal work hours (8:30-4:30) even though the Chair of her department and she had previously devised a mutually agreeable alternative work schedule that let her make up the time that teaching took away from the regular workday.

In the fall of 2005, Shannon reviewed the Statewide Agreement and learned that Professional Staff members were not limited to teaching only one course per semester or to teaching outside of normal work hours. She met with her Chair regarding the discrepancy between the contract and what she had been told. The Chair told her that Professional Staff members were "indirectly" limited to one class per semester by the University's administration.  

In May 2006, with the spring semester almost over, Shannon was informed by the Human Resources department that she would not be paid for teaching her two courses because the paperwork from her college was never approved and forwarded to Human Resources.

Shannon was aware that her rights were being violated. She had read the Statewide Agreement, and was knowledgeable about labor and employment law. Her initial intention was to file a complaint with the NJ Department of Labor for non-payment, as well as to contact her State Senators and the Federal Bureau of Labor. However, after more thought, she turned to AFT Local 1904 for assistance, hoping the Local could "clear up the confusing and mysterious chain of events" that kept her from teaching more than one course a semester, as well get her paid for the teaching she had already done. So, in 2006, the Local filed a grievance, on behalf of Shannon, regarding these contract violations.

When asked whether she experienced any ramifications as a result of pursuing the matter, Shannon said, "It never crossed my mind [that was a possibility] . . . I have always felt valued  [by] the Family and Child Studies department ... I believed justice would prevail, plus I knew from my prior labor experiences [working in the garment industry] that I would have a zinger of a case in the State and Federal courts if I were fired for complaining of non-payment compliance."

The grievance process ultimately led to a settlement agreement between the Union and the State. Shannon was paid for her work. The University also agreed to change its overload paperwork and policy statements, removing statements limiting the time of day and number of classes per semester a Professional Staff member could teach.

Shannon recently found out that as a result of her actions she had helped other Professional Staff members protect their rights regarding teaching courses on campus. She was surprised that the administration thought it could get away with contract violations. She stated, "I dislike the 'us versus them' mentality. We all want to create a positive environment for the students, and it should be clear that this begins with a positive working environment for employees." She said she is "so happy that other people can benefit" from her experience.

In an effort to move forward with our new leadership structure, Vanessa Domine was appointed as Acting Faculty Coordinator for AFT Local 1904. The position will be filled by election during the next regular election for officers, which will be in the spring of 2014.

Vanessa is the Interim Chairperson of the Department of Secondary and Special Education at MSU. If you would like to learn more about Vanessa, please visit her website: www.vanessadomine.com.

As a part of the Local's effort to provide guidance to faculty members, the following workshops have been scheduled:

Reappointment:  Tuesday, Sept. 24th 3-5pm

Promotion: Thursday, December 5th 3-5pm 

Tenure: Tuesday, May 6th (designated as a Friday) 12-2pm 

Vanessa will be leading the workshops and will be joined by accomplished scholars from across campus to share their wisdom and insight. Refreshments will also be served. More information for each will be forthcoming.

• The Economic Policy Institue Policy Center published a report on April 24, 2013 detailing ALEC's (American Legislative Exchange Council) "broader corporate agenda of economic reform . . . [that] . . . includes eliminating the minimum wage, stripping employees of the right to paid sick leave, and making it harder for employees to file suit over job discriminiation. . ."
• The AFL-CIO listed the  8 Ways That ALEC is Targeting Working Families.
• Information about workplace bullying in academia was shared by HigherEdJobs.
• Find out why babies matter in The Chronicle of Higher Education's article, "The Baby Penalty."  
• Krystal L. Woolston, AFT Local 1904 member, led a team of Montclair State University students who volunteered over the summer to help with the Superstorm Sandy recovery effort. View AFTNJ's video about the work on youtube.  

In solidarity,

Rich