Prairie State College P/Timers Set to Organize

Part-time instructors at Prairie State College in Illinois said they are confident they will organize into a union.

The question is when—and what organization will represent them.

A group of about 25 adjunct faculty formed Adjunct Instructors United in May 2004 with the intent of organizing into a union and negotiating a new contract.
A member of the group contacted the Illinois Education Association, which then helped the organization begin the unionizing process.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers, which represents adjunct faculty at Moraine Valley Community College and South Suburban College, has since stepped forward to compete with the IEA to represent Prairie State’s part-time faculty, officials said.
The IFT has managed to block two scheduled elections, one in October and one last week, over what was described as a violation of election procedures.
First, the IFT filed an objection to the Oct. 27 and 28 election with the Illinois Education Labor Relations Board, stating that teachers were not given the required notice that informed them an election would be forthcoming.

The labor board upheld the objection, so a new election was scheduled for Dec. 7 and 8.
The IFT filed another objection when the college administration did not provide an accurate list of teachers who were eligible to vote within 15 days of the election.

The labor board again upheld the objection.
IEA organizer Steve Vaughan said the circumstances that led to the objections were mistakes because the teachers wanted to organize and begin negotiations as soon as possible. He said there was no attempt to prevent the IFT from being on the ballot.

Because the IEA had successfully helped adjunct faculty organize in the City Colleges of Chicago, Harper College and Triton College, Vaughan said IFT officials may feel the need to be more competitive at Prairie State.

“(IFT officials) been taking it in the teeth because they’ve been unresponsive to part-timers over the last half dozen years,” Vaughan said.

But IFT officials said their objections are in the best interests of the faculty.

“The only reason for filing objections is so that proper procedure is followed,” said IFT spokeswoman Gail Purkey.

“Every member should be identified properly so they can hear from the organizations that seek to represent them. We want the members to make an informed choice,” Purkey said.

Many adjunct faculty seem to favor the IEA because it has guided the original group of teachers through the organizing process.

Ken Kouba, an Olympia Fields resident who has taught part time at Prairie State for four years, said he’s noticed a preference for IEA among faculty.

“IEA offers us the most, and I think there is a sense of loyalty because they’ve been with us from the beginning. And they have a good track record throughout the Chicago area,” Kouba said.
Kouba said there will not be another vote to organize until sometime in the Spring.