February Issue of Raging Chicken Press Is Up! Happy Birthday Wisconsin Uprising!

It seems like getting the February issue out took FOREVER! I don’t know if that’s what it felt like for all of you out there, but it was certainly my experience. But, the important thing is that it’s out!  And, it’s kind of cool that we published the February issue on the one year anniversary [...]

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one more appeal to GET ON THE BUS tomorrow for Harrisburg

Earlier today I made one last appeal to faculty to GET ON THE BUS for tomorrow’s NAACP rally in Harrisburg.  The theme of the rally is “Save Public Education in PA.  This will be the first rally  in the current budget battles that faculty from higher education will join their K-12 colleagues and students from [...]

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PASSHE university presidents meet . . . tidbits

I want to warn you ahead of time that I am working on second or third hand info here, but I hope this might get the ball rolling so we can figure out what the leaders of PASSHE are cooking up to respond to the Governor’s draconian budget cuts.  I was under the impression that [...]

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laboring in higher ed: new AAUP report

As APSCUF enters into a contract negotiation year, this report recently issued from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) should be mandatory reading.  The report discusses the all-but-collapse of the tenure system, the out-of-control rise in contingent faculty, and ways to stabilize higher education.  APSCUF’s contract makes the report–specifically Article 11 Sec. G and [...]

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bring the noise

Since my most recent post to the XChange containing the independent auditor’s report for KU for the year ending 2009, several people have gotten in touch with me asking if I posted this report because it was some kind of “smoking gun.”  The short answer to this question is “no.”  The more nuanced answer is, [...]

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Excellent article/analysis from PSEA on PA’s pension mess.

As I sit here in the mountains, I am grateful for this little phone I’ve got. While the phone reception is in and out, the web comes through just fine. I am even more thankful for this analysis coming out of PSEA. The only way we all get out of this “budget crisis” for real [...]

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questions about PSERS?

As you know, there has been a lot of hub bub about a “crisis” in Pennsylvania’s Public School Employee Retirement System (PSERS).  As we approach another negotiations year, we need to keep in mind how irresponsible management has led to these “crises” and demand accountability. NO BAILOUTS on the backs of faculty! Check our this [...]

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APSCUF/PSEA Conference on Labor in Higher Ed on TV

As many readers of this blog know, earlier this semester APSCUF and PSEA held a joint conference on labor in higher education in Harrisburg, PA.  If you want a little flavor of some of what some key figures at the conference said, check out this edition of Behind the Headlines, a TV show sponsored by [...]

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Howard Bunsis’s slide show: “Negotiating in a Difficult Economic Environment”

Some recent discussions regarding the current economic “crisis” and the budget implications for PaSSHE universities have revolved around a presentation that Howard Bunsis made at the recent APSCUF/PSEA conference on Labor in Higher Education.  I thought it would be important to include a link to the presentation here for the purposes of information and discussion. [...]

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in the media

APSCUF-KU held a joint Conference on Labor in Higher Education in Harrisburg on October 15-17th.  Here’s some stuff that came out of the conference: Here’s me being interviewed by Marc Bousquet for AAUP Online.  The interview focused on Article 11 of our contract–conversion of temporary faculty members/lines to tenure-track. Bousquet’s full post for AAUP Online, [...]

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