The FFU Executive Committee (EC) consists of five elected officers who are responsible for ensuring the union’s day-to-day functioning, protecting FFU member rights gained in our CBA, interacting directly with the Fordham administration, creating union structures and practices that bolster union power, and making final decisions on all questions that do not require a membership vote. The elected FFU officers are recognized as our union chapter’s principal leaders by our Local’s bylaws. Only current dues-paying FFU members are eligible to run for FFU officer positions.
Elected FFU Officers (5)
CO-CHAIRS (2)
Following the ratification of our first CBA in 2018, FFU adapted the structure of officer positions specified by our Local’s bylaws to our Fordham higher-ed workplace. Rather than having a Chair and a Vice-Chair, we created two FFU Co-Chairs, one from the ranks of our part-time faculty and one from the ranks of our full-time faculty. Both officers represent all FFU members, whether part-time or full-time. In officer elections, all FFU members are eligible to vote for both Co-Chair positions.
Role: Co-Chairs act as the public face of FFU. They chair Executive Committee meetings and facilitate other FFU meetings, town halls and orientations; determine FFU operations and strategy; appoint FFU non-EC committee members; meet regularly with the Fordham administration; and liaise with community and union allies.
Duties:
- Leadership: making decisions in the best interests of all FFU faculty; knowing Fordham and FFU membership well; understanding FFU CBAs and FFU member rights; interacting effectively with the Fordham administration and larger community. With FFU Chief Stewards, Co-Chairs are part of the core negotiating team during CBA negotiations.
- Organization: drafting EC meeting agendas and heading EC meetings; overseeing all EC and other FFU activities – intra- and extramural; creating structures that bolster FFU member involvement and initiative to build community and union power.
- Communication: communicating regularly with FFU membership and the Fordham administration; meeting regularly with FFU members; and enlarging FFU power through relationships at Fordham and with higher-ed unions in NYC and beyond.
CHIEF STEWARDS (3)
FFU has three Chief Stewards, covering Fordham’s three campuses (Lincoln Center, Rose Hill, and Westchester). FFU Chief Stewards, whether full-time or part-time faculty, represent all FFU members. In officer elections, all FFU members are eligible to vote for Chief Stewards.
Role: Chief Stewards are FFU-member-facing leadership. They are our leading “boots on the ground” that ensure that the Fordham administration respects our CBAs in two ways. First, they represent FFU members in meetings with their departments/programs, handle FFU-member grievances, and lead FFU membership organizing efforts. Second, as leaders of the Stewards Committee, they train and oversee local faculty stewards to handle grievances and bolster organizing and outreach.
Duties:
- Leadership: understanding FFU CBAs and FFU member rights; understanding the rights of unionized labor more generally, from the legal rights of stewards to the seven tests of just cause; being on-call to attend disciplinary meetings between faculty and administration; taking faculty through performance improvement plans (PIPs) and grievance procedures; enforcing provisions of CBAs. With FFU Co-Chairs, Chief Stewards are part of the core negotiating team during CBA negotiations.
- Organization: attending EC meetings; conducting membership drives each semester; maintaining the Membership Masterlist; recruiting members for stewarding and other committee work; helping FFU members to form problem-solving groups at the departmental and program level; and managing task delegation during bargaining.
- Communication: communicating regularly with FFU membership and the Fordham administration; meeting with individual FFU members upon request; educating FFU members about “the union difference” and the benefits of union membership; facilitating FFU membership orientations and town halls.
Office Compensation
As of 2022, we bargained for and won compensation by the university for our five elected FFU officers. Details below.
The Union may designate five (5) officers per [academic] year to be compensated by the University as follows during the semester in which they are so designated:
— Full-Time Bargaining Unit Faculty Member. When the designated officer is a Full-Time Bargaining Unit Faculty Member, the University will grant a course release or pay compensation in lieu of a course release equivalent to the highest adjunct course rate as listed in the Full-Time Faculty Agreement.
— Part-Time Bargaining Unit Faculty Member. When the designated officer is a Part-Time Bargaining Unit Faculty Member, the University will pay the equivalent of the adjunct course rate, to which they would normally be entitled due to their longevity, for that semester as listed in the current Part-Time Faculty Agreement. Such an assignment shall be treated as equivalent to a course for the purposes of calculating longevity and course guarantees.
Fordham Faculty United 