Minutes of the AAUP February 10, 2017

About 20-23 in attendance, people came and left. We do not make names public.

Marge Murphy opened the meeting at 4:30. She announced a very short report from Mark Kuperberg and the Ad Hoc Salary committee which was not encouraging. We have no progress to report. Our substitute recording secretary was sick so Lee Smithey stepped up and we are grateful for these notes.

Distribution of “Report by the Ad-Hoc Faculty Child Care Committee”

M: administration responding about child care, but members of the panel on Child Care were not as optimistic. Apparently the administration has told the Child Care committee that there are no funds for child care. We discussed the $300,000 fund now being disbursed by HR to needy workers for child care costs. The money has been disbursed.
S: Says that donations go into general fund and get a tag, but programs and departments don’t always get the money.
C: says that there was a gift for child care years ago.
M: That check was cashed long ago and used for subsidizing people in need instead of raising wages for child care workers.

Panel:

Members of the child care committee reported that progress had stalled as negotiations with the Friends Meeting house collapsed and the President and Provost expressed no interest in creating a child care project for the faculty. Meanwhile the HR distribution of funds continued now including faculty who might qualify. 
S: Faculty child care pilot program just announced via email today. Its a done deal for 2 years. Next year will be the year to make your voices heard.  If the program has to be in practice for a 2nd yr at least we want more faculty to be able to participate.  Only two faculty were able to participate last year. Not clear if they are replenishing last year’s program $.   When Chopp came, she wanted to “put this money to work for the people.” Not into child care.
Discussion of why there is not more support for child care.
E: Why is there resistance?
B: Its not a priority. Problem is that administrators and faculty who don’t think the College should be in the childcare business at all.  People on the board who didn’t think it was important enough. Told recently its important to raise money for this venture.  It never gets on the radar.  Some local childcare agencies have said if you will build a center we’ll come and even potentially refurbish a space.   There have been ample opportunities in the past when a new building goes up.  E.g. Bookstore space is now a computer lab.
C:  I put childcare on the BEP agenda and maker space.  Told it would cost too much money. We have tried, and it has failed.
The Child Care Committee approached the Friends Meeting Child Care center.

B: Friends want to do an after school program.  Nixed because of liability and ADA.
S: upcoming meeting with Brown over weird legal thing and nursery there and ADA compliance.
M: Who is on the Board of the nursery?  Go through the meeting?
C:  There was a conflict b/w kids on the playground and the Arboretum.  I put it on docket for land use planning: make a border/boundary clear. The building is zoned by the College and if plaster falls, the College has to fix the building. There is a centuries-old lease.
S: We should be able to make them go Swat compliant.  Right now the friends have no rights.  The college doesn’t respond quickly to maintenance.
M: We’re a year on from this last report. Now we’re stuck in the mud.  The salary thing isn’t moving either.  Faculty en mass has to do something. It becomes more acute as we hire new jr. faculty members. They have no way of expressing the problem of child care.
D: Its more expensive in adjusted income to do it now. 14x more expensive than 1980s.

Discussion of tactics
P: Leverage point is the recruiting.
M: Don’t be too optimistic. We hire good people.
P: Less than 1/2 tenure track offers are accepted in nat sciences.
E: Look at our peer institutions and what they are doing. The 2nd question I was asked last week by a candidate was about child care.
C: We need evidence
M: Want a flyer.
C: disturbed that the college’s solution is a pilot program that gives the money away in the marketplace instead of providing.
A: I’ll be cynical:  We can’t assume that lack of info leads to lack of activity.  College cares about good publicity.  [Agreement around the room]
M: Bring kids on labor day and have them make posters.
S:  Need to get this voted in as our priority.
D:  Unpleasant conversation with Barbara Mather Fall 2008 “When you show us people do not take jobs at Swarthmore or leave Swarthmore, we’ll pay attention.”  We don’t colleect that information.  We can do this with our hires. This isn’t just a finance problem. Creates division between faculty and staff.  There is a BENEFIT to the College, not just individuals. We have a bad faculty staff situation.  Community buildilng. It can be used for Dance/Music.  We will win on community issue.
S:  Val was approached but didn’t jump on it.
M: Silent responses on childcare and faculty salaries.  They want faculty approval.  That’s influence.
S: Get faculty in a room with Val so she can hear you.  When Jr people laid out their schedules, we got 4 course load.
E: Not just data collection. Its the daily impact this has. Get people to write down their experiences.
A: I answered this in surveys every year.  They haven’t read this stuff?
B: 40% of people think of leaving the college in climate survey.
D: Without childcare, people take more sick days. It costs
D: What about new intercultural center? Space there?
M: Focus in the past has been an actual center.  We need to get them off the notion they have to build a building.  Want a partnership with the daycare center here. We don’t have to solve all of the administration’s problems. We have been studying this for 30 years. You have to push. Make a motion.
E: What about staff?
D: Did survey.  Didn’t want their salaries to go down at tall. There should be sliding scale.  They are freaked out by the staff members who have children are getting extra salary.  Its unfair and they see it as unfair. They are afraid of standing up.
P:  Isn’t there a rule that you can’t offer a benefit to one class of employee without offering it to another?
M: Why do you want to solve their problems?  Press them to it and then say we’re happy to share a benefit with staff.

These minutes might seem a bit short, but we ended the conversation with many people offering ideas. We can at least have that meeting with the college President and try to move more to the cause.

At the end of the meeting we had champagne and birthday cake as I turned seventy on the day, thanks everyone for your well wishes. And thanks to Lee for his help on these minutes.