Current members of the P-fac Steering Committee
Arvis Averette (HHS), President
Julian Brown (AEMM), Vice President and Grievance Chair
Lyn Wolfson (AEMM), Secretary
Pete Insley (Science/Math), Treasurer
Joe Laiacona (IAM), Negotiations Chair
Christine Pfeiffer (English), Publicity Chair
Wanda Barlow (Science/Math), Membership Chair
The Steering Committee consists of seven officers, elected each fall, who take office each spring. Each fall, the entire membership votes for four officers. The top four vote-getters become President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer as the Steering Committee itself agrees. Three specialized positions are chosen by a vote of the department reps: Negotiations Chair, Membership Chair, and Publicity Chair. Because people interested in the specialized positions may also be among the top four vote-getters in the general election, this sometimes results in other candidates “moving up” into the four generally elected positions. The purpose of this system is to allow individual Steering Committee members to make best use of their expertise and preferences.
Duties of officers: The President officially represents P-fac at meetings with the administration and meets regularly with the administration’s liaison with the part-time faculty (currently the Academic Vice President), and also serves on the College Council. The Vice President
assists in these functions and currently is also the Grievance Chair who expedites any potential grievances over contract violations, misinterpretations, or misapplications. The Secretary keeps minutes and the Treasurer handles finances, including dues. The Membership Chair handles membership records and sends new Bargaining Unit members appropriate information about P-fac. The Negotiations Chair is busiest during periods of contract negotiations, but at all times keeps track of contract issues (and sometimes chooses to serve as Grievance Chair). The Publicity Chair is editor of the newsletter, P-fac News, and also handles internal and external publicity and media communications.
The Steering Committee is a cooperative group, not a hierarchical one. It usually meets every two weeks during the school year and several times during the summer. Decisions that affect P-fac and its members are made via discussion and voting of the entire Steering Committee.