The P-fac contract establishes rules for obtaining and maintaining membership. Teaching status, personal choices, and payment of dues affect membership status.
Bargaining Unit: The Bargaining Unit is the entire group of part-time faculty covered by the P-fac contract with Columbia College Chicago. P-fac is the collective bargaining unit for all B.U. members, which means it has (more)
Full membership: Full, voting membership is not automatic. A new Bargaining Unit member should fill out an official IEA/NEA membership form (available from the P-fac office) to become a new member. The form also allows faculty to have dues automatically deducted. (Helpful hint: the form was designed (more)
Fee-payers and Fair Share: Bargaining Unit members who do not want to become full union members are fee-payers: they still pay the equivalent of dues (minus the $10 that goes to the Political (more)
Dues: P-fac dues of $100 per semester cover IEA and NEA membership (approximately $77), the IPACE political action fund that supports IEA lobbying and campaigning ($10) and the local P-fac dues (more)
No-Hire List: A Bargaining Unit member who fails to pay dues (or the equivalent agency fee) will be placed on a "no-hire list" for the following semester (III,1B). This is part of the contractual guarantee (more)
The Bargaining Unit is the entire group of part-time faculty covered by the P-fac contract with Columbia College Chicago. P-fac is the collective bargaining agent for all B.U. members, which means it has the right to negotiate salaries and working conditions for the entire group in a contract with the Columbia College administration. The contract legally defines the rights and responsibilities of both sides, and cannot be changed except by formal negotiation. All part-time faculty teaching regular Columbia College classes are in the B.U. except first semester faculty, and part-time instructors who are also fulltime Columbia College graduate students, staff, or administrators. (I,1A) Part-time staff who are also part-time faculty are in the P-fac Bargaining Unit as well as in that of the staff union, United Staff of Columbia College (US of CC).
Full, voting membership is not automatic. A new Bargaining Unit member should fill out an official IEA/NEA Membership Form (available from the P-fac office) to become a full member. The form also allows faculty to have dues automatically deducted. (Helpful hint: the membership form was designed for K-12 school districts and contains items P-fac does not need, such as the often-confusing “code” box in the upper-right-hand corner. P-fac and the Payroll office need just your ID and contact information, including Social Security number for payroll deduction).
Members are entitled to vote and run for office in all union-sponsored elections.
Contact the Membership Chair with membership questions and requests.
Bargaining Unit members who do not want to become full union members are fee-payers: they still pay the equivalent of dues (minus the $10 that goes to the political action fund) to P-fac, because they benefit from the same contract provisions and collective bargaining rights as full members. (III, 1A) Fair Share payers have a legitimate business (I,1B) or religious (III,1D) reason for not wanting to join a union. For example, a part-time faculty member who has a fulltime management position with a non-Columbia College employer could have a qualifying conflict of interest. Those with work or religious objections must document them (in writing) and make a donation equivalent to dues to the P-fac Scholarship fund at Columbia, or to another IEA-approved charity.
P-fac dues of $100 per semester (fall and spring, not summer) cover IEA and NEA membership (approximately $77), the IPACE political action fund that supports IEA/NEA lobbying and campaigning ($10), and the local P-fac dues (approximately $13). Dues are deducted from the fifth paycheck each semester for those who have chosen payroll deduction. Others should send a check to the P-fac office each semester, or pay via Paypal on the website (there is a $5 surcharge). A fee-payer who does not want to contribute to the political activities of IEA/NEA pays P-fac $90. A dual member of P-fac and USofCC pays local dues to both, but pays the IEA/NEA portion only once.
A Bargaining Unit member who fails to pay dues (or the equivalent agency fee) will be placed on a “no hire list” for the following semester. (III,1B) This is part of the contractual guarantee that P-fac will be the collective bargaining agent for part-time faculty, and the College may not hire part-time faculty “outside the system” by allowing them not to pay union dues.
If you are on the no-hire list, it always means that you owe dues for a past semester, not the current semester. You will receive notices from the Treasurer and should contact him or her to ask questions, make payments, and be removed from the list.
Occasionally there are errors in the lists provided to P-fac by the College or in P-fac’s records, and of course you should contact the Treasurer with copies of proof of payment if this occurs. However, it is far more common that busy faculty have simply forgotten to pay, misunderstood the dues-paying process, or mistakenly believed that the payroll deduction form was retroactive.
To avoid the no-hire list if you pay by check (or online by credit card) make sure you have paid dues before August 1 for fall semester, and before December 15 for spring semester. P-fac recommends signing up for automatic payroll deduction as the easiest way to remain current with dues.