NMHUFASA Professor Publishes Albuquerque Gay Pride Book
Congratulations and Great Work PJ!
The Power of Respect
NMHU is in turbulent times. The distrust between NMHU employees (faculty and staff) and the NMHU administration is at an all-time high. The number of legal issues we are experiencing with our administration is at an all-time high. The administration, under our President and Board of Regents, is attacking the rights of tenure and academic freedom, governance, and due process of its faculty and staff. And, if that isn’t bad enough, they are now using the” Trumpian” ploy of attacking our basic rights of free speech. With respect to ancient Greek mythology and Hercules, it feels like we are now batting the Hydra of Lerna. If you remember, while battling the monster, every time that Hercules cut off one of its heads, two more grew back in its place. What a perfect metaphor for NMHU and our current administration. Every time we work hard to solve serious issues and violations of our due process and CBA, new anti-union issues, sentiment, and attacks by the administration and Regents occur. We all were present when President Minner attacked us for being unionized during his State of the University address in August. It did not go unnoticed. The administration is now telling faculty that they will be reprimanded if we talk about union issues during our office hours or help colleagues in distress. Solving issues, apparently, is union work, not professionalism, decency, and caring. We are working on this free speech issue with our NEA and AFT unions and attorneys. We will not let it stand.
The faculty and staff at NMHU are not asking for much, but we are asking for the rights that are basic to citizens in the US, faculty across the country, and negotiated in our CBA. We are asking for respect to do our jobs with dignity. We are asking to be valued. We are asking for the Power of Respect.
Yet Another Assualt on Tenure by the NMHU Administration
By Dr. Kathy Jenkins, President of the NMHU Facutly & Staff Association
Welcome Faculty and Staff
Tension with the NMHU administration has increased over the past several months and the university now is questioning our right to use the NMHU website, emails, and other resources to share union activities and contact members. Although we are fighting the university’s narrow definition of the Anti-Donations clause in NM law, we took this opportunity to create our own website. It will be a place where we can share information, talk freely, archive our newsletters and other documents, without control from the NMHU administration. It will also be a website where we can share all of the wo
Finally—it’s President-elect Biden
Patience—counseled by former Vice President Joe Biden all election week as Americans waited for votes to be counted—finally paid off Nov. 7, four days after Election Day, when Biden won in Pennsylvania and gained enough Electoral College votes to acquire a new title: president-elect. AFT President Randi Weingarten says the union’s leaders and members “can’t wait to get started” on the work ahead “with an administration that will embrace and fight for the values we hold dear.”
Your vote is your voice
AFT President Randi Weingarten’s latest column outlines the urgency of using our voices—our votes—in this life-changing election, when we will make a choice “between President Donald Trump, who has trafficked in chaos, fear, lies and division, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who seeks to reverse Trump’s failures on COVID-19 and the economy, and to unite and uplift the American people.” Besides the four crises we face—a pandemic, an economic crisis, racism and a climate emergency—democracy itself is on the ballot, as Trump continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.
‘Back to school’ like never before
In her September New York Times column, AFT President Randi Weingarten says that going back to school has never looked like it does now. Weingarten explains that because of President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus, which has been chaotic, contradictory and inept, and the lack of federal guidance and funding, we’re seeing a patchwork of school reopening plans across the country.