OCAAUP Board Endorses Issue 1

The Ohio Conference AAUP Board has joined Fair Districts for Ohio by endorsing State Issue 1, which will reform the process of drawing state legislative districts. 

Fair Districts for Ohio, co-chaired by former State Reps. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) and Matt Huffman (R-Lima), is a bipartisan coalition that is pushing much-needed improvements to the reapportionment process so that districts are fairer and more competitive.

The current system of extreme gerrymandering has allowed lawmakers to choose their voters instead of voters being able to choose their lawmakers. If Issue 1 passes, it will encourage bipartisan legislative district map-making and help protect against gerrymandering.

The OCAAUP Board chose to endorse a Yes on Issue 1 because state government directly impacts Ohio faculty. If we have fair elections, we are more likely to have fair-minded and less ideologically-driven state representatives and senators. 

Here are some of the highlights of Issue 1:

Bipartisanship
– Creates a new seven-member bipartisan panel called the “Ohio

Redistricting Commission.”
– The commission must have at least two members from the minority party.
– Requires the commission to be co-chaired by two members, one chosen by each party.
– Requires at least two votes from each party in order to approve a plan, otherwise a temporary plan is put in place and the commission must reconvene to redraw it.

Transparency
– Requires all commission meetings be open to the public and broadcast by electronic means of transmission using a medium readily accessible by the general public.
– The commission must hold a minimum of three public hearings.
– Before voting on a district plan, the commission is required to present the proposal to the public and to seek public input.
– Requires the commission to submit a statement to the public explaining their process.

Fairness 
– Protects against gerrymandering by prohibiting any district from primarily favoring one political party.
– Requires districts to closely follow the statewide preferences of the voters.

Accountability
– Creates a process for the Ohio Supreme court to order the commission to redraw the map if the plan favors one political party.

Protects Communities 
– Keeps our communities together by requiring a district plan to split as few counties, municipal corporations, and townships as possible.
Issue 1 will not reform congressional redistricting (something the Republicans would not agree to), but the OCAAUP Board still believes that this is a big step in the right direction for state legislative elections. 

For more information and to read the official ballot language, visit the Fair Districts for Ohio website.

Annual Meeting Registration Deadline Monday

OCAAUP’s 65th Annual Meeting will be held November 6-7, 2015 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel. Registration closes on Monday, October 26.

Hank Reichman, Chair of the AAUP’s Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, as well as Chair of the AAUP Foundation, will deliver a talk at the Friday evening dinner, “To Tweet or Not to Tweet: A Question of Academic Freedom,” which will explore the issue of academic freedom in electronic communications. 
In addition, performance artist and Ohio native Aaron Calafato will provide the Saturday luncheon entertainment with his monologue “For Profit,” which is an inside look at the for-profit  

educational industry, the $1 trillion student debt crisis, and a vibrant portrayal of the exploitation of the American student. 
Moreover, AAUP Senior Counsel Aaron Nisenson will address the pending U.S. Supreme Court case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, as well as recent rulings from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that impact organizing opportunities for private university faculty.

Two workshops will be offered Saturday afternoon – one that is more geared toward collective bargaining members; and another that will focus on building advocacy chapters. 

The full agenda can be found here. 

Our hotel room block at the discounted rate is completely full, but there still are rooms available at the Renaissance for regular price.
Registration is only $25. We hope to see you in November!

Notice of Proposed Change to Code of Regulations

During the business portion of the Annual Meeting, delegates will be asked to consider a change to OCAAUP’s Code of Regulations – what we call our constitution and by-laws. 

Under Article IV of the Code, it currently reads: “Each Ohio chapter current on its dues to the Ohio Conference with more than 100 members will be entitled to one voting representative to the Board.”
AAUP-KSU (Kent State University) has submitted an amendment that, if approved, would have that section read: “Each Ohio chapter or bargaining unit current on its dues to the Ohio Conference with more than 100 members will be entitled to one voting representative to the Board.”

AAUP-KSU has two distinct bargaining units for its Full-Time Tenure Track faculty and Full-Time Non-Tenure Track faculty, both of which have more than 100 members. While the bargaining units act in concert together in certain ways, they bargain separately, have separate executive committees, and sometimes have different interests. As such, they believe that this change to the Code better reflects that not every collective bargaining chapter has their FTTTs and FTNTTs folded into one unit and thus should be permitted separate representation on the OCAAUP Board.

*A note about voting rights at the Annual Meeting:

Per Article VI of the Code of Regulations: 

With the exception of elections, voting shall be by delegates of the AAUP chapters in the State of Ohio present at the Conference meeting Chapters with 7-150 members shall have one vote; Chapters with 151 to 300 members shall have two votes; and chapters with more than 300 members shall have three votes.

For purposes of representation, each AAUP member at an institution of higher education in Ohio at which there is no chartered AAUP chapter shall be entitled to be a member of a single statewide chapter, called the State Chapter. This State Chapter may nominate and elect officers, who shall in turn provide for the nomination and election of delegates to the Ohio Conference.