Feb 15, 2024
Dear New CFAC Local 6602, IFT-AFT Bargaining Unit Member,
Welcome to the Columbia Faculty Union, Local 6602, Illinois Federation of Teachers/American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. Your wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment have been negotiated by CFAC, Local 6602. We are proud of our contract with Columbia College. We know it provides you with greater benefits than other similar workers without Union representation. You now have contract protection against arbitrary and capricious action by your employer. You and your fellow employees can have a voice in your workplace and the right to protest unreasonable actions by your employer.
As a member of CFAC, you are entitled to certain member-only benefits, the most important of which are the right to attend Union meetings, including meetings to discuss new contract proposals, ratify the contract, and to vote for Union officers. THESE RIGHTS ARE AVAILABLE ONLY TO UNION MEMBERS.
Attached is a membership application and an authorization for the deduction of Union dues and initiation fees. Remember, we will be strong if we show the employer that we are 100% active and committed members of the Union. WE SPEAK WITH ONE STRONG VOICE. We welcome your membership in the Union.
We are required by the law to inform you that you also have the right to refrain from Union membership. If that is your choice, you will be required to pay a non-member fee which is your pro-rata share of the costs germane to Union representation, known as a “agency fee”. The “agency fee” is 95% of the membership fee. One who is a nonmember but represented by the Union - called by the courts a "free rider" - is not entitled to certain valuable Union benefits, including attendance at meetings and the important rights to elect officers and to vote on contract issues and contract ratification. Nonunion fee payers have the right to object to paying for union activities not germane to the union's duties as bargaining agent and to obtain a reduction in fees for those activities, set at 63%.Nonunion fee payers also have the right to challenge the calculation of the fair share fee. If you choose to be a nonunion fee payer, please contact Susan VanVeen, CFAC Treasurer for further information regarding the amount of the non-member fee, how the fee was calculated, and the procedures for requesting a reduction and/or objecting to the calculation of the fees.
We welcome you to CFAC, Local 6602, IFT-AFT/AFL-CIO. If you have any questions, please speak to one of your department reps or Union leaders. TURN COMPLETED CARDS to info@pfac.org. If you have any questions contact us info@pfac.org
In solidarity,
Magica Bottari, CFAC Membership Chair, magicacfacmembership@gmail.com
Diana Vallera, CFAC President, diana@studioera2.com
Susan Van Veen, CFAC Treasurer, ssvv39@aol.com
CFAC Steering Committee
Diana Vallera, CFAC President, Photography
Lisa Formosa-Parmigiano, CFAC Vice President, CTVA
Deb Doetzer, CFAC Secretary, Communications
Susan Van Veen, CFAC Treasurer, Business
Magica Bottari, Membership Chair, Theatre
Delia Pless, Publications Chair, ECW
Andrea J. Dymond, Grievances Chair, Theatre