Buttons and Solidarity--Both Available Today!

Our shiny new "Does Pratt Insure Your Prof" buttons are in!  Pick yours up today in North Hall 123, or at the...

National Day of Union Solidarity Roundtable Discussion
Monday, April 4 (today!)
12:30 - 2:00 PM
in the Alumni Reading Room, Pratt Library 3rd Floor

Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!

Buttons have been ordered and will arrive soon.  When they do, we'll post the good news here.  Or, check North Hall 123 within the next week or so.

Wear a button proudly on your spiffy lapel for the rest of the spring semester...

Petitions are coming

Faculty:  We will begin circulating a petition for faculty to sign in the next couple of weeks.  When we do, we'll email them to you, then ask you to sign and return them to North Hall 123.  Be on the lookout!  (We'll post an announcement here, too.)

Students:  want to start a petition to circulate amongst the student body as a show of support for your Profs with no healthcare?  Drop us a line at <healthcareforpratt@gmail.com>!

April 4 Events for worker's rights!

WORKERS’ RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!

National Day of Union Solidarity on the Pratt Campus

Please Join Us For A Lunchtime Roundtable Discussion

Monday, April 4, 12:30-2pm, in the Alumni Reading Room, 3^rd floor of the Library. 

All members of the Pratt community are welcome.

On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while in Memphis supporting the collective bargaining rights of sanitation workers.  Since February 11, 2011, thousands of people have protested in Wisconsin supporting the collective bargaining rights of state public employees. 

What connects these two struggles? 

How might we claim the vitality of the historic fight for labor rights and Dr. King’s anti-poverty campaigns for the current fight to strengthen American unions? What do the attempts to take away rights from organized labor mean on a global and national scale—and how does it affect our daily lives here on the Pratt campus? 

What is your experience and connection to labor and unions? What connections do we in the Pratt community have to the struggle for collective bargaining and worker rights in NYC and beyond?

In commemoration of Dr. King’s work, April 4, 2011, has been declared a National Day of Union Solidarity—a chance for people across the country to gather and show support for Unions and current labor struggles.  Here on the Pratt campus, we’re marking this day by providing a forum for students, faculty, and employees alike to learn about and discuss Dr. King’s legacy and current labor struggles.  Please join us!

Hosted by Emily Beall, Moderated by Tracie Morris

(for the Ad Hoc Health Care for Pratt Working Group: http://healthcareforpratt.blogspot.com/).

Please contact Emily with any questions, or for more information:  emilybeall@gmail.com

Drop President Schutte a Line!

Drop President Schutte a line at <tschutte@pratt.edu>

Students, faculty, staff, members of the community: Tell President Schutte that you're concerned about this issue.  here's a sample email--feel free to use it, or compose one of your own.

Dear President Schutte,

As a [student/faculty member/employee] at Pratt, I am writing to express my concern that so many of Pratt's Professors are not currently eligible for healthcare benefits.  I am sure you would agree that this lack of access to healthcare undermines the well-being of our community at large.  I therefore urge you to address this grave situation, and to make healthcare an immediate priority.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Questions? Ideas? Comments? Let us hear from you!

 If you have any creative ideas about how to further this effort, are interested in getting involved in what we're already doing, or just want to let us know what you think, please send us a note at <healthcareforpratt@gmail.com>.

Facts About Pratt and Healthcare

The faculty union (UFCT 1460) will begin negotiations with Pratt administration within the next month to determine the content of our next four-year contract.  A group of concerned rank and file professors have compiled this fact sheet to encourage discussion and the sharing of information as regards healthcare benefits for part-timers.

Did you know...

• 75-80% of Pratt faculty are currently deemed ineligible for any form of health insurance benefits through the Institute
• Of Pratt's yearly operating budget of $170 million, less than 20% is spent on faculty (that's including all full- and part-time salaries and benefits)
• The Pratt administration has agreed to provide healthcare benefits for part-timers in the past 2 contracts, but has yet to honor these agreements in practice
• Every other college of Pratt's prestige and caliber in NYC provides healthcare benefits to both full- and part-time faculty (including The New School, Cooper Union, School of Visual Arts, CUNY, NYU, and Columbia)
• UFCT's current demand is that Pratt grant all part-timers (who teach a 50% workload for at least two semesters) access to healthcare benefits with a 25% contribution by the employee

TELL PRATT:  It's time to make the health and well-being of Pratt's faculty a priority!

What you can do:

• Wear a "Does Pratt Insure Your Prof?" button and sign the faculty petition (both available in the Union Conference Room in North Hall 123)
• Share and discuss this fact sheet with fellow faculty, staff and students
• Drop President Schutte a line at <tschutte@pratt.edu>
• Full-time Faculty: We need your support!  A letter from you and/or your departmental colleagues to the administration would send a strong message of unity around this issue.
• Be on the lookout for announcements about upcoming rallies and other events (we'll post updates on this blog)