If you receive a call from administration regarding any of these issues of concern, your first step should be to contact Dante Morelli, the FA grievance officer.

This was a really busy semester for me as the FA grievance officer.

I do not mind the workload, however, as I'm well aware that this is precisely why we have a union: so members have someone to turn to if/when they find themselves in one of the following situations.

These can happen to any one of us at any time—some of the most well respected faculty at the college have contacted the FA with issues such as the ones listed below—so we know that having this union protection is greatly valued by our members.

• We have one case going to arbitration in February.


• Eighteen faculty members received FA representation during Title IX investigations (sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying).


• Nine faculty members received FA representation during misconduct investigations


• Two adjuncts were removed from the seniority list.


• Three cases of bullying were filed between/among members.


• There are more than 200 outstanding sections from Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Summer 2017 and Fall 2017 in which classes were overloaded by one student or more. This is a contract violation, and an MOA will be drafted to reimburse those teaching faculty who were assigned to these sections.

You should know that the FA has long prided itself on having a collegial working relationship with our administration. We approach every situation with the utmost confidentiality and do everything in our power to resolve issues informally, so we don't even have to initiate the formal grievance procedure in most cases.

Members should know that if you ever receive an email or letter from Human Resources or Legal Affairs, we strongly advise the following:

1. Notify me right away so I can walk you through the process and answer any preliminary questions: dantem@fascc.org or 631-451-4963.


2. Do not call HR or Legal Affairs to find out about the allegation, as they will only discuss this with you in person. Do not attend the meeting alone; we strongly advise that you attend the meeting with your FA rep present.


3. If you cannot make the meeting day and/or time, then we work with the college to identify a day and time convenient for all parties.


4. You are not guilty of anything when a letter is sent to you. The college sends the letter because by law they must investigate all complaints that come to their office. The meeting is an opportunity for you to tell your side of the story and respond to the complaint. You will be given a copy of the complaint, upon request, at the meeting.


5. After the meeting, the investigation may still be ongoing and take an unspecified amount of time. If appropriate, you are not only allowed but encouraged to provide additional information that pertains to your case if you were unable to furnish it during the meeting.

We hope, of course, that you'll never need to avail yourself of my services as grievance officer, but we also hope it brings you comfort to know that the FA stands at the ready to assist you if and when needed.

Finally, I need to thank FA adjunct coordinator Kevin McCoy for his assistance in working with me to handle the above issues when they involve our adjunct members.