Dear Community Members and Allies of the Frederick Community College Faculty Union,

Full-Time Faculty at Frederick Community College have been working hard to make sure their voices will be heard in decisions that affect the education they provide, but management has refused to commit to codifying existing practices of shared governance into our contract. Now, Department Chairs have been told that their position is to be restructured next year, creating a dangerous precedent which we regard as a clear attempt to remove power from faculty. We need your help to tell our administration that the broader community wants our educator's voices to be heard. 

Please use the script below to join us in flooding the email and voicemail of the office of the FCC President, Annesa Payne Cheek, TOMORROW, Thursday August 1st from 1-3PM at (301) 846-2440 and acheek@frederick.edu. 

Phone script:

My name is [name] and I am calling to leave a message with President Cheek. As a [community member, faculty member, student, etc] of Frederick Community College, I am deeply concerned to hear that the chairs position will be restructured, and that the college continues to refuse to commit to codifying shared governance into the union contract. We know that our students are best advocated for when the faculty who are in the classrooms with them every day have a real voice in all decisions regarding the education they provide. [You are welcomed to add a personal narrative here about why you support faculty, chairs, and/or shared governance]. I support the FCC Full-Time Faculty Union, and ask the administration to preserve the role of Department Chairs and codify the role of faculty shared governance into the union contract.

Email script:

Dear President Cheek,

My name is [name] and I am a [community member, faculty member, student, etc] of Frederick Community College. I am writing with concern regarding the news that the chairs position will be restructured, and to the ongoing refusal on the college’s part to commit to shared governance in the union contract. We know that our students are best advocated for when the faculty who are in the classrooms with them every day have a real voice in all decisions regarding the education they provide. We fear for the future of public education when an ever growing portion of our tax dollars go to administrators who are unwilling to put into writing that they will listen to faculty’s recommendations.

I support the FCC Full-Time Faculty Union, and ask the administration to meet our demands of:

1. Ongoing, meaningful faculty participation in departmental and college wide shared governance codified into the CBA
2. Preservation of the faculty chairs position and program manager position or equivalent
3. Reasonable allocation of time and/or compensation for shared governance duties

Thank you for reading,

[name]

It's also not too late to join our social media blitz! We ask supporters to share a Facebook or Instagram post with the following message and/or image and tag the college. “I support the FCC Full-Time Faculty Union, and ask the administration to preserve the role of Department Chairs and codify the role of faculty shared governance into the union contract. #UAMDstrong @frederickcommunitycollege @uamdcc @fccuamd.” You can see and share other posts on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555694452547

Allies can join our e-list to learn more about upcoming actions: https://forms.gle/db6E7rb7rxTphBoA9

Thank you for your solidarity! We are stronger together and all stand to benefit when educators have a protected voice as student advocates. 

In solidarity,
UAMD FCC