THE
AFT IN IDAHO (1974-2009): 37 YEARS OF ACHIEVEMENTS
UI
Federation, LCSC Federation, BSU Federation, CSI Federation, ISU Federation, NIC
Federation
1974
The ISU administration fired Rufus Lyman, a tenured biology professor.
Lyman filed suit and was reinstated by a federal judge. The ACLU provided
attorneys and the AFT paid all court costs.
1975
The AFT launched a campaign for collective bar-gaining legislation and won a
majority vote (2-1 at UI) on the four campuses in support of such legislation.
A higher education bargaining bill, written and introduced by the AFT, lost on a
tie vote in the Senate HEW Committee.
1976
Larry Quinn, LCSC history professor and local AFT vice-president, was denied
tenure. The SBOE refused to hear an appeal, so Quinn filed suit, receiving
$2,500 in legal aid from the national AFT. In an out-of-court settlement,
Quinn was reinstated at CSI with a $5,000 settlement.
1977
The UI Federation began work on an open files policy, which was finally passed
by the UI faculty in 1980 and is now state policy for all institutions.
This policy prevents the establishment of secret personnel files and allows
faculty members to remove adverse documents from their files.
1979
UI biology professor Homer Ferguson's rights were violated in a tenure review
hearing. The national AFT committed $12,000 to the case and Ferguson
eventually won an out-of-court settlement of an unspecified amount. This
case proved crucial in ultimately mitigating the adverse effects of automatic
tenure review policies.
1980
After years of hard work by the AFT, the Ul faculty voted 99-51 in favor of
giving full due process to nontenured faculty. The Board continues to deny
this faculty mandate even though several of its past members admitted that
refusing to give reasons is immoral.
1981
Tom Hale, ISU history professor and local AFT president, was fired by the ISU
administration. With $25,000 in legal aid from local, state, and national
sources, Hale filed suit and then won the largest first amendment settlement
($100,000) in Idaho legal history.
1981
The Board declared financial exigency in Ag Research and Extension and 17
faculty members, 11 of them tenured, appeared on a lay-off list. Extension
professor Lois Pace request legal aid from the AFT.
1982
Lois Pace filed suit against the SBOE because of her dismissal under the
financial exigency of 1981. More than $40,000, 90 percent from AFT sources, was
raised for Pace's legal fees. In 1984 she won her case in district court.
1983
AFT initiated a revision of the UI faculty appeals procedures after
protesting a series of presidential vetoes of appeal board decisions. AFT
action on this matter has virtually eliminated this specific administrative
abuse.
1983
Primarily as a result of the Ferguson case, the SBOE revised tenure review
policies such that the five-year tenure reviews are no longer automatic.
1984
Lois Pace won her suit, but an appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court held up any
settlement. Seven other UI faculty members laid off in 1981 filed suit in
the wake of the Pace victory. The AAUP led an investigation of the Pace case and
placed the UI on its list of censured institutions.
1985
After receiving almost monthly statewide complaints from ag faculty, UI
Federation agreed to hold a no-confidence vote for Dean Ray Miller. With
65 percent of the ag faculty voting, 55 percent voted to remove Miller from
office. Within a year Miller left the UI. Later the UI Federation was
asked to help in removing him as dean at the University of Maryland.
1986
The Idaho Supreme Court ruled there were other alternatives to laying off
tenured professors to alleviate the 1981 financial exigency. By the end of
the year the SBOE settled with Lois Pace, who received $40,000 cash, $45,540 in
legal fees, and $2,000 a month for life.
1986-88
Settlements were negotiated in each of the seven other cases from the 1981
financial exigency. The total amount (including Pace) came to over $1
million.
1989
The AFT actively promoted the candidacy of Elisabeth Zinser as Richard Gibb's
successor. Before assuming office, Zinser negotiated UI's removal from the
AAUP censure list.
1990
Pat Lewis, an ISU nursing professor, requested legal aid for her grievance in
the Department of Nursing. She received $1,500 from the IFT Defense Fund.
1992
After years of AFT lobbying, President Zinser finally appointed David Walker as
the UI's first ombudsman.
1997
Norma Sadler, BSU education professor, won a pay equity suit with a settlement
of $157,500. The national AFT and IFT combined forces to grant her $15,000
in legal aid.
2001
A tenure review vote went against UI Interior Design professor Steve Thurston.
The AFT decided to support Thurston on the basis of flawed procedure and
administrative harassment. The AFT offered moral and legal support and the
dean backed off.
2002
In October, without any faculty consultation, the SBOE instituted a policy for
discontinuing programs that failed to provide sufficient due process for
faculty. In a letter to the SBOE, IFT President Nick Gier insisted that these
procedures at least be equivalent to those for financial exigency.
2002
Using the new procedures for discontinuing programs, the UI College of
Engineering fired six professors in mining and geological engineering. AFT
and AAUP intervention, plus assertive action on the part of the professors
affected, saved the jobs of three tenured faculty.
2003
UI Art professor Glenn Grishkoff passed his third-year review with flying
colors, but the liberal arts dean fired him instead. An appeal to the
Provost, backed by letters from 30 national peers, was rejected. A total
of $10,200, including $6,900 from an art auction, was raised for his case.
2005 Two tenured faculty members at
North Idaho College were dismissed in May. By the end of the year an attorney
hired by the IFT negotiated a $94, 297 settlement. The AAUP national office sent
a strong letter indicating violation of tenure rights.
2007 The
UI Federation took on its first whistleblower case and has convinced the UI
administration to change its policies on employees who are disciplined for
reporting unsafe or inappropriate actions.
2008 The IFT introduced a bill in the 2008 Idaho Legislature that would give collective bargaining rights to all higher education employees. The representative bodies on five campuses voted 158 to 18 to support the legislation.
2009 The BSU Federation asked for a legal opinion about new contract language and was informed that it was illegal. The union suit was withdrawn when it was clear that the SBOE was determined to give campus executives absolute power over all personnel matters. (See below).
2009 The UI College of Agriculture and Life Sciences announced that the Parma Research Station would be closed on December 31. A combination of hard lobbying by growers and the threat of legal action by the union forced the UI to rescind the decision. A summary of the legal brief can be read here.
2009 On the basis of
legal advice from the national AFT office, the IFT Higher Education Council
issued a report stating that the program reduction procedures mentioned above
were "severely deficient" and that the AFT would defend any Idaho
faculty member should be laid off under them.
2011
Over $140,000 local, state, and national sources has been
raised for ISU engineering professor Habib Sadid who was fired for speaking out
against the administration.