Lucye Millerand

OPRA helps protect NJ schools from scandals like Penn State’s

November 27, 2011

By Lucye Millerand

Lucye Millerand

We reel in disbelief over the tragic events at Penn State. We ask ourselves what can be done to prevent a repetition of such grossly unethical conduct — the alleged crimes and the abject failure of accountability at Penn State. Sunshine is the most powerful disinfectant, and access to university records by the public, media, community organizations and other government institutions is a deterrent to this sort of infection.

Fortunately, New Jersey’s public universities are subject to our state’s Open Public Records Act. However, Penn State University is exempted from Pennsylvania’s Right To Know Law, the corresponding legislation across the Delaware.

“Thank goodness,” we say, “that sort over cover-up can’t happen here.” But the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education, in its December 2010 report, suggests New Jersey loosen the OPRA provisions on public colleges and universities. The task force, chaired by former Gov. Tom Kean and primarily comprising college and university executives, notes:

“Requests for open public records are regularly submitted … by the public, labor unions, the media and government officials. … The institutions must produce the records … using valuable resources. The state should prohibit multiple requests for the same reason by the same entity.”

Readers who have followed The Star-Ledger’s coverage of irresponsible spending, no-bid contracts and personal executives contracts with six-digit separation payments to recognize the value of OPRA data to New Jersey’s public. Those who remember the State Commission of Investigation’s 2007 report “Vulnerable to Abuse” appreciate the need to have adequate records available to government officials.

Our organization, the Union of Rutgers Administrators (AFT Local 1766), uses the Open Public Records Act to obtain data on the complete Rutgers payroll twice each year. These “multiple requests” are not frivolous — they enable comparisons of data over time. Researchers call this “longitudinal analysis.” It is used to identify change.

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Rutgers One Delivers 6,000-Plus Petition Calling on University to Pay Frozen Wage

October 13, 2011

McCormick Public Statements Ring Hollow as Rutgers Workers Lag Behind Rest of State

NEWARK…Rutgers workers have gone the longest without a raise among state workers, despite President Richard McCormick’s public statements that he intends to pay long withheld raises, according to the Rutgers One faculty, staff, student and alumni coalition. “Rutgers management withheld negotiated raises in 2009, asked for and received an agreement from us to defer then withheld the deferred raises again last year,” said Lucye Millerand, President of the Union of Rutgers Administrators-American Federation of Teachers, which represents approximately 2,000 campus workers. The union is a part of the Rutgers One coalition of faculty, staff, students and alumni which generated more than 6,000 signatures calling for affordable tuition and fair treatment of workers, delivered to the university’s Board of Governors meeting today.

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June 23, 2011

Millerand honored for labor advocacy

November 11, 2010

Millerand Honored For
AFTNJ table
Labor Advocacy

Ledger Article on Layoffs Quotes KFT’s Castiglione and URA’s Millerand

September 01, 2010

-from http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/kean_rutgers_to_lay_off_employ.html

Most of New Jersey’s colleges found ways to make cuts without eliminating employees. Yesterday, several schools — including the New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey City University, the College of New Jersey, Montclair State, William Paterson, Rowan, Ramapo, Richard Stockton and Thomas Edison State College — said they had no plans for layoffs.

At Kean University, officials said the 26 layoffs are a last resort and will not include faculty or campus police.

“The administration asked the union to agree to forgo at least one mandated raise in order to avoid layoffs. That request was denied,” said Stephen Hudik, a Kean spokesman.

James Castiglione, president of the Kean Federation of Teachers, denied his union was asked to forgo raises. He said Kean is laying off staff because the university’s bloated bureaucracy is draining the budget. Union members plan to picket the campus entrance today to protest the cuts.

“This is really a problem of mismanagement of university resources,” Castiglione said.

Rutgers Workers Rally to Ask Whether Management “Got Ethics?”

July 15, 2010

Calling on Board of Governors to reject budget that breaks contracts

NEW BRUNSWICK… Asking “Got Ethics?—university workers are rallying and marching on Rutgers main campus prior to today’s Board of Governors meeting. Rutgers Labor Coalition, representing more than 10,000 unionized workers at the state university, is presenting an ethics complaint about a contract breach, calling on the Board of Governors to reject the fiscal year 2011 budget until negotiated agreements are honored.

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