Fiction, Fantasy, and Reality: ACL Job Descriptions and Workload

Many ACL’s in our system work under the provisions of job descriptions that are, at best, open-ended summaries of what they do.

Other ACL’s work under the provisions of job descriptions that are absolutely unrelated to their actual duties.

Virtually all ACL’s are told to put in time sheets showing 35 hours worked per week, regardless of the (almost always greater) number of hours actually worked.

We also see the unique and often multi-job ACL positions found at our smaller campuses.

And of course, ACL job descriptions allow for the addition of “other duties as assigned.”

Because management chooses not to employ sufficient numbers of people to do the work of the system, many of our ACL’s have seen their workloads increase and increase with no relief given or extra pay earned. (Of course, this does not apply to the management ranks; at Norwalk, two managers retired and were replaced—with five new managers!)

The New Leadership Slate’s presidential candidate, Steve Cohen, was once an ACL in the CSU system. There, he had a specific job description listing all required duties and ending with, “and other duties as per mutual agreement.” In other words, extra duties carried extra pay. (And in the CSU, if a supervisor missed more than four weeks of work, subordinates were given an automatic 7 1/2% bump in pay, as it was understood they were taking on additional duties.)

The New Leadership Slate pledges to work for specific and factual ACL job descriptions, for honest time sheets, and for additional ACL positions, so the people who do the real work of the system--union members--don’t have to struggle to complete their job duties each day while superfluous deans try to justify their own existence.

Oh, and lest we forget, the AFT has specific contract language limiting them to a strict 35 hour work week. After 35 hours, they go home, or they get paid extra.

NEXT: Our Ignored Colleagues: Part-Time Faculty