The AFT's higher education policy group sent two resolutions on to the executive council in preparation for a vote at this summer's convention. The resolutions, on standards institutions should follow in the use of part-time faculty and on good principles of academic governance, are the culmination of more than a year of committee work, research and policy discussion. They accompany the release this year of publications on both topics.

At its May 14-15 meeting, the program and policy council (PPC) also finished an important publication that will guide unions and faculty on intellectual property rights.

It explains the uneven protections of the law in this area, and urges that unions view the contract as the best medium for safeguarding faculty rights. AFT president Sandra Feldman joined the PPC to hear a presentation on the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS). International Affairs associate director Joe Davis described the interests of governments in including higher education under this agreement, since liberalizing rules would generate broader markets for adult education entities. The AFT is concerned about viewing education as a commodity and is working with other education unions to ensure that the U.S. will negotiate exemptions in areas we care about. "The important fight is for 'transparency'," commented Feldman, so that disputes are settled in a way that allows the world to see what is happening, not behind closed doors.  [Barbara McKenna]

June 5, 2002