The AFT's newest higher education affiliate extends the union's global reach to 50 nations. The 63 "academic directors" in the unit work for the School for International Training (SIT), based in Brattleboro, Vt. The school offers master's programs, but its main service is administering study-abroad programs all over the world for institutions like Middlebury and Dartmouth, among others.

The academic directors are based in the United States and in the countries that host the students. They hire and oversee the instructors in the foreign countries, teach and evaluate the students, and help prepare the curriculum. The terms under which the professionals work vary widely from country to country, says Roy Vestrich, president of the United Professions of Vermont. That is why the educators came to the state federation for help last year.

"There is a tremendous inequality in how people are compensated" at SIT, notes Vestrich, and also great "differentiation in types of job security." Some people work semester to semester; others have one-year renewable contracts. Some are paid on the wage scale of the country in which they are posted--no matter how inadequate the package might be. "They wanted to work with management to get more equitable treatments," Vestrich says.

Another complication the unit faces is the range of assignments its members are given. "Some people are stationed in interesting places, like the Netherlands, Berlin, Chile. Others are in destinations less attractive to students, and the programs can be cancelled with little notice before [they're] set to begin."

Given these challenges, the membership decided the union's approach was the way to broach issues of equity and balance with the SIT management. In August, the academic directors voted to affiliate with UPV/AFT as a unit of associate members. [Barbara McKenna / AFT On Campus]

[October 18, 2002]