With solid backing from existing locals in Montana this year, the MEA-MFT (the merged AFT-NEA state federation) has brought two more colleges into the fold, leaving it just one institution shy of having blanket membership among its state institutions.

First in January, faculty at Miles Community College voted 15-3 in favor of the AFT, establishing the MCC Faculty Association as its bargaining agent. MCCFA represents 20 faculty at the small college. On May 23, faculty at Montana Tech of the University of Montana in Butte voted for union representation. Both locals are MEA-MFT affiliates.

In the Montana Tech election, where faculty voted 31-25 for the union, the bargaining unit includes all faculty who work more than half time, with the exception of registered nurses, professional engineers and engineers in training, who are excluded by definition. The success was largely due to help from MEA-MFT members across the state, who visited and called faculty at Montana Tech to explain the campaign and encourage them to unionize, says Melissa Case, organizing director of MEA-MFT.

The campaign centered around traditional respect and dignity issues, says Case. Despite devoting hours of time and effort to advisory committees, faculty felt as though their efforts were for naught. "[Faculty] wanted their voice to be heard, not in a ceremonial way but in a legally binding way," says Case. Other issues were salary equity, tenure track positions for lab directors and funding in general. As the state cuts further into education allotments, tuition has skyrocketed.

After winning the union election, the Miles Community College FA is already tackling its first big challenge: the college declined to renew the contract of one of its primary faculty organizers, Earl Kiddie. The board of trustees has refused to give a reason for the nonrenewal, but organizers suspect it is because Kiddie brought the union to campus.

Kiddie says he approached MEA-MFT after a dispute regarding course overload pay. In pursuing the issue, he says, he discovered a culture of fear that prevented faculty from challenging the administration. MEA-MFT appeared to be a good fit to represent faculty interests, so he decided it was "a no brainer" to move forward with an election campaign. Sufficient cards to petition for an election were secured within three days.

Kiddie's was the only nonrenewed contract, he says. Because the board voted not to renew in a closed meeting, violating Montana open meeting laws, it had to meet and "fire" Kiddie a second time, in public—although the college maintains nonrenewal of contract is not the same as being fired. At that public meeting, townspeople and students showed up to support Kiddie; his supervisory and student evaluations, all favorable, were presented. The board would not explain why his contract was not renewed. Scott McCulloch, MCC's MEA-MFT field consultant, said MEA-MFT is considering filing an unfair labor practice suit. [Virginia Kelly]

June 13, 2005