Litigation to be brought against Mid Michigan Community College by former instructor
By Maryellen Tighe on February 1, 2011 6:12 pm / 6 comments
Mid Michigan Community College could face a lawsuit after allegedly firing former instructor Jason Liptow over a Facebook status update.
Liptow said he believes he was actually fired for trying to unionize the non-tenured faculty at the college.
“(The Facebook post) was a generic comment about, ‘You know when students ask for help too late there is nothing I can do to help them,’ … without a student’s name or any identifiers,” he said. “For me it was venting, telling other students, ‘Don’t let this happen to you.’ They said it was a breach of confidentiality … I wouldn’t have been fired for what the complaint was if I hadn’t been organizing a union.”
The American Federation of Teachers Michigan filed a charge on Liptow’s behalf against MMCC with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission Jan. 21.
It could take a little over a month for MERC to decide whether MMCC violated the law and then bring charges. Afterward, the case could continue to court, said AFT Michigan President David Hecker.
MMCC violated the law by firing Liptow for attempting to organize a union, Hecker said.
“Mr. Liptow informed the (college) administration that he was leading an effort to organize and then he was dismissed after years and years of good work,” he said. “We hope that tomorrow they say, ‘Let’s take Mr. Liptow back and give him the back pay that we owe him.’”
Liptow first discussed forming a union with AFT Michigan Organizer Jon Curtiss and four other faculty members in October. He sent a letter to the president of the college in early November because he wanted to be upfront about his actions, Liptow said. He also sent a letter to all college staff.
One of the reasons Liptow wanted to unionize the temporary faculty was the high ratio of temporary faculty to full-time professors.
There are 43 full-time faculty and 219 adjunct faculty at MMCC for the winter 2011 semester, said MMCC spokesman Matt Miller.
“We’re just trying to let people know that while Mid continues to invest money in buildings and campuses which is nice, I averaged about $14,000 a year teaching nine classes,” Liptow said. “You don’t need to make six figures as a professor, but you need to get paid for what you’re doing.”
Liptow has consistently received above average performance reviews from students and other faculty as recently as fall 2010, the charge states.
The goal of the charge is for Liptow to be reinstated to his job and receive back-pay for time lost, Hecker said. AFT Michigan also wants the college to allow open union elections if the faculty decides to unionize.
Miller said he declined comment because of the pending litigation.
Like us on Facebook
Recent Comments
- john wood: I have a 99 kawasaki zrx1100 and I need a engine case for it…
- Marty: Hi I am searching for a Honda rear wheel hub,shaft drive (d…
- Karen Ohneck: Scott you are awesome I have known you for8 yrs. These kids …
- Samantha: Go Kirsten!!!! U are my mentor and I hope u will come back t…
- Hannah McCalister: I disagree with your statement. This was a great article and…
AD LINKS
• Is your baby graduating CMU? Place a personal greeting and photo in CM Life's Baby Graduates special pages. Download the form here
• Contact local movers in Mount Pleasant to help with all of your moving needs.
• Download Campus Cash Coupons!
• Search for local apartments
• Add your link here
6 Comments
I saw the comments this article is referring to and it certainly was not… “(The Facebook post) was a generic comment about, ‘You know when students ask for help too late there is nothing I can do to help them.”
After describing the situation in depth, student’s commented that they ‘knew exactly who the teacher was referring to, hahaha’ and Liptow responded ‘yea, definitely from your class.’ It was very unprofessional for a teacher and a serious breach of student confidentiality to tell other student’s in the same class that another student is failing.
I also seen these posts at the time. I STILL have no idea who he was referring to. As far as someone saying they knew who it was…welcome to college in a small town. I can pick out those who are not going to make it in the classes I am in without help from the instructors. Furthermore, if you think the facebook posts were unprofessional, dismissal was a much harsher punishment than what was warranted. That is why I have a hard time believing his unprofessionalism is the only reason for the dismissal.
Publicly announcing grades without student consent is inapropriate, and a breach of confidentiality not to mention the trust teachers should try to build with their students. As a teacher I’m appalled a teacher would do something like this. In addition I’ve taught some adjunct classes at night, and as I understand it adjuncts are hired on a one semester contract. You can not be asked back for something as simple as less classes running one semester, let alone very unprofessional behavior such as this.
And as a member of a union you would not get fired for such an infraction; at least not without due process. This is something you need to look at from a different perspective. Federal law may have been broken here by a government institution by trying to prevent unionization – the same union that protects you in your job. The MERC has already ruled there is sufficient evidence of such action and will go to court in May.
Jason never once mentioned the grade or the student. He merely stated ‘You know when students ask for help too late there is nothing I can do
to help them,’ … without a student’s name or any identifiers,” he said.
“For me it was venting, telling other students, ‘Don’t let this happen
to you.’
How is this unprofessional by letting your students know if they need help, don’t wait until the end of the semester?
I had Jason as an instructor, he was easy going, willing to take questions after class, and very approachable. When students continually miss class and then ask for a way to pass the class, what do you tell them? In this case, he never mentions the student but does express his frustrations to other students to be responsible with your attendance.
It seems people are missing the larger picture based on comments. The teacher admitted to his mistake and has agreed his actions via Facebook were unprofessional. However, the deeper story of MMCC trying to stop a union has been overlooked, especially because the article states that he received above average performance reviews repeatedly. Go beyond the surface and explore the true injustice.