Calling All Stewards

Look, I'm probably not long for this CSU world.  That's the reality of the thing.  I tell people in my department that I'm organizing adjuncts.  I walk out on National Adjunct Walkout Day.  I do interviews for anyone willing to listen to me.  Right now, someone out there is adding this all up and they are making a decision.

...and here it is.  They are attempting to determine if getting rid of me will end the cause.  Believe me, if not renewing my contract will eliminate that upstart adjunct thing, then they'll do it.  Maybe they'll take some heat from it, but when the president of the university takes a $10 grand plane ride to a city that's about an hour's drive away, media fiascoes don't really seem like they're the deterrent one might hope they would be.  If he can eliminate the cause just by replacing me at the end of this semester, he will.  He'd be stupid not to.

Now, I'm guessing that you don't want the cause to just up and die.  Maybe you're really into it.  Maybe you're trying to help organize it.  Maybe you just want a raise.  Regardless, you don't want to be back at square 1 next year.  So, how do we prevent that?  Good question.  We prevent that by decentralizing the leadership of this thing, and we do that by getting a steward in every department on campus for Cleveland State Adjuncts.  Wherever this goes, we need to start acting like a union.  Now.

The reality is, if there is simply someone to step up and take my place come next Fall, it ceases to be in their best interest to just get rid of me.  Does that person already exist?  Maybe.  I don't know.  I will say though that if there's a steward in every department, the administration loses their ability to single any one person out.  We become a hydra with too many heads.

What does this break down to?  For this to work, for this to continue, I need people who are willing to be representatives for the Cleveland State Adjuncts in their department.  I need you.  The stewards will then guide the direction we take in terms of how we make ourselves heard on this campus.  The departmental steward is a leadership position; if you want to help guide our movement then you want to be a steward.

Look, we can sit on FB all day talking through ideas and sharing news stories, we can fade away completely like the Occupy Wall Street movement did, or we can get stuff done.  I opt for that third option, but I need your help.

Please contact me and let me know that you would like to volunteer to aid our cause as a departmental steward.