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PSC faculty passes 'no confidence' vote

November 21, 2014
/ Ben Sheffler
/ government

An overwhelming majority of faculty members at Pensacola State College has lost confidence in President Ed Meadows. By a margin of 125-7, the faculty on Thursday voted “no confidence” in Meadows’ leadership and direction as president of the college that has about 11,000 students. The vote comes after the faculty and administration failed to agree to terms of the 2013-2014 school year faculty collective bargaining agreement, which was not ratified in June by a 53-43 vote. After the two sides negotiated for more than a year and a half, the faculty in September rejected the administration’s proposal and an impasse was declared. “Though the recent vote of no confidence secured by leaders of the faculty union was a disappointment, given the current state of contract negotiations it was not unexpected,” Meadows said in a news release. “It is very clear that this action is directly tied to the bargaining impasse that now exists between the faculty union and the college administration and the allegations of the union leadership is purely propaganda.” [sidebar] This afternoon, PSC President sent this message to faculty: From: Meadows, Ed Sent: Friday, November 21, 2014 1:46 PM To: CollegeAll Subject: Message from the President To All Employees, Some of you may have heard about the vote of no confidence held by the faculty association. While the vote was disappointing, it was not unexpected since votes like this have become all too common in situations where faculty organizations are frustrated with the bargaining process. Sometimes those involved in negotiations simply reach a point where one side asks for more than the other side can give. When that happens, an impasse may be declared – which is what occurred in our negotiations with the faculty association when I declared impasse. Impasse is a process prescribed by law which leads to resolution of any unresolved issues in negotiations. When negotiations stall or impasse is declared, a vote of no confidence is a mechanism sometimes used by faculty to attempt to put pressure on an administration. I have great respect for our faculty and for all of our employees. As president of the College, the burden falls to me to ensure that what financial resources we have are allocated fairly to meet all needs as best we can. Those needs include not just faculty salaries and support, but the salaries and support of all other employees, as well as resources needed to support our students, provide appropriate technology, manage aging buildings, and address every other need that we have. I do my utmost best to balance all interests in the best way possible for everyone concerned. Please be assured that I, and every other member of the administration, will continue to work hard on behalf of the College and our students. As always, I maintain an open door policy and welcome your comments and suggestions that can help the College to better support our employees in serving our students. Sincerely, Edward Meadows President [/sidebar] Paige Anderson, PSC faculty association president, says the vote has more to do with the president’s leadership and decision-making than the labor issues and negotiations. “It saddens me that we have come to the place that the only possible method of getting the Board of Trustees to listen to faculty concerns is to hold a vote of no confidence,” Anderson says. “However, this vote was overwhelming.” Despite the faculty’s no confidence vote, the college’s Board of Trustees unanimously stood in support of the administration. “The Board of Trustees of Pensacola State College has full confidence in President Meadows and the college administration,” Board Chairman Herb Woll said in a press release. This action and others were alluded to in two points on the resolution ballot, which said Meadows’ administration “has created a culture of fear, intimidation and reprisal that has negatively impacted the morale of PSC's faculty and staff” and “has sought to suppress the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of speech and press of PSC's faculty, staff and students.” Other points of resolution said the Meadows administration “in its hiring and appointment practices has created a culture of cronyism that suppresses true shared governance, thus silencing diverse voices and viewpoints” and “disregards both the letter and the intent of the faculty's rights as enumerated in its CBA.” One of the five resolutions on the faculty’s ballot said the Meadows administration’s “funding allocation decisions have negatively impacted student learning.” Meadows said because of budget cutbacks and declining state funding, PSC has had to make some tough decisions to ensure the continued fiscal health of the college. “It is unfortunate that we have come to a stalemate; however, it is my intention to proceed as I always have by making decisions that balance the best interest of the students, faculty, and staff against the realities of limited financial resources available to the college,” he said. The faculty’s no confidence vote comes on the heels of another controversy involving the administration, the faculty and the school newspaper that raised accusations of censorship and free speech issues. PSC student newspaper, The Corsair, published a story on Oct. 31, that included references to the collective bargaining negotiations. Hours later, the college's lawyer sent a cease and desist notice to the faculty that cited laws that had been ruled unconstitutional, informing them not to speak with students about the negotiations or other labor issues. “That is really concerning to us because that makes us wonder what can we believe of what they tell us,” Anderson said. “I would hope it makes the Board of Trustees wonder about how much can they actually trust what they’re being told.”

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PSC faculty passes 'no confidence' vote

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