CNM Union May Be Unable To Pay Dues

Financial woes may leave the Central New Mexico Community College employee union unable to pay its dues to its American Federation of Teachers affiliate, according to an email sent out by the union’s president.

The union will hold an emergency meeting Saturday to discuss its finances, president Andy Tibble told members in the email.

“It’s unusual to call a meeting on such short notice, but we think our current situation warrants this step,” Tibble wrote.

Tibble, reached by phone Thursday, declined comment.

In the email, he said the union’s financial state has worsened over the last few years, partly because of the high legal cost of defending members in labor hearings and termination arbitration.

For example, it spent thousands on an attorney while defending former American history professor Steve Cormier, who lost an arbitration hearing on his request to be reinstated. Cormier was fired in December 2011 after a fellow professor claimed he injured her during a concert on campus.

Tibble said the union also had to pay an increasing amount of dues to the national and state chapters of the AFT.

“We are now at a point where our local’s portion of the membership dues payments is not enough to cover our basic monthly expenses,” he wrote.

According to the email, the union last month submitted a proposal to the New Mexico AFT chapter for a state rebate of dues payments. AFT denied the proposal, Tibble said.

“In our view, the rebate was merited given the fact that (the CNM union) does virtually all of our own organizing, representing and negotiating without help from NM AFT,” he wrote.

AFT New Mexico president Stephanie Ly would not comment on that proposal, but said the union has always paid its dues on time.

“We are not concerned about this,” Ly said. “The (union) is entitled to have their meetings that they’d like to have and we have worked very well with that local and we will continue to do so.”

Executive union members have drafted a letter proposing to suspend state dues payments until the AFT either restructures the organization at the state level or provides the rebates.

“Taking this action will not sever our relationship with the AFT National organization or invalidate the insurance and other benefits they provide. We will continue to make our dues payments to AFT National,” Tibble wrote.

He wrote that he hopes members will chime in on the issue.

“We believe that when you hear the facts of the situation you will feel the same way we do. Please come this Saturday with your questions and concerns.”
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal