Consistent with precedent? To the Editor:
In her guest column ("GET-UP in context," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 2/6/02), Christina Collins tries to explain why Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania/American Federation of Teachers has now divided the graduate population by excluding professional students from its proposed bargaining unit: "In both the NYU and the Brown cases, student-employees in these professional schools were excluded from the final bargaining unit approved by the NLRB."
Collins is incorrect.
In the New York University case, the National Labor Relations Board specifically included graduate students from the business school in the bargaining unit. The NLRB Regional Director's decision in the NYU case specifically states that students in the Stern School of Business were to be included in the unit. NYU and the United Auto Workers union subsequently agreed privately to exclude these students, but Collins' assertion that they were excluded as a matter of law is mistaken.
Moreover, at Columbia the UAW is specifically seeking to include TAs from the law school. In its brief to the NLRB, the UAW argues that two types of TAs at Columbia Law School should be included in the bargaining unit.
In addition, although Collins does not mention it, GET-UP is now seeking to exclude Penn graduate students in Economics. No decision supports this exclusion; indeed, in the Brown decision the Economics graduate students were explicitly included in the bargaining unit.
Notably, the NLRB has had little association with higher education for over 25 years. If the NLRB continues to follow the NYU decision, it will take more than a single case for the law governing inclusions and exclusions from graduate student bargaining units to become anywhere near clear. GET-UP does the entire Penn community a disservice by suggesting that its decision to repeatedly change the definition of the bargaining unit, so as to exclude large numbers of Penn graduate students, was done to be consistent with legal precedent.
Wendy White
Office of General Counsel
A partner for West Phila.
To the Editor:
Recently, a local advocacy group has expressed concern that the Partnership Community Development Corporation is not fulfilling its mission of providing affordable housing and promoting economic development in West Philadelphia ("Neighbors Against McPenntrification hold rally," DP, 2/4/02).
The Partnership CDC has built or co-developed 178 units of affordable housing. Of these, 131 were rental units with private developers for people making less than 60 percent of the median income in the metropolitan area ($32,460 or less for a family of three in 2002 dollars). Of the remaining 47 homeownership units, 90 percent of the homebuyers were African-American female heads of household with children making less than $35,000 per year.
On average, the CDC has sold housing to families making anywhere from $18,000 to $40,000 per year. The affordable housing guidelines are set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and are enforced locally by The Office of Housing and Community Development and by the Redevelopment Authority. The Partnership CDC is legally obligated to follow these guidelines as long as HUD dollars are used to subsidize construction.
The CDC rehabilitates vacant and abandoned houses and resells 20 to 30 units per year on the open market to qualified low and moderate-income homebuyers on a first-come, first-serve basis under fair housing guidelines. Current prices range from $57,000 to $90,000.
It should be noted that appraisals in University City have increased over 40 percent in the past five years. The average price of a single family University City home in 2002 is now $129,500, versus $92,300 in 1996. The most expensive duplex now listed by the Partnership is at $90,000, still less than the average sale price in 1996.
What's more, this sale price is subsidized by the federal government. Under current market conditions, a $90,000 home would have a monthly payment of $719 per month, but the rental of an extra unit drops out of pocket costs to $269.
An independent, non-profit organization, the Partnership is the largest CDC in West Philadelphia. It sets its own plan of development led by a Board of Directors and operated by an experienced, professionally trained staff headed by its executive director. We work in partnership with the OHCD, RDA, City Council, state legislature, several neighborhood groups, churches, contractors and local institutions such as Mercy Hospital and the University.
When our interests intersect we work with, and alongside, institutions such as the University. At times when they do not, we become advocates for what we believe to be in the best interests of the community.
Blane Stoddart
Executive Director, the Partnership Community Development Corporation
