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The Secret Truth About Goddard College & The UAW: The Case Of Professor Judy Hiramoto
Artist and Goddard professor Judy Hiramoto was teaching at the "liberal" Goddard College. She discovered that there was systemic discrimination against Asian and Black faculty. She spoke up for her fellow workers and became herself a target of retaliation by the management. She filed grievances with the UAW but discovered that the union was not properly defending her
Judy Hiramoto is a San Francisco artist and was a member of the faculty
of the "liberal"college of Goddard in Vermont. She discovered that the
administration was retaliating against Asian and Black
faculty. She herself was targeted by the university and
filed grievances with UAW Local 2322 international representative
Karen Rosenberg and a also sent a complaint with UAW
International President Bob King. The union according to
Hiramoto, had illegally changed the contract without a vote of
the members. She was also told by the NLRB that nothing
could be done. The college president Barbara Vacarr also
supported these illegal retaliations. This video interview
took place on June 4, 2012
Production of Labor Video Project http://www.laborvideo.org
of the "liberal"college of Goddard in Vermont. She discovered that the
administration was retaliating against Asian and Black
faculty. She herself was targeted by the university and
filed grievances with UAW Local 2322 international representative
Karen Rosenberg and a also sent a complaint with UAW
International President Bob King. The union according to
Hiramoto, had illegally changed the contract without a vote of
the members. She was also told by the NLRB that nothing
could be done. The college president Barbara Vacarr also
supported these illegal retaliations. This video interview
took place on June 4, 2012
Production of Labor Video Project http://www.laborvideo.org
For more information:
http://youtu.be/t7X7gPO7tdk
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
10:42
She says the UAW raised their pay from $12,000 to $28,000 per year. She does not say directly why the pay was raised, but we must assume by what she says later that it was because of turning part-time jobs to full-time. Then Judy starts making these ridiculous allegations that since these part-time jobs became full-time, it attracted greedy unnamed people who later conspired to get rid of her.
What the real reason for her dismissal is not discussed or is not clear. What is clear is that this interview is a hit piece on the union using the same type of anti-union rhetoric under left cover.
32:45 Judy says she did research on the UAW by typing in "UAW" and "corruption" What comes up are right wing union busting sites with regular hit pieces on the UAW. Judy Hiramoto is receiving misinformation from right-wingers.
32:54
Judy then repeats the misinformation by some unnamed website who alleges the UAW takes in $230 million but spends only a nickel per member. Its sounds like the usual union busting tactic of criticizing the finances of the UAW. In this case, the numbers are simply made up.
Here, from a random site (which seems to be anti-union BTW) says that the UAW spends about $163 per member.
http://www.mackinac.org/9976
With about 390,000 active members, that's about $63 million. So that "nickel" figure Judy throws out is pure bullshit.
Near the end, Judy recommends people join the American Association of University Professors. Its interesting to note that the AAUP does not seem to be a real union and they got their start from defending a fired faculty who was a eugenicist. So Judy is alleging racism at her school, but then recommends a group that got its start defending a racist.
Judy also thought that the union prevented her from getting fired which is another right-wing lie. The right-wing union busters would have people think that union members can be lazy and do things wrong and not get fired if they have a union, which is a lie. People get fired from a job all the time, not because of the union but in spite of the union because of their poor work performance. There was probably a good reason why Judy was fired which had nothing to do with racism. Whats telling is her vagueness about why she was fired and the lack of specifics about her situation.
She says the UAW raised their pay from $12,000 to $28,000 per year. She does not say directly why the pay was raised, but we must assume by what she says later that it was because of turning part-time jobs to full-time. Then Judy starts making these ridiculous allegations that since these part-time jobs became full-time, it attracted greedy unnamed people who later conspired to get rid of her.
What the real reason for her dismissal is not discussed or is not clear. What is clear is that this interview is a hit piece on the union using the same type of anti-union rhetoric under left cover.
32:45 Judy says she did research on the UAW by typing in "UAW" and "corruption" What comes up are right wing union busting sites with regular hit pieces on the UAW. Judy Hiramoto is receiving misinformation from right-wingers.
32:54
Judy then repeats the misinformation by some unnamed website who alleges the UAW takes in $230 million but spends only a nickel per member. Its sounds like the usual union busting tactic of criticizing the finances of the UAW. In this case, the numbers are simply made up.
Here, from a random site (which seems to be anti-union BTW) says that the UAW spends about $163 per member.
http://www.mackinac.org/9976
With about 390,000 active members, that's about $63 million. So that "nickel" figure Judy throws out is pure bullshit.
Near the end, Judy recommends people join the American Association of University Professors. Its interesting to note that the AAUP does not seem to be a real union and they got their start from defending a fired faculty who was a eugenicist. So Judy is alleging racism at her school, but then recommends a group that got its start defending a racist.
Judy also thought that the union prevented her from getting fired which is another right-wing lie. The right-wing union busters would have people think that union members can be lazy and do things wrong and not get fired if they have a union, which is a lie. People get fired from a job all the time, not because of the union but in spite of the union because of their poor work performance. There was probably a good reason why Judy was fired which had nothing to do with racism. Whats telling is her vagueness about why she was fired and the lack of specifics about her situation.
GM Offers Lump-Sum Buyouts: Never Trust the Deal “UAW Members Want Cost of Living on Pensions.” What did we get instead? The "Christmas bonus," which the UAW agreed to give up in 2011.
by Gregg Shotwell | Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:09pm
http://labornotes.org/blogs/2012/06/gm-offers-lump-sum-buyouts-never-trust-deal
GM Offers Lump-Sum Buyouts: Never Trust the Deal
by Gregg Shotwell | Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:09pm
GM wouldn't buy pencils from a blind man without a contract, but its salary workers never needed a contract with the company because they were family.
Now GM is offering the old and infirm members of the family a deal. Not a gratuity or a bonus after a record-breaking year of profit, but a cash-in-your-chips kiss-off, a Cracker Jack-size buyout prize.
Salaried retirees will be offered one lump-sum payment in lieu of their monthly checks. The amount offered will vary according to age and health, according to plans the company announced Friday. Rumor has it that union hourly retirees are next.
GM claims it will add $3.5 billion to the now-underfunded pension fund to help buy out retirees, under new laws that permit the company to offer “an equivalent economic value to the stream of monthly pensions they replace.” Under the old law, companies had to pay a higher amount if they offered this kind of lump-sum buyout. More companies will follow suit, because the new law makes it a lot cheaper than before to offer a lump sum.
Is this new law a change we can believe in? Perhaps, if you'd rather make your last lap around the casino than the chemo lab.
Those who don't take the deal will get an annuity from Prudential, the company where GM decided to spin off the pensions for die-hards.
But if the choice is cash in hand or an underfunded annuity sold to Prudential (which in 2010, Bloomberg News reported, skimmed additional profits by holding back payment from families of American soldiers owed life insurance benefits), you might take your chances that GM overestimated your life expectancy by accident.
Prudential has made a reputation with this kind of thing. The SEC discovered that the company had defrauded 400,000 individual investors on "deals" in the 1980s.
GM CFO Dan Ammann claims getting rid of pensions will help him concentrate on “building cars and trucks.” But what is he talking about? GM outsourced all its pension and benefit programs to Fidelity years ago.
GM expects to save $26 billion. In which column will accountants inject this hypodermic of savings? Will hourly workers get a bigger profit-sharing check next year? Guess again.
Then ask yourself, who was it who first said, “Never trust the deal”?
UAW Is Next
United Auto Workers retirees are next in line. UAW President Bob King wasn't available for comment, but the 2011 UAW-GM contract says union and company “may mutually agree during the term of this Agreement to amend the Plan to add retirement options for some or all existing retirees that help GM reduce the volatility and risk related to the Plan and benefit existing retirees by providing an additional voluntary option.”
Don’t find too much comfort in the word “voluntary.” It connotes a certain safety for those who don’t wish to walk the plank. In my experience, parties that seek volunteers are inclined to influence choice with persuasive tactics that resemble a sword in the back.
The point is, these two parties have already agreed to “mutually agree” all over the place, like untrained puppies at a pee-on-retirees party, and now they have legal justification to amend the pension plan.
The UAW agreed to help GM “de-risk” the pension. De-risk is a code word for shift the risk to retirees. On every whirl of the slot machine, The House wins, even when they pay out. Don't take my word for it; just look at the size of The House compared to your own over-mortgaged shack.
I have a button from 1979, the year I was hired in at GM, that says, “UAW Members Want Cost of Living on Pensions.” What did we get instead? The "Christmas bonus," which the UAW agreed to give up in 2011.
Guess I won't be buying one of those new GM cars that CFO Ammann will be focusing so hard on, now that he doesn't have to tinker with other people's pensions.
GM is betting that W.C. Fields's old saw, “A sucker is born every minute,” will outlive the older maxim, “Never trust the deal.”
You may be laughing at my humor, but I don't think it's funny.
Gregg Shotwell is a retired member of UAW Local 1753 and author of Autoworkers Under the Gun (Haymarket Press).
by Gregg Shotwell | Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:09pm
http://labornotes.org/blogs/2012/06/gm-offers-lump-sum-buyouts-never-trust-deal
GM Offers Lump-Sum Buyouts: Never Trust the Deal
by Gregg Shotwell | Tue, 06/05/2012 - 10:09pm
GM wouldn't buy pencils from a blind man without a contract, but its salary workers never needed a contract with the company because they were family.
Now GM is offering the old and infirm members of the family a deal. Not a gratuity or a bonus after a record-breaking year of profit, but a cash-in-your-chips kiss-off, a Cracker Jack-size buyout prize.
Salaried retirees will be offered one lump-sum payment in lieu of their monthly checks. The amount offered will vary according to age and health, according to plans the company announced Friday. Rumor has it that union hourly retirees are next.
GM claims it will add $3.5 billion to the now-underfunded pension fund to help buy out retirees, under new laws that permit the company to offer “an equivalent economic value to the stream of monthly pensions they replace.” Under the old law, companies had to pay a higher amount if they offered this kind of lump-sum buyout. More companies will follow suit, because the new law makes it a lot cheaper than before to offer a lump sum.
Is this new law a change we can believe in? Perhaps, if you'd rather make your last lap around the casino than the chemo lab.
Those who don't take the deal will get an annuity from Prudential, the company where GM decided to spin off the pensions for die-hards.
But if the choice is cash in hand or an underfunded annuity sold to Prudential (which in 2010, Bloomberg News reported, skimmed additional profits by holding back payment from families of American soldiers owed life insurance benefits), you might take your chances that GM overestimated your life expectancy by accident.
Prudential has made a reputation with this kind of thing. The SEC discovered that the company had defrauded 400,000 individual investors on "deals" in the 1980s.
GM CFO Dan Ammann claims getting rid of pensions will help him concentrate on “building cars and trucks.” But what is he talking about? GM outsourced all its pension and benefit programs to Fidelity years ago.
GM expects to save $26 billion. In which column will accountants inject this hypodermic of savings? Will hourly workers get a bigger profit-sharing check next year? Guess again.
Then ask yourself, who was it who first said, “Never trust the deal”?
UAW Is Next
United Auto Workers retirees are next in line. UAW President Bob King wasn't available for comment, but the 2011 UAW-GM contract says union and company “may mutually agree during the term of this Agreement to amend the Plan to add retirement options for some or all existing retirees that help GM reduce the volatility and risk related to the Plan and benefit existing retirees by providing an additional voluntary option.”
Don’t find too much comfort in the word “voluntary.” It connotes a certain safety for those who don’t wish to walk the plank. In my experience, parties that seek volunteers are inclined to influence choice with persuasive tactics that resemble a sword in the back.
The point is, these two parties have already agreed to “mutually agree” all over the place, like untrained puppies at a pee-on-retirees party, and now they have legal justification to amend the pension plan.
The UAW agreed to help GM “de-risk” the pension. De-risk is a code word for shift the risk to retirees. On every whirl of the slot machine, The House wins, even when they pay out. Don't take my word for it; just look at the size of The House compared to your own over-mortgaged shack.
I have a button from 1979, the year I was hired in at GM, that says, “UAW Members Want Cost of Living on Pensions.” What did we get instead? The "Christmas bonus," which the UAW agreed to give up in 2011.
Guess I won't be buying one of those new GM cars that CFO Ammann will be focusing so hard on, now that he doesn't have to tinker with other people's pensions.
GM is betting that W.C. Fields's old saw, “A sucker is born every minute,” will outlive the older maxim, “Never trust the deal.”
You may be laughing at my humor, but I don't think it's funny.
Gregg Shotwell is a retired member of UAW Local 1753 and author of Autoworkers Under the Gun (Haymarket Press).
For more information:
http://labornotes.org/blogs/2012/06/gm-off...
Goddard College is an excellent college. Your article doesn't go into any details in regards to allegations of discrimination. Goddard has always been a very inclusive institution. Using the term "liberal" for Goddard is a poor choice of words. Goddard is a progressive college that allows students to study what they're interested in. In no way is Barbara Vacarr a racist. I'm sure that any facilitators who were fired at Goddard justly deserved it, regardless of their race.
Goddard College Found Guilty Of Racial Discrimination In the Past
The issue of racial discrimination at Goddard is not a new issue. Here is a case that was settled in the past when they were sued for discrimination by a Black student who was discriminated against and won $102,000 for the violation of her rights.
Apparently they still engage in the same practices despite this past action and court settlement.
Goddard President Vacarr was personally involved in trying to cover up the latest case of racial discrimination and violation of labor rights of the UAW faculty member Judy Hiramoto.
Demand that the Goaddard Board of Trustees rectify the blatant discrimination and retaliatory practices.
Board of Trustees
Current members of the Board of Trustees of Goddard College:
Andrea Leebron-Clay, Chair of the Board
Partner, Regency Pacific, Inc. and Clay Management
Lynden, WA
Martin Baumrind
Principal, Baumrind and Baumrind
Brooklyn, New York
Mario Borunda
Faculty, Lesley University, School of Education (through December 2011)
Dean, School of Educational Leadership and Change, Fielding Graduate
University (January 2012)
Arlington, MA
Dustin Byerly
Staff Trustee
James L. Clay
President and Founder, Regency Pacific, Inc.
Lynden, WA
Maggie Cleveland
Grant Writer, Child & Family Services
Fairhaven, MA
Cliff Colman
Professor Emeritus, Miami-Dade College
Ormond Beach, FL
Peter Donovan
Chief Executive Officer, Wright Investors' Service
Westport, CT
Wayne Fawbush
Program Officer, Economic Development Unit, Ford Foundation
New York, New York
Suzanne Forsyth
Management Consultant
Washington, DC
David Hales
Immediate Past President, College of the Atlantic
Bar Harbor, Maine
John Hennessey
Former Dean/Jones Professor of Management and Third Century Professor Emeritus, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College
Marvin House
Chief Executive Officer, Merit Construction, Inc.
Knoxville, TN
Carole Marks
Chief Executive Officer, Focus Communications, Inc.
Mystic, CT
Liam Murphy
Member, Murphy Sullivan Kronk
Burlington, Vermont
Hubert "Tino" O'Brien
Retired, Senior Consultant, Brimstone Consulting Group, LLC
Montpelier, VT
Joe Orange
Executive Director, Customer Relations
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (Retired)
Columbia, MD
Avram Patt
General Manager, Washington Electric Cooperative
East Montpelier, Vermont
Clotilde Pitkin
Chair, Board of Directors Vermont Peace Academy
Marshfield, VT
Christopher Pratt
Managing Partner, Mallory Brook Associates
East Montpelier, VT
Amy Robertson
Student Trustee
Lois Sontag
Trustee Emerita
Stamford, CT
S. B. Sowbel
Faculty Trustee
Faculty Member, Goddard College
Jill Mattuck Tarule
Professor, Educational Leadership & Human Development, College of Education and Social Services
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT
Carl Taylor
Founder and President, Carl Gary Taylor Foundation for Children
Derby, VT
Carey Turnbull
Founder, Amerex Energy, Financial Services (retired)
Founder and Chairman, North American Power
New York, NY
Barbara Vacarr
Ex-Officio Trustee
President, Goddard College
Plainfield, VT
Jane Vella
Partner Emeritus,Global Learning Partners, Inc.
Raleigh, NC
Hillary Webb
Director of Research, The Monroe Institute
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Send letters to the board of Trustees at the following address or give them a call.
Goddard College|123 Pitkin Road Plainfield, Vermont 05667 |800-468-4888|802-454-8311
The issue of racial discrimination at Goddard is not a new issue. Here is a case that was settled in the past when they were sued for discrimination by a Black student who was discriminated against and won $102,000 for the violation of her rights.
Apparently they still engage in the same practices despite this past action and court settlement.
Goddard President Vacarr was personally involved in trying to cover up the latest case of racial discrimination and violation of labor rights of the UAW faculty member Judy Hiramoto.
Demand that the Goaddard Board of Trustees rectify the blatant discrimination and retaliatory practices.
Board of Trustees
Current members of the Board of Trustees of Goddard College:
Andrea Leebron-Clay, Chair of the Board
Partner, Regency Pacific, Inc. and Clay Management
Lynden, WA
Martin Baumrind
Principal, Baumrind and Baumrind
Brooklyn, New York
Mario Borunda
Faculty, Lesley University, School of Education (through December 2011)
Dean, School of Educational Leadership and Change, Fielding Graduate
University (January 2012)
Arlington, MA
Dustin Byerly
Staff Trustee
James L. Clay
President and Founder, Regency Pacific, Inc.
Lynden, WA
Maggie Cleveland
Grant Writer, Child & Family Services
Fairhaven, MA
Cliff Colman
Professor Emeritus, Miami-Dade College
Ormond Beach, FL
Peter Donovan
Chief Executive Officer, Wright Investors' Service
Westport, CT
Wayne Fawbush
Program Officer, Economic Development Unit, Ford Foundation
New York, New York
Suzanne Forsyth
Management Consultant
Washington, DC
David Hales
Immediate Past President, College of the Atlantic
Bar Harbor, Maine
John Hennessey
Former Dean/Jones Professor of Management and Third Century Professor Emeritus, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College
Marvin House
Chief Executive Officer, Merit Construction, Inc.
Knoxville, TN
Carole Marks
Chief Executive Officer, Focus Communications, Inc.
Mystic, CT
Liam Murphy
Member, Murphy Sullivan Kronk
Burlington, Vermont
Hubert "Tino" O'Brien
Retired, Senior Consultant, Brimstone Consulting Group, LLC
Montpelier, VT
Joe Orange
Executive Director, Customer Relations
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (Retired)
Columbia, MD
Avram Patt
General Manager, Washington Electric Cooperative
East Montpelier, Vermont
Clotilde Pitkin
Chair, Board of Directors Vermont Peace Academy
Marshfield, VT
Christopher Pratt
Managing Partner, Mallory Brook Associates
East Montpelier, VT
Amy Robertson
Student Trustee
Lois Sontag
Trustee Emerita
Stamford, CT
S. B. Sowbel
Faculty Trustee
Faculty Member, Goddard College
Jill Mattuck Tarule
Professor, Educational Leadership & Human Development, College of Education and Social Services
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT
Carl Taylor
Founder and President, Carl Gary Taylor Foundation for Children
Derby, VT
Carey Turnbull
Founder, Amerex Energy, Financial Services (retired)
Founder and Chairman, North American Power
New York, NY
Barbara Vacarr
Ex-Officio Trustee
President, Goddard College
Plainfield, VT
Jane Vella
Partner Emeritus,Global Learning Partners, Inc.
Raleigh, NC
Hillary Webb
Director of Research, The Monroe Institute
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Send letters to the board of Trustees at the following address or give them a call.
Goddard College|123 Pitkin Road Plainfield, Vermont 05667 |800-468-4888|802-454-8311
For more information:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917...
The case you refer to is from 1984, over 25 years before Barbara Vacarr became president. The 1984 case is weak. If you actually knew anything about Goddard College, you will know that Goddard has a long history of standing up for, and facilitating studies on, all ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations, long before many other colleges embraced such studies.
There's obviously something strange going on at Goddard College.
Posting articles by Greg Shotwell has nothing to do with Judy Hiramoto. And after listening to the interview, I still know nothing about what really happened to Judy Hiramoto. The link that "Lefto" provided only showed another person who claims to know what Judy went through but did not give any details. This sounds like a bogus interview. As far as I know, Judy got fired for a good reason like incompetence for instance. People get fired for legitimate reasons all the time but some do not want to take responsibility for their failures. The union can't defend against legitimate firings. Judy did mention the UAW got their pay increased by over 100% compared to the last union, so I say the union did their job very well. But Judy.. not so well. She couldn't even explain clearly what happened over the course of this long interview.
I would state composed versus organized. There's nothing amiss with readiness. Arranged would be in the event that it was accomplished for showy behavior as it were. The inquiries she picked (from a rundown) to ask were vital.
It was purchased with citizen's cash, in this manner he renders cash, so he loves communism, however just on this terms. They had a tax reduction for the first building. I also would love a tax break on my first land bargain, colossal income. Concrete around then was quite costly for two reasons. College tower was worked out of full concrete. Think about who possessed the solid business? Look through the articles and free essay writing samples by their students.
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