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By Brian J. Kurtz, FordHarrison LLP

Does the First Amendment protect the head of an adjunct faculty union who writes a letter critical of the community college that fired her? Read on to find out.

Robin Meade was an adjunct faculty member at Moraine Valley Community College, a public institution in Palos Hills. She became upset in August 2013 when the college sent her a one-page document that set out her course schedule for the coming term.

The document got Meades attention because the words EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT were emblazoned across the top, followed by two paragraphs of text stating that it was not a contract for full-time employment and stating further that the college might not employ her at all if there was no need for her services. Ever been so mad you could write a letter? Meade wrote a letter.

Specifically, Meade composed a letter to the League for Innovation in the Community College (LICC), an organization the college was reapplying to for membership. LICC includes 800 member institutions and over 150 corporate partners. The college had asked adjuncts to write to LICC supporting its application. Meades letter declined to do so and instead pulled no punches regarding the reasons she couldnt support the reapplication.

Meade accused the college of treating its adjunct faculty like a disposable resource and a separate, lower class of people. She accused the college of underpaying its adjunct faculty, denying them access to health care, and denying them access to certain courses. Meade said that adjunct faculty taught 60 percent of the colleges course load, but the college devoted most of its teaching resources to full-time faculty.

Meade also accused the college of prohibiting adjuncts from working on an hourly basisas opposed to a per-course basisthus deterring them from spending time tutoring students. On this point, Meade implied that the practice was contributing to the colleges high failure rate in developmental classes.

She dramatically concluded that all of those factors had created a chilling effect which affects adjunct performance and erodes the confidence the idyllic atmosphere and beautiful buildings and grounds strive to project. Meade sent the letter on the letterhead of the colleges adjunct faculty union, the Moraine Valley Adjunct Faculty Organization, of which she was president.

Meade sent her letter to LICC on August 20. Two days later, she received a notice from the college that her services were terminated. The notice referred specifically to her LICC letter and accused her of spouting misrepresentations and falsehoods.

The notice went on to complain that her letter wasnt responsible advocacy on behalf of her union but instead was a personal attack designed to undermine the colleges relationship with LICC. The college followed up the termination notice with a warning that if she was seen on campus, she could be arrested for trespassing. Meade sued the college in federal court, alleging that she was terminated in retaliation for expressing views protected by the First Amendment.

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Retaliation: Did college unlawfully terminate faculty member for complaining?

Synopsis | Speaking Freely: Trials Of The First Amendment By Floyd Abrams
BOOK REVIEW OF YOUR FAVORITE BOOK =--- Where to buy this book? ISBN: 9780143036753 Book Review of Speaking Freely: Trials of the First Amendment by Floyd...

By: Gene Walter #39;s Books

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Synopsis | Speaking Freely: Trials Of The First Amendment By Floyd Abrams - Video

Kcmo public safety officer chokes innocent man
The black man was never in the wrong he was exercising his First Amendment rights when the Public Safety Officer totally just swung on him then proceeded to choke him out while dude screamed.

By: Tj Butterworth

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Kcmo public safety officer chokes innocent man - Video

ANCHORAGE Alaskas freshman senator has filed his first amendment, and it is aimed at keeping firearms out of the hands of Environmental Protection Agency agents.

Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan said Friday he filed the amendment to follow through with a promise he made while campaigning in Fairbanks last fall. The idea to disarm the EPA came after agents swept into the mining town of Chicken wearing body armor and carrying rifles in August 2013 while investigating possible violations of the Clean Water Act, Sullivan said.

The amendment is attached to a larger bill that would authorize the Keystone XL pipeline.

In fall 2013, miners in the Chicken area told the Daily News-Miner they felt intimidated by the agents, who, in some cases, did not identify themselves when arriving at mines in all-terrain vehicles. An EPA spokesperson described the discussions as consensual and cordial.

The investigation was based on reports of mines with a history of not complying with state and federal clean water laws and ongoing significant discharges, the EPA said in a written statement in September 2013.

There have been no federal charges or arrests, at least so far, as a result of the investigation.

Asked about the raid and Sullivans amendment Friday, an EPA spokeswoman referred questions to agency officials in Washington, D.C., who did not respond to a request for comment by late Friday.

Sullivan said in a phone interview the issue, while important to Alaska and its miners, goes beyond the incident in Chicken.

I think theres this conventional wisdom that the federal government is always growing, always into new areas, always gaining new responsibilities, Sullivan said. Part of what I ran on is that is not some kind of law of nature. We can roll back some of the responsibilities and authorities of the federal government.

Looking at the history of the EPA, which was formed in the early 1970s, it was not until the late 1980s that the agents were authorized to carry firearms, said Sullivan, who had researched the congressional hearings from that time. Originally, the authorization was to protect agents investigating hazardous waste dumps connected to the mafia, he said.

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Sen. Dan Sullivan amends proposed bill to disarm EPA agents

First Amendment vs "The Simpsons"
MMS (Multimedia Story Telling) First Assignment Spring 2015. Three Kent State students are asked to answer two questions.

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First Amendment vs "The Simpsons" - Video