Feb. 8, 2010

FSU EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING 2/8/10

Members Present: John Hess   Phil Chassler   Catherine Lynde   Linda Dumas  

Kathy Kogan   Elizabeth Mock   Xiaogang Deng   Heike Schotten   Larry Kaye  

Marlene Kim   Erin O’Brien

Others Present: Michelle Gallagher, MTA Consultant   Arthur Goldsmith, FSU Grievance Officer   Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Membership Coordinator

Announcements

MA House Ways and Means Committee Meeting: There will be 2 public hearings, one on Education and Local Aid, February 22nd at UMass Amherst and another on All Budget Issues, March 5th at the Statehouse.  For more information, contact Catherine.

Department Chairs Training: Another training session for department chairs and program directors is going to be organized. The training will focus on the contract and will be utilized to aid chairs in better following the CBA.

Tenure Workshop: The FSU will organize a workshop for faculty members who are undergoing or are about to undergo the tenure process.

FSU Newsletter: The newsletter will be released in late March. Catherine Lynde, Lorenzo Nencioli, and FSU Communications Director Dorothy Nelson met to discuss the newsletter’s content.  Ex Com members should contact Lorenzo or Dorothy if they have article ideas for the newsletter.

Hidden Treasure: The Hidden Treasure committee now has 11 members. It was reported that $500 will be given to fund the event from the Provost’s Office as well as $500 from CE. It is hoped that the Hidden Treasure participants could be expanded to the other colleges outside CLA.

Contract Issues

It was reported that the UMass President’s Office has asked the FSU to re-open the 09-12 CBA. They are asking the FSU to either A) enter into concession bargaining and delay the implementation of the raises until the last day of each applicable fiscal year and accept furloughs with the understanding that recent increases in GIC co-pays, etc. will not be applied to our bargaining unit members. It was noted that if the FSU rejects any of these offers we could attempt to persuade the legislature to fund the raises. If it doesn’t, then we would have to re-negotiate raises once the 09-12 CBA expires.

There was discussion on how the FSU should respond to this proposal from the President’s Office. It was noted 4 state employee unions have accepted a similar offer from the Governor’s office but that higher ed unions, including the community colleges, the state colleges, and the MSP, have so far rejected similar offers. It was also noted that no one is sure what the Ways and Means Committee might decide on funding the contract since they have taken no official position, though they have likely been contacted by the Governor about not funding the contracts. It was also noted that there will be a HELC meeting on Friday in which a coordinated response to these possible concessions will be discussed. The MTA is currently investigating the stance of the Ways & Means members on our contracts.  It was noted that the current CBA already has concessions built into it. It was commented that concessions in general are ineffective and will be more damaging in the long run.

The proposed resolution approved unanimously: The FSU rejects the request made by the UMass President’s Office to re-open the 09-12 collective bargaining agreement.

The FSU will organize 2 member meetings on the 23rd and 24th to have open discussions on the FSU’s response to the requested concessions.

CCDE Bargaining Update

The bargaining team is waiting on an offer on monetary issues from Admin. It was noted that CE negotiations will have a direct effect on the main unit since A) one of the proposals being discussed is to combine the CE and main unit CBA’s and B) most CE instructors are in the main unit.

Grievance Committee Update

A grievance committee meeting will be scheduled for sometime in the next few weeks. Updates were given on two pending non-tenure track faculty member cases, two pre-tenure related issues, as well as the proposal in the College of Nursing to create a position of Clinical Assistant Professor which would be a hybrid of NTT and TT positions.

Salary Anomaly Adjustment Committee Update

Xiaogang Deng, who serves on the committee, reported that the SAA committee is still determining the framework for SAA’s. They are currently gathering info on national and local salary averages.

RES Funds

It was reported that the all the RES funds have been requested and that $85,000 of the $95,000 total went to those who requested 100% of their RES funds allotment; the rest will be distributed to barg unit members who requested up to 150% of their allotment.

Other Issues

It was reported that the NTT Scholarship Fund called for in the 09-12 CBA has not been implemented yet, despite calls to do so from the FSU.  CL agreed to contact the Provost about implementing the program.

The question was raised about stipends for union committee work. It was agreed that this discussion would be raised at the next Ex Com meeting due to time considerations.

There was discussion on the University’s proposed 4-credit system. The question was raised about whether or not the FSU has a position on this proposal. It was noted that there is no current position since a detailed proposal has not yet been made. It was noted that any change in the credit system would have to be negotiated with the FSU.

There are two higher education positions on the MTA’s Executive Committee. CL reported that she had been contacted by former MSP President Max Paige who is running for one of the positions about an FSU endorsement. In addition to Max, Donnie McGhee, Vice President of the MCCC is also running. The election will be held at the MTA Annual Meeting in May so there is time to debate a possible endorsement.