February 11, 2014

FSU EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING 2/11/14

Members Present: Catherine Lynde   Amy Todd   Philip Chassler   Peggy Walsh   Linda Dumas   Steven Levine   Tina Mullins   Kathy Kogan  Meredith Hoy

Others Present: Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Membership Coordinator   Mickey Gallagher, MTA Consultant

Announcements

Higher Ed Advocacy Day, Statehouse, March 5th- The FSU will notify FSU activists about the event, encourage them to attend.

NTT Party- There will be a social event off campus in March for UMB NTT sponsored by the FSU. This will be in lieu of NTT on campus orientations. Details to follow.

Bargaining
CL reported that there has been no response yet from Nursing faculty re their concerns over Clinical Track bargaining. The FSU/MSP is also waiting to hear back from Admin re bargaining dates. UMB unions agreed not to raise the issue of parking at their respective main tables. They will only agree to parking bargaining at a coalition table. MG stated that her goal is to have an ‘integrated contract’ (i.e. the same language for MSP and FSU) as much as possible.

50% Time for FSU Assistant
There was discussion of whether or not the FSU Assistant position should be made half time. CL indicated there was enough in the FSU budget to cover the extra hours. LN will ponder need for HT position and report back at a later date.

Update: Department Chairs Organizing
MSP was not able to receive more than 50% of chairs’ signatures for unionization drive. Since they were able to get 30% of signatures there will have to be an election (it will take place sometime this Spring). The UMB chairs have been notified of organizing efforts. FSU will host open forums for chairs to discuss their concerns/issues.

MTA Annual Meeting, May 10-11
There was discussion of the MTA presidential election. Barbara Madeloni, the Educators for a Democratic Union-endorsed candidate, will be speaking on campus 2/26/14, 3PM. A motion was made for the FSU Executive Committee to endorse Barbara Maddeloni’s candidacy. Motion was seconded. Motion to pass Barbara Maddeloni’s MTA presidential candidacy passes by unanimous vote. It was also noted that all FSU-MSP delegates will meet the Friday of the Annual Meeting for dinner.

ORP-SERS Legislation Update
The legislation allowing ORP members to switch to SERS may not take affect before the end of the Spring semester. MG noted that she has contacted SERS administrators and insisted that the ORP-SERS class action members (the sub-set of UMB NTT who are supposed to be in SERS) must be moved to SERS before the legislation is enacted (SERS argues the reverse). She noted that the MTA leadership has been pushing for this outcome.

‘Receivership’ Letter
There was discussion of the draft letter written by MG concerning Admin’s failures to administer and implement the contract (the letter was to be sent to the President’s office). It was noted that there needs to be a member education drive first since many members are not aware of issues. It was suggested that this be done via department meetings as well as other venues. CL, KK, AT, SL, and LD agreed to serve on an ad hoc committee to strategize on the education campaign. Ex Com members are encouraged to talk to their colleagues/at dept meetings about this issue.

Continuing Ed Faculty at UMass Amherst
There will be a vote in the Spring for CE faculty to decide on joining the union.

FSU Ex Com Elections
Elections will occur sometime in April (slots open: President, Librarian, NTT, Pre-Tenure TT, Tenured). LN will notify members of their term of service dates. Members are tasked with finding interested candidates.

Grad Students Teaching Credit Bearing Courses
There was discussion of the perceived rise or potential for the rise in GA’s teaching courses. It was noted that this could be a threat to NTT jobs, while others noted that teaching duties for GA’s was essential for department programs. It was noted that the contract states that GA’s can only be given courses if it does not displace current unit members. CL agreed to get data on how many sections are taught by GA’s and if there has been a reduction in sections given to NTT.

Grievance Committee Report
There was an update on a number of pending grievances.

New Business

CLA Senate 2/2 Testimony- They are collecting testimony on how 2/2 has effected members. Anyone wishing to convey this information should contact Bonnie Miller.

Jobs With Justice Annual Dinner, April 3, 2014- Anyone interested in attending should contact the FSU office.