FSU Nuts and Bolts: Spring activities

1/23/2023

Dear Members, 

Happy New Year and welcome to Spring semester.  Ironically, I write this with snow falling. 

This semester’s first issue of Nuts & Bolts is a preview of upcoming activities.  

Executive Committee Meetings 

Your union is governed by a thirteen-member executive committee comprised of a President, Vice President, four (4) tenured faculty, two (2) pre-tenured faculty, one (1) librarian and four (4) non-tenured track faculty.     

We meet approximately every two weeks. Spring 2023 meetings are a combination of Tuesdays (3:30 – 5:00PM) and Fridays (3:00 – 4:30PM).  Members are allowed to attend our meetings. Our meeting dates are January 31^st,  February 10^th and 21^st, March 3^rd, March 7^th (only if needed), 21^st and 31^st, April 11^th and 28^th and May 9^th  

FSU Election 

Every Spring we elect members to serve on the Executive Committee.  Election is by constituencies except for President and Vice President who are elected by all members.  

Watch your email for FSU Elections Committee communications.  Nominations are coming up and voting takes place early March (see here for more).

Core Bargaining Team (CBT) 

Our collective bargaining agreement (the contract) runs to June 30, 2023.  In a few weeks we will begin bargaining for our successor agreement.   

Your CBT is actively reviewing survey responses and preparing proposals.  Watch for details from the Core Bargaining Team email account.  

Reminder: NTT and Librarians  

Friday, January 27^th is the deadline to submit application materials to your chair for those NTTs who have been deemed eligible to apply for promotion in 22-23. 

Librarians who have been deemed eligible to apply for promotion in 22-23 must submit their materials to their immediate supervisor by January 27^th, 2023.   

Anti-Racism Funds 

The FSU and UMB administration negotiation resulted in the university agreeing to establish a “$25,000 pool of funding in each year [of the contract that] shall be allocated to and distributed by the Provost’s office in consultation with the FSU to support anti-racism activities for faculty and librarians.”    

This academic year we received over twenty proposals and were able to fund six (6) projects.  One grant awardee event is this week.   Professor Khiara Bridges presentation on "Abortion and the Supreme Court's Racial Common Sense" is Thursday, January 26^th 5:00-6:30PM Campus Center Ballroom. (see the attached flyer)  

Watch this space for the next academic year's funding guidelines.     

The Governor, the state budget and our raises 

Many members have expressed dismay at our contractual 2% raises and the current rate of inflation. We do understand.  The current contract 2% raise is not what your core bargaining team wanted but was the amount submitted by the Commonwealth to all state employee unions.  

The Governor, as part of the state budget process, determines the raise percentage for state employees. When the Governor announces the raise rates (aka parameters), the rates are what the Commonwealth states it is able to pay state employees.  

Each state agency then uses the percentages when at the bargaining table.   

How can we get pay raises that meet and exceed inflation?  We need to make sure Governor Healey and her A&F team know that state employee salaries are not keeping pace with inflation, and she needs to set parameters at much higher levels.   Our parent union, the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) is meeting with the Governor’s team to push for better wages.   

In addition, we as state employees must join with other state employees, including those in higher education, to voice our demands for raises that exceed inflation.  Over the next few weeks, we will provide you with information to join the fight for higher raises.  This includes signing a petition to attend a state house event.  When we fight, we win.  Pay raises that are truly a pay raise is a fight worth fighting and one collectively we can win. 

Enjoy the first week of classes.  

Sincerely,

Caroline Coscia                                 

FSU President                                   

Senior Lecturer II                               

Political Science Department        

For information on the FSU, links to our contract and bargaining updates, and a calendar of events, see the FSU webpage