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May 11, 2016

FSU Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, Wednesday, May  11, 2016

Members Present: Marlene Kim  John Hess    Heike Schotten  Peggy Walsh  Kathy Kogan   Ursula Tafe  Karen Suyemoto Loan Dao  Linda Dumas  Doreen Drury

 

Others Present: Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Membership Coordinator  Caroline Coscia, NTT Grievance Officer and member of FSU Elections Committee     Al Leisinger, NTT Grievance Officer  Sofya Aptekar, Sociology, Ex Com elect

 

A. Announcements

1.T shirts- Available at FSU office.

2.MTA Annual meeting May 13, 14- Two current delegates dropped out. We have alternates stepping into their place.

  1. Early retirement: 32+ years; $25K no added years of service to pension- Criteria negotiable: can be 30 years.
  2. Tonight!  5 pm--May 11 all members party Ellen Frank’s house-

B. Business

  1. Membership drive- There will be another training by MTA Director of Higher Ed, Robert Vodicka, to train current activists in getting non-payers to join the FSU. May 19 1-4 pm.
  2. Bargaining planning- Need to plan now for bargaining that will start in Fall 16. We will do survey.  Sofya, Al, Kathy, Ursula, Peggy interested in working on survey. Ursula: we should plan over the summer, rather than Fall for. It was noted that Rachel Rubin will be on sabbatical for 16-17 so we will need another TT person on the bargaining team Suggestions were made to contact Shoshanah Ehrlich and Elizabeth Roemer. Karen: Need to know more about amount of work before signing up. There was discussion of the need to reconvene the Negotiation Committee (a committee separate from the bargaining team that would help work on bargaining issues). It was suggested that the Negotiation Committee must include at least 1 bargaining team member. John Hess agreed to be on committee. There was discussion of the need to connect bargaining with the work of the Grievance Committee. There was discussion of the need to track grievance related issues that do not end up as officially filed grievances. Karen Suyemoto and Lorenzo Nencioli will examine possible software options for this purpose.
  3. Stipend for newsletter writer this year- We did not have Associate Newsletter Editor this  year though money was allocated for it in the budget. Sofya Aptekar wrote many articles for the newsletter and the FSU would like to give $2K stipend for Sofya since we have money line item left over. Motion made to pay Sofya Aptekar $2,000 for writing of newsletter articles. Motion seconded. Motion passes.
  4. FSU planning for 16-17- There was discussion of planning for the next academic year. It was noted that in the past, the FSU held a planning retreat in summer months but this past year, it was held at the start of the semester. Question was raised as to whether or not to hold a planning session in the summer or start of Fall. There was discussion of this issue.  It was decided to hold planning meeting in the summer. Marlene will conduct Doodle poll for summer meeting. There was discussion of whether to do just an Ex Com planning meeting or a broader FSU/activist meeting. General agreement to do both.

 

  1. Joint Coordinating Committee update- MTA head of General Council gave a history of FSU/MSP and that there were always divergent issues and interests and recommended staying as 1 union- too difficult to split up legally. Splitting into two separate units will open up lawsuits from Right to Work claimants.
  2. Department chairs and relationship to FSU- UMB chairs were recently unionized and will be represented by the FSU and MTA. They have started to talk about their relationship to FSU and about their organizational structure. Options include having a seat on FSU Ex Com or having their own executive committee.  There was discussion of whether or not it is better to have a chair slot on the Ex Com. It was noted that we will need more info on various models (pros and cons of each needed) before deciding.  
  3. Resolution re Food for NTT Caucus- The recently approved FSU FY17 budget eliminated food for union meetings. However, the FSU had previously passed a resolution allocating money to the NTT Caucus for food. Therefore, an official vote would have to be taken to rescind that resolution. Motion made to rescind resolution allocating up to $75 per meeting for food for the NTT Caucus. Motion seconded. Motion approved.
  4. Transparency in merit- There was discussion of the issue and whether or not there should even be merit. The contract requires DPC’s and deans to provide their principles for merit to members and to the FSU but does not require details on how merit is calculated. It was noted that the principles can be vague which can lead to issues around transparency. It was also noted that the level of transparency around merit can vary greatly from college to college. It was agreed that the question of transparency in merit will be included on the next bargaining survey. This issue will also be discussed again by the Ex Com in the Fall.