May 3, 2010
FSU EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING 5/3/10
Members Present: Catherine Lynde Phil Chassler Kathy Kogan Heike Schotten Erin O’Brien Xiaogang Deng Larry Kaye Marlene Kim Linda Dumas
Others Present: Michelle Gallagher, MTA Consultant Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Membership Coordinator
Announcements
FSU Delegates Dinner- FSU delegates to the MTA annual meeting are invited to a dinner party Friday night (May 7th) with their counterparts at the MSP.
Meeting with the Governor- Catherine Lynde reported on a meeting of higher ed union leaders and the Governor. The leaders asked the Governor to urge the House to pass bills that would fund the current un-funded higher ed contracts. It was noted that he seemed non committal. It was also noted that the Governor stated that he did NOT ask HE locals for furloughs.
Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Forecast-The House budget for FY11 will have a 13% cut for public higher ed. No word yet on the Senate budget.
University College-It was reported that the Faculty Council has approved the UC but on a pilot basis. The UC will start out with 1 undergraduate program and 1 grad program. IT will be evaluated by the FS and not by the Provost.
Ex Com Elections- Ex Com elections will begin this week after a delay due to a lack of nominees for the pre-tenure Ex Com slot.
MTA GLBTQ Forum- The forum took place on April 29th. No Ex Com members attended.
FSU Annual Meeting-It was reported that the FSU FY11 budget and the proposed FSU bylaws changes were passed unanimously at the April 28th FSU annual meeting. It was also noted that more people attended the meeting than were expected (there were about 30 attendees).
PHENOM Internships
There was discussion of faculty sponsorship for credit or paying internships for PHENOM work (PHENOM rep and UMB student Marie Hedrick had presented a written proposal for PHENOM internships). It was noted that there is no uniform policy on internships and that each department will have its own structure. It was suggested that any internship proposals be run through Career Services and would have to address students AND faculty. It was also suggested that an internship be piloted through 1 department first. Lorenzo Nencioli will speak with Marie and with PHENOM about this.
Ex Com Retreat
It was suggested that the Ex Com meet at some point over the summer for a day or half-day long retreat. The purpose of the retreat would be to assess the previous year and plan union initiatives for the upcoming year. Ex Com members agreed that June would be a good time for the retreat. Lorenzo will email the Ex Com re their preferred June dates.
Faculty Council Issue with NTT
It was reported that the FC prohibits NTT from becoming members. Kathy Kogan asked for help from the Ex Com in formulating a response that would help change this policy. It was noted that the FC constitution is ambiguous in this regard, especially since there is an NTT from CNHS already on the FS. It was proposed that a sympathetic FC member be found who can make a proposal to change this practice that the FSU could then endorse.
Grad Student Issues
A Grad Employee Organization (GEO) director asked the Ex Com to address the issue of faculty bullying and disrespectful behavior towards GA’s. It was noted that there have been a number of GA complaints about fac members but that many of the former do not pursue grievances due to fear of retaliation. There was general agreement that the FSU would be willing to help GEO address the problem. It was suggested that A)there be a faculty training on proper behavior toward GA’s, B) to have the Provost send a notice to fac members, C) have a written contract between GA’s and fac members spelling out the details of the job, D)have affected GEO members contact the FSU so the latter can intervene, E) have an article in the FSU newsletter address this issue.
CCDE Bargaining Update
It was noted that 2 long sessions with the Admin team have been scheduled for mid May and that the FSU barg team feels that completion of bargaining might be near.
Grievance Committee Update
There was discussion of 2 pending grievances. There was also discussion of an issue that Larry Kaye brought to the attention of Admin concerning Lecturer II and Senior Lecturer salaries. It appears that many of the latter have been underpaid for years (the FSU is waiting on a response from HR). It was noted that HR should be correcting the lecturer benefit eligibility period problem (HR had been granting benefits to eligible lecturers one semester to late).
ORP/SERS Update
Meetings with effected NTT (to switch from ORP to SERS) have been continuing. The FSU has had meetings with most of the 58 effected NTT. It was reported that a rep from SERS will speak at an FSU meeting Friday, May 7th. This meeting will be open to all faculty in light of the proposed legislation (supported by the MTA) that would allow ALL public higher ed employees to join SERS.
NTT Committee Update
There was a report on a recent meeting of the NTT caucus. There was also a report on the NTT Labor/Management Subcommittee.