Nuts & Bolts: Upcoming events, FSU Annual Meeting, MTA Annual Meeting of Delegates, April 8th Day of Action, Anti-Racism Grant awardee Event, Enrollment caps and NEA Benefits

3/31/2025

FSU Calendar March 31st to April 4th     

Wednesday, April 2nd 12:00-1:00PM FSU lunchtime in UDC 

Join colleagues on Wednesday to relax and enjoy time away from our offices. Pizza and cookies provided.

Contract Bargaining Session, Wednesday, April 2nd from 9:45AM to 11:45AM ISC 5-5300

Join your core bargaining team as an expanded team member. This week we are meeting in the ISC room 5-5300. 

Dear Faculty and Librarians,

April marks the arrival of Spring yet our weather can be unpredictable (April Fool’s day blizzard). Unpredictability in weather is okay but not okay when it comes to education funding and academic freedom.  Watch for communications of upcoming events to learn what is taking place and how you can be part of saving higher education.  

Last Call! Delegate to the MTA Annual Meeting of Delegates, May 2nd and 3rd, Springfield

The deadline for the FSU to submit delegate names is April 4th.  To learn more about the meeting go to

https://massteacher.org/events-and-conferences/annual-meeting-of-delegates. You can attend in person or remotely. 

Please email us to be added as a delegate.

FSU Annual Meeting, April 17th 3:00-5:00PM Zoom

The meeting agenda and materials will be sent to members on April 3rd.  All members in good standing are eligible to attend and vote.

April 8 National Day of Action

Higher Ed Labor United, a coalition of higher education unions across the country of which MTA is a member, has called for a national day of action on April 8th to #KilltheCuts and defend higher education institutions and the communities they serve. 

UMB: Uniting to Defend Public Higher Education Teach In 12:00-1:00PM in the UDC

Join members of CSU, GEO, and PSU for a discussion on what we can do to fight back. The event begins with a 20-minute panel (zoom) followed by group breakouts examining impacts of federal actions and developing strategies for action. This is a hybrid event. 

Watch for an email with details and registration information.  Together we can make a difference.

Kill the Cuts" Day of Action: Boston rally JFK Federal Building (15 Sudbury St) at 5:00PM

Students, academic workers, educators, and healthcare workers will be coming together from across the Boston area, demanding an end to attacks on universities, educators, research, and healthcare. Click here for more information.

Upcoming Event: Embedding Racial Literacy in Our Practices: Strategies for Sustainable Institutional Change with Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, April 8th 11:00AM to 2:00PM in ISC 3300

(This is an FSU Anti Racism Grant recipient event)  

Racial literacy comprises a set of skills and practices that position individuals to investigate the detrimental effects of racism - structural, ideological, environmental, and interpersonal - on students’, staff’s, and faculty’s lives. Moreover, a key goal of racial literacy is to foster anti-racism and racial justice. Embedding Racial Literacy in Our Practices aims to bring collectivized awareness to the need to enact more critical, race-conscious literacies among everyone at UMass Boston and beyond.

Before and after the workshop with Dr. Sealey-Ruiz, participants will examine and rehearse strategies to incorporate critical racial literacy as a core component in their educational practices. Refreshments will be available.

Event Agenda: 11 AM: Welcome & Opening Reflections, 11:30 AM: Interactive Discussion: Archiving Our Racial Literacy Desires and Practices, 12 PM: Workshop with Dr. Sealey-Ruiz, 1 PM: Open Dialogue,1:30 PM: Closing Discussion: Where do we go from here?

This is a hybrid event, and you must pre-register if you plan on attending virtually (contact FSU or Caroline Coscia for Zoom information).

Know your contract: Enrollment caps increase

Departments and faculty, not the Administration, set enrollment caps for all courses (see the language in Article 15.4 of the contract). If student enrollment caps are increased, or if you disagree with the caps, talk to your department.

MTA Benefits: Boston Red Sox Tickets

Attend one of four games designated as educator appreciation games. 

Sincerely,

Caroline Coscia                                 

FSU President                                   

Senior Lecturer II                               

Political Science Department