October 15, 2013
FSU EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING 10/15/13
Members Present: Heike Schotten Catherine Lynde Amy Todd Meredith Hoy Philip Chassler Kathy Kogan Tina Mullins John Hess
Others Present: Al Leisinger, FSU NTT Grievance Officer Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Membership Coordinator
Announcements
DPC-CPC Training¬- It was reported that the training was well attended and that there is a strong need for further training sessions. It was noted that much of the training sessions focused on NTT issues (Senior Lecturer promotion, etc.) but that there were not NTT present apart from FSU VP Amy Todd. It was suggested that NTT need to play a bigger role in subsequent trainings. Further suggestions included holding the training earlier in the semester, hold more than one a year, and having a portion of the training that does not include Admin representatives.
Hearing at the State House re Retiree Health Insurance Bill- The hearing will be on 10/31/13 to discuss bill that would increase the retiree health insurance for many state workers. The FSU will send an email asking members to attend. Amy Todd will help organize a group of FSU members to attend as well.
FSU Logo-Lorenzo reported that he will be meeting with FSU member Cat Mazza to discuss the logo and the possibility that her graphics design students might be able to develop a logo.
All Unit Meeting on Bargaining-The FSU Negotiation Committee will be holding a meeting on Wednesday, October 23rd 2:30 in the union conference room to discuss results of the bargaining survey and other bargaining issues/questions members may have. The meeting is open to all bargaining unit members.
Report: Parking and Transportation
It was reported that the union parking coalition did not accept a recent Admin parking proposal. In response, Admin indicated that they we were not going to be bargaining until the Spring. The coalition decided to draft an alternative proposal with more equity measures included and they presented that to Admin. As of yet, there is no word on whether or not Admin will accept the latest proposal.
Negotiation Committee and Bargaining Team
It was noted that the FSU bylaws require the President to provide a list of bargaining team members and the Ex Com to vote to approve them. The FSU Negotiation Committee has been tasked with suggesting team members as well to the President. The following FSU members were presented as possible team members: Marlene Kim, Larry Kaye, Jon Millman, John Hess. It was noted that the FSU is given 4 course releases for bargaining (including 1 for Librarians) and that bargaining team members must be available on Fridays for bargaining sessions. There was discussion of the team member candidates. It was suggested that more work should be done to get additional nominees. Kathy Kogan agreed to send an email to the NTT Caucus asking for suggestions. It was also noted that Librarians and Clinical Track nurses may not need to serve on the bargaining team if they find MSP language acceptable (that language has already been agreed to so FSU could conceivably just carry it over to UMB). The Ex Com will have to vote on a bargaining team in the next 2 weeks or so (the vote can be conducted electronically and anonymously).
Union Organizing- Department Chairs
Catherine reported on efforts to unionize the chairs. She has spoken with 24 out of 35 total and says that more than half on both campuses would vote to unionize. MSP plans on collecting card authorizations this week; FSU will do so next week. Catherine Lynde will ask Ex Com members to reach out to chairs once the card check authorization campaign begins.
Update: Grievance Committee
There was discussion of the problems concerning compensation for 4-credit courses. Issues include: whether or not the 4th credit should be paid as add comp or put on base. It was noted that policies differ from department to department and that Admin and the FSU would like to see a formal, university wide policy. It was suggested that this be addressed in bargaining. There was also a report on 3 NTT class action grievances that have been unified and filed as a single unfair labor practice charge at the MA Labor Relations Board (a hearing will be scheduled in late November/early December). A brief report was given on an informal hearing to address priority list issues in Instructional Design and on a strategy for dealing with continual problems related to Admin’s inability/unwillingness to address problems with HR effectiveness.
FSU Dues Assessment Procedures
There was discussion of the FSU dues assessment process and how/whether or not to codify a formal FSU dues assessment policy. Issues include: compliance with the MTA dues structure, fairness of the current dues assessment system, what might be the implications of altering the dues assessment procedure. Lorenzo will discuss these issues with Mickey and send a proposal to the Ex Com to discuss/vote on.
Jobs With Justice Organizational Membership and Endorsement of the Raise Up MA Campaign
There was a discussion of whether or not to join Jobs With Justice as an organizational member (there is no fee to join). The Ex Com voted unanimously to join. There was discussion of whether or not to endorse the Raise Up MA campaign to increase the state’s minimum wage and provide for mandatory sick days for employees. The Ex Com voted unanimously to endorse the campaign. The FSU will also send an email to the activist list on ways they can support the campaign.