October 5, 2012
FACULTY STAFF UNION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING 10/5/12
Members Present: Phil Chassler Tina Mullins Marlene Kim Steven Levine Meredith Hoy Kathy Kogan Larry Kaye Linda Dumas Peggy Walsh
Others Present: Lorenzo Nencioli, FSU Membership Coordinator Daniel Finn, FSU Administrative Assistant Al Leisinger, FSU NTT Grievance Officer Jeff Keisler, FSU TT Grievance Officer
Announcements
Travel Funds- It was noted that the newly negotiated travel funds would be implemented soon and that the disagreement with Admin over whether or not these travel funds would be in addition to existing funds or would replace such funds had been resolved (they will be in addition to other funds). Members should be vigilant about how these funds are allocated and report any issues to the FSU.
Raises- According to HR, the raises from the new contract will be implemented on 10/28/12. Retro will follow in the pay period after that. It was unclear if merit raises will be calculated before or after the COLA raises go into effect.
Retirement of Jeff McCue, head of HR- 10/5/12 will be Jeff McCue’s last day.
Budgets-The budgets for departments are in disarray because carry-forwards from the previous year have been kept by the administration. The result is that research money is being kept, and there are rumors that overhead money generated by grants and startup money for faculty are being held. Any issues/problems/concerns should be communicated to the union.
Parking Petition Delivery- It was noted that 5,000 petitions have been signed so far. There will be an action on 10/11/12 at 3:15 between Science and McCormack. Petitions will be delivered by hundreds of union and student volunteers to the Chancellor’s office. Anyone interested in participating should contact the FSU office (Steven Levine agreed to be there).
NTT Orientations- 2 were held in September (John Hess, Lorenzo Nencioli, and Camille Martinez from the Office for Faculty Development were present; Kathy Kogan was also present at one of them). About 10 people total attended, though there was very positive feedback from attendees.
FSU President’s Meeting with the Chancellor- Marlene Kim reported that the Chancellor said all UMB revenue, expenses, and budget info can be found online (an issue that came up at a prior meeting). The Chancellor indicated that office space concerns should be directed toward Ellen O’Connor. Carry forward issue should be discussed with other administrators and the problems are going to be resolved. At their next meeting, Marlene will remind the Chancellor of the legal necessity to bargain and of the FSU’s desire to have input into the selection of a replacement for Jeff McCue (Chancellor indicated replacement would be made sometime in Fall 12). Jeff Keisler agreed to serve on a search committee as an FSU rep.
HELC Meeting- Ex Com members should email feedback re the Vision Statement to Marlene so she can present it at the next HELC meeting. It was noted that the push for quantitative assessment procedures outlined in the Vision Statement do not have evidence of success and that proof of success should be required before such procedures are put in place.
Phone banking for Obama, Warren campaigns-It was noted that the MTA is pushing MTA activists to participate in phone banking for the elections. This would be (MTA) member to member calls. A motion was made to inform the membership of volunteer opportunities for phone banking. Motion was seconded. Motion passes by unanimous vote. An email will be sent to members informing them of opportunities to volunteer (2 days, week of 10/22/12).
Business
FSU rep to Health and Safety Committee- John Hess is one of the FSU reps to the L/M committee on health and safety. The FSU will need to have an additional representative serve. Linda Dumas agreed to serve for Spring 13. An email will be sent to membership asking for volunteers to serve as well (John will craft email).
FSU rep to Faculty Council-Marlene cannot attend FC meetings and asked other members who might attend in her place and give the FSU report to the Council. Jeff Keisler agreed to take her place for Fall 12.
Meeting with new MTA Higher Ed director re political action-The new director wants to meet with activists from all locals to discuss ways of developing system for keeping members politically active after the elections. Peggy Walsh agreed to participate in such a meeting on behalf of FSU. The Ex Com will also ask Heike Schotten if she would like to participate.
Conversion to 2/2 in CLA- Concerns were raised that NTT faculty were possibly being displaced by this conversion, and a discussion ensued about what was occurring . It was noted that there is a CLA 2/2 bargaining team that includes an NTT issues subcommittee. This subcommittee will be looking at the issue of loss of sections, class size, compensation for larger classes, and the possibility of increased use of grad assistants. It was also noted that the CLA 2/2 plan cannot go forward if any of the subcommittees are opposed to the plan. Kathy Kogan volunteered to read the NTT subcommittee’s report on these issues once it is released. It was agreed that the FSU would hold an informational luncheon on the 2/2 issue once all the 2/2 committee’s reports are released. The issue of 2/2 conversion and course releases was raised (would total number of CLR’s offered to TT be reduced if 2/2 is enacted?). It was noted that any such change would have to be bargained as it would constitute a change in working conditions. Meredith Hoy agreed to read the 2/2 reports once they are published in order to track concerns over CLR reductions. Members with questions/concerns should contact NTT subcommittee members (Larry Kaye, John Hess, Rachel Rubin).
FSU Luncheons-the planned FSU informational luncheons on classroom/office space and construction disruptions will be combined into 1 luncheon (Ellen O’Connor will be invited to both). There will also be a 2/2 luncheon (see above).
Co-sponsoring LRC Speakers- The Labor Resource Center is sponsoring 2 Brazilian labor activists who will speak at UMB on labor issues for women in Brazil. The LRC has asked the FSU to be a co-sponsor and donate money to help allay the costs. Motion was made to have FSU be a co-sponsor and to donate $50. Motion was seconded. Motion passes by unanimous vote.
Waiver Language for Students/External Letter Writers- Current practice allows for the option of a waiver to see letters of recommendation in member employee files. However, the names of the letter writers appear in the file and allow the faculty member to know who is writing the letter, resulting in a possible chilling effect on potential letter writers. There was discussion of whether or not waiver language should be altered to address this issue.
FSU Logo- It was agreed that the FSU will ask the MTA graphics department for help in designing a new FSU logo.
Bargaining Updates
There was no new information as bargaining on parking, NTT issues, the Workload Committee, and distance learning have stopped or have never begun due to changes in Admin (Jeff McCue will be leaving in early October).
Grievance Updates
There was a report on ongoing grievances, including issues related to the transfer of 2 programs from the day unit to UC, non-adherence to the priority list, NTT under salary floors, and the 33% rule grievances.