Welcome Back from the FSU

9/9/2019

Dear Colleague,

Welcome back to campus for those of you who are returning.  For those of you who are new, welcome to UMass Boston. We wish you a rewarding semester ahead. As you can see, we have been busy: 

► Gender and Race Equity Study has been completed.  A gender equity study was mandated in our 2012-14 contract (and again in our 2014-17 and 2017-20 contracts) but was only recently completed when the FSU President Marlene Kim personally intervened. We will be following up with the university on next steps.  (See the study here),

►Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Impact Bargaining Update: HR Direct sent you an email Saturday evening about your new tax to fund this benefit.  Forward the message to UMass President Meehan (Mmeehan@umassp.edu) and Interim Chancellor Newman (Katherine.Newman@umb.edu) and change the subject line to ‘Rejected by a Member of the UMass United Unions’.  For further information, see the email we sent on Friday, Sept 6 regarding this.  Note that the paid parental leave and paid sick that already exist for benefitted members in our contract will continue to be offered as well (see Article 27.3.3 and 27.3.5 of the contract for more information). 

►Salary increases: Were in your July 26, 2019 paycheck.  You received a 2% pay increase (this is a correction from a previous email) plus a lump sum from the previous two years’ 2% increases (for 4% total) in your December 14, 2018 paycheck.   

►Parking problems?  Despite what you may have heard, anyone can purchase a semester pass, regardless of their full- or part-time status.  Contact Chris Sweeney at Chris.Sweeney@umb.edu if you have been unable to purchase these. 

► AFR’s: Are due on Monday, September 16:  Although there will not be merit awards during this current contract (all raises will be cost of living raises), we strongly advise you to complete your AFR since these are essential documents used by departments and the administration for promotions and performance evaluations. In addition, departments or future contracts may reward meritorious work performed during the 2017-20 contract time period. 

► DPC/CPC training  is on Monday, September 30^th, 1-3 pm in the Alumni Lounge (2^nd floor, Campus Center). Co-sponsored by the Office for Faculty Development and the FSU, this is designed to inform DPC and CPC chairs or their representatives regarding the responsibilities of the DPC’s and CPC’s in the promotional and personnel processes.  Knowledge of the promotional procedures outlined in the contract and university policies is an essential component in both ensuring that the best practices for personnel procedures are utilized and in avoiding taking personnel actions that might result in violations of the contract.  Therefore, we strongly encourage all Departments to send DPC and CPC chairs to attend this training.

►Bargaining our successor agreement will begin in Spring 2020.  The FSU is still looking for members to be on the bargaining team and the bargaining support committee.  For more information, see here.  Let us know if you are interested by Friday, September 13th.

►The Turbulent History of UMass Boston by Tim Sieber, Professor of Anthropology, and Executive Committee Member, is a moving chronicle of the activist history at UMB and a portrait of how UMB  thrived despite numerous obstacles. Read this article here.

The union is only as strong as members are involved.  Let us know if you want to be involved in the union, serve on our membership drive, a committee, or help with any of these issues.

Marlene Kim

Faculty Staff Union President, and

Professor

Department of Economics

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