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Faculty Staff Union, UMass Boston
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The Faculty Staff Union of UMass-Boston
Representing Faculty Members and Librarians at UMass Boston Since 1976.

The Faculty Staff Union of UMass Boston Quinn/2/81A 100 Morrissey Blvd Boston MA 02125 617-287-6295 | fsu@umb.edu 

The Faculty Staff Union of UMass Boston

Welcome to the FSU Site. Here you will find important information about our union, including the contract, a list of officers and  Executive Committee members, the FSU office telephone number and our address. You will also find information about current issues.   Please be sure to check the site regularly for the most recent issues facing our unit. We also have provided links to related sites that   you may find useful for union issues and for professional activities.



Caroline Coscia, President 

fsu@umb.edu

 

Learning From The Wins At Rutgers

2/29/2024

Learning from the Wins at Rutgers

The following is a transcript of an interview with Todd Wolfson and Bryan Sacks of Rutgers University conducted by Joseph G. Ramsey, Senior Lecturer, English, American Studies, and Honors College.

Research Intensive Semester- Counting Prior Course Releases?

A pre-tenured tenure track member was informed that prior course releases granted upon hire fulfilled the terms of the Research Intensive Semester (RIS) guaranteed in Article 15.7.1 (the latter grants faculty a semester of teaching free work or two semesters with a single course load reduction). However, the member was hired at 3/3, rather than 2/2 (which is the current contractual norm for a full time load) and never actually received a teaching free semester nor a 1/1 academic year.

Repayment Demanded By HR For Errant Over Compensation Of Members

We have spoken with a number of members who have reported that they have been accidentally overpaid by Payroll. The latter has then mandated that the members repay the inadvertent over compensation.

Mandated Service Assignments For Tenure Track Faculty

A tenure track member indicated that they have been mandated to perform a specific service job that they had not agreed to perform. The FSU Grievance Committee assessed the matter and noted that while Article 15 of the contract does require service, it does not speak to the specifics of service assignments. However, the Grievance Committee also noted that the practice at UMass Boston has been to allow faculty members to choose their own service work and not require specific service assignments.

Discipline of A Member Enacted Without Due Process

The FSU Grievance Committee was able to reach a settlement with Admin on this grievance. The member has agreed to regularly consult admin regarding ongoing workplace issues. Upon successful completion of this requirement, any letters of discipline related to this issue will be removed from the member's personnel file.

From the FSU Grievance Committee update sent on 3/23/23:

Issues Related to Implementation of Course Releases For Senior Lecturer 2 and Senior Lecturer 3 Ranks

The FSU has worked with a number of members who have indicated that they are being denied the course release (CLR) mandated by 21.2 of the contract which requires one CLR per year for full-time Senior Lecturer IIs and 2 CLRs per year for Senior Lecturer IIIs. Specifically, one full-time member is being denied the release due to the fact that they are already 3/3 with a quarter-time assignment outside of teaching.

Course Release Eligibility for Full Time Senior Lecturer II’s

We reached a settlement agreement with the Administration whereby 5 individuals implicated in the grievance would be made whole: they will receive the course release and will be given full-time continuing appointments. The parties (Admin and FSU) then agreed to address the problems generated by confusion over this language via contract negotiations.

From the 3/23/23 Grievance Committee update:

Discriminatory Content and Retaliation in Promotion Reviews

 (see below for info from previous update) - Four female faculty members in a single department underwent promotional reviews in 2020-2021 (three for tenure and one for Professor). Following the promotions to tenure, the four filed a grievance alleging gender and race discrimination among several other violations of the collective bargaining agreement.

Associate Lecturer Conversion

A settlement offer was made from Admin. The grievant did not accept the settlement offer. The case was then withdrawn (see below for info from previous update).

From the 5/18/22 Grievance Update:

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