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Union Updates.
Your union is looking for a few good members, 24 to be exact, to attend the MCCC Delegate Assembly on Saturday 4/28/07. We really need members to become more actively involved in their union, and show it to the other side, if you are going to have any chance of achieving our professional and financial goals as a union.If you are willing to serve as a delegate for that one day please e-mail me as soon as possible your willingness to serve along with your home address so that I can get you registered with the MCCC.
Thank you,
Rob. BRodgers@stcc.edu
1. If you have not yet contacted your Representatives (not Senators) about Higher Education funding, please e-mail and/or call them right away to thank them for their past support and ask them to increase funding to our Community Colleges. Program cuts, over-reliance on part-time faculty, unsafe or inadequate facilities, and increased fees for students ranging from 38% to well over 50% in 5 years are among a few of the reasons you can cite. Let them know you support increased revenues to support funding for public higher education, if you do. Without it, little chance exits for any increase in state support for our colleges. Note the House Budget will be out by April 11, so calls must be made this week.
2. Note the COLA update distributed by MTA. A new Senate Bill (SB 1586) will increase the cost of living base for state pensions from $12,000 to $25,000. At some point all of us will be retiring and this increase is an attempt to provide a much more equitable base to address the cost of living challenges that retirees are now facing. Please send an e-mail on Wednesday, April 4th, to let Legislators (both Senators and Representatives) know this is important to you. Sign up on the link below this MTA message if you want more COLA updates. See the points below for more information, and note other related links that have been included.
To find out who your legislators are, follow this link: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php
Thank you for your support. I know this is busy legislative week for all of us, but our voices can make a difference. And now is the time.
In solidarity,
Donnie McGee
Diana (Donnie) McGee
Vice President and SAC Chair, MCCC
Vice_President@mccc-union.org
508.415.1513
COLA UPDATE:
· It's Time to Raise the COLA!
· 99 cents a day really isn't a cost-of-living adjustment.
· MTA is supporting SB 1586. This bill would raise the COLA base to$25,000.
SB 1586: An Act Relative To The Calculation of Retiree COLAs
Just the Facts (MTA website document)
· $25,000 base is reasonable
All retirees should receive a COLA based on their full pension. Social Security does it (and Mass. public employees
do not have Social Security) and this bill simply pegs the state COLA base to approximate what Social Security is
doing now for its recipients. This is more than a reasonable remedy for what has been a travesty for our public
retirees for too long.
· Pension investment returns have increased substantially:
The latest report from the Pension Reserve Investment Trust (PRIT) shows that the earnings of the teacher/state
employee pension system increased 16.72 percent in 2006, more than double the fund’s 8.25 percent earnings
benchmark. Moreover, the fund’s average return since its inception (1984) is an enviable 11.38 percent, again well
above the earnings benchmark. Such performance makes it feasible for a meaningful increase in the pension base
this year.
· COLA increases require substantial funding;
Because the state has been derelict in addressing the inadequacy of retiree COLAs, the cost to bring the state’s
retirees up to Social Security’s minimal standards will require substantial budget appropriations. Regardless of the
obstacles, we need to address this situation in a meaningful way now and this bill attempts to do that. The Public
Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) estimated in 2005 that an increase in the base to
$22,000 would require an initial appropriation of $216 million, increasing each year until 2023. An alternative
would be to lengthen the funding schedule by nine years to accommodate the increased COLA called for in this bill.
In brief, the funding schedule, similar to a mortgage, would be extended from the current 16 years to 25 years
(2023-2032).
· The COLA base has not increased for 10 years:
The maximum annual COLA that a retiree or survivor can receive has been $360
since 1997. With a maximum monthly COLA of just $30, it is not hard to see why
an increase in the base is warranted. The COLA base was set at $6,000 in 1971 and,
tragically, that has only doubled to $12,000 during the past 36 years. Meanwhile, the
cost-of-living in Massachusetts has increased more than fivefold since 1971.
MTA Needs You:
· Come to Boston: MTA Retired COLA Lobby Day, April 4, 2007
· Can't make it to Boston? Join the E-mail Lobby! Send an e-mail from your home computer to your state rep and senator. Click Here to send.
COLA Quick Links
* massteacher.org/lobby4cola
* massteacher.org/cola
* Subscribe to MTA's new COLA E-lert. Active and retired members may subscribe.
March 1, Years 1 - 4 - Notices of reappointment and non-reappointment for all full-time unit members in their first four years of employment must be provided by March 1. Notices must be delivered by hand, mailed certified return receipt requested, first class mail, or by facsimile transmission. Failure to give proper notice shall constitute reappointment for one year. Reasons and the decision to non-reappoint in the first four years are not grievable.
October 15, Year 5 and after - Once a unit member receives notice of reappointment for the fifth year of service (notice by March 1 of the 4th year of service), the just cause standard for any future non-reappointment applies and any decision to non-reappoint is grievable. All notices of reappointment and non-reappointment after the 4th year of service are due by October 15.
Dennis Fitzgerald
mcccfitzy@comcast.net
Grievance-Day@mccc-union.org
tel 508-746-2533
fax 508-746-5258
This is to let everyone know that the regularly scheduled STCC/PA membership meeting set for tomorrow, 2/21/07 at 12:15 is canceled. There is no pressing business to bring before the full body at this time so I have canceled the meeting so as to not waste everyone's' time.
There is one piece of good news that I do have to report and that is that the Massachusetts legislature last week passed a supplemental budget that contains an appropriation of money necessary to pay the first year salary increases under our new contract. This bill has been sent to the governor for signature which we hope he will do shortly. If this happens then the BHE will get the individual salary increases from the colleges', including the retro back to 7/1/06, the Board will then submit that information to the Treasurer for payroll checks to be cut and distributed.
I don't have any dates for this all to happen but hopefully it will not take too long.
Our next regularly scheduled STCC/PA meeting is currently set for 4/18/07 but if we need one before that we will call a special meeting.
Rob.
The Executive Committee of the Springfield Technical Community College Professional Association today announced that Diane Patrick, the wife of Governor-elect Deval Patrick, has accepted the Association's invitation to speak at the Second Annual Rosa Parks Day observance at STCC's Scibelli Hall Auditorium this Friday (December 1) at 11 a.m. Nearly one thousand STCC students signed a statement supporting the campus union's invitation.
Rhea McCauley, Rosa Parks' niece, will be the keynote speaker at this year's campus celebration, which is open to the public and free of charge.
Prof. Nicholas Camerota, Vice President of STCC's Professional Association, credited E. Henry Twiggs, Co-Chair of the Rosa Parks Day Committee, with
securing Mrs. Patrick's presence. The campus union voted unanimously on November 2 to invite Deval Patrick. The Governor-elect was unable to attend
because of demands imposed by the transition period. The union's leadership asked Twiggs to invite Mrs. Patrick to the celebration.
"During an extraordinary hectic time, Mr.Twiggs made certain these invitations reached key decision makers in the Patrick transition team. We are extremely grateful for his efforts on behalf of our union, this college, and the community. Because of his tireless and effective activism, Mr. Twiggs' voice is heard and respected statewide and at the national level,"
Camerota said.
Last December 1st, the college commemorated Rosa Parks' arrest for violating racial segregation laws on the same date 50 years earlier. The Rosa Parks
Day Committee, a partnership between the college and the community, sponsored a two hour teach-in and reception at STCC which honored Springfield-area Civil Rights activists of the 1950s and 60s, including Representative Benjamin Swan (D-Springfield) and Mrs. Ruth B. Loving.
The STCC Professional Association represents more than 400 full-time and adjunct faculty, and professional staff members. The college's Professional
Association is affiliated with the National Education Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and the Massachusetts Community College Council. <enditem>
For additional information, call Nicholas Camerota @
755-4806 (office at STCC)
The last couple of weeks are now a blur in my mind at this busy point in the semester, but I wanted to pass on a few items of interest:
1. Contract funding: Our 2006-2009 Agreement is now in the hands of the Ways and Means Committees. A typical timeline for funding is spring, 2007, but we are working to lobby the legislature to do it in informal session before the holidays. There are no guarantees that this will happen, of course.
Here's how you can help: Contact your state senator and rep. and ask that they pass House bill 5348. Donnie McGee will be following up with more detailed information in coming days.
2. Higher Education Summit: I will be participating in a small group meeting (less than 20 people) with Governor-Elect Deval Patrick today at UMass-Amherst. Items on our agenda to revitalize our system of public higher education include increasing funding, bolstering full-time hiring and providing students with additional financial aid. This promises to be an exciting day, and I'll report on it in greater detail next week.
3. Classification salary system task force: Later this month, the executive committee will likely be recommending the creation of a Classification Taskforce with a charge, among others, of pressing the Commonwealth to keep its long-delayed promise of paying MCCC full-time members at the 75th salary percentile of the 10 classification states. More details to follow in coming weeks.
4. Connector meeting: I, along with the MTA's Art Pippo and Katie D'Urso, will be meeting with officials from the Connector, the Commonwealth's new authority charged with implementing the new health insurance law. Our goal is to determine how the new law will affect our adjuncts in need of health insurance. I receive emails from adjuncts every week about his issue. While we continue to fight for an health insurance bill, the Connector may provide a short term answer at least. Look for details in my next update.
5. Menard and other events: Donnie McGee and I recently attended events in support of Senator Joan Menard, a great friend of the MCCC who was instrumental in helping to enact the 03 bill into law over the summer. The MCCC was also represented at an event in honor of Higher Education Committee Co-Chair Rep. Kevin Murphy. Both were pressed to reverse the 9C cuts and to pass the long-delayed Higher Education Reform Act.
6. Boston Globe ad: In a first for our union, the MCCC recently ran an advertisement on the Op/Ed page of the Boston Globe. The ad congratulates Governor-Elect Patrick and advocates for a variety of issues important to our members, colleges and students. To see the ad, follow this link:
http://mccc-union.org/Newsletter/In_the_News/Globe-OpEd-111796.pdf
Off to Amherst!
In solidarity,
Joe
Dear STCC faculty and professional staff,
MCCC Vice President Donnie McGee and I look forward to seeing you at
the STCC Professional Association meeting Wednesday at 12:15 p.m.
Newer members are especially encouraged to attend. Introduce
yourselves to us and we'll do our best to welcome you to the Mass.
Community College Council as well as provide an overview of your
union, its services and opportunities to serve our organization.
Together we can make a difference.
In solidarity,
Joe LeBlanc
MCCC President
November 28, 2006
This just in...
Governor Romney has submitted our 2006-2009 Agreement to the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees. This is very good news indeed since the legislature has funded every contract that has been submitted in this manner abiding by the rules outlined in Chapter 150E, the statute governing our collective bargaining process.
We will now be working with our lobbyists, the presidents' labor relations committee, our Strategic Action Committee and YOU to secure funding at the earliest available opportunity.
Thanks to the chapters that voted to go on Work to Rule over the last week or so.
Stay tuned for details about the funding process in coming days and weeks.
In solidarity,
Joe
For statewide distribution:
Hello, everyone,
I have summarized below the current legislation of interest to the MCCC. I have also included recent SAC activities and a few other news items.
Legislative Update:
Higher Ed Reform Act:
This bill continues to be stalled. The House and Senate have not come to agreement on the final version of the bill. The cost of funding the mandates in the bill is also a concern.
Joe LeBlanc and I have met with both the House and Senate Chairs of the Joint Committee on Higher Education and plan to discuss this bill in the weeks ahead with:
+ Jan Motta, Executive Director of the Presidents Council
+ Labor Relations Committee of the Presidents Council
- Ask your campus President (at Macer or in casual conversation) where the Presidents stand on this bill and what strategies they are pursuing regarding its passage
- In the spring, MCCC leadership plans to work with the legislature, the governor, and the College Presidents to get this bill enacted into law.
* Bills to be re-filed:
- HB 530 - As you well know, this bill would amend Chapter 150 E, the problematic law that dictates our contract funding process. The Higher Education Leadership Council (HELC), representing other MTA college and university unions across the state, are with us on this - as is UMD's Faculty Association.
- Adjunct Health Insurance and Pension Bills: Joe LeBlanc will meet with MTA leaders next week to discuss the new state health insurance law and how it might effect adjuncts. The MCCC has heard from at least one other higher ed. union who plans to work with us on the Health Insurance Bill for adjuncts.
- Peace Corps Bill: One member has contacted me about the re-filing of a bill that would allow higher ed. employees to buy back creditable service towards retirement for time spent in the peace corp. Please let me know if you or anyone else you know in our union would benefit from this bill.
ORP Ad Hoc Committee:
Met on Nov. 16th, 2006;
- Agreed to explore legislation that would allow ORP members to switch to the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS);
- Will get feedback on whether to seek legal redress for concerns related to the ORP enrollment process on their campuses.
- 03 Buyback/Chapter 161 Update:
- MCCC Presidents have indicated that employment records are dated, but HR Offices will work with everyone to settle requests as quickly as possible.
- If doubtful whether part-time service is "03," submit a buyback request and let the State Retirement Board (SRB) make that determination.
- Once notified of the eligibility to purchase retirement credit, an employee has 180 days to purchase that credit in one lump sum or enter into an installment agreement with the SRB to pay for that credit over time. Don't initiate the request until ready to act on it.
News:
- The MCCC placed a 1/4 page ad on the Op Ed page of the Boston Globe on Nov. 17th. The ad congratulated Governor Elect Deval Patrick and highlighted the many ways that Community Colleges enrich the Commonwealth. Thanks to Don Williams for an excellent ad - with input from Joe LeBlanc and the MCCC Executive Committee.
- The Op Ed page on Thanksgiving Day had a very appropriate article for our times, entitled "The Vital Role of Community Colleges." The author, William Green, emphasizes the need for increased state support for our colleges as they are vital to the health and well-being of the communities and residents that they serve. Of course, we know that, but it is nice to have a CEO and former junior college grad emphasize this on the Globe's opinion pages.
- I received a letter from Governor-Elect Patrick regarding the "Massachusetts/47th in the Nation ..." T-Shirt I gave him at Bristol Community College several weeks ago. He said he certainly appreciated the T-Shirt, but didn't need any reminder of the need to commit to increased investment in our institutions. He looks forward to working with the MCCC to that end. And we certainly look forward to such collaboration.
I know this is a busy time and all of us are concerned about contract funding. MCCC leadership will be in touch. Thanks to all of you for your work on campus, on the campaign, and in your partnerships with legislators these past six months. Your participation is crucial to our success in promoting our MCCC agenda.
In solidarity,
Donnie McGee
MCCC SAC Chair
To all unit members:
The attached e-mail is from Joe LeBlanc about the fact that Governor Romney failed to sign our contract or to submit a funding bill to the legislature. The governor had until Monday, 11/20/06, 45 days from the day it was submitted to him by the Board of Higher Education, to ratify the contract that was negotiated under his parameters last summer. In light of his cuts to the college's budget and to AFSME's retroactive salary monies, if is perhaps not surprising that he failed to ratify or fund our contract. We will have to discuss at our next meeting what we can do to correct this situation.
Robert M. Rodgers.
STCCPA President
Under Chapter 150E, today is the "last day" for Governor Romney to act on our 2006-2009 Agreement. With the recent news about his unnecessary cuts to the state budget (using his legally questionable powers under 9C), we hope he will do the right thing today and submit our contract to the Ways and Means Committees, but do not expect him to do so.
Anticipating such an action or inaction, I have taken the following steps to make sure that incoming Governor Deval Patrick honors our collective bargaining agreement at the earliest possible opportunity in the New Year:
* I spoke with Chancellor Pat Plummer last week. She says she will be meeting with Governor-Elect Patrick in early 2007 and that our contract and the APA's (state college administrators) will be at the top of her agenda for this meeting.
* I have contacted the college presidents about this issue. They have pledged their full support.
* I have contacted Wayne Burton, North Shore CC President and a member of the Deval Patrick Transition Team. He has agreed to assist us and will contact the Governor-Elect.
* I have contacted MTA President Anne Wass and Executive-Director Eddie Sullivan to ask that they set up a meeting with Governor-Elect Patrick or his staff to allow us to push this issue in person.
Last Friday, the MCCC's Board of Directors voted to recommend that all chapters vote on whether or not to go on Work to Rule at their next regular meeting. We do not view this as an emergency situation to date. We expect the new Governor will submit the contract and the Legislature will fund it during the spring semester. To sum up the views of the board, this recommendation to go on Work to Rule is being made as a direct result of Gov. Romney not honoring an agreement negotiated by his own administration.
We expect that Governor-Elect Patrick will submit the contracts in early 2007, but we realize you would like better proof than what our political guts are telling us. We will meet with Governor-Elect Patrick or his transition team. We will fight for assurances that the new Governor will submit the contracts at the earliest available opportunity in the New Year. For now, Work to Rule communicates our outrage and shows, once again, that the collective bargaining law is indeed broken. We anticipate this will be the only job action required to help fund our contract.
Your support for the efforts of our union is much-appreciated.
In solidarity,
Joe
Given the recent Romney maneuvers, it is urgent that MCCC members take action and contact legislators as soon as possible. As MCCC/SAC e-mails and current news have indicated, Romney first vetoed the Legislature's plan to use any reserve funding to support state expenses and now is trying to cover his actions by using "9C" powers to freeze state spending. He wants to leave office with a record of balancing the budget, regardless of the cost to cities, towns, and those of us who actually work for this state.
Please read Arline Isaacson's e-mail below to get a sense of how these cuts could affect the Commonwealth and all of us. Cuts to the GIC could increase our health insurance costs or decrease our coverage. The $38 million cut to public higher education will decrease funding to our community colleges by $3.1 million dollars.
Please contact your legislators today:
* Ask if they will reconvene to take action on these Romney cuts.
* Ask them to restore funding to public higher education and the GIC health insurance plan as soon as possible.
* To find out who your legislators are, go to this link: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php
* Contact information for Representatives and Senators can be accessed using the links below:
o Massachusetts House of Representatives:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenuh.htm
o Massachusetts Senate:
http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenus.htm
Thank you for taking the time to make these contacts and communicate this message.
In solidarity,
Donnie McGee
MCCC SAC Chair
Romney Freezes State Spending
As you have probably read in the newspapers, Gov. Romney announced major cuts to the current state budget. Under powers known as his "9C Powers", he plans to freeze $425m in spending previously approved by the legislature. The term "9C" comes from the section of the laws giving the govenor the power to make unilateral cuts. The $38 million cuts amount to 1.7% of overall state spending.
Romney announced that his cuts will include a one percent across the board cut with very few exemptions. The list of cuts (see link below) includes significant cuts to education, higher ed and state employees accounts.
Insurance Premiums for State Employees
Romney cut $30m from the GIC (Group Insurance Commission) line-item funding state employee health insurance coverage. If the funding for this line-item is not restored, state employees' health insurance premiums will increase OR the Romney controlled GIC could change the health care plans to save $30m.
Cuts to Higher Education
Romney cut over $38m from a wide variety of higher education accounts including:
$3.7 m from state colleges
$3.1 m from community colleges
$8.4m from UMass
$14.6m from UMass collective bargaining reserves
$5.8m from state and community college collective bargaining reserves
NOTE:
Since the retroactive pay raises recently approved by the legislature have already been paid to state employees, the effect of this freeze would be to cut the college and university budgets by that same amount.
For a complete listing of the cuts, go to
http://www.mass.gov/Agov2/docs/11.10.06.9c.cuts.pdf
What can be done?
MTA is asking the legislature to reconvene quickly in order to reverse the 9C cuts. It is unclear as of this writing whether or not the legislature will come back for a special formal session during 2006. Please contact your state legislators and ask them to take action on these cuts as soon as possible.
Good news! It may be time to redeem credit for the years you and/or your colleagues have put in as 03 employees in this state. A notice about the purchase of creditable service for former “contract employees” was printed on all state employees’ pay advice statements of 9/22/06. I have copied that message below:
BEGINNING IN OCTOBER, IF YOU HAVE TEN YEARS OF CREDITABLE SERVICE WITH THE STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND HAD FORMERLY PROVIDED SERVICE AS A “CONTRACT EMPLOYEE,” YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO PURCHASE THAT SERVICE AS CREDITABLE SERVICE TOWARD YOUR RETIREMENT. PLEASE CONTACT THE STATE RETIREMENT BOARD AT HTTP://WWW.MASS.GOV/TREASURY/SRB.HTM, 617-367-7770, OR 1-800-392-6014 (WITHIN MA).
Note the website address above seems to be in error. The website address below will bring you directly to the buyback form needed by former “03” or “contract employees”. No buyback form was sent with this notice.
http://www.mass.gov/treasury/forms/ret/SBR_ServiceBuyBack4.pdf
If you have questions, contact the State Retirement Board at the number(s) above and/or the Human Resources Office on your campus. If you still have questions, please contact me.
Good luck to everyone.
Donnie
Diana (Donnie) McGee
MCCC Vice-President & SAC Chair
RE: UNIT PERSONNEL PRACTICES COMMITTEE (UPPC):
The collective bargaining agreement requires the establishment of the UPPC by November 21. Professional staff unit members are entitled to one member on the committee elected, at large, by the unit members present and voting at a meeting called by the STCC/PA President.
Any professional staff unit member may be nominated and run for this committee provided that he/she is NOT a candidate for tenure or terminal contract during this academic year. Self nominations are acceptable. If any one is interested in running for this committee please e-mail me and I will place your name on the ballot. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor on the day of the election.
The election will be held on Wednesday, October 18,2006 at 12:30 in Bldg. 2 Rm. 218.
Robert M. Rodgers,
President, STCC/PA
For immediate statewide distribution:
Dear Colleagues:
The General Election is 25 days away, and many of us are counting. I'm counting on you to help make a difference in public higher education in our Commonwealth. I know that SAC representatives and chapter leaders are working to get every one involved in Campaign 2006 initiatives because so much is at stake.
* Our colleges, our communities, and our contracts depend on statewide funding. We must support those legislators who have supported our community college mission and our union. Legislative partnerships are a two-way street.
* Our professional lives and the funding for our colleges depend as well on the support we get from the governor's office. The governor sets our contractual parameters, is responsible for submitting legislation to get our contracts funded, and appoints members to countless statewide boards that affect our professional lives. We must campaign for a public education and union-friendly governor.
Campaign 2006: It's all about commitment:
* Commitment to those legislators who have supported our education and professional issues,
* Commitment to a gubernatorial candidate who will listen to us and do something about our 47th in the nation status in terms of state support for public higher education, and
* Commitment to getting out the vote among students, MCCC members, family, and friends.
Electing pro-public education leadership in Massachusetts: You can make a difference:
* Learn about the differences between the key candidates in the gubernatorial race. Note where they stand on key issues. Then educate others. Print out the attached point-by-point comparison of Gubernatorial Candidates Deval Patrick and Kerry Healey.
* Share your knowledge with family, friends, and colleagues. Participate in the 100,000 conversations campaign initiated by the MTA. Make a commitment to talk to at least 5 people about these issues. Ask them to talk to 5 others who will talk to 5 others, so the message grows and grows.
* If you want to support Deval Patrick more directly, go to the website link below to find the Deval Patrick coordinator for your town or precinct: http://community.devalpatrick.com/town.php Ask what you can do locally to make his bid for governor a reality. Be sure to identify yourself by name, school, and MCCC union affiliation.
* Support local legislators who support our union and our colleges. Contact your local SAC person or Chapter President if you have not heard from either regarding local races. Or contact your legislator directly to see if you can help. Be sure to indicate your name, college, and MCCC affiliation. Even though a legislator is unopposed, s/he may want some visibility at the polls. All will appreciate the call.
* Note the following website can provide you with voter information, including who your legislators are and where your voting site will be for this election: www.wheredoivotema.com
* Attend campaign events for local education candidates. Contact me for further information.
I will be providing campaign updates as needed. This election is too important to leave to chance. Thank you for your commitment to pro-public education leadership in this state. Please keep your SAC representative (or Chapter President if your chapter SAC position is unfilled) apprised of any and all of your campaign efforts.
Together we can ...make a difference.
In solidarity,
Donnie
Diana (Donnie) McGee
MCCC Vice-President & SAC Chair
Please distribute to all unit members.
Last week ended the fifth week of classes and immediate supervisors should have returned all course materials to faculty along with the Checklist of Course Materials (Form XIII-E2). If any of the 10 items listed on the checklist were missing or if the immediate supervisor had concerns, the faculty member should have been notified and given an opportunity to submit materials or respond to the concerns within fourteen (14) calendar days. If the missing items and/or concerns were identified, I recommend that you respond in writing to the immediate supervisor with the updated or missing item(s) and provide your students with the updated information.
The intent of this 14 day response period serves two (2) purposes:
1) To give the faculty member the opportunity to correct an oversight without a negative comment being placed in the summary evaluation.
2) To insure that students have all of the items on the checklist.
NB: Please note that faculty have full freedom in the selection of course materials and if the faculty member believes that directive from the immediate supervisor to change the course materials infringes upon academic freedom, then the faculty member has the right to initiate the grievance process.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Dennis Fitzgerald
MCCC Grievance Coordinator
mcccfitz@adelphia.net
Tel 508-746-2533
Fax 508-746-5258
sept. 22, 2006
For statewide distribution...
The Day Bargaining Team has asked me to report the ratification vote results:
YES: 740
NO: 190
The Agreement is ratified.
In coming days, I'll have more to report about dates for the formal signing and execution/delivery of the cost item request to Administration & Finance and the Governor.
Have a good weekend.
In solidarity,
Joe
MCCC Members,
A number of members have recently expressed the wish to be able tocommunicate with members on other campuses. To facilitate this, I havecreated an opt-in email list and online discussion group through Yahoothat I now invite all MCCC members (day faculty, professional staff, andDCE) to join. You can do this EITHER through email, or through a webbrowser, instructions for both are below.
Via Email
- Send an email to mccc_members-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . Include in the text which campus you're from and what you do there.
- I will approve you as soon as possible.
- Once you're approved, to send to the group, use mccc_members@yahoogroups.com
- You will receive emails each time someone sends them to the group.
- You can get off the list at any time by emailing mccc_members-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Via the Web
- Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mccc_members/
- Click "Join this Group!"
- Sign in with your Yahoo account or create a new one.
- If it gives you the option to include a message, say which campus you're from and what you do there.
- By default you can send and receive messages as above, but you can also send messages from the group webpage, and you can click "Edit My Membership" to instead receive email in daily chunks ("daily digest") or only read discussions on the web.
6. You can unsubscribe at anytime as described above, or via the webpage. I will be moderating who is allowed to join so that we can try to restrict it to MCCC members only. I will NOT be moderating the content of the discussions so long as they relate tangentially to the union, so you can feel free to express any point of view. If you are familiar with Yahoo groups and wish to help moderate, please send me an email. As this is a "grass roots" effort, comments by individuals in the group represent that individual's opinion only, and are not representative of the MCCC, the membership as a whole, or any of the campuses that make up the MCCC.
Andria Schwortz
Physics and Astronomy
Quinsigamond Community College
670 W Boylston St Box 224
Worcester, MA 01606
(508) 854-7495
SCE Member-At-Large - Eric Brown
MCCC Director - Roberta Albano
Save the Date
- Legislative Breakfast. HCC, GCC and STCC will be hosting a Legislative Breakfast in Scibelli Hall/7th floor, on Friday, April 21st, at 8 AM.
For statewide distribution...
Questions continue to be raised about the implementation of the 2003-2006 Agreement. The following is an overview of issues raised since the last update. Answers are in brackets at the end of each question. If you have any question about the present Agreement, do not hesitate to contact me.
Look for bargaining updates about the current negotiations to begin soon.
In solidarity,
Joe LeBlanc
MCCC
> One member heard "a boost for those of us with K-12 experience is in the works. That would be great news!! Can you give me a ballpark number for points I might receive? I have 29 years secondary experience, and under the contract I was awarded 8 years.
[No such change in the grids was negotiated for this contract. For our current negotiations, some members have suggested an increase in the number of years allowed from 8 to 20 an increase in the value of a year from 4 points to 8.]
Another member writes: "I received classroom evaluations in 2001 and again in 2002 because I wanted to be in the merit pool. I did not received any points for either. HR says that I had already gotten points for 2001 and that no points were awarded to folks who were evaluated (out of the three year sequence) in 2002 because it was done for merit monies. Is this accurate?
[This member should have received her points for the 2001 evaluation (as long as it was "other than unsatisfactory") but not the 2002 evaluation because that was an out of sequence evaluation.]
Another member writes: "I’ve asked around regarding this question and it seems to be a MCCC issue. I was told that the MCCC has to sign off on the mileage agreement before the increase can added. If this has already occurred, our business office is not aware of it. Please let me know what’s up."
[I have receive several emails about his issue. The BHE has not yet sent out a memo to all segments of public higher ed. about the new mileage rate. It will be .40 per mile with an effective date of either October, 2005 or January, 2006. Retro. payments will be made to members owed such funds.]
"I received the recent "Salary Explanation Worksheet (2/17/06) Pay Advice to be Distributed on Friday, Feb.24, 2006."
On the bottom of the form section F lists "years of seniority" = 33 and section G lists "number of evaluations" = 8. I started teaching in Sept.1971, was tenured in June 1976, and was evaluated (post-tenure): every single year (1977, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82) every two years (1984, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94) every three years (1996, 99, 2002, 05). This calculates to 16 evaluations, not 8 as listed by HR. All of the evaluations recorded above are post-tenure. Am I missing some important element in the calculations here? Are there any special rules or formulae that I don't understand ?
[MTA consultant Katie D'Urso writes in response: "In August of 1999 all faculty received a form from DMG listing the post-tenure reviews that they would be credited with under the classification study. The calculation of credit for post-tenure review was done by taking the number of years that each faculty member was tenured as of 1999 and dividing by 3. In your case this would be 1999 minus 1976 for 23 tenured years, divided by 3 to give you 7 post-tenure reviews up until 1999. Then you had a review in 2002 and 2005. So you probably should have 9. Your original form from DMG in 1999 would show what you were originally credited with. If HR has this form from your personnel file, you could see if there is an error."]
"I was wondering if it will be at all possible to give us some hypothetical examples of what retroactive annual update means in dollar terms for 3/10/06 paycheck. I often get asked this question by my
peers. Your dollar examples will be of great help to them. Thanks."
[Here's one faculty example:
- Annual salary as of 10/1/05: $57,894.67
- 10/5/05 annual update (April 2006 points)
1 year seniority (8 points at $49.368 per point) + $394.94
1 year experience (8 points at $49.368 per point) + $394.94
Add applicable points for post-tenure review, new academic credentials, change in rank, etc.
Annual salary as of 10/2/05 $58,684.56
Difference $789.89
New bi-weekly salary $2,257.10
This members would also have a received retro. payments of $303.80 for money owed for the period of 10/2/05 to 2/18/06.]
"Could you please give me your opinion of this? Should I file an appeal? I have two master’s degrees (in different areas), a CAGS, and a doctorate. I have received the 75 points for the doctorate. Am I entitled to additional points for the second master’s degree and the CAGS? It appears that 75 points is the maximum; however, based on what you wrote ... I wanted to check with you on this. Please advise."
[My Feb. 28 Day Contract Update was in error. Currently, academic credentials is capped at 75 points on the grids. Sorry for any confusion this error caused.]
"I hope you can clarify something for me. Last Fall was my evaluation semester (class observation, course materials, student eval. etc). The March 10 payroll did not include any money for this performance evaluation/tenure review. Shouldn't I have received 10 points @ $49.36? As it appears no one similarly situated at XX Community College received any money for their evaluation are we all wrong in our interpretation of the contract? I will be most chagrined to learn that I am wrong and our HR dept. is right.
[HR is right in this case. Fall, 2005 evaluations will not be picked up until the Oct. 2006 update. These points will be due for payment in the first update due under the next Agreement.]
"I noticed in the unit professional notes that the post-tenure evaluation points should be given at the point dollar value that faculty gets. Is this correct? I think that here, at XXCC, folks have only been receiving the point dollar value for the grade they are at. When you get the chance, could you please explain this to me."
[The '05 and '06 points were paid at the higher rate, and the BHE agreed to tack on the '04 post tenure points so that every prof. staff would have 3 years of post tenure points at the higher rate.]
"Let's deal with a hypothetical: Someone is hired October 30, 2005 - Grade 5 - the base for this grade in the old contract was 40,414; and # of points x $23.108. Would this person get recalculated at the new grid amounts, $46,476 and point value at $26.574?
[Yes, this hypothetical prof. staff question is correct.]
This faculty member was hired in a temporary position in the fall of 199x She did not work in the position during the following spring semester. She was hired for a permanent position in the fall of the following year. Question: Does she receive points (seniority, experience) for the initial semester in which she worked? HR says no.
[The best advice at this point: try to get the credit from HR and if you don't get it, appeal to the statewide appeals committee.]
"Could you tell me what is holding up the monies that were supposed to be paid out on April 7? I've had several inquiries and HR has simply said that they didn't hear from the BHE."
[Payments for the last installment of the new contract for changes in the grids have been delayed at some colleges. This is due to the complex nature of the process of seeking and gathering supporting documentation for items reflected in the changed grids. Because of this delay, the period for paying out these funds will be extended to the April 21 and May 5 payrolls.]
"On Tuesday, April 11, HR conducted a workshop on determining points. On the grid distributed by the MCCC, look at Non-teaching experience. Full-time must be directly related to the teaching field. 1 year=8 points Maximum years=20.
HR's document signed by Peter Tsaffaras shows 1 year= 4 points. Which is right?"
[Earlier this year, the wrong grids were placed on our website by mistake. These grids were not intialed, were not agreed to by both parties, and were not official. To see the official grids, follow the link below. The grid links are located on the left side near the top of of the page.
http://mccc-union.org/CONTRACTS/index.html
Future updates to the current Agreement will be sent out as necessary. Look for bargaining updates to begin soon as we work to negotiate a new Agreement over the next several weeks.
In solidarity,
Joe LeBlanc
Chair, Day Bargaining Team
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