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Volume XI |
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Number Three |
In This Issue:
A number of grievances were filed in 1991 concerning supervisory personnel teaching in DCE. The initial complaints originated from Bristol, Massasoit, and No. Essex when the colleges allowed DCE supervisors to teach. The MCCC filed a system wide grievance as well. Though each grievance had its own specific issue, all the grievances related to who was eligible or not eligible to teach in DCE. The finding of the arbitrator, James Cooper, was based in part on Article I and a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which state that supervisory (A person responsible for receiving and/or acting on complaints about unit members and/or has access to confidential files or information.) and managerial personnel and "Any employee who hires and/or fires and/or who conducts classroom evaluation(s) and/or completes comprehensive evaluation(s) during any continuing education sessions shall not be eligible to teach during that session." The union argued that this provision was to apply to those individuals who had those responsibilities. Management argued that the hiring reference only applied to DCE deans.
The other case concerned the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at No. Essex. Though the MCCC acknowledged that the person had no DCE hiring, firing, or evaluative responsibilities, she could teach but had to pay dues. The arbitrator ruled that she could teach but was excluded from the unit.
Although the arbitration dealt with specific disputes, the principles of the decision are applicable to the system. The contractual conflict of interest was upheld by the arbitrator when he stated that, "The Employer violated the [DCE] agreement by permitting certain individuals to teach who should not have taught because they were excluded meeting the criteria in a Memorandum of Agreement."
The arbitrator awarded "...full injunctive relief to the Union namely prohibiting the Employer from assigning employees prohibited under the MOA as determined in this Award from teaching in DCE, with this injunction stayed until the close of the fall semester, 1993, I retain jurisdiction to award monetary damages for violations as set forth in this Award." Because the employer allowed administrators to teach in DCE who should have been excluded, the colleges must pay the MCCC damages based on the salaries earned by these employees since January, 1991.
If anyone has any questions as to the applicability of this award, he or she should contact MCCC DCE Grievance Coordinator Joe Rizzo (603)-898-6309. Compliance with this award should commence with the spring semester.
Congratulations to Shailah Stewart, an attorney hired by MTA to
represent the MCCC and MCCC DCE Grievance Officer Joe Rizzo.
Since 1988 the MCCC has filed three prohibited practice charges in order to force the college presidents and the Higher Education Coordinating Council to negotiate with the MCCC over the unilateral implementation of day DCE and the one-college concept. Finally late last spring, on the day of the formal hearing at the Labor Relations Commission, the employer agreed to commence negotiations. As a result of these negotiations, the MCCC has entered into the following agreement on the impact of the implementation of day DCE and the one-college concept.
When the part-time unit disappeared, the full-time faculty were impacted in two major areas. According to our contract, if there is retrenchment, lay-offs must occur in order of seniority and employee status. The advent of DCE in the day unit put full-time faculty in a vulnerable position since DCE employees could remain teaching while a full- time unit member could be retrenched even though there were courses available in DCE. The other concern was the tuition remission policy for faculty. Since DCE provides only 50 percent tuition remission and day courses are 100 percent tuition remission, unit members were allowed only 50 percent for non-full time students.
The Memorandum of Agreement states, in part:
The MCCC/MTA agrees that the Colleges may continue to offer day DCE courses and with proper notification to the MCCC, any College not currently doing so may implement day DCE in the future, All day DCE courses shall be offered under the following conditions until a successor agreement provides otherwise:
In addition to a Memorandum of Agreement, all college presidents
must post for 30 days a Notice To Employees concerning their
violation of the law for failure to bargain over the impact of the
implementation of day DCE and the one-college concept.
Political Action. At the MTA Summer Leadership Conference, higher education presented the political organizing and political action campaign to begin again this year. Picking up where it left off after the legislature passed the contract funding bill last year, the higher education locals are preparing for a number of political activities they will be facing within the next year--an early retirement bill; sex equity settlement funding; sabbatical leave credit bill-- not to mention the graduated income tax petition and upcoming state and local elections for governor, senate, and house. Anyone interested in working on a regional, chapter, or statewide committee in connection with this political program should contact MCCC President Tom ParsonS. Each chapter will be asked to have at least two people become actively involved.
Strategic Planning. The MTA has formed a strategic planning
committee and steering committee to look at the Association's mission
statement and to collect as much information it can from the various
segments of the organization. In addition to a scientific poll,
"focus" type groups will be asked to meet and discuss their views on
the MTA and what its mission should be for the future. Anyone
interested in participating in a one- meeting session should contact
MCCC President Tom Parsons. Names will be submitted to MTA President
Bob Murphy. The one meeting will consist of a representative sample
from all six locals within public higher education in
Massachusetts.
If you quality and you sign up, you can exchange your Group Health
Insurance Commission (GIC) health coverage for cash. Employees who
chose this option will receive 12 taxable monthly payments equal to
25 percent of the full cost of their basic individual or family
health coverage.
Last July, the delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly voted
to explore merger talks with the American Federation of Teachers and
a 13-member committee was formed. Ernest Therrien from Springfield
Technical Community College, a NEA Director from Massachusetts, was
appointed to that committee. Recently, a seven-member team was formed
for the actual negotiations. The team from within the NEA includes
NEA President Keith Geiger, NEA Executive Director Don Cameron, and
Assistant Executive Director Evelyn Temple. Two state presidents,
Jeff Wright of Florida and Linda Day of Louisiana, and two NEA
Directors, Sybil Connally of Illinois and Ernest Therrien of
Massachusetts, are the four representatives from the states.
The MCCC invites any unit member, full or part-time or DCE, to submit an article, commentary, or book or article review on any topic which he or she believes would be of interest to MCCC unit members. The journal is intended to be a forum for the many views of the membership, and the submissions should derive from thoughtful research. The articles can deal with any aspect of the academic environment. Contributors should follow APA style and must submit copies of their work on computer disk and hard copy. Each submission should run no longer than 3,000 words, including quotations, footnotes, and references.
For a detailed outline of submission requirements, please contact
the Newsletter Editor. All submissions must to sent to MCCC President
Tom Parsons. The deadline is February 15, 1994, at 5 p.m.
Call your legislators today and ask them to attach the current
early retirement bill in House Ways and Means (H 4717)to the
deficiency budget. Calls to Rep. Tom Kennedy (D-Brockton) 722-2380,
vice chair of House Ways and Means, one of the original sponsors of
the bill and Rep. Bryon Rushing (D-Boston), 722-2400, new chair of
Public Service Committee are especially important.
Please return your survey to MCCC President Tom Parsons with any
information you have ASAP. If your legislator will not give you a
definitive answer, write that down. The lobbyists need to know where
each legislator stands. When you have answers to the survey,
regardless of what they are, send a copy to the legislator so he or
she can see what has been forwarded to the MCCC. If a legislator will
not answer you, ask why.
To prepare for upcoming DCE negotiations, the MCCC mailed a survey to each DCE faculty member. Nearly one thousand members, or one-third of the membership, returned the survey, an exceptionally high return rate for any survey.
By far, financial compensation was the top priority for faculty. Other priorities were: the timely notification of course offerings and cancellations, the appropriate use of student evaluations, and fairness in management's evaluation of faculty, the right to teach more than one course per session, and clarification of the role of seniority in the appointment process.
A summary of the survey is being forwarded to MCCC Board members,
chapter presidents, and DCE representatives.
Applications are now being accepted from all unit members (full and part-time and DCE) who are interested in being a member of the review panel for the new interdisciplinary journal to be published by the MCCC. Specific criteria for candidate selection include: excellent grammar and writing skills; knowledge of APA format; knowledge of writing and editing professional and organizational publications; knowledge of the MCCC/MTA/NEA and understanding of the role of unions; ability to work under tight timelines and schedules; and ability to work as a team member.
The Panel will meet twice to evaluate submissions for publication in the journal. Responsibilities will include reviewing article manuscripts; reviewing letters, book reviews, and commentaries, and determining which submissions will be published. One panel member will be responsible for writing an "Overview" section, a summary of the articles and sections of interest in the journal.
Appointment to the panel will be for one year and no member of the
panel may submit manuscripts for publication in the journal while a
panel member. Expenses for panel members for meetings, meals, and
travel will be covered by MCCC. Letters of application and
accompanying resume should be sent to MCCC President Tom Parsons no
later than November 30, 1993.
The vacancies within the community colleges is easily accessible
on the MTA Bulletin Board System (BBS). Vacancies can be read,
downloaded, and/or printed at your terminal. To access the BBS from
within Massachusetts, dial 1-800-523-8883 (1200 or 2400 baud, 8 data
bits; 1 stop, NONE parity). Follow the prompts and answer the
questions. After that, only name and password are needed. To see
files, Go to Main Menu; (F)iles area; (6)Vacancies at our community
colleges; (F)iles; note most recent date; return to Main Menu
(enter); (I) Display; File to view (enter most recent date).
Questions about bulletin board go to the systems operator (SYSop) Ron
Miller. If you do not have access to a modem, a printout can be faxed
to you by faxing a request to the Communications Coordinator at FAX
number 617-236- 0448.
The MCCC has been attempting to mail information to female unit members who are a party to the sex equity settlement. Over the past couple of months, letters have been returned with "address unknown." Unclaimed monies will revert back to the Commonwealth. If your name appears on the list or you can contact someone (or a relative) on this list, please write a note to MCCC President Tom Parsons immediately with the corrected address.
Norbert Nunes, chapter president of Mass. Bay Community College
has been appointed to the DCE Negotiating Team. Bob has been chapter
president for two years and was previously the chapter's vice
president, grievance officer for day and DCE, and secretary.
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Oct. 23 |
Leave of absence decision for Spring 1994 |
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Oct. 24 |
Spring 1994 sabbaticals awarded |
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Oct. 30 |
Preferred schedule and courses submitted |
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Oct. 31 |
Sick leave bank membership closed |
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Catherine A. Boudreau MCCC/MTA Newsletter |
The MCCC Newsletter is a publication of the Massachusetts Community College Council. The Newsletter is intended to be an information source for the members of the MCCC and for other interested parties. The material in this publication may be reprinted with the acknowledgment of its source. For further information on issues discussed in this publication, contact Catherine Boudreau, Massasoit Community College, Brockton, MA 02402. |
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