|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Volume IX |
|
Number Eight |
It was nearly 13 months ago on February 1, 1994, when the MCCC and the presidents agreed to exchange bargaining proposals for the DCE contract. Through the ensuing months, the MCCC agreed to put aside some of the proposed language and focus on a salary increase and major language issues.
Over the past year, the presidents have said they want to negotiate a successor agreement. The colleges are not dependent upon legislative appropriation so what is the impediment? It is necessary to take a closer look at what the presidents say and then look at what they actually do if we are to attempt to understand the inconsistencies.
Inconsistency #1. The presidents insisted that they wanted a successor agreement. For over six months, however, the presidents prevented negotiations from proceeding by not only refusing released time but refusing to meet during evening hours. This necessitated a charge of bad faith bargaining. It was only then that the presidents agreed to evening meetings.
Inconsistency #2. For six months the presidents would not put an economic offer on the table. Exasperated, the MCCC team said there would be no more sessions unless the president made an economic offer.
Finally the presidents took a quantum leap and put 2%-2%-2% on the table with the first 2% commencing once an agreement is reached and with no retroactivity. The presidents then promised a "substantial" increase in their proposal and went to 2%-2%-3%. The first year of the state college contract is more than the total three- year package being offered to our members by the community college presidents. Upon signing, the state college faculty will receive a six percent across- the-board increase effective September 1, 1994, and the $200 longevity bonus for one-half of the unit will be rolled into the course stipend. Then the state college contract provides an additional five percent on September 1, 1995, five percent on January 1, 1996, and five percent on September 1, 1996.
How is it that two segments whose continuing education units are very similar can be so disparate in their treatment of the faculty. It certainly is not in the financial arena where the differences occur.
Is the MCCC dealing with a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome. The
day bargaining team is working collaboratively with the college
presidents. They are striving together to secure the best economic
package they can for the membership. They have come to agreement on
language. Now the conundrum. The same presidents, when they sit at
the DCE table, have dug in their heels, offered a pittance of an
increase, and then inform the MCCC team that they are not making an
"inability to pay" argument. To paraphrase their chief negotiator,
Attorney Henry Stewart, and his team, Cynthia Denehy, an attorney for
the presidents, and Dean Terrance Comes from Massasoit, We are not
saying we cannot pay; we are just saying what we have offered you is
reasonable and generous, and we feel comfortable with our offer.
How do we reconcile the two distinct personalities at the bargaining
table? Do the presidents respect one group but not the other? Do the
presidents just want to take DCE money, move it to the day operation,
and keep DCE salaries as close to the bottom as they can? Do the
presidents think they can do this and have the faculty remain silent?
Will the faculty remain silent? That is up to you! Your silence will
send a message that 2%- 2%-3% is satisfactory. If this is not good
enough, you must let your president know, now.
|
|
Past issues of the MCCC Newsletter have covered the ongoing MCCC arbitration and subsequent favorable decision concerning administrators teaching the Division of Continuing Education at Bristol, Massasoit and No. Essex Community Colleges in violation of the contract. The presidents' attorneys, on two occasions, challenged the amount of the award. This past December (1994) the arbitrator issued a definitive clarification.
The issue of the distribution of the monies then came before the MCCC Board. Rather than give the money to the MCCC, the Directors voted that the award of almost $29,000 would be distributed among the faculty in the DCE work areas where the administrators wrongfully taught. To date, approximately $16,000 has been collected from Bristol and No. Essex, but the MCCC has received only a stone wall from Massasoit. Since Massasoit has been totally unresponsive to continued requests by the MCCC to meet its legal and financial obligations, the MCCC is reluctant to cash the checks which have been received. According to Joe Rizzo, DCE Grievance Coordinator, "This obvious inattentiveness to the rights of faculty is reprehensible although callous disregard for collective bargaining rights is not unusual or some Massasoit administrators."
If Massasoit does not send its share of the damages to the MCCC,
it will initiate a court suit to force the college to meet its legal
obligations.
The Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission has issued a complaint of prohibited practice against Roxbury Community College.
When the MCCC learned that the college was transferring some
faculty from day part time to the Division of Continuing Education
and then back to day part time when they were nearing their threshold
year for reappointment, the MCCC filed a charge. By these actions,
the college has denied faculty many seniority rights under both the
day and the DCE contracts, namely the right to reappointment.
Consequently the affected individuals are perpetually in a state of
being a new hire despite years of service to the college. A formal
hearing on the matter has been set for this summer.
The MTA Public Relations Grant deadline has been extended. Any chapter may apply and receive matching funds up to $1,000 for a public relations activity. The application must fit the goals of expanding public awareness of and support for public education; enhance the image of all members; and publicize the professional expertise and accomplishments of MTA, its local and chapter affiliates, and its members. A significant number of people (excluding unit members) must be effectively reached, and clear, specific, and attainable objectives must be identified. The application may cover activities which have already been accomplished or upcoming activities which will be accomplished prior to June 30, 1995.
Any chapter interested in applying should contact MTA's Division
of Communications or write to MTA Communications Council, c/o Stephen
K. Wollmer, Director of Communications, 20 Ashburton Place, Boston,
MA 02108 and ask for an application.
All unit members should have received an election ballot in the
mail. This ballot is for delegates to the MTA Annual Meeting and the
NEA Representative Assembly. The ballot is due back to the elections
committee no later than March 28, 1995. MTA ballots will be in your
mail within the next couple of weeks. Again the envelope will be
clearly marked. This ballot will be for elections to NEA Board and
delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly. There are a number of
candidates from Region H (higher education). Please do not discard
the ballot. Vote.
The MCCC will hold its annual meeting of delegates at Mt. Wachusett Community College on Saturday, April 22, 1995. Registration is from 9 a.m. to !0 a.m. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m.
In addition to the budget, the focus of this year's meeting will
be on the upcoming media campaign and activities surrounding the
settling of the day and DCE contracts.
Have you or a colleague published a book, coordinated a national conference, received widespread recognition for an accomplishment?
Send it in to the Editor. A regular column will focus on areas like publications and/or adoption of books, awards (national or local), publication of articles, coordination of national or statewide conferences, or any accomplishment that is of note. Information should be as specific as possible and include college, home address, and phone number. Send to:
 |
While researching a book on the history of Cape Cod Community College, Delores Bird Carpenter, a professor of English at Cape Cod Community College, happened upon some articles by W. Sears Nickerson who died in 1967. She was doing research in the college's William Brewster Nickerson Memorial Room, when Charlotte Price, the curator of the archives, showed her some articles by Nickerson. Carpenter became interested in Nickerson not just because she is part Cherokee, but because there is not a lot of genealogical material on American Indians, and Nickerson had many interesting stories about the Indians and Cape Cod Community College.
An eleventh generation Cape Codder, a steeplejack, and an undertaker, Nickerson's avocation was studying the history of Cape Cod and the history of the Cape's Native Americans. With ten generations preceding him, the storyteller in Nickerson chronicled the history of Native Americans and his family's relationship with them. Coincidentally, the Nickerson family was not only an integral part of the Cape's history, but it had a place in the growth of the new community college which began there in the 1960s
The nephew of W. Sears Nickerson became the second president of Cape Cod Community College. E. Carleton Nickerson, a native Cape Codder, was vice president of the New York Central Railroad System when he retired. He came home to the Cape, and in IC)(,I was appointed by the college to teach economics and accounting and also serve as Dean of Administration. In 1 C)64 the first president Irving Bartlett left and E. Carleton Nickerson became president. The room Carpenter was doing her research in was named alter E. Carleton Nickerson's son, William Brewster Nickerson. When the new campus was being built, the students surprised E. Carleton Nickerson by giving the college this room and naming it after his son who was killed when his plane was shot down over the South China Seas in 1966. Thus the different facets of W. Scars Nickerson's writings, family, and interests spawned a three-year project for Delores Bird Carpenter.
She was completing research on The Early Day of Cape Cod Community College, a 220 page hard cover book published in 1989, when she became interested in Nickerson. She went to the Cape Cod National Seashore and found that it would not allow her to see his papers, probably because they were in disarray. Unfortunately, Nickerson's family, though very cooperative, only had a few articles from The Cape Codder newspaper. Carpenter remained interested in him, and for some reason, she returned to the National Seashore. During the intervening year, the Seashore had received a grant and organized the Nickerson papers. This time she was allowed to see them.
According to an article in The Cape Codder on November 22. 1994. Nickerson was an avid historian who studied Cape Cod, and he challenged some accepted notions of what really happened when white people first came to Massachusetts. He argued that the captain of the Mayflower didn't come here by chance but quite intentionally. Though he tried to get his writings published, except for a few, most never made print.
Carpenter took the letters, extensively edited them and re wrote and added information, if necessary. In 1994 The Michigan State University Press published Early Encounters: Native Americans and Europeans in New England from the Papers of W. Sears Nickerson. According to The Cape Codder, these "historically- based stories cover everything from the Vikings to the Pilgrims, from Colonial wars to the legends, history and genealogy of Native Americans. All are the product of exhaustive research-- first by Mr. Nickerson and then, years later, by Ms. Carpenter." She plans to include this book into her American Literature course because of its historical and academic relevance.
In addition, in the spring of 1994, Carpenter also had published "W. Sears Nickerson." Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society. She is presently under contract with Michigan State to edit for a paperback edition Houghton Mifflin's 1931 printing of Land Ho!--l 620 A Seaman's Story of the Mayflower Her Construction, Her Navigation and Her First Landfall by W. Sears Nickerson. Land Ho! is in the beginning stages, and if she receives a sabbatical, Carpenter hopes to have the work completed in a year.
In addition to her work on Nickerson, Carpenter has done extensive editing and writing on the life of Lidian Jackson Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emerson's wife. In the 1980s her publications included: The Life of Lidian Jackson Emerson by Ellen Tucker Emerson. Edited by Delores Bird Carpenter, Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980; The Selected Letters of Lidian Jackson Emerson Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1987 which received a New York Times Review; and "Lidian Emerson's Transcendental Bible.' Studies in the American Renaissance Boston: Twayne Publishers. In 1992 she edited The Life of Lidian Jackson Emerson by Ellen Tucker Emerson which is a reprint in paperback with new material in the introduction and new photographs. Carpenter's interest in Lidian Jackson Emerson evolved from her dissertation when she prepared an edition of a rare manuscript on the life of Mrs. Ralph Waldo Emerson by her daughter, Ellen Tucker Emerson. Carpenter's area of specialization for her doctoral program was Transcendentalism, Henry David Thoreau and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Since Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered the father of the New England Transcendentalism movement, it was a natural transition to move to Lidian Jackson Emerson where the transcendentalism movement flowered in her home.
Delores Bird grew up on Rossviile, Georgia, and transferred from
the University of Mississippi to Boston University where she was
graduated with a B.A. in English Language and Literature. She then
went on to receive her M.A. in American Literature from the
University of Hartford, and a Ph.D. in 19th Century American and
British Literature from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.
Carpenter lives in Mashpee, and she has been teaching American
Literature, Persuasive Speaking and Oral Communication, and Freshman
Composition since 1977.
We need your help in compiling the first issue of the MCCC interdisciplinary journal, the MCCC Scholar!
Any MCCC member, full or part-time, may submit an article for consideration. The articles need to be submitted in APA style and should be from 1,000 to 3,000 words in length. The first issue will cover various disciplines and interests. We would like it to be a true academic sampler. We would like to include topics such as classroom research, pedagogy, assessment, productivity, cooperative learning, an analysis of various issues in particular disciplines, and other topics. Graphic may be included if they enhance the article. Opinion articles are not acceptable, and we are not considering fiction or poetry at this time. Book reviews, not to exceed 500 worlds, may be submitted. Book reviews should relate to general topics that would be of interest to all community college faculty and staff. Later issues of the Scholar may be thematic.
A review board has been established which will read and assess each of the articles submitted. If you have any questions, please call Dr. Peter Meggison, Chair of the Review Board, Massasoit Community College. Five copies of the article along with a 3.5 inch disk containing the article should be submitted to Catherine Boudreau, Editor.
We are enthusiastic about providing this forum for our colleagues
who teach and work in the state's community colleges. Why not plan to
spend a couple of hours over semester break at this professionally
rewarding activity? You will be glad you did--guaranteed!
Anyone having a complaint or concern about the Blue Cross Dental plan and coverage should direct his or her comments to
Abe Sherf,
North Shore Community College.
He is the community college representative on the Health and
Welfare Trust Fund.
The vacancies within the community colleges are easily accessible on the MTA Bulletin Board System (BBS) (1-800-523- 8883) You can read, download, and/or print these vacancies at your terminal. If you do not have access to a modem, a printout can be faxed to you. Fax your request to the Communications Coordinator at 617- 236-0448. You must include the name of the college(s) where you work.
For the first time user. When you call into the BBS, you will need to provide some information to the systems operator. You can get on the BBS immediately and choose your password. Once you get on the BBS, follow these steps to get to the vacancy area. Enter your name and password, Select F(ile); 6(Vacancies in community colleges); (F)files in this area; (V)iew and type in the first two numbers of the last dated entry e.g., 42-11-1996 (You would type 42).
Only questions specific to the MTA BBS should be directed to the
systems Operator (SYSop) Ron Miller, preferably through the BBS. If
you have specific questions about a vacancy, call the college.
|
Mar. 30 |
Department chair evaluations |
|
Mar. 30 |
Faculty submit preferred schedule and courses |
|
Mar. 31 |
Department chair vacancies announced |
|
Apr. 1 |
Dean's leave of absence and tenure recommendations due |
|
Apr. 1 |
President's recommendations for fall sabbaticals |
|
Apr. 15 |
Title changes announced |
|
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. |
 TOP of NEWSLETTER |
|
|
|
|