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Volume XIV |
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Number Five |
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In This Issue: |
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On December 9, 1996, Daniel F. Donahue assumed the job of MTA Consultant for the full- and part-time day faculty and professional staff. He replaces Donna Sirutis who transferred to the state colleges (MSCA) as their consultant. Donahue comes to the MTA and the MCCC with a broad range of experience in consulting, management, organizing, training, and labor relations. Formerly the Labor Relations Counsel for the Massachusetts Department of Social Services since 1993 and a member of the National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), Donahue oversaw the preparation and handling of grievances, disciplinary actions, arbitrations, Labor Relations Commission cases, and appeals to the Civil Service Commission. He negotiated and bargained with state unions, in particular Service Employee International Union (SEIU) Local 509 (social workers). Donahue's involvement in organizing activities began at Westfield State College in the late 1960's. As president of the Student Government Association, Donahue felt that the college administration had a paternalistic attitude toward the students, and as a result, students had but one decision--what movie to show on Friday nights. He began to organize the student body so it could have a say in the academic side of the college, but also the governance part. He was graduated from Westfield with a B.A. in History and a minor in Education. Rather than exercise an offer to try out for the Dallas Cowboys or go to graduate school, Donahue decided to join VISTA instead. He landed in Minnesota via Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin. In Minnesota, he fell under the influence of Saul Alinsky (The premier community organizer in Chicago.). |
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After leaving Minnesota he moved to Washington D.C. and continued to do grant writing and consultant work for nonprofit organizations such as St. Jude Hospital, the Junior League of America, and poor peoples' organizations, and he continued his work with Native American groups and anti-poverty agencies. Donahue then went into the mountains in Appalachia in North Carolina working for community action agencies trying to raise money for new programs. For the next three years, his main job was to develop new funding mechanisms to help insure the survival of anti-poverty programs. He then began working actively as an advocacy planner with the black Community that had been passed by when the Civil Rights movement began. Many of these black communities were gerrymandered outside the official town borders, and as a result, were left behind when it came to housing, water, sewer, and other basic needs for survival. The town fathers, however, saw him as a trouble maker in those mountains, and suggested he go back to Boston on his own or in a "body bag." Any effort during this time in the early 70's was perceived as a threat and a change to the status quo, and anyone from the outside was just an agitator. After leaving North Carolina and returning to Boston, he commuted between the two as he continued to write grants under the Housing & Community Development Grant Program to get water, sewer, and housing into these area. These activities were largely successful.
Back in Boston, Donahue enrolled in the Masters in Public Administration Program at Suffolk University and then began law school. In 1983 he was graduated from Suffolk with a J.D. While at Suffolk, Donahue began a consulting firm, Resources Management Group, to work with nonprofit organizations to write grants and provide training and technical assistance on proposal writing for Federal and philanthropic grants. Around 1979 Donahue began working for the newly established Department of Social Service (DSS) as coordinator of the DSS Planning Grant and as Assistant to the Commissioner. He set up the financial systems of the operation as he came in on the ground floor of this organization. Later, he became the Director of Area Offices (Greenfield), and Regional Director (Boston, Metro) prior to becoming its Labor Relations Counsel. During this time he was also an adjunct faculty at Suffolk University, Graduate School of Management. In addition he has spent the last two semesters in the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiations taking advanced courses in negotiations and mediation.
Over the past couple of years, however, Donahue became increasingly uncomfortable with the political side of the DSS. When problems arose in the DSS, management always went looking to blame the workers, and some workers were unfairly targeted as politics became more pervasive. "The more I worked with labor relations from the management perspective, the more empathy and respect I developed for the union that I was dealing with," says Donahue. "I felt is was time to make a life-style change. I had always been on the outside banging on the door. When I went to DSS, I thought I might be able to change things from the inside. But the last year or so, the political demographics really heated up and the pressure to fire people was very disconcerting. Therefore, I decided to try and find a job working for a union."
Donahue believes that the whole idea of labor relations is to develop a framework to find a common way to deal with problems, and the most important thing is to maintain a good relationship while never sacrificing the association's or a unit member' s rights. "The unfortunate perception about unions today is that some people think it is just about picking up a paycheck," says Donahue. "But, that is just part of what a union is. In too many instances, it is not until someone gets scared, loses his or her job, or gets "privatized" that they realize that a union is more that just a vehicle to negotiate salary increases. A union needs to get political and identify the emerging leaders while educating the members on the role the union plays in their academic life. I hope to be able to help get this information out along with working at the very important level of contract maintenance," says Donahue.
As the MCCC welcomes a new consultant, it bids Donna Sirutis a fond farewell. Her tireless work on behalf of the MCCC has been a hallmark in the MCCC's commitment to its members. Her singular focus keeps her on top of all pertinent issues concerning the MCCC.
MCCC President Susan Dole says, "On behalf of the MCCC, I extend our sincere gratitude to Donna Sirutis for her outstanding service to this local and our members. She has diligently and aggressively protected us and our contractual rights. Donna patiently guided us through tough contract negotiations. She assisted us with the development and implementation of successful political strategies that secured the funding of our contract. Her tenure with us will have a lasting, positive impact on the history of the MCCC. On a personal note, it has been a distinct privilege and pleasure to have Donna as a trusted advisor. 1 will truly miss our daily and often nightly conversations. Thank you, Donna. It's been grand"
Effective in the spring semester 1997, DCE faculty will receive a salary increase. The per credit salary beginning January is as follows:
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*A new faculty member would normally be employed at Step 1, but may, at the discretion of the president, be placed at any step on the schedule based on degrees, experience, and qualifications. |
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A unit member moves automatically to the next step upon completion of the requisite number of courses taught at a particular step.
The same lab ratio of 1.5 lab hours to one (credit of pay) still applies. The implementation of the salary schedule or the lab ratio cannot be used to lower anyone's salary.
Faculty who are paid at an hourly rate will receive an increase of 4.75%.
If anyone has any questions, contact MCCC/DCE Grievance Coordinator Joe Rizzo at 603-898-6309.
The annual NEA Higher Education Conference will be held in San Diego, California, this year at the U.S. Grant Hotel. The Conference will begin on Friday, March 7 and will adjourn at 1 p.m. on Sunday March 9. In addition, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) will hold its annual meeting on March 6-7 beginning at 7 p.m. on March 6.
This year's conference will focus on Teaching and Learning in the Information Age; Ensuring Quality in Distance Education; Using Electronic Communication: Privacy, Workload, and Academic Freedom; Changing Demographics: Serving the Next Generation of Students, Building Partnerships with Communities, Business, and Education. MCCC/DCE Coordinator Joe Rizzo and MTA Consultant to DCE Michelle Gallagher will conduct a workshop.
The Conference rate is $135 and the hotel is $110 per night. The registration fee covers luncheon and reception Friday, continental breakfast and lunch Saturday, and brunch on Sunday.
Anyone interested in attending should contact the NEA immediately (202-822- 7162) for a registration form. Upon receipt of the registration for, NEA will send you a hotel reservation card which must arrive at the hotel no later than January 31, 1997.
The Northeast Regional Conference will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Friday, January 31 to February 2, 1997, at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel. Registration begins at 5 p.m. and the first general session is scheduled for 8 p.m. The conference ends at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
This year's theme is "Celebrating the Renaissance of Public Education." Some of the workshops will cover: Creating a Positive Association Public Image, Education Reform, Technology in Education, the College Connection, Building Community Support, and Celebrating Diversity.
If anyone is interested in attending, contact the MTA(1-800-392-61 75). Hotel rooms are $1 15 per room, single or double occupancy, with an additional 13% state tax. All room reservations must be made by December 31, 1996.
Attached to this Newsletter is the form to submit if you are interested in being a delegate to the MTA Annual Meeting and NEA Representative Assembly. (Not included on this web site version.)
Proposed Bylaw Changes DueAny suggested changes in the MCCC Bylaws must be received by the Bylaws and Rules Committee no later than February 1, 1997. All proposals must be sent to Ernest Therrien at Springfield Technical Community College. You do not have to put a proposed bylaw change in its proper format. You need only to submit the idea and the committee will put it in the proper language. |
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MCCC Has a WEB PAGE |
Thanks to Phil Mahler, MCCC Vice President, the MCCC has a Web Page. Though it is in its infancy, the MCCC is working with the MTA to see if we can attach our page to theirs. In the meantime, you can visit the site at the following address (The address is case sensitive so pay attention to the capitalization.): |
Pre-Tax Dollars for Child/Elder CareDCAP Open Enrollment NowEnrollment for the 1997 Dependent Care Assistant Program (DCAP) began on December 2, 1996, and ends on December 31, 1996. DCAP is a voluntary program that allows employees to set aside a portion of their income for child or elder care expenses if they are dependents. This is pretax dollars. Under the Federal Tax Law, employees may set aside up to B,000 in pre-tax dollars for designated dependent care. If you have a child(ren) younger than 13 in a licensed day care center or another program that meets the Federal Tax Code requirements, if you care for an adult or child who is mentally or physically incapacitated and lives in your home, and if you claim them as an exemption, then you qualify for this program. If you enroll in this program, you must estimate how much your costs for care would be. You can set aside up to $5,000. Under the law, however, it is a use-it-or-lose-it situation. If you only spend $3500 and hold back $5,000, you will lose the $1500. This is an excellent plan for faculty and staff who can estimate their dependent care costs. Contact you Personnel Office for additional information. For those employees who enroll at the maximum amount, it moves 12.5 percent of the average faculty/staff salary to pretax dollars (Based on an average salary of $40,000.). If a family's income is less than $25,000, however, you should speak to a tax accountant since a child care credit on your tax form may be more beneficial. |
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NCHE President Heads to GenevaRoger Knutsen, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) president has been invited to participate as an advisor to the United States Delegation for the World Intellectual Property Organization Diplomatic Conference on Certain Copyright and Neighboring Rights Questions (believe it or not, that is the entire title) in Geneva. The NEA is one of three organizations invited to send an advisor, and Knutsen ( Professor of Chemistry at Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington) was recommended by NEA President Bob Chase. The purpose of the conference is to renegotiate the Bern Convention that sets forth international copyright issues and to update these issues to deal with the digital age. Last year congress was unable to come to an agreement on changes to U.S. law. The primary concern of the NEA and groups like the American Library Association is to preserve the "Fair Use" rights we currently have. Another concern is to make sure that new agreements not make it impossible for educational institutions to act as Internet providers. This would happen if they were liable for insuring that students did not copy materials or were required to pay for every search and the viewing of every screen of information. Additionally, members of congress are concerned that nothing be negotiated that would limit what they can do when passing laws. The NCHE is the higher education caucus of which the MCCC and the other higher education locals in Massachusetts join with locals from across the country to monitor the NEA. This caucus allows its president to monitor NEA Directors' and Executive Committee meetings and because the NCHE is a caucus unto itself--not a committee of the NEA--its allegiance is to the caucus members rather than to the NEA. Jim Rice, former MCCC President, is currently the NCHE Treasurer/ Secretary. |
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Dec. 15 |
Sabbatical Leave Committee appointed |
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Dec. 18 |
Faculty submit College Service (E4)& Student Advisement (E5) forms |
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Dec. 23 |
Full-time tenured and part-time (day) student evaluation summary returned |
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Dec. 24 |
Latest fall semester can end |
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Dec. 24 |
Part-time (day) teaching assignments due |
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Dec. 30 |
Professional staff College Service and Student Advisement forms submitted |
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Jan. 14 |
Earliest a professional day can be assigned . |
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Jan. 15 |
Sabbatical Committee recommendations due |
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Jan. 21 |
Earliest classes can begin |
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Jan. 23 |
Student evaluation data due |
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Jan. 24 |
Full-time schedule changes due to chapter |
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Jan. 24 |
Faculty office hours must be posted |
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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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