In a mail-in vote ending July 18, 2002, MCCC day unit members voted to extend the 1999-2002 day contract language for one year until June 2003.
The extension agreement reached by the Board of Higher Education and the MCCC Day Negotiating Team included several provisions that maintain and extend principles, including the market analysis and the 75 percentile salary comparison benchmark established by the classification study that was a lynchpin of the 1999 Agreement. The Employer agreed to establish a fund to accomplish adjustments related to changes of rank, new academic credentials, seniority and successful post tenure evaluations.
The Employer agreed to establish committees to study the effect of workload changes resulting from the classification study, and a committee to study the appropriateness of the system of classification as applied to professional staff unit members.
The Nominations and Elections Committee tabulated the results of the one year contract extension vote July 19, 2002 at the MCCC central office. I am pleased to report the following:
|
TOTAL VOTES |
733 |
|
YES |
649 |
|
NO |
84 |
We have extended our contract for one year, ending June 30, 2003!
Thanks to all of you who voted. Hopefully a year from now the our state budget situation will have improved and we will be in a better position to negotiate a new 3 year contract at that time. I would like to thank the day bargaining team for their hard work, and to Sandra Cutler and Roberta Albano of the Elections Committee.
Rick Doud
The MCCC has purchased two adjacent offices (same building, same floor) in downtown Worcester.
On June 28, 2002 the MCCC closed on the purchase of an office condominium at 27-29 Mechanic Street in Worcester ( MA 01608) in a commercial district less then a block from the Worcester Centrum. The new MCCC office, Suite 104, is in a professional building dominated by dentist offices. It lies about one half mile from the East Central exit off Route 290, the main highway through Worcester.
At the June 21st BOD meeting, the purchase of a smaller (1000 sq. foot) office across the hall was approved. This additional space will allow the MCCC to hold its Board of director meetings at the same location where its operations and records are housed, but with the privacy and separation of space that the across-the-hall situation of the two offices allows.
Suite 104 contains about 2000 square feet of space including storage. This is double the space currently rented at 319A Drury Square Auburn. This suite will hold all the operations currently conducted at 319 Drury Square plus the records of the MCCC which are currently stored at a separate location.
The adjacent Suite 103, approximately 1000 square feet will be used for meetings and workspace.
As the lease for the current office space at Drury Square was nearing expiration after three years, an investigation into the possibility of buying was undertaken. The organization found itself in sound fiscal condition, and the current cost of real estate in the Worcester area seemed inviting. Operating costs of the new location compare favorably to the costs of renting, with the attraction of equity building. Worcester will a central and accessible location for the statewide MCCC.
DCE Grievance Coordinator, Joseph Rizzo with Past MCCC President Susan Dole
Susan Dole, recent past president of the MCCC was awarded the Raymond C. Lemieux Memorial Award for distinguished service to the organization at the 2002 annual Delegate Assembly. The award recognizes service to higher education and the labor movement in the quest for improved working conditions and high standards of professional excellence.
Ms. Dole completed a four-year term of office as president of the MCCC in 2000, capping an eight year stint of service on the MCCC Executive Team since she became Vice President in 1992. She led the organization through a momentous period highlighted by the modernization of its structure based on an external consultant's operational audit, and resulting establishment of a central office in Auburn, and during the completion and implementation of the Classification effort. The resulting reclassification will, upon its completion, provide a more equitable salary schedule for unit members than might ever have been achieved by the conventional negotiation process.
She was involved in negotiations of three MCCC contracts.
Other remarkable accomplishments of her tenure included her role as a founding member of the MTA's Political Action Strategy Committee (PASC), coordination of the Distance Education Committee that created the Distance Education Agreement, and coordination and implementation of several political campaigns.
Susan built stronger MCCC linkages with the NEA. Susan served as a Higher Education representative to the National Education Association's Membership Advisory Committee for two terms.
Her strong interpersonal skills put the MCCC on improved footing with the late Chancellor Koplik, and the members of the Board of Higher Education and BHE staff. She also forged strong conduits for communication and input from the local college chapters. She built strong relations with members of the General Court as well.
A native of Charlestown, Susan graduated from Bunker Hill Community College in 1976, and completed her education at Tufts University, in 1979 receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology in 1985.
She works as a counselor in the Bunker Hill Community College Outreach Program, where she has served since 1979. She also teaches counseling courses in the college's division of continuing education.
Dole is currently completing a doctorate in public higher education administration at UMass Boston.
Raymond C. Lemieux (1931-1987), Professor of Economics at STCC, was a Massachusetts Community College Council treasurer, negotiator, grievance coordinator, and Health & Welfare trustee. His service and dedication to higher education, to the Massachusetts community college system, and to the MCCC / MTA / NEA immeasurably enhanced the lives of those around him.
On May 18, at the MTA Annual meeting of delegates in Boston, Cathy Boudreau became the first higher education member of the Massachusetts Teachers' Association to be elected MTA President. Before being elected MTA Vice President in 1998, she had served on the MTA Executive Committee and Board of Directors since 1990.
She has been elected to serve a two year term. MTA bylaws limit
executive officers
to two such two year terms. She succeeds Steven Gorrie whose second
term expires July 14, 2002.
Ms. Boudreau teaches in the Department of Computer Technology and Information Management at Massasoit Community College, and was a pioneering member of the MCCC. Cathy served 15 years as MCCC Communication Coordinator and Legislative Coordinator.
According to the MTA Today, Boudreau's priority will be electing a governor who "listens to the teachers." She additionally wishes to promote strong education association leadership at the local level. A third focus will be seeking changes in the MCAS requirement.
Anne Wass, a sixth grade teacher with 31 years experience in the Hanover school system, was elected as MTA Vice President at the same meeting.
By Michael P. Norton, State House News Service
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JULY 18, 2002.House and Senate negotiators Thursday afternoon filed a $22.93 billion budget that substantially spends down the state's reserves and raises taxes to prevent many of the most feared cuts in government services.
Despite plummeting tax collections, the plan boosts spending slightly over the last fiscal year, using tax hikes worth $1.14 billion, grabbing $800 million in cash reserves, and imposing $80 million in fees.
House budget chief John Rogers (D-Norwood) said the plan contains major spending cuts that will lead to "hundreds" of layoffs, but Rogers said negotiators avoided making the deepest possible cuts in education, the judiciary and at the major human service agencies. The budget cuts health benefits next April to 50,000 people considered long-term unemployed, and imposes fees on certain nursing home patients.
"There's no great options in this whole thing," Rogers said. "We submitted a balanced budget today."
The budget and tax bills will be put before the House and Senate for up-or-down votes Friday. Rogers said House members, during a private caucus this week, said they are comfortable voting on the bill if they have at least 24 hours to review it. "There shouldn't be any surprises," Rogers said.
In May, the House approved a $22.9 billion budget. Last month, the Senate okayed a $23.1 billion spending plan. Simultaneously, Acting Gov. Jane Swift announced that nearly $600 million in tax revenues would not materialize this year, and called on lawmakers to reduce their spending plans.
Rogers said nearly $300 million in spending cuts are "obscured" by other legislative maneuvering intended to balance the budget. And he said the use of $1.2 billion in non-recurring, one-time revenue sources leaves the budget structurally imbalanced and delays difficult decisions about spending.
Unless Swift vetoes $300 million in spending and lawmakers let her vetoes stand, the state's rainy day fund, which stood at $2.3 billion just over a year ago, will be drawn down to $170 million. Additional tax hikes will be difficult to justify. And lawmakers don't appear eager to cut spending anymore.
"You just postpone the day of reckoning and that's exactly what we're doing," Rogers said.
The deal means the new governor elected in November is going to inherit significant budget problems, barring an unexpected surge in n the economy, which would boost tax revenues.
State tax receipts fell by a record $2.5 billion, or 15 percent in the last fiscal year and are not expected to rebound strongly soon. That has made it very difficult to balance the budget in the face of strong demands to preserve programs and pressure not to raise taxes too much on workers who are also struggling.
After resisting for four years, the House and Senate agreed to appropriate $3.8 million to finance the campaigns of Clean Elections candidates who have agreed to operate within spending and fundraising limits. The funds are likely to satisfy claims from candidates who have not given up on the voter-approved reform. The budget calls for voters in November to again be heard on public campaign finance, and lawmakers drained $20 million from an existing Clean Elections fund to spend on other programs.
"Many members of the House and Senate wanted some level of finality to this issue," Rogers said.
The budget preserves methadone clinic services to recovering heroin addicts, which Montigny called a victory for the Senate.
Montigny said he supports using reserve funds and tobacco settlement money to prevent deeper cuts to health care and human service programs. He said he hopes Swift doesn't slash more from services, and instead pushes a plan to save money by trimming Lottery prizes.
"If there's an alternative, we're going to use it," he said. "You do not fool around with some of these populations we've been trying to protect."
The budget, Montigny said, would force layoffs, but like Rogers he could not say how many.
Rogers said the budget bill eliminates 80 percent of the so-called earmarks that individual lawmakers depend on to make sure policy priorities and local projects secure financing. Swift has urged legislators to resist earmarking so that state agency managers will have more flexibility to manage limited budgets.
The budget bill spends all of the $300 million in revenues the state expects to collect this fiscal year as part of its legal settlement with tobacco companies over the public health costs of treating smokers. Of that money, $30 million will be tied to a fund that pays for treatment of the uninsured and $120 million to the state's effort to ensure health coverage for income-eligible children and seniors.
(slightly edited for fit)
|
7502-0100 |
For Berkshire Community College |
$9,129,385 |
|
7503-0100 |
For Bristol Community College |
$14,683,380 |
|
7504-0100 |
For Cape Cod Community College |
$10,751,842 |
|
7504-0101 |
For the operation of an environmental technology, education, and job training partnership through the Cape Cod Community College; |
$111,994 |
|
Toxics Use Reduction Fund |
100.00% |
|
|
7505-0100 |
For Greenfield Community College |
$8,807,887 |
|
7506-0100 |
For Holyoke Community College; provided further, that funds may be expended for the operation of the Holyoke Home Information Center |
$17,340,886 |
|
7507-0100 |
For Massachusetts Bay Community College |
$13,522,666 |
|
7508-0100 |
For Massasoit Community College; provided, that not less than $274,700 shall be expended for the operation of Christo's II Culinary Arts Center |
$19,123,451 |
|
7509-0100 |
For Mount Wachusett Community |
$10,861,718 |
|
7510-0100 |
For Northern Essex Community College |
$17,918,257 |
|
7511-0100 |
For North Shore Community College, including the post secondary programs of the Essex Agricultural and Technical Institute operated by North Shore Community College |
$19,547,214 |
|
7512-0100 |
For Quinsigamond Community |
$14,128,975 |
|
7514-0100 |
For Springfield Technical Community College |
$22,265,843 |
|
7514-0102 |
For the Massachusetts Center for Telecommunications and Information Technology through the Springfield Technical Community College Assistance Corporation |
$535,206 |
|
7515-0100 |
For Roxbury Community College |
$10,431,310 |
|
7515-0120 |
For the operation of the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College |
$774,278 |
|
7515-0121 |
For the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College |
$523,100 |
|
Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center Fund |
100.00% |
|
|
7516-0100 |
For Middlesex Community College |
$18,202,731 |
|
7518-0100 |
For Bunker Hill Community College; provided, that $135,000 shall be obligated for the life focus center |
$18,578,863 |
|
7520-0424 |
For a health and welfare reserve for eligible personnel employed at the community and state colleges |
$3,182,263 |
By Joseph T. LeBlanc, MCCC Vice President
These are challenging times for the legislature, which pulled every rabbit out of its hat in enacting the Commonwealth's FY 03 budget.
At press time, the budget has been sent to Acting Gov. Jane Swift, who has vetoed the $1.12 billion tax increase (guaranteed to be overridden) and some $355 million in other spending, including all four-year college and university collective bargaining agreements. It's now up to Speaker of the House Thomas Finneran to schedule override votes on July 31.
After several years of budget surpluses, it's been a tough year on Beacon Hill. State revenues dropped by a record amount last year, leaving the House and Senate budgets off by about $650 million. Medicaid and other health care costs have eaten up most new state revenues, as MassHealth enrollment has jumped from 690,000 five years ago to about 1 million today.
Pension funding has been cut by $130 million, as proposed by Acting Gov. Swift. In a move this union opposed, the state has extended the period for paying its unfunded pension liability, shifting the burden on future taxpayers. The FY 03 budget, while technically balanced, draws on additional reserves, draining this account to $150 million (more if Swift's vetoes are allowed to stand). The situation is bad, and next year may be worse unless the economy improves and state revenues increase more than most economists are predicting.
The MCCC has responded as well as possible to the fiscal crisis, lobbying furiously and negotiating a contract extension to avoid a zero year. The following is a scorecard of recent MCCC and SAC activity on Beacon Hill:
· Our health insurance contribution rate stayed at 85/15 until Acting Governor Swift vetoed funding and offered a three-tiered system with increases to 20 or 25 percent depending on your salary. Earlier this year, Speaker Finneran favored an increase to 80/20. To make matters worse, several newspaper columnists attacked the benefit, taking a point raised by the Massachusetts axpayers Foundation, which referred to our health insurance benefit as an example of one of ten "untapped savings opportunities". (MTF Bulletin, June 27, 2002)
In the end, you have made hundreds of phone calls in May and June and July and played a big role in amending the House budget to restore the rate to 85/15. At press time, we are unsure if we will defeat what is worst attack on this benefit in a decade.
· College budgets have been cut by 2.5 percent over the final FY 02 figures. Our State House Rally, Lobby Day and your calls helped lobby the legislature to adopt Speaker Finneran's tax package. Without the tax increases, college budgets would have been cut by 10 percent or more. With higher fees adopted at most colleges last year, college budgets will be tight but not devastating.
Two additional budget cuts include a 52 percent reduction (reduced even more by Swift's recent vetoes) in library materials funding and a 64 percent cut in Community College Workforce Training.
· We did not succeed in amending the early retirement law, which, unless amended, will freeze new hiring (in the positions vacated by retirees) for two years. The Conference Committee did not include Sen. Stan Rosenberg's backfill amendment in their version of the budget. While such provisions have been loosely enforced in previous early retirement laws, this one has the potential to slow hiring of much-needed faculty and professional staff. We will be watching this one closely over the next few months.
· A bill to fund our recently ratified contract extension will be costed out at the BHE and filed by the Acting Governor in early fall. The Strategic Action Committee and our lobbyists will lobby to fund this bill when the legislature meets in informal session.
In our next column, look for news about a Congressional campaign to repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision as well as a new NEA campaign to pass a progressive federal welfare reform law. And don't forget that Massachusetts governor's race - stay tuned.
Geri Curley, BHCC addresses MTA Delegation in Pre-convention Meeting
Dear MCCC
Unit Member,
This organization needs the participation of its most talented members if it is to meet the challenges it faces. I ask you to give special thought at this critical juncture in the MCCC's history to volunteering your services to the MCCC. You need a strong union - and we need you to make that happen. Please don't assume your colleague will volunteer - he or she may not.
The following are three key MCCC committees. All MCCC committee appointments are for two years and start in September. Committee members must be approved by the Board of Directors.
Please contact me if you would be willing to serve on one of the committees described above. Without a strong pool of applicants this organization will not be able to meet your expectations! Let me know if you would allow yourself to be considered for a committee - a specific one or if you would be willing to serve where we need you. Something about your background would help; if you bring special expertise please let me know - from word processing to managerial experience. Contact Rick Doud with your phone number or email address, at: fax: 978 250 9420; tel: 978 250 9420; email: President@mccc-union.org; mail: Committee Appointments, MCCC, Post Office Box 376, Auburn, MA 01501-0376. Also contact me if you have questions about serving.
Rick Doud, MCCC President
Kathy McDonough, Holyoke CC, State House Higher Ed Rally, April
by Peter Flynn
Evidence that the NEA's nationally coordinated movement to repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision has gained momentum was apparent at this years Representative Assembly in Dallas in the form of a booth, and more speakers addressing the issue. Unfortunately in a June 21 statement made in Newburyport to this writer by First Essex Congressman John Tierney, " the issue is dead in the water for this session," due to the nation's economic landscape.
The NEA's legislative program, titled Penalties for Public Employment, was covered at length in the MCCC News of September 2001. The history and consequences of is summarized in a pamphlet form and on its website (http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/).
The NEA page summarizes the dilemma as follows "Social Security law prevents "dual entitlement" &endash; or receipt of full Social Security and spousal benefits at the same time. In 1977, Congress began treating government pensions, such as those earned by educators, as Social Security benefits. The effect of this change was a dollar for dollar reduction in Social Security survivor benefits for anyone also earning a public pension. In 1983, Congress amended the law to a two-thirds offset.
The WEP was enacted in 1983 to prevent people with relatively high-compensated government service and relatively low-paying Social Security-covered employment from having their Social Security benefits determined under the more favorable formula used for retirees with the lowest Social Security earnings".
Higher education faculty in general, and community college faculty in particular, who begin teaching in midlife after working years in a profession or perhaps teaching part time for the system find their early professional employment undervalued toward retirement and that their years of social security contributions compute inequitably with those in private employ toward benefits in later life.
Like their privately employed brethren, Massachusetts' public employees receive an annual statement of a history of contributions concluding "You will receive the following estimated monthly social security benefit" reporting a benefit that they will in actuality not see. The report is calculated without recognizing the individual's public service history.
Furthermore, benefits to Social Security benefits of surviving spouses will be diminished markedly, though they might have a lifetime of substantial social security contributions, and little in the way of a retirement plan.
Please support H.R. 2638 and S.1523, introduced by Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and Berman (D-CA) and by Senator Feinstein (D-CA), to repeal the GPO and WEP! Representative John Tierney of has recently become a cosponsor of this legislation. Senator Kerry is not known to be a supporter at this time.
As many affected MCCC members approach retirement, the movement to repeal these onerous laws is just emerging on the radar screens of our lawmakers. Your energetic efforts are needed to accomplish repeal of the inequitable laws. Please write or call your Congressperson or Senators today.
Massachusetts is one of 13 states where public employees and their spouses have severely reduced social security benefits due to a historic combination of decisions and legislation that adversely and inequitably affect their relationship to the Social Security system.
May 22, 2002, Faculty Appeals Training session, MCCC Auburn. Clockwise from front-left: Mike Nutter, Northern Essex Chapter President; Kit Carpenter, Greenfield Chapter President; David Warr, Bristol; Charlie Weinstein, Berkshire Chapter President; Dick Eells, Roxbury Chapter Co-President; Joe LeBlanc, Northern Essex, MCCC Vice President; Phyllis Barrett, Holyoke, MCCC Secretary; Michelle Gallagher, MTA Consultant; Katie Durso, MTA Consultant; Ted Ridout, Bunker Hill Chapter President; Anne Wiley, Greenfield.
MTA Executive Director Ed Sullivan, toasts new President Cathy Boudreau, newly elected NEA ESP Director Rosemary Riley of UMass-USA, and outgoing President Steve Gorie
Contributed by: Colin S. Cavell, reprinted from HCC Chapter Newsletter
Dallas &endash; On July 3, 2002, 9000 delegates to the National Education Associations annual Representative Assembly elected Reg Weaver President of the 2.7 million-member National Education Association (NEA). Weaver, a 35-year teaching veteran and middle school science teacher from suburban Chicago, served as vice president of the country's largest professional employee organization since 1996. He is the fourth African American president in the history of the 145-year old labor union.
Born in Danville, Illinois, Weaver, 62, earned a bachelor's degree in special education for the physically challenged at Illinois State University in Normal and a master's degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago. He has an extensive resume of union leadership including serving as President of the Illinois Education Association from 1981-1987.
The RA is the world's largest democratic deliberative body and is the elected policy-making group for the 2.7 million-member Association. Floor debate and votes by the delegates determine NEA's Strategic Plan and Budget and set the Association's overall policy for the coming year. Delegates are elected by their state and local colleagues, representing teachers, college faculty, student members, retired members, education support professionals, and other Association members.
The assembly accepted the recommendations of the NEA Special Committee on Distance Education to establish a policy of high standards including standards for programs and distance education deliverers who should be certified educators and trained in distance education techniques. The policy recognized that "distance education can enhance and enrich learning for students but cannot replace the vital face-to-face interaction with teachers and the social benefit of interaction with peers." n
Over 100 active representatives from the state's 15 community colleges gathered at Marlboro on Saturday, May 4, for the 2002 Massachusetts Community College Council (MCCC) Annual Delegate Assembly, held at the Best Western Royal Plaza. Outgoing MCCC President Philip Mahler (who is also the 2002-2003 newly elected Treasurer for the union) presided over the meeting which lasted from roughly 9:30 a.m. until adjournment around 2:00 in the afternoon.
Key actions of the meeting included adoption of the $810,249 Fiscal Year 2003 budget, the rejection of two Bylaws changeswhich proposed the elimination of elections for non-contested officer positions as well as the elimination of elections for delegates to the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) Annual Meeting if the nominees were less than or equal to the total number of MTA delegates allotted to the MCCCand the adoption of a proposal to take under study a plan to take collective union action on behalf of adjunct members during the 2003-04 academic year.
The consensus of the delegates to the Bylaws changes was that election of both officers and delegates was necessary, as a matter of principle, so that each officer and delegate would be duly authorized by the legitimacy of an election, which at the same time would also buttress the authority and legitimacy of the union to act as the democratic voice of the organization's membership. And while acknowledging that the cost of mailings is expensive, it was felt that the benefits of retaining the democratic election for such seats outweighed the costs of savings which would be achieved through the reduction of paper sent through the mails.
Discussion over authorization of the budget, as usual, provided the most debate as it includes a dues increase of $11 for Day Unit members and a $4.50 increase for DCE Unit members for FY03.
Much praise was given to outgoing Treasurer Maria Estela Carrion for getting MCCC's accounting procedures and books in order over the past two years, allowing MCCC to successfully pass outside auditor reviews, thus putting MCCC's credit rating in excellent shape. In addition, outgoing Treasurer Carrion pointed out that MCCC's move (which would be completed by June) into its newly bought office building in downtown Worcester would centralize all of MCCC's files and staff, provide more space for the union in its growth, and enable the union to have the stability which a central office allows.
Particular concern amongst some delegates centered on the creation of a $16,000 new temporary, part-time staff position, with the role of collecting bad debt and overdue membership dues. While the delegates were unanimous that all members should quickly pay their union membership dues, and thus eliminate the "free rider" problem, some questioned the wisdom of creating a separate position to ensure the collection of such monies. It was agreed by the majority of delegates, however, that since this is a temporary, part-time position, a one-year experiment is necessary to see if enough bad debt and overdue dues could be collected to justify the continuance of the position in successive years. The question was raised as to why the community colleges's administrations did not automatically deduct MCCC membership dues from each member's paycheck, and the assembly was told that under Massachusetts law members had to voluntarily agree to join the union. Delegates retorted that such a law appeared irrational since faculty who do not pay are made ineligible to teach in the state's community colleges in successive years. Consequently, they argued automatic deduction should be made into law. President Phil Mahler said he would take this suggestion under advisement to the Executive Committee.
Other budgetary business dealt with the extenuation of the Research Coordinator into a permanent position, increased support for the three regional representatives of the union's Strategic Action Committee, cost of living increases for MCCC staff employees and officers, and a funding increase for MCCC's state house lobbyist, former Speaker of the House Charles Flaherty.
HCC's own Scott Oury, presented a proposal, which was passed nearly unanimously by the delegates, to have the MCCC Executive Committee appoint a committee to study and report by October 2002 on a cohesive plan to utilize our collective union strength to support adjuncts in their upcoming contract negotiations, as the current DCE contract expires at the end of December 2003.
Numbers tell the whole story of what is happening to the structure of community colleges in the Commonwealth which reflects the national trend which sees over 40% of all college and university courses now being taught by part-time faculty, a trend more evident in community colleges where over 65% of all courses are now taught by part-time faculty. In Massachusetts, this trend is also reflected in the decrease in MCCC full-time day faculty down from 2082 in FY01 to 2012 in FY02, whereas MCCC DCE adjunct faculty increased from 2941 in FY01 up to 3508 in FY02. These same trends are occurring as well in our sister unions' membership as both the MTA and the NEA adjunct faculty now are pulling well ahead of full-time faculty.
Arguing that the future of the academy, in general, as an institution which guarantees a quality education for all students has been put in jeopardy, Oury advocated action similar to that taken in California, British Columbia, and at UMass Boston which has seen
adjunct faculty in these places gain full health-care benefits, increases in pay up to parity with their full-time colleagues, and stronger job security measures.
As the majority of Assembly delegates present indicated that they had previously been adjuncts prior to achieving full-time status, the support for the proposal was enthusiastically supported. Most delegates realize that the continuing corporatization of the academywhich seeks to reduce the professorship to indigent statusis an affront to our commitment to public education, an affront to our commitment to excellence, an affront to our professional duty to guarantee quality education to all students, and an affront to the democratization of education generally.
The issues of paritythat is, paying part-time faculty the equivalent per course as full-time faculty receiveand the provision of healthcare benefits to adjunct faculty are seen as two of the key issues in the struggle ahead.
Aware of the seriousness of the crisis, delegates understood the necessity to carefully study how the union's collective strength and action can be utilized to counter this trend and overwhelmingly approved the proposal. The committee's report should be ready by October.
The Delegate Assembly adjourned around 2:00 p.m. with many delegates indicating a sense of renewed unity amongst the membership, a common awareness of the grave crisis in education facing us, a common awareness of the union's need for action, and a renewed commitment to fight for these goals.
Further information regarding the
2002 MCCC Delegate Assembly can be found on the union's website
at: http://www.tiac.net/users/mccc/.
Retirees Honored
Following the lunch break at the 2002 MCCC Delegate Assembly, several retiring members were presented with plaques recognizing their career long efforts on behalf of the MCCC. Among those recognized were Stephanie Small-Prasher of Massasoit, past chapter president and longtime MCCC BOD member; Nancy Morello of Mass Bay, past chapter president, longtime MCCC BOD member, member of the Executive Committee, and member of the DCE Negotiating Team; and Carolyn Tetrault, Springfield Technical, longtime chapter president, chair of the Bylaws and Rules Committee, Chair of the Operational Audit review Committee.
Also honored was Allan Peck of STCC retiring as chair of the MCCC Nomination Committee after two decades. n
The MTA Annual Meeting of Delegates was held at the John Hines Civic Center on Boylston Street, Boston on Friday and Saturday May 17 and 18, 2002.
The election of Cathy Boudreau to the MTA presidency, the first President to come from the ranks of higher education was a watershed for the approximately 5000 higher education members.
A budget of $28,518,246, with a dues level of $312 was voted based on 78,875 active members for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. Delegates approved another year of $30 dollar per full time member assessment for Public Relations Campaign Budget. The three currently running video clips were shown to the delegates, including the very effective piece targeting funding for higher education. The high quality Public Relations Campaign has received national recognition for its quality. The combined assessment represents a $10 increase over 2001.
Twenty eight pages of proposals were passed. These business items are available for perusal on the MTA website,
http://www.massteacher.org/html.*
* Accessing the MTA Members section requires your membership number.
That number is on your membership card. Use the exact name on the
card- no middle name or initial for username.
Chris Coolidge, Quinsigamond CC speaks in support of "Parents"
... at NEA-RA
photo by Bob Gillies QCC retired
On July 5th at the NEA Representative Assembly in Dallas, Chris Coolidge of Quinsigamond Community College rose in front of approximately 8000 representatives to speak in support of New Business Item 70, the resolution to support the "parents as scholars" program amendment to the Federal Welfare Reform Act that is under consideration in the U.S. Congress.
She introduced herself as a teacher who serves the particular student population affected by this amendment, and briefly described the struggles she witnesses, for these women to better themselves and their families through education in community colleges. The current language of the proposed Federal Welfare Reform Act would further reduce the substitution of educational activities for work required to access benefits.
The proposed amendment is sponsored by Senators Bingaman, Jeffords and Rockefeller. Concerned readers are requested to contact there U.S. Congress-persons.