President's Message - Paul F. McGee
We are currently in our fourth month without a contract. We are also in our 31st month of bargaining a 36-month contract! There is something wrong with this picture. The sticking point is post-tenure review. Referring to Salem's September 12, 1997 newsletter, Chuck Gould quoted then Chair of the Board of Higher Education Jim Carlin: "Tenure is a dinosaur. It is just a question of time." We are still talking about tenure but in a different context. We now call it post-tenure review. Your bargaining team has presented a proposal on post-tenure review, they have also asked the employer to consider working from the UMass/Amherst, or the UMass/Lowell post-tenure review system. The Board of Higher Education (BHE) insists that State Colleges should adopt termination language and has rejected any proposal that does not contain this provision. If we accept the BHE's proposed language changes we would, in effect, be going up for tenure every seven years. The bargaining team has consistently said NO.

All of this has happened as Massachusetts has slipped near the bottom of the 10 industrial states in salary when calculated using cost of living adjustments. Across the State system there is long deferred work that needs to be started on: faculty/librarians offices, classrooms, lab space, research space, and libraries. Because of poor working conditions and low pay, good qualified faculty and librarians are leaving the system, and finding replacements is proving to be difficult.

At the bargaining session on October 12th the bargaining team asked the mediator to authorize fact-finding. It was his opinion that there was still room to bargain and that fact- finding was premature. There is a bargaining session scheduled for October 27th in hopes that the sides can come closer to an agreement.

As always we will keep you informed.

Stipends
On October 2nd the MSCA and BHE signed a Memorandum of Agreement authorizing payment of the following stipends:

Academic promotions - any member of the bargaining unit who was promoted with effect on September 1, 2000, shall have his/her annual salary rate, as it existed on August 31, 2000 (after the increase pursuant to the July 17, 2000 contract extension), increased in the amount equal to five percent (5%) thereof or Two Thousand Sixty Dollars and seventy-six Cents ($2,060.76), whichever is greater.

Terminal degrees - any member of the bargaining unit, who first secured a terminal degree on or after September 1, 1999, shall, with effect on August 27, 2000, have his/her annual salary increased by an amount equal to Two Thousand Sixty Dollars and seventy-six Cents ($2060.76). This provision shall be of no application with respect to any member of the bargaining unit who first secures a terminal degree on or after September 1, 2000.

Any member of the bargaining unit who is eligible to receive stipends for academic promotions or terminal degrees shall receive, on or before December 1, 2000, a lump-sum payment equal to the retroactive value of such increase for the period from August 27, 2000 to the date of such payment. These adjustments are after the three percent (3%) pay raise effective January 1, 2000.

Department chairs - any member of the bargaining unit who is or has been employed as a department chair during the academic year 2000-2001 shall, for each academic semester in such year, be paid a stipend in the amount equal to Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750); provided, however, that any member of the bargaining unit who shall serve as a department chair for less than the whole of any such academic semester shall be paid a pro-ration of such stipend. Such payments shall be made on or about January 31, 2001, and on or about June 30, 2001.

Committee Appointments
At the October 11th meeting of the Salem Chapter/MSCA the following members were elected to the indicated committees. Many thanks to all those willing to participate in the very important task of governance.

Massoud Farahbakhsh, (All College), Nancy Dennis, Judi Cook, and Carol Deanow (Curriculum), Peter Walker (Library-Media Development), Susan Edwards, Benjamin Gross, Ann Gardner, and Leah Richie (Academic Policies), Christine MacTaylor (O'Keefe Complex Policies and Procedures), Mayuresh Kelker (General Studies) Jim Cullen (Financial Aid), Tracy Lewis, and Mayuresh Kelker (Foreign Language Waiver), Mary Ann McGovern (College-Wide Safety), Li Li, Cristine MacTaylor, and Susan Edwards (Honor & Memorialize), Benjamin Gross (NEASC), Ed LeClair (Elections), and Ed LeClair and Iris Orbach (Nominations).

Committee Vacancies
Margaret Andrews has submitted her resignation from the Committee on Promotions. Nominations are open to complete her term (2000 - 2002). Any full-time tenured member associate or above , who will not be on a leave of absence during the term are eligible. Please notify the union office no later than November 6th @ noon if you are interested in serving on this committee. Restrictions: no member of the Departments of Nursing, Accounting/Finance, Biology, Sociology, Chemistry & Physics, or English may be nominated. No Chair of any department may be nominated.

Nominations are open for three members to serve on the Committee for Graduate Celebration. There is one opening on the Foreign Language Waiver Committee. Any full-time, tenure or tenure-track member is eligible to nominate himself/herself.

Upcoming Events:

MSCA Board of Directors Meeting. The November 3rd MSCA Board of Directors meeting will be held at Salem State College in the Martin Luther King room from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. This is an open meeting and all unit members are invited and encouraged to participate.

Salem Chapter/MSCA Executive Committee Meeting. There will be an Executive Committee meeting on November 6th at 2:30 in the Underground. Dean Arlene Greenstein will discuss the strategic directions of Continuing Education and will be available for questions. This meeting is open to all members.

General Membership Meeting. There will be a general membership meeting on Monday, November 13th at 11:15 AM in Ryan Lecture Hall (Meier Hall 426) to discuss collective bargaining issues and other issues of concern. Please attend this very important meeting to give the leadership your views on our future course of action.

Massachusetts Board of Higher Education Meeting. The December meeting of the Board of Higher Education will be held at Salem State College on December 5th.

MSCA Re-Run Election Forum. Patricia Markunas and Bill Murphy have been invited to a candidates' forum sponsored by the Salem Chapter/MSCA. The forum is open to all members of the Salem Chapter/MSCA. Light refreshments will be served. The forum will be held on Monday, November 6th at 1:00 PM in the Martin Luther King room.

BHE Spotlight
The Boston Globe reported last Sunday that the newest Governor Cellucci appointment to the Board of Higher Education is none other than Matt Carlin, son of the famed past BHE chair. The Globe lists the 34-year old engineering consultant's credentials for the job as his experience an "ex-hockey coach." Who was it that said, "it's not about ideology, it's about competence"?* Carlin's first assignment is to head a committee to improve the quality of live on campuses. Maybe he should call us for some ideas.

*Mike Dukakis, running for president, 1988

Salem State College FY 2001 Operating Budget
Adobe Acrobat Reader necessary to open file (three pages).