MSCA/Salem Chapter Newsletter
March 19, 2001

DGCE Contract Ratification Vote
The results of the ratification vote on the three-year DGCE contract were 98 for, 2 against. Monies should be in this semester's paychecks.

Day Bargaining Report
Both sides met on March 16th and at the end of the session it was agreed that no information will be released until after the next bargaining sessions which are scheduled for Thursday, March 22nd and Friday, March 23rd. Thank you for your patience.

Search Committee Appointments
The Salem Chapter/MSCA Executive Committee elected the following members to serve on the indicated search committees:

Search Committee Dean Graduate School
· Aviva Chomsky (HIS)
· Neal Dechillo (SWK)
· Clarke Fowler (EDU)
· Mike Prochilo (ENG)
· Peter Sablock (GLS)

Search Committee Academic Vice President
· Mary-Lou Breitborde (EDU)
· Patricia Buchanan (ENG)
· Jim Cullen (GLS)
· Chuck Gould (SOC)
· Doug Larson (ACC/FIN)
· Paul Marsella (HIS)

Faculty and Librarian Research Fund Committee
I would like to thank the following members who served on the Faculty and Librarian Research Fund Committee. This committee worked very hard reviewing grant requests that totaled over $289,000, with only $80,000 available to be distributed for research support. Thanks to Jeffrey Berman (MGT), Eileen Margerum (ENG), Maureen McRae (NUR), Susan Sturgeon (LIB), and Robert Wang (CHE & PHS).

Legislative News
Governor Cellucci's FY2002 State Budget (House 1) is not good news for state colleges. The state colleges line items are increased by only 0.2%. The Board of Higher Education estimates that total "state support including anticipated supplemental funding for outstanding collective bargaining contracts would represent increases of approximately 3.8% for state colleges." We are not alone, the community colleges and the University of Massachusetts line items only increased by 2.5% for community colleges and decreased 2.1% for the university system. In addition to these meager budget increases the Governor also proposes to increase our contribution to health insurance premiums from 15% to 25% (a 33% increase). Ouch! As in the past, we need to lobby the legislature for increased appropriations. Additional information can be found at www.massteacher.org.

Salem Chapter/MSCA Executive Committee Meeting
There will be a Salem Chapter Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 27th at 2:30 p.m. in the Salem Room, South Campus.

Reminder...

All contact with the union should be through appropriate channels. Whenever you have questions or concerns that are or may be union related, please contact us at:

(978) 542-6366
or msca@salem.mass.edu
Sullivan Bldg., Room 205B

Phone-a-thons
A request that faculty volunteer to participate in a phone-a-thon to solicit funds has generated a large number of calls with the callers expressing both contractual and ethical concerns.

First, participation in any effort to raise funds is not part of our required work under the contract and cannot be made mandatory.

The contract does permit (but not require) faculty to "...participate voluntarily in co-curricular activities..." [XII.A.1.a.par.2, sen.2}, but does not define "co-curricular activities." Therefore, there is no contractual prohibition against a Dean or Chair requesting such voluntary participation or against a faculty member volunteering to participate.

Second, some faculty may consider calling their former students to contribute money to be a breech of professional ethics. Each faculty member will have to make his/her own ethical determination.

Finally, at the Salem Chapter/MSCA Executive Committee's last meeting, none of those present could remember ever being called by a faculty member to contribute to a school from which they had received a degree. All such calls were made by students or alumni.

Removal of Tenured Faculty Member
As you know, last spring President Harrington invoked IX.E. and convened a Hearing Committee of five tenured faculty to determine whether Professor Adeleke Atewologun should be removed from his position as a tenured member of the faculty. After numerous days of hearings, many witnesses, and mountains of written exhibits, the Committee recommended unanimously that Professor Atewologun not be removed.

As you are also aware, the President did not follow the Committee's recommendation, but rather recommended to the Board of Trustees that Dr. Atewologun be terminated.

We have recently been informed that the Board of Trustees is proceeding with a hearing (requested by Dr. Atewologun under IX.E.) regarding the recommendation by the President. As provided for in the IX.E. the Board has designated L. Lee Harrington (no relation to the President), a former member and Chair of the Salem State College Board of Trustees, to conduct the hearing as its designee. At the conclusion of the hearing, Mr. Harrington will make a recommendation to the Board, which can then take any action it sees fit.

The hearing is scheduled to begin on April 2, 2001, time and place to be announced, and will continue until it is concluded.

You will be kept informed.

Peoplesoft
The Salem Chapter/MSCA has filed a grievance related to what we allege to be unilateral changes in working conditions imposed (and to be imposed) by the administration on Chairs, librarians, and faculty. At the center of the grievance is the apparent shift of the work of data entry from those who have been (and are) performing it to members of our unit. I believe that such a change is a mandatory subject for bargaining and that, without such bargaining, implementation is an unfair labor practice. The grievance has yet to be heard.

If you are directed or requested to perform new duties with regard to Peoplesoft (e.g., data entry for purchasing), please get full and complete details in writing before you do anything else. Send copies of those to me for use in the grievance.

However, I recommend that if you are directed (as opposed to asked) to perform new duties, you comply with the directive (rather than be deemed "insubordinate"), but that you respond in writing (copy to me) that you are doing so only under protest.

I also strongly recommend that you keep track in writing of all of the time you spend on the new duties, because part of the requested remedy for the grievance will be for you to be compensated for all such time at a reasonable hourly rate.

You will be kept informed as the grievance progresses.