MSCA/Salem Chapter Newsletter
January 10, 2001

President's Message - Paul F. McGee
I hope you and your family had a happy holiday. To new faculty/librarians, I would like to welcome you to our membership. If the MSCA/Salem Chapter can be of assistance please call us at extension 6366.

Early Retirement - Yes
On December 31, 2001 Governor Swift signed a bill (Chapter 219 of the Acts of 2001) providing for an early retirement incentive program for certain state employees, including employees in higher education except those in the Optional Retirement Program and those funded from federal, trust or capital accounts. The total number of employees eligible is 6,700 but notwithstanding that limit, employees who contribute into the retirement plan at 5 and 7 per cent shall be eligible to receive the benefit of the retirement incentive program.

You must have at least 20 years of creditable service at any age or 10 years of creditable service and 55 years of age at date of retirement. The formula adds a combination of years of creditable service and years of age, the sum of which shall not be greater than 5 years. An eligible employee must file his or her application for retirement with the State Board of Retirement after January 1, 2002 and not later than February 15, 2002. For higher education employees the retirement date shall be June 15, 2002, however Chancellor Judy Gill may identify job titles, whose holders may elect to retire earlier than June 15, 2002, but not before March 15, 2002.

Any payment of sick pay and/or vacation pay will be spread out over three years. One third of this payment will be paid on July 1, 2002, July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2004.

The State Board of Retirement will provide counseling to employees who are considering retiring under this act. The counseling includes a full explanation of this early retirement act, expected lifetime retirement benefits an employee would receive, an election of the benefit level options (A, B, or C), restrictions on employment after retirement, laws relating to cost of living adjustment, and the effect on federal and state taxation on retirement benefits. The group insurance commission will provide counseling on health care benefits.

It is strongly recommended that employees interested in this early retirement program contact the State Board of Retirement Office and take advantage of the above counseling.

State Board of Retirement Office One Ashburton Place, Room 1219 Boston, MA 02108 Phone: (617) 367-7770, extension 1 or 1-800-392-6014 (IN-STATE).

MSCA Day Bargaining Committee Report "Family Friendly Policies"
The following items were agreed upon on November 30, 2001:

· Ten days' paid leave for the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child for both fathers and mothers.

· Up to twenty days of sick leave*/calendar year available for caring for spouse, child or parent of either the employee or his/her spouse, or for a relative living in the employee's immediate household who is seriously ill; or parental leave for birth/adoption provided that the twenty days are used within 12 months of the date of the birth/adoption.

· Up to ten days of sick leave*/calendar year available for necessary preparations and/or legal proceedings related to foster care of DSS children.

· Increased use of "Alternative Work Options" encouraged for librarians (e.g., part-time work, flex-time, compressed work weeks, staggered work hours, job-sharing), but at the sole discretion of the President or designee.

· Telecommuting on a case-by-case basis, the development of a written "Telecommuting Agreement" for each employee. This will be discussed further in the context of distance education.

· Up to three weeks of sick leave* concurrently with up to six months of unpaid sick leave for employees who are victims of violence.

· Up to one day per month paid leave to either volunteer at a public school or participate in a mentoring program to assist young people, at the sole discretion of the President or designee.

· Appropriate documentary confirmation of entitlement to the leave or benefit.

This is a summary. Final language is being worked out. (*This leave may be taken only from the unit member's individual leave, not from the sick leave bank). (Webmaster's note: the Memorandum of Agreement is located at http://mscaunion.org/contract/famfrien)

Walk-Away/Attendance Policy
In resolution of a grievance that was filed at Salem, the following attendance policy will be instituted at the College for the purpose of determining the appropriate amount of federal financial aid disbursement.

Faculty will take attendance one time per semester during a predetermined period. Forms for this purpose will be distributed one week in advance. For spring 2002, the relevant dates are:

· February 18th - Distribution of attendance forms to faculty.
· February 25th through March 6th - Attendance is taken once, in each class.
· March 8th - Census due.

Nominations Open for Search Committees
Five (5) unit members are needed to serve on the Search Committee for Dean, School of Business.
One (1) unit member is needed to serve on the Search Committee, Director for the Office of Students With Disabilities.

If you are interested in serving on either of these committees, please submit your name to the Chapter Office, SB-205B or call extension 6920 by Wednesday, January 23rd.

Appointments - Assistant Director, Registrar Search Committee

The MSCA/Salem Chapter Executive Committee voted to recommend Carol Deanow (SWK) and Peter Sablock (GLS) to serve on the search committee for Assistant Director, Registrar.

Many thanks to Carol and Peter for their willingness to serve on this search committee.

Salem Chapter/MSCA Executive Committee Meetings

Thursday, January 24, 2002 2:00 p.m. Salem Room South Campus
Monday, February 25, 2002 2:00 p.m. Presidential Room Ellison Center
*Monday, March 18, 2002 Salem Chapter Meeting and Executive Committee Meeting 1:00 p.m. MLK Room Ellison Center Tuesday, April 9, 2002 2:00 p.m. Essex County Room Ellison Center

*Executive Committee Meeting immediately following Salem Chapter Meeting

NOTE: Executive Committee minutes are posted on the Salem Chapter web-page:

http://mscaunion.org/~salem