October 18, 1999

President's Message - Pat Markunas
Contrary to what you were told in the mailing from Brad Art, MSCA unit members at Salem State College will not receive the 7/1/98 3% raise or the resulting retroactive monies in their October paychecks.  We are the only state college where this is the case.  Needless to say, I am very concerned that our members will have to wait longer than any other MSCA or APA members for their well-earned and overdue money.  I have asked President Harrington to provide an explanation for this situation to our membership as soon as possible.

All payments -- the 3% salary increase, the retroactive payments, the 9/1/99 promotions, the terminal degree payments, and any resulting salary equity adjustments -- will be made in the November payroll.  We will publish worksheets so that members can be sure that they are paid correctly.

In reference to the same statewide mailing which promised the payments, some members have expressed confusion about Brad's statement that there is no pay raise effective 7/1/99.  This statement meant that there has not been an agreement on an additional pay raise effective 7/1/99.  Of course, the pay raise negotiated that is effective on 7/1/98 will be applied to the base salary and continue for the rest of any member's employment.

As we do not represent members once they have left the unit for any reason, I do not know the procedures for how former members, if eligible, receive these adjustments or retroactive payments.  I recommend that such former members contact the Payroll Office directly, at 978-542-6116, after November 15th.

Paul McGee has asked me to report that the MSCA Bargaining Committee will meet with the employer (BHE) on October 22nd and 27th.  A report to the membership will be sent afterwards.
 

Accolades to 1600 MSCA Members-Patricia Johnston
As Al Gore knows, every union member is a vote.  And as every union official knows, every member’s enthusiasm and activism is at the core of any progress – whether for equitable salaries or reasonable workloads.  This is certainly the case for the recent MSCA bargaining breakthrough.  The courage of the membership this year in standing down from governance and pulling together in the face of the BHE’s threats to tenure and workload is what made all the difference.  Collective action is the key, not backroom politics.  So accolades to the membership for this recent progress!  And for future goals!

Now that MSCA and the COP have agreed to pay all retroactive monies due, only one local issue remains unresolved for this year.  As you remember, the standdown from governance was over the payment of the monies outlined above and the payment of $1200 in professional development money to each unit member.  It is the payment of professional development money for this year that remains.  Do you as a MSCA member believe we should continue to sacrifice governance for professional development monies, while statewide bargaining is ongoing?  This is the crucial question the statewide Board must contend with at its next meeting.
 

MSCA Board of Directors to Meet at SSC-Pat Markunas
The MSCA Board of Directors will meet on Friday, November 5, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm in the Martin Luther King Room, second floor of the Ellison Campus Center, on North Campus.  This meeting is open to all MSCA members in good standing.  If you wish to address the Board on any issue, particularly non-participation in governance, please let me know in advance of the meeting date.
 

Clarification on Student Evaluation Forms
As of this date, there is no agreement on a form to be used by students to evaluate courses taught in the day division of the state colleges.  It is possible that no student evaluations will be conducted in day classes this semester.  Please see the previous newsletter for more information.

This lack of agreement does not affect the DGCE contract, for which an executed agreement has been in place for over two years now.  The DGCE student evaluation forms, recently distributed by Deans Kilson and Greenstein, are the forms in the current DGCE agreement and should be used by all DGCE faculty as bargained by the parties.

Contracts for both the day and DGCE bargaining units are available in the Chapter Office during regular office hours (9:00 am to 1:00 pm, Monday through Friday).  If these hours are not convenient, please send a request for the appropriate contract to Kathleen Ell and she will arrange to mail a copy to you.

Revised 10/26/99
URL: http://www1.shore.net/~ngeorge/msca1018.htm