March 12, 2001 As is reported elsewhere on the WebPage, the bargaining session scheduled for this past Friday was canceled due to the snowstorm. The parties are continuing to abide by the decision not to release further information until after the rescheduled session, to be held on Friday, March 16th, at Worcester State College. Your continued support and understanding are appreciated.
On Tuesday, March 13th, the Joint Committee on Education will hold hearings on several bills before it, including S299, a Resolution to Support State College Faculty and Librarian Salary Schedules Equivalent to Peer Institutions. Bridgewater/MSCA Chapter President Jean Stonehouse and I will attend the hearing (webmaster's note: Pres. Pat Markunas' testimony,Vice Pres. Minasian's testimony,and Jean Stonehouse's testimony), to be held in Room B-2 at the State House in Boston. Hearings are open to the public. Messages of support for S299 can be sent via the links to legislators on the WebPage.
On Wednesday, March 14th, the Board of Higher Education will hold its regular meeting, rescheduled due to a lack of a quorum on February 20th, beginning at 9:00 am at the McCarthy Campus Center at Framingham State College. I plan to attend and present brief remarks. BHE meetings are open to the public.
Nine (9) MSCA members, including myself, attended the Annual Conference of the National Council on Higher Education, held March 1 to March 4 in San Diego. The dominant issue in higher education nationally is distance education and the impact of technology for our pedagogy. At the business meeting, NCHE members overwhelmingly endorsed a motion, offered by the Massachusetts Higher Education Leadership Council, that would require NEA to use only the services of member affiliates in offering distance education programs to the membership through the NEA portal. This motion will be presented at this summer's NEA Representative Assembly.
I was invited to represent NEA/NCHE at the Annual Conference on Higher Education, sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, to be held in mid-April in San Francisco. Given the MSCA Board's strong support for a merger of the two national education unions (NEA and AFT), I was honored to accept this invitation.
Two programs of possible interest to the membership are as follows:
* Emerging Leaders Program, offered every August at the MTA Williamstown Leadership Conference, for members interested in pursuing leadership roles in the union. If you are interested, please contact your local chapter president for information.
* "Creating Safety - Teaching Respect: A Day Dedicated to Fighting Homophobia and Creating Safety in Schools," sponsored by the MTA and the Gay and Lesbian Safety and Employment Network, to be held Saturday, March 24, at Tufts University. For further information and registration, call 617-536-9669 or visit www.glsenboston.org.
Pat Markunas MSCA President
MSCA Home/Messages to the Membership 3/19/01