Day Contract Campaign

Librarians and Day Faculty,

This page will be updated frequently as our campaign for to fund the contract and implement fair treatment/equitable pay carries one.

December 19, 2018 Update

Yesterday, the BHE contacted me to inform me that the Office of Employee Relations (OER), within the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, had rejected the MSCA contract.  See the rejection letter here.

It seems the BHE set up the rejection given the manner in which the BHE submitted the request.  The commissioner (incorrectly) flagged certain items that exceeded the 2% threshold and preemptively told the governor the BHE was willing to renegotiate.  Good faith!

Read the funding request.

In the penultimate sentence in the second paragraph, the commissioner states “that the estimated costs of these additional terms were not fully known until after the parties had concluded their negotiations.”  This statement is false.

Negotiations were not officially concluded until the parties signed the tentative agreement (TA).  I signed the TA on June 20, 2018.  The Commissioner signed the TA on July 17, 2018.  We have been told the costing was completed in June, 2018, prior to the commissioner having signed the TA.

Furthermore, the final sentence of the second paragraph states, “we are prepared to return to the bargaining table as may be necessary in order to negotiate terms that will be in compliance with OER’s economic parameters.”

The commissioner, in effected, asked OER to kick reject the contract.

Unlike the APA contract, the BHE and presidents made no effort to offset the increases by the savings the enjoy in the TA.

These are the people we are to sit down with and renegotiate?  A coddling together of inexperienced incompetents?

If your university president has not already written to you, he soon will.  He will be urging you to tell the union to go back to the table – as fast as possible – to give up the increases in the equivalencies, to give up the increase in promotion amounts, to give up the increases in terminal degree adjustments, and to give up the increases in department chair stipends – with NOTHING IN RETURN!  He just wants his mistakes and lies to disappear – as fast as possible – before HIS evaluation by the Trustees!

The MSCA Board of Directors meets on January 4, 2019.

CJ O’Donnell
MSCA President


December 10, 2018 Update

The MSCA reached an agreement with the BHE this morning prior to having the hearing at the Department of Labor Relations.  The BHE asked the union to settle the case prior to it being heard at 10:00 a.m..  You can view the agreement here.

I will be away from the computer until later today, so an explanation of what changes (very little at this point) will be posited later today.

We will not be conducting informational picketing at the BHE tomorrow at Roxbury Community College, we will be focusing out attention and efforts in other areas.

Thank you all for whatever level of participation you have engaged in… the fight is not over.

CJ O’Donnell
MSCA President

 


November 26, 2018 reply to the state university presidents regarding reopening day contract negotiations.

November 9, 2018 letter from COP Chair Fran McDonald asking the MSCA to voluntarily renegotiate the day contract, because the presidents didn’t do their due diligence.


October 31, 2018 letter from Commissioner Santiago asking for a meeting.

The original request from Commissioner Santiago for a meeting, that he then canceled, and refused to meet.

President O’Donnell’s response to Commissioner Santiago’s second request for a meeting.


The salary increases offered by the BHE are the lowest since the period from 1989 – 1994, when the legislature was forced to take action and PASS A LAW to increase state employee salaries since the executive branch was offering no salary increase for an extended period.

As the need will likely be arising, the MSCA is compiling and updating possible information picketing dates/sites:

INFORMATIONAL PICKETING:
BHE MEETING – OCTOBER 31, 2017
WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY

 

TRUSTEE MEETINGS:

Bridgewater Wed Oct 11 @ 6:45 PM Dunn Conference Suite, Crimson Hall Wed Dec 6 @ 6:30 pm, Heritage Rm., Crimson Hall
Fitchburg Thurs Oct 19 @ 10 AM President’s Hall, Mazzafero Ctr. Tues Nov 14 @ 8 AM, President’s Hall Mazzafero Ctr.
Framingham Wed Nov 29 @ 6:30 PM 309-Alumni Rm., McCarthy Center Wed Jan 24 @ 6:30 PM 309-Alumni Rm., McCarthy Center
MassArt Tues Nov 28 @ 4:15 PM, 11th Floor, Tower Bldg
MCLA Thurs Oct 19 @ 5:30 PM Murdock Hall Fitzpatrick Rm (208) Thurs Dec 7 @ 5:30 PM Murdock Hall, Fitzpatrick Rm (208)
Mass Maritime Fri Dec 1 @ 9 AM Bay State Conference Rm Fri March 16 @ 9 AM Bay State Conference Rm
Salem Wed Oct 11 @ 5 PM Paul Petrowski Conference Rm, Marsh Hall Wed Nov 29  @ 5 PM Paul Petrowski Conference R., Marsh Hall
Westfield Thurs Dec 7 @ 8:30 AM President’s Boardroom Horace Mann Center Thurs Feb 15 @ 8:30 AM President’s Boardroom Horace Mann Center
Worcester Tues Oct 17 Tues Nov 14

 

OPEN HOUSE:

Campus Date Date Date
Bridgewater Sat Oct. 21:  8:30 AM Sat Nov 11:  8:30 AM
Fitchburg Sat Oct. 14:  9:00 AM Sat Nov. 04:  9:00 AM
MassArt Tues Oct 17:  4:00 PM
MCLA Sat Oct. 14:  9:30 AM Fri Nov. 10:  9:30 AM
Mass Maritime Sat Oct. 14:  9:00 AM Sat Nov. 04:  9:00 AM Sat Nov. 18:  9:00 AM
Salem Sun Oct. 15:  8:00 AM Sat Nov. 18:  8:00 AM
Westfield Sat Oct. 21:  10:00 AM Sat Oct. 28:  10:00 AM Sat Nov. 18: 10:00 AM
Worcester Sat Oct. 14:  9:00 AM Sat Nov. 04:  9:00 AM