For older announcements, please see the prior semester sub-menus under Announcements.
Su 31 May ~ Fraudulent claims for Pandemic Unemployment Insurance
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
Please be aware that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is reporting a large volume of fraudulent claims for Pandemic Unemployment Insurance. These fraudulent claims are filed using the name and Social Security numbers of unsuspecting individuals across the state, gathered from previous data breaches. This has also resulted in a delay in the state processing and paying legitimate unemployment claims.
Here is a link to more information about this scam: https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2020/05/massachusetts-unemployment-checks-could-be-delayed-as-state-responds-to-nationwide-scam.html
If you or anyone you know receives an email or letter notifying you of being approved for Pandemic Unemployment Insurance, and you have not filed a claim, please contact the Department of Unemployment Assistance at the following link: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/report-unemployment-benefits-fraud.
Th 28 May ~ Emergency Chapter Meeting
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
We hope that you’ll join us for our next BrCCC Chapter Meeting on Monday, June 1st. The past several weeks have seen a great deal of movement by the administration, but also by the union. We hope to update you as much as possible.
Here is a link to the agenda (which may change due to new information): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AqOL9PCAh7DvQ2zyv_4gCw-fE3dCJT66Xhu-ARREfOI/edit?usp=sharing
I am also attaching the draft minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting.
I hope to see you Monday.
ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION
Topic: BrCCC Chapter Meeting
Day/Time: Monday, June 1, 2020 02:00 PM
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83943065781?pwd=VUZYL3hrNDY2VXVkUzdmR3lMUTFIQT09
Meeting ID: 839 4306 5781
Password: 687743
Tu 26 May ~ Bristol in the News
The Herald News: Opinion: Why Community College is Your Best Option this Fall
Sa 23 May ~ FERPA Considerations for Remote Istruction
Paulette Howarth, BrCCC President
Joe Rizzo, DCE Grievance Coordinator from the MCCC, advised us of a document issued by the attorneys that represent the community college system regarding FERPA considerations for remote instruction. “Bristol may not be aware of this if they are asking faculty to record virtual classes.”
In light of the coronavirus/COVID-19 emergency, the Massachusetts Community Colleges have replaced face-to-face instruction with remote instruction. Remote instruction may include utilizing video and audio recordings of class sessions and student projects. These recordings may be used to allow students to watch a missed class session, to review an earlier session, to share with subsequent classes, to incorporate into massive open online courses (MOOCs), or for accreditation purposes. Depending on how the recordings are created or edited, they may constitute student educational records that are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the federal student privacy law. As a general rule, it is important to keep in mind that to the extent FERPA applies to student educational records in a physical classroom, it applies with equal force and affect to student educational records in a virtual setting. This guidance explains acceptable practices for utilizing video and audio recordings in a remote instructional setting.
F 22 May ~ Form DE-2 for Online Summer Classes
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
Joe Rizzo, DCE Grievance Coordinator from the MCCC, has recently advised us “The recent COVID-19 agreement between the MCCC and BHE distinguishes online courses from remote courses with ‘remote’ referring to courses that were planned to be F2F and switched to a remote format due to the current emergency (the international pandemic). This summer, courses offered pursuant to the Distance Education (DE) Agreement would be treated accordingly and the remote class should be handled the same as a traditional course. The DE-2 should be submitted for formally designated DE courses most, if not all, are online.”
So what does this mean for you as a faculty member teaching this summer?
Since the college moved all courses online for the summer session (per an email from Suzanne Buglione on April 27), these are not remote courses. They are online courses, which are conducted under the Distance Education Agreement, which can be found in the DCE Contract (starting at page 35). The instructor has academic freedom in how the course content is provided to learners.
Please fill out and include form DE-2, The Distance Education Interaction Plan, and include it with your syllabus. In this form, you can make clear if your course will be asynchronous (learning on demand or as needed communication between students and faculty from multiple locations at times convenient to participants) or synchronous (entails the use of live, two-way communication among and/or between students and faculty in a scheduled or fixed points of time, much like classroom-based instruction).
F 22 May ~ Added Presentation on Unemployment Insurance
Margaret Wong, MCCC President
Yesterday’s presentation on unemployment insurance by Catherine Santiago, Bret Seferian, and Roberta James got inadvertently limited to 100 participants due to a glitch with Zoom. The MCCC Zoom Capacity is 500, but Zoom had the meeting limited participants to 100. I called Zoom as soon as I saw the problem, but was put on hold for half an hour before I got kicked me off due to high call volume and was told me to use the online reporting form, so I wasn’t able to get to fix the problem in time.
The capacity issue has now been resolved, but because of the unintended limiting of participants yesterday, Catherine, Bret, and Roberta have agreed to be do the presentation on unemployment insurance again next Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 1:00-2:30 PM. As the 100 participant limit occurred with the MSCA presentation as well, this added event will be jointly presented to MCCC and MSCA members.
ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82946151018
Meeting ID: 829 4615 1018
Password: 297875
Tu 19 May ~ Urgent Notice to Everyone Assigned to Teach During the Summer and Fall 2020 Semesters
Diana Yohe, BrCCC Day/DCE Grievance Coordinator
Bristol Community College has officially moved to totally online classes for the Summer 2020 semester. All summer 2020 face-to-face classes with previously designated meeting days and times were converted to online and all days and times (disallowing easy opportunity for synchronous online teaching) were removed from the schedule and could not be reinstated. Fall 2020 classes are currently under discussion. If the College decides to go online for Fall 2020, training will need to take place over the summer, and YOU will need to BE PREPARED.
To be prepared and to safeguard both your Summer 2020 and your Fall 2020 course assignments, all faculty assigned to teach in Summer 2020 and all faculty who may soon find that his/her Fall 2020 classes have been/will be converted to online, need to SUBMIT AN ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL immediately.
Failure to submit an online course development form MAY RESULT IN YOUR LOSING YOUR CONTRACTUAL CLASS ASSIGNMENT(S) for Summer 2020. A deadline date for form submission has not yet been determined or announced by the College. Stay tuned to your Bristol email.
Here is the link to the form: Online Course Development Request Form.
Su 17 May ~ MCCC Pres & VP Office Hour
Margaret Wong, MCCC President and Rosemarie Freeland, MCCC Vice President
As we announced last Wednesday, this week’s President/Vice President Office Hour will not be held at its normal time. Instead, we have scheduled it for Tuesday, May 19 at 1:00 P.M. Hopefully people who could not join us on Wednesday evenings, can join us for Tuesday early afternoon.
As usual, we will pass on any new information that have come our way and address any issues you bring to our attention as best we can.
Unemployment Insurance. You should have received information about unemployment insurance from your chapter president and/or from me regarding a presentation on the subject by Field Representatives Catherine Santiago and Brett Seferian. The presentation will take place on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. Here is the zoom link for the presentation: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86315730790
You may email questions to Catherine (csantiago@massteacher.org) or Bret (bseferian@massteacher.org) in advance of the meeting if you wish.
ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION
Day/Time: Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 1:00 PM
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/677347122
Hope to see/hear many of you on Tuesday.
Th 14 May ~ MTA Unemployment Workshop
Colleen Fitzpatrick, MTA Field Representative
I hope you all are holding up okay in these trying and uncertain times. I wanted to make sure you all got the information about the MCCC workshop on unemployment benefits that will be taking place via Zoom next Wednesday, May 20th at 10am.
MTA field representatives Bret Seferian and Catherine Santiago will be leading the training on how to file for unemployment successfully and how the new aspects of unemployment/underemployment extended by the federal CARES act impact you. They will also be addressing questions on the subject.
Please also remember that if you are a union member, the MTA will provide free legal aid if an unemployment claim is denied.
ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION
Topic: MCCC Unemployment Insurance Presentation
Time: May 20, 2020 10:00 AM
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86315730790
Meeting ID: 863 1573 0790
Tu 12 May ~ 2020 MCCC Delegates Assembly
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
I am hoping that some of you will join us for the 2020 MCCC Delegate Assembly. The Assembly will happen on May 26, at noon.
I would love to see as many Bristol Community folks as possible join us for this assembly. It’s important that we are counted. Our chapter has 25 seats, of which only 10 spots are left!
M 11 May ~ 2020 MCCC Delegates Assembly
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
I am hoping that some of you will join us for the 2020 MCCC Delegate Assembly. The Assembly will happen on May 26, at noon.
I would love to see as adjunct faculty join us for this assembly as possible. It’s important that we are counted. Our chapter has 25 seats, of which 18 are left.
Please let me know if you’re interested as soon as possible!
M 11 May ~ TONIGHT! Board of Trustees Meeting Via Zoom
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
Update (to the message from May 8 below): We have released a statement to the press.
Attachments:
Press Release – Board of Trustees Refuses to Meet with Faculty
Statement to the BCC Board of Trustees
Letter of Support from the Faculty & Professional Staff Senate
ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION:
Topic: Board of Trustees Meeting 5/11/2020
Time: May 11, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82359645163
Meeting ID: 823 5964 5163
Password: 138415
F 8 May ~ We Need You: Attend the Board of Trustees Meeting Monday, May 11 at 4 pm
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
The BrCCC Chapter leadership’s request to present our concerns regarding the recent layoffs to the Board of Trustees at their meeting on Monday, May 11 was denied. This is the second consecutive month the board has refused to hear about the concerns of faculty and staff about our college’s Administration’s unilateral actions that continue to adversely impact students.
This is extremely concerning as we all try to navigate the challenges of a pandemic and do what is best for our students and the communities we serve. We are all in unchartered territory and every voice needs to be heard and valued. We’re asking that you attend the BOT Meeting via Zoom on May 11th at 4 pm. While we will not have an opportunity to present, our presence is critical to let them know that we are watching and that we aren’t going anywhere.
During the Faculty/Professional Staff Senate meeting last week, similar attitudes were expressed and some members sent emails to request access to the BOT Meeting via Zoom as well. The more members of the Bristol community who attended this meeting, the stronger the message of concern we send.
Please let us know if you’ll attend by clicking here.
For your knowledge, we are linking to the material we provided to the board in advance with our request, as per its bylaws. We also submitted the petition and planned to update it at the meeting. As of today, we have over 500 signatures and counting. If you are interested in viewing or signing the petition, you may still do so.
The Senate has also prepared a letter of support to accompany the union’s letter. AFSCME has signed on as well.
Since the Fall of 2019, union leadership has attempted to communicate our shared concerns to the Board of Trustees after trying to work collaboratively with Administration to understand its vision, our shared challenges and to find ways to address them with strategic and data-based changes.
We feel that every attempt on our part to develop a collaborative space for conversation to make this happen has been rejected, first by the Douglas Administration and more recently by the Board of Trustees.
We hope you can attend the meeting on Monday and help us deliver this message that we all truly are in this together.
The notice and agenda for the meeting is posted on the Board of Trustees’ Meeting webpage here.
ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION:
Topic: Board of Trustees Meeting 5/11/2020
Time: May 11, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82359645163
Meeting ID: 823 5964 5163
Password: 138415
W 6 May ~ Inquiry RE Synchronous Summer Classes
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
A Memorandum of Agreement regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Summer 2020 courses was completed and distributed today. Find the MOA here.
We are reaching out to determine if you want to exercise your academic freedom to meet synchronously or remotely this summer. Further, we’d like to know if you’ve already made such a request and the outcome. Do you want to teach your course with synchronous meetings? If you feel comfortable advocating for yourself, please contact your dean and request that the days and times be returned to your course listing. You can cite the Distance Education Course Interaction Plan, form DE-2 of the DCE contract, which indicates you have the right to choose if your course is asynchronous or synchronous. It can be found on page 41 here. Feel free to copy union leadership on the email to your dean.
If you requested synchronous meetings and the request was denied, please forward any relevant correspondence so that we may take up the issue. The MOA, bargained by MCCC, lists remote learning as an option for Summer 2020. However, Suzanne Buglione sent an email on April 27, before the MCCC had finished bargaining. Her email indicated that Bristol faculty do not have the options MCCC bargained for us. It appears we are being denied the chance to meet synchronously during the summer, as some have chosen to do this semester. The emphasis in this excerpt from Suzanne’s email is ours:
We have decided to move all summer courses online given the increasing safety concerns of the pandemic. The Deans and I will be working with the MCCC union and the Faculty and Staff Senate to develop a process to alter the face-to-face courses that are on the schedule. We will also be assessing our online course development needs in anticipation of the online summer session. Your Deans will be reaching out to share further updates with you and the Registrar’s office will begin converting courses by the end of this week.
Her email resulted in the removal of meeting days/times from all classes on the summer schedule, effectively switching them to fully online, which we believe is a violation of the MCCC MOA and DCE Contract.
We need to hold leadership in Academic Affairs responsible for making data-driven decisions, not decisions based on anecdotal evidence or complaints about the remote instruction that took place this semester as part of the response to the COVID-19 crisis. We welcome training and professional development opportunities to improve online education, but we don’t support reactionary decisions that infringe upon our academic freedom. Your union leadership is pushing back against the “one-size-fits-all” approach that we know doesn’t work for all students and/or in all disciplines. However, we need evidence of faculty being denied their rights to make our case.
Please reply to Paulette Howarth, pbazel@comcast.net, and Emily Brown, 3asybee@gmail.com, with your thoughts and experiences. We look forward to hearing from you.
W 6 May ~ COVID-19 Impact Bargaining Update
Paulette Howarth, BrCCC President
Representatives from the MCCC and Management have been meeting since April 10, 2020 to bargain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on summer session. The primary concern for the bargaining team continues to be the health and safety of all our unit members, students, and campus communities.
W 6 May ~ Emergency Healthcare for Adjuncts
Coleen Fitzpatrick, MTA Field Representative
We have been fighting for health care for all MCCC-represented community college employees for years now—at the bargaining table, in the legislature, and even in the courts. One of the cornerstones of the Cherish Act is to achieve equity in pay and benefits throughout all of public higher ed. Many of our colleagues who are un-insured or under-insured have come forward to testify at legislative hearings, and sharing those stories has raised the awareness of legislators about this problem.
Today we are faced with a health care emergency, and we are demanding emergency action by the Governor and the legislature.
W 6 May ~ MOA between MCCC and BHE
Paulette Howarth, BrCCC President
The executed Memorandum of Agreement between the MCCC-DCE Unit and the BHE regarding Summer 2020 has been posted to the MCCC Website: https://mccc-union.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2020/05/Covid-19-MCCC-Summer-DCE-FinalDraft-CWF-and-MJM-May-4-2020-Signed-JJM.pdf
W 6 May ~ Nominations Have Closed
Diana Yohe, BrCCC Nominations & Elections Committee Chair
Nominations have closed. The following is your slate of candidates for elected positions for the term June 1, 2020 – May 31, 2022:
President: Emily Brown, FT Professional Staff (Library)
Vice President: Colleen Avedikian, FT Faculty (Division 2)
Secretary: Carol Martin, FT Faculty (Division 3)
Treasurer: Laura Banville-Field, FT Professional Staff (Financial Aid)
Director: Shelly Murphy, FT Faculty (Division 1)
Professional Staff Representative: Susan Souza-Mort, FT Professional Staff (NB Library)
Adjunct (DCE) Representative: Catherine Adamowicz (Adjunct – Division 1)
DCE At-Large member to Bristol Executive Committee: Paulette Howarth (Adjunct – Division 4)
THANK YOU to everyone who put forth his/her nomination. Given that there are no contested races, the candidates will be deemed elected per a motion from the Bristol Chapter Secretary.
All comments and/or questions should be directed to Diana Yohe, Chair of Bristol’s Nominations and Election Committee, at diana.yohe@verizon.net.
F 1 May ~ MCCC Day Unit Faculty/Student Evaluation Tool – Faculty Survey
Filomena Ponte, Human Resources
As part of the current MCCC day contract a joint union-management committee was formed to make recommendations on the replacement of the existing University of Washington Student Course Evaluation survey. To that end, the MCCC Joint Committee team members have created a survey to collect input on a new student evaluation tool. Please note this survey is NOT asking about the course evaluation method for the current spring semester, but for future semesters when in person classes will be meeting. All data collected will be handled in a confidential manner.
The survey is brief and will take about 5 minutes to complete. The link to access the survey is https://forms.gle/PBBSTp3katkUcKJg6
F 1 May ~ BrCCC Elections: Update
Diana Yohe, Nominations & Elections Committee Chair
This email is a follow-up reminder to an email that was sent on April 22, 2020 regarding nominations and elections of new Bristol Chapters Officers and Representatives for a two-year term beginning June 1, 2020 and extending until May 31, 2022.
Read more.
See the attachment.
Th 23 Apr ~ MTA Backs School Closures and Supports BCC Members
Merrie Najimy, MTA President
COVID-19 is straining everyone’s nerves and our communities’ resources. As we settle in, we must understand this time not as a “new normal” but instead as a temporary state, while we find new ways to organize for the safety nets we need now and the society we will need after the coronavirus crisis abates.
As Dr. Anthony Fauci has said, “You don’t make the timeline; the virus makes the timeline.” That is why Governor Charlie Baker’s only real choice this week was to close our public school buildings through the end of the year. We called for that Tuesday morning, and Baker announced his decision in the early afternoon. Massachusetts is one of the hardest hit states in the country. The safety of our students, staff and communities must come first.
Commissioner of Education Jeffrey Riley is planning to issue revised guidance this week. Though he has invited the MTA to review the draft, we are very concerned with his rushed process and failure to adequately understand and address the realities on the ground. We firmly believe that educators across the state at both the preK-12 and public higher education levels need to take a pause to assess what is working and what is not working with remote and online learning.
To that end, the MTA will host a Facebook Live event at 7 p.m. on Sunday to start the reflection process to find out how remote learning has been going and how you think we should be rounding out the school year. We would also like you to share your experiences by going here.
We need to keep letting Riley and others know how this is all going in the real world. Parents, like educators, are acutely aware that remote learning is no substitute for the real thing. We will keep you posted if and when member action is required to ensure that we make it through this year in as humane a way as possible.
In other news: Bristol Community College
Despite receiving $4.6 million from the federal CARES Act, Bristol Community College President Laura Douglas is planning to lay off more than 130 employees this week, drastically cutting student support services during a difficult transition to remote learning. Some of our MCCC members are losing positions in this misguided action. Please sign this petition demanding that BCC halt the layoffs and to advocate for additional federal funding relief. Our community colleges, and all of public higher education, are vital to the state’s economic recovery.
Read more here.
Tu 21 Apr ~ Check in with Senator Markey Tonight
Paulette Howarth, BrCCC President
The MTA will go LIVE with Senator Markey TONIGHT at 7pm! Just tune in to facebook.com/massteacher/live. Tell the senator what you and your students need as he works to secure federal #COVID relief.
Link to the Recording: https://www.facebook.com/massteacher/videos/286355309021780/. Go to 25:17 to see Colleen Avedikian and Sydney Little represent PHENOM and speak about higher education.
Tu 21 Apr ~ Bristol in the News
The Hawk: Unions Respond to Coronavirus Layoffs
The Herald News: BCC lays off 136 part-timers; union calls positions ‘key,’ urges college to reconsider
Tu 21 Apr ~ Union Statement on the Recent Layoffs
Paulette Howarth, BrCCC President
Members of the faculty and professional staff union at Bristol Community College were dismayed last week when the Douglas Administration announced nearly 140 layoffs of part-time employees. Employees were blindsided when they received a call from Human Resources and a follow up email, informing them that their position will be suspended until “the pandemic subsides.” Further, in a separate letter to the union leadership on April 14th, the Massachusetts Community Council Office of the General Counsel listed 35 union positions at Bristol that are to be retrenched.
The notification letters sent to the employees by Bristol’s Human Resource director explains the rationale for the layoffs: “It has become necessary for the college to make this determination due to budgetary constraints related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The letters included information about applying for unemployment benefits. However, many of those laid off will not be eligible because they serve in other part-time roles at the college.
While the college budget may have been negatively affected by the current crisis, there was no clear rationale for why certain positions were targeted, nor how the Douglas Administration decided on this particular collection of employees. Additionally, it is not clear if the potential impact of layoffs on the students was ever considered. Supervisors were not consulted in this decision, and neither was the union.
Read more here.
Sa 18 Apr ~ Bristol in the News
10 WJAR: Bristol Community College lays off part-time employees amid pandemic
ABC 6 Rhode Island News: Coronavirus leading to layoffs at Bristol Community College
The Sun Chronicle: Bristol Community College laying off employees due to virus crisis
F 17 Apr ~ Bristol in the News
The Hawk: Casualties of Coronavirus: Bristol Lays-off 136 Employees, Raises student fee by 4%
W 1 April ~ A Message from the MTA
Merrie Najimy, MTA President
Join us for an MTA tele-town hall on public higher education on Thursday, April 2 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Higher education members have been on the front lines of the fight to flatten the curve of COVID-19, while continuing to build union strength to win good contracts. Join us for a higher ed tele-town hall to share our strategies AND our worries in this time of crisis.
We are putting on a full-court press to win health care for uninsured higher ed members, advocating for members to have what they need to work remotely, to reduce the numbers of “essential staff,” and provide on-the-job protections. The MTA and our allies are pushing to ensure everyone continues to be paid during the stay-at-home orders and we’re preparing to resist layoffs and cuts.
We’re also part of a national push to secure a major infusion of funds from the federal government to preserve the financial stability of our institutions and demand the forgiveness of student debt — two ways to provide financial relief for our students and our own members and help kick-start the economy.
We will discuss all of this and hear from you on this call. Register for the call HERE.
Th 26 Mar ~ Election Results
Steve Zona, MCCC Nominations & Elections Committee Chair
MCCC held their 2020 elections. The officers elected are Margaret Wong for President, Rosemarie Freeland for Vice President, Ellen Pratt for Secretary, and Henry “Chip” Bradford for Treasurer. See more information regarding the election of offices, MTA Assembly Delegates, and NEA Assembly Representatives here.
Tu 24 Mar ~ COVID-19 Bargaining Update
Margaret Wong, MCCC President
The Joint Study group and members of the Impact Bargaining Team (Gail Guarino, Claudine Barnes, Rose Freeland, John McColgan, Margaret Wong, Bret Seferian, and Colleen Fitzpatrick) video conferenced via Zoom with the members of the Presidents Council (Lane Glenn-NECC, Patricia Gentile-NSCC, James Vander Hooven-MWCC, Carol Wolff-Fallon, Mike Murray, and Tom Sannicandro yesterday from 3:00-4:00.
The presidents acknowledged they are in receipt of the impact bargained agreements and the Joint Committee agreed that, going forward, ongoing COVID-19 issues will largely be dealt with at the local level. College presidents will work with chapter leaders via MACER or other customary methods of interactions specific to the chapter. The Day and DCE impact bargaining chairs along with your Chapter’s MTA field representative can still assist with local impact bargaining issues. And of course, where there are contract violations, grievances should be filed.
Read more here.
Su 22 Mar ~ Bristol in the News
The Hawk: Bristol Ranks #1, But Unions Tell A Different Story
Su 22 Mar ~ COVID-19 Bargaining Update
Margaret Wong, MCCC President
The Impact Bargaining Team met from 9:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. yesterday (Friday, March 21, 202) with a break from 1:30-4:00 so that I and other higher education leaders could be on a conference call at 2:00 with Secretary of Education James Peyser, Commissioner of Higher Education Carlos Santiago, and representatives from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the Department of Public Health (DPH).
Yesterday, I asked you to invite MCCC members use this MTA tool to take action to protect our colleagues and students during this deadly pandemic; some colleges have not gone remote and need our support on those campuses: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/massachusetts-community-college-council-action/.
Read more here.
F 20 Mar ~ Call to Action: Protect Colleagues and Faculty
Margaret Wong, MCCC President
MCCC Member please click on the link below and take action to protect your colleagues and students during this deadly pandemic. We will all be working together to make sure our students succeed and our colleges continue to thrive. But at this time of crisis, we need first to protect one other. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/massachusetts-community-college-council-action/
Th 19 Mar ~ COVID-19 Bargaining Update
Margaret Wong, MCCC President
As we indicated in our last update, impact bargaining around issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic continued today. The MCCC team started at 10:00 a.m., with management forwarding to us a written proposal regarding use of sick leave during the COVID-19 crisis at 11:00 a.m. The joint teleconference with management started at 11:30 a.m. and ended at 1:00. We did not schedule a meeting for tomorrow as of this writing, but there remain issues we need to deal with, so impact bargaining will probably resume tomorrow, time uncertain.
While management’s sick leave proposal improves upon some of the contract language, it contained interpretation of some parameters of contractual sick leave use that the team could not agree to. We were pleased to see the limits waived on the use of sick leave for the care of family members quarantined and/or ill with COVID-19 as well as the waiving of the 5-day waiting period before a unit member had access to the sick leave bank. What we were dismayed to see was the expectation that a unit member would be compelled to use sick leave if they are placed in quarantine as a result of possible exposure to the COVID-19 virus.
Read more here.
Tu 17 Mar ~ COVID-19 Bargaining Update
Margaret Wong, MCCC President
The impact bargaining team teleconferenced today first as a caucus and then with management from 2:00 to 5:15. We will be meeting again tomorrow morning to continue bargaining.
Bargaining began with the management team challenging something from our update yesterday. Their position is employees may not use sick leave or the sick leave bank if they don’t wish to go into work for fear that they or their loved ones might be in the high-risk category for death from an extremely contagious disease, or are otherwise worried about being placed into forced quarantine or incapacitated due to the deadly COVID-19 global pandemic. Their position was clarified to us that people should use their personal days or accrued vacation time if this is the case. We intend to bargain and get more clarity around sick leave issues and the sick leave bank tomorrow.
Read more here.
M 16 Mar ~ COVID-19 Bargaining Update
Margaret Wong, MCCC President
Today (March 16, 2020) Rosemarie Freeland (MCCC Vice President), Claudine Barnes (Day Impact Bargaining Chair), John McColgan (DCE Impact Bargaining Chair), Bret Seferian (MTA Field Representative for the MCCC), Colleen Fitzpatrick (MTA Field Representative), and I (Margaret Wong, MCCC President) met with Mike Murray (DHE Director of Employee & Labor Relations), Carol Wolff Fallon (Labor Counsel), and John Casey (Assistant General Counsel) to bargain the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workload, working conditions, and other contractual issues on the full time and part time faculty and professional staff who work at the commonwealth’s 15 community colleges.
We will be teleconferencing with management again tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. At primary issue is the safety of professional staff. Mike Murray is going to be consulting with the presidents in advance of this meeting.
Read more here.
Tu 3 Mar ~ Minutes from President’s Meeting
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
I attended the last meeting the President called between herself and the Unions and the Senates. I wanted you to have access to the minutes, which I’ve linked here. I will continue to share minutes moving forward, as transparency is of the utmost importance.
Th 27 Feb ~ Union Response to Board of Trustees
Paulette Howarth, BrCCC President
As a reminder, see Interactions with Board of Trustees regarding Climate Survey from January 28 (below). Here is my response to the Board of Trustees, sent on February 25.
Thank you for your continued support.
F 21 Feb ~ Number 1 Ranking
Emily Brown, BrCCC Vice President
It comes as no surprise to the hardworking faculty and staff of Bristol Community College that we have been ranked the #1 community college in the state of Massachusetts by Schools.com. We tirelessly support students in their efforts to achieve academic success; we understand the challenges that face our unique populations; and we strive to uplift every student who enters our classrooms, halls, and offices.
The methodology cited the following factors to support our #1 ranking: educational opportunity, student performance, and student services. We must note, however, that all the data pulled was based on data from 2017 and 2018, representing the achievements of the college prior to the upheaval, disorder, and anxiety created at the institution over the past two years by the Douglas Administration.
What we are seeing in this ranking is the state of the college before the needless reorganizations, before the gutting of departments, before services were slashed, before the endless, unnecessary and hurtful layoffs and attrition, and before the morale of the college reached a critical low. In this ranking, we are looking back in time at what the college was before the last two years of tumult and unrest.
In light of this ranking, we are compelled to wonder why we have been subjected to such scrutiny and distrust by the administration when our efforts obviously had been so central to making the college such a high performing institution. We would like to know why our expertise has been discounted and our voice not heard. And from the college Trustees, given the current institutional disarray, we would like to receive a clear statement regarding their plans and resolve to exercise their duties regarding institutional oversight.
As we move forward in the wake of the Climate Survey and No Confidence Vote, we must look forward with a vision of student support and success, but also with the knowledge that our work has been critical to the success of students who have passed through our halls. We are professionals, and we are Bristol Community College.
Th 13 Feb ~ Bristol in the News
South Coast Toad: Bristol Community College ranked top community college in Massachusetts
Tu 4 Feb ~ Bristol in the News
South Coast Today: BCC union preparing responses to trustees on ‘no confidence’ vote
Tu 28 Jan ~ Interactions with Board of Trustees regarding Climate Survey
Paulette Howarth, BrCCC President
As a reminder, find the Climate Survey Summary here.
Find the original Power Point slides that were shown to the Board of Trustees on December 9 here.
Find the response from Joan Medeiros on December 19 here.
Find my response to Joan Medeiros on January 2 here.
M 27 Jan ~ Important Forum on Public Higher Education Funding
Colleen Avedikian, PHENOM Representative
Please attend! Also please share with your students, and encourage their participation.
Public forum on the CHERISH Act on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 6-8 pm in Ryckebush Faculty/staff Lounge in the G Building on the Fall River Campus.
Funding for public higher education in MA has been cut by 31% since 2001, shifting the cost of education onto students and families.
The CHERISH Act would increase state per student funding for public higher education back to 2001 levels over five years. It would also freeze tuition in fees every year that state funding targets are met. The CHERISH Act calls for:
-Implementing the recommendations of the 2014 Higher Education Finance Commission, resulting in more than $500 million in additional funding for public higher education. These new funds must supplement — not supplant — existing funding.
-Establishing in statute a fair and adequate minimum funding level for public higher education at no less than the FY01 per-student funding level, adjusted for inflation.
-Freezing tuition and fees for five years, as long as the Legislature appropriates the funds required to reach FY01 per-student funding levels in five years
This event is cosponsored by the Massachusetts Teachers Association and Bristol Community College Chapter of the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM). The forum will include local legislators, educators, union leaders, students and alumni, and is open to the general public. The goal is to educate participants about the CHERISH Act, and to mobilize support to bring the Act to a vote this Spring in the Massachusetts legislature. Refreshments will be served.
For more information, contact Colleen Avedikian at colleen.avedikian@bristolcc.edu, (774) 357-3116.
Download printable flyer here.
Th 19 Dec ~ Bristol in the News
South Coast Today: Citing ‘toxic’ culture, unions take ‘no confidence’ vote in BCC President Laura Douglas