Summer 2020

For older announcements, please see the prior semester sub-menus under Announcements.
Last updated: 31 August 2020 at 10:00 PM

M 24 August ~ Compensatory Time
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

According to Article XII, Section 4C of the current MCCC Day Contract, a professional staff member is eligible to receive compensatory time of 1.5 hours for each hour worked over 37.5 hours in a work week. Therefore, if overtime is necessary in your department, please discuss this need with your supervisor in advance. If the overtime request is approved, then you can move forward with adding the time to SSTA.

If you have not been approved for overtime (comp time), please do not work over your 37.5 hours a week. That said, we don’t want you to stand up to your supervisor in a way that could seem insubordinate. If you’re told to do something, do it. But if you’re not allowed to claim comp time, let us know and we will help to file a grievance on your behalf.

Make sure that you get any permission for comp time in writing, preferable in an email.

Tu 18 August ~ Reminder: Rally Tomorrow at Bristol CC’s Fall River Campus 3pm
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

We hope you can join the Bristol MCCC chapter and MTA higher ed members from across the state Wednesday 8/19 for a coordinated rally in support of our public colleges and universities. The event will start at 3 pm in Parking Lot 5 of Bristol’s Fall River Campus.

The three themes of the rally are Full Funding of our Public Colleges, No Layoffs and Safe Reopening Strategies. For more information about the MTA campaign “Now More than Ever,” please see: https://massteacher.org/current-initiatives/fund-our-future/now-more-than-ever.

If you plan to attend, please remember to wear a mask and to practice social distancing. Bristol Community College’s Office of Human Resources will have hand sanitizers and masks available. This event will be live-streamed on Facebook. Please search for event “Bristol RALLY Against Layoffs/Cuts” to see the stream.

Sa 15 August ~ Save the Date – Rally for Public Higher Education – August 19th @ 3pm at Bristol Community College
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

We hope you can join the Bristol MCCC chapter and MTA higher ed members from across the state Wednesday 8/19 for a coordinated rally in support of our public colleges and universities.

The three themes of the rally are Full Funding of our Public Colleges, No Layoffs and Safe Reopening Strategies.

M 10 August ~ MTA Membership Meeting today – August 10th 5pm
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

Higher Ed membership meeting later this afternoon, to plan next steps for the broader campaign for safe re-openings and the prevention of layoffs and furloughs.

See this one-page update on the campaign, with details about some of the actions and activism that have been going on across the MA public higher ed system.

Here’s the link: Please register to join a Zoom meeting for all higher ed members at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10, as we make plans for the next stage of our campaign, creating pressure to reverse cuts and to protect health and safety.

Sorry for the late notice on this but I hope some of you can hop on!

Tu 8 August ~ MCCC Contract Tips: Weingarten Rights and Personnel Files
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

The following are important tips for faculty and professional staff from the MCCC Unit Professional Committee:

Weingarten Rights: If your supervisor questions you about a situation where discipline could result, please invoke your Weingarten Rights and ask for a union representative. Remember not to provide information about a situation, even in informal circumstances, unless you have union representation. You can find more information about Weingarten Rights here: https://massteacher.org/mta-membership/legal-resources/know-your-legal-rights/weingarten-the-right-to-representation

Personnel Files: It’s always a good idea to check your personnel file in Human Resources periodically. Have your E7s and E5s been placed in your file? Is your job description there? Is your resume in your file? Is your job classification grid in your file? You should be able to view your file anytime during normal business hours. It is important to know that if any additional materials are added to your personnel file, you should receive a copy of that material with seven days. You also have the right to file a statement in response to any written material in your file.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the BrCCC Executive Committee if you have questions: https://bristolcommunitycollege.mtasites.org/about/brccc-leadership/

Th 6 Aug ~ Join Us: Higher Ed Meeting August 10
Merrie Najimy, MTA President, and Max Page, MTA Vice President

Our campaign to stop the cuts, furloughs and layoffs — and to prepare our campuses for a safe reopening — is kicking into high gear.

First: Please register to join a Zoom meeting for all higher ed members at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10, as we make plans for the next stage of our campaign, which will focus on actions to reverse cuts and protect health and safety.

Members successfully lobbied the Legislature to pass a continued level-funded budget, which will stabilize higher ed funding through October. This means campus layoffs, furloughs and program cuts are UNNECESSARY — and we will hold our employers accountable for this. President Cox of Cape Cod Community College has reversed layoffs, and we are calling on all of our employers to follow suit. The guarantee of state funding means that any cuts made now are unwarranted and cruel in their impact on students and employees.

We are now on a countdown to college restart. Some colleges have chosen to go fully remote, some are bringing thousands of students to campus and some still don’t have a plan. On August 10, we will plan actions that we can take in the coming month to win safe, fully staffed campuses and to defend public higher education.

Tu 5 August ~ IMPORTANT – Survey of union members regarding Spring 2021 – TIME SENSITIVE!!
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

The union leadership has been asked to share their opinion regarding course modalities for the Spring 2021 semester with VP Suzanne Buglione by August 7th. Dr. Buglione has proposed that IF the pandemic conditions continue, the course modalities for Spring Semester be a combination of Hybrid and Online (mix of synchronous and asynchronous) only.

We would like our members to weigh in on the question of whether they feel that the temporary remote modality of Synchronous Live* should be an option in Spring 2021 as well.

*Synchronous Live: A class/course originally intended to be face-to-face but which no longer is able to be conducted face-to face-due to health concerns of the international COVID-19 pandemic. The instructor has academic freedom in how the course content is provided to the learners. Synchronous Live courses meet at specific day and time. Attendance is required.

Please take a moment to respond to this very brief anonymous survey by THURSDAY, AUGUST 6th at 11:59pm. Your answers will inform our recommendations to Dr. Buglione. Thank you in advance!

https://s.surveyplanet.com/pXOyVajCsO

Su 3 August ~ Urgent Action: Sign petition and Join an August 3 event: A Hearing on COVID 19 College Health and Safety and Funding
Margaret Wong and Rosemarie Freeland, MCCC President and MCCC Vice President

COVID-19 has not only brought concerns about ongoing adaptation to all things remote and for colleagues working on campus, fears about health and safety, it is also creating anxiety about the longer-term consequences for our members, students, and institutions.

Right now the future is uncertain. Our colleges do not yet know what the final state appropriation will be for the next year (incremental three month budgets are not enough nor reassuring) and enrollment numbers are still in flux. But rather than reach into reserves or put increased pressure on the state, several of our colleges have already decided that the answer to these economic uncertainties is to cut faculty, staff, and programs.

Sa 2 August ~ URGENT – Course Modalities
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

It is urgent that you let us know whether you were assigned a modality you did not choose and were not allowed to change. If you wanted asynchronous or synchronous, but your preferences were not honored, please forward any information you have in writing.

If you feel that courses were assigned in a way contrary to the assignment process outlined in the contract, get in touch. For example, a class you requested was given to someone else because they had already developed the course online.

We will be in the grievance hearing on Tuesday. Any information you have may be helpful. Be as thorough as possible and get it to us by Monday night at 5pm.

Th 31 July ~ COVID Crisis on Campus: 8/3 Legislative Hearing
Colleen Fitzpatrick, MTA Field Representative

I wanted to make sure you all heard about the emerging, cross-public higher education campaign to win funding for our colleges and universities and fight back against harmful cuts to student services. The goal is to put pressure on Commissioner Santiago & the BHE to encourage our campuses to use their reserves and to use their connections to seek level-funding for our colleges and universities so we can stem layoffs/furloughs and have the safety measures we need in the fall. MTA has hired 617Media to help with this campaign. You can visit the landing page and see the first commercial here: http://massachusettsagrees.org/.

The big event is Monday, August 3rd at 5pm www.massteacher.org/COVIDonCampus where we will have testimony in front on several legislators, Marty Meehan, and Commissioner Santiago. It would be great to have as many folks involved as possible.

Read more. See how to get involved.

Th 31 July ~ DCE Fall Course Assignments
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

Fall course offerings are happening now. You are entitled to one class in your work area if you’re on the seniority list and filled out the availability form. If you routinely teach two classes, you have a reasonable expectation of receiving a second class, but that is not guaranteed.

If you were not assigned a class and feel that it should have been, please notify us before August 7th. We need to be able to investigate and grieve, if necessary.

Also, if there’s something that doesn’t feel right, or something that you’d like us to look into, please let us know as soon as possible.

W 30 July ~ Questions for Academic Affairs
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

We are writing to update you after Friday’s special union meeting and to share the list of questions we’ve compiled for Academic Affairs.

As was mentioned at the 7/24 meeting, the Union is discussing modalities and the Sept. 2 deadline with Academic Affairs, and has filed grievances for both the Day and DCE contracts. The grievance hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4. Please note that the grievances were filed before the statewide Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was released, but many of the issues remain the same: academic freedom, true shared governance and transparency.

We’ve heard loud and clear from our members that there is much confusion and angst regarding the course modality terminology, particularly how it relates to the distance education agreement and the MOA. There are also concerns regarding the trainings and the deadline for course development. It is our position that the College must follow the MOA and the Distance Education Agreement, and therefore, let faculty change the modality of their fall courses if desired.

For context, please see the attached document and visit our BrCCC website for updates and information regarding the Distance Education Agreement and course development process, including the course checklist and rubrics developed as part of the distance education agreement. Please also visit the Distance Education Committee page and scroll down to open or download the Distance Education Handbook which contains important information.

Below are a list of questions we will be bringing to Academic Affairs on behalf of our members.
Please read the MOA and the supporting document for context.

If you have any concerns not addressed below or answered in the MOA, please send questions to Colleen Avedikian (colleenmavedikian@gmail.com) by August 2.

What is exactly required for training for faculty opting for the synchronous live modality? (I think this is answered in the most recent email from Suzanne.)
What are the repercussions for faculty teaching synchronous live who do not complete the training by Sept. 2?
What is exactly required for training for faculty teaching an online course – fully online or hybrid modalities. (I think this is answered in the most recent email from Suzanne.)
What are the repercussions for faculty teaching a fully online or hybrid course(s) who do not complete the training by Sept. 2?
What exactly needs to be completed by Sept. 2 for the course development to be deemed completed and to receive the stipend?
Are faculty required to apply for either online course development or Synchronous Live course development for courses that they have not previously developed (or can they opt out of the training by opting not to request the stipend)?
Why were there different messages about Fall Course development requirements shared by various Deans? (e.g. Some faculty were told that even if they already taught a course online, they still need to do trainings and be compensated; others were told the trainings/development were only for faculty who had not previously developed a course).
Is it possible that faculty who should have filled out a course development did not because of this confusion?
Can we change the Sept. 2 deadline to meet pedagogical requirements?
Can faculty who have previously taught on-line opt out of some of the mandatory trainings (other than Blackboard Basics)?
What measures is the college taking to address the increased workload for the CITE lab staff caused by the Sept. 2 deadline?
Why were the DCE faculty not given a choice of modality?
How is the College going to address the FERPA concerns related to recording classes?
Why were the class times created by the college for Synchronous Live courses reduced from what it would be if class were meeting face-to-face?

Tu 29 July ~ Call for Nominations for Union Leadership position – TIME SENSITIVE
Colleen Avedikian, Nominations & Elections Committee Chair

There is a current vacancy on the BrCCC Executive Committee. As such, nominations for the position of Chapter Treasurer are being accepted now through August 3rd, 2020. This is a compensated position (Stipend – $200 each Fall/Spring Semester), and the description is below.

The Treasurer shall:

Hold the funds of the BrCCC and disburse them in accordance with appropriate authorization;
Keep accurate account of receipts and disbursements and report to each meeting of the Executive Committee and membership;
Keep the President and the Executive Committee informed of the financial condition of the BrCCC;
Prepare and file an annual financial statement as directed by the Treasurer of the MCCC;
Prepare and file statements with supporting documentation with the Treasurer of the MCCC in accordance with MCCC policy;
Maintain a roll of the members. Changes in membership information shall be reported to the Treasurer of the MCCC and to the BrCCC Executive Committee;
Represent the chapter as a delegate to the MCCC Delegate Assembly.

Nominees will be announced August 4th via email. An online election will follow. Please watch your email for your invitation to vote.

To nominate yourself or someone else, please email the Nominations & Elections Committee Chair, Colleen Avedikian (colleen.avedikian@bristolcc.edu).

Thank you for your consideration!

Su 26 July ~ Letters Regarding Pay Raises Delivered
Email Brown, BrCCC President

You should have received a letter from Deb Dziedzic this past week regarding your contractual raises. Please let us know if there’s anything you are concerned about. If the letter is appropriate, you do not need to contact us.

Su 26 July ~ Pay in your July 24th Paycheck (for Professional Staff)
Email Brown, BrCCC President

We wanted to reach out to you to ensure that you received your contractual raise in your July 24th paycheck. The college was obligated to evaluate all professional staff before June 1st, and this wasn’t completed. We want to ensure that all employees have received their contractual raise, regardless of whether or not you were evaluated on time.

If you received a non-satisfactory evaluation after June 1st, please notify us immediately.

Su 26 July ~ Calling All MTA Members — preK – Higher Ed for a Special Membership Meeting – July 29
Merrie Najimi, MTA President, and Max Page, MTA Vice President

Calling All MTA Members — preK – Higher Ed for a Special Membership Meeting

This year has been a year like no other. And the coming school year will be a school year like no other. Educators, families, and students across the state are increasingly anxious about returning to school and colleges in just a few weeks. The MTA, local leaders and the rank and file have filled the vacuum left by a lack of leadership from the state campus leaders, and local districts. We’ve been acting collectively to endorse a thoughtful plan for resuming learning in the fall. But there is much more to do. As a union of educators, we must continue to stand together – for ourselves, our students, our families, our communities – and face the difficult choice before us.

REGISTER NOW for the July 29 Membership Meeting through this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_y3ItEabNRB-bPWVtSI0FCQ

F 24 July ~ MOA COVID-19 Pandemic and the 2020 Fall Semster
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

Please see the completed MOA regarding classes this coming fall semester.

M 20 July ~ Chapter Meeting on Friday, July 24th at 2pm
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

Please join us for special chapter meeting on Friday, July 24 at 2 p.m via Zoom (link below).

Agenda:

Updates regarding chapter leadership’s discussion with Administration re Fall course modalities
Chapter Grievances for both Day and DCE contracts re Fall course modalities
Call to Action: How much is enough?
(Compensation for fall course development modalities, encroachment on academic freedom, mandatory training, creating and defining new modalities)
Other

Please make every effort to attend this important meeting!

ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION
Topic: BrCCC Chapter Meeting
Day/Time: Friday, July 24, 2020 02:00 PM
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89417103908
Meeting ID: 894 1710 3908

F 17 July ~ Course Development Forms Due Tonight for Compensation for Online Courses
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

If you are scheduled to teach a hybrid or online course this fall that needs to be developed, the form must be filled out today in order for you to be compensated for this course development.

Course Development Form

Please see Suzanne’s Buglione’s email from July 8th for more information.

Su 12 July ~ STCC Employees and Community Protest Program Cuts
Margaret Wong, MCCC President

See Renae Gorman’s email below regarding at standout at STCC on Monday. Please help get the word out. If you can’t make it to the event, I will be live-streaming it via the MCCC Twitter account: @MCCCUnion. Please follow the account so you can still participate from a distance.

Monday, July 13 from 11:30am until 1:00pm at the Main Gate (Federal Street) of Springfield Technical Community College, STCC employees and community will gather to oppose College’s program cuts.

STCC employees, students, their families and other community members will congregate at the college’s Main Gate for a “Stand Up For STCC” event. Participants will hold placards underscoring their opposition to decisions by college President John B. Cook and Academic Vice President Geraldine deBerly, who eliminated 7 long standing job-producing college programs.

For background information on some of these programs, activate the following links:

See the petition to save Cosmetology here.

Those decrying the cuts maintain these programs are essential to STCC’s stated mission and identity as the only technical community college in Massachusetts.

Event organizers will provide opportunities for interviews with some whose programs and jobs have been terminated, along with access to the leadership of STCC’s shared governance body, state and campus labor union officials, and community members.

“This unwise decision is more than an internal STCC labor and shared governance issue. It is one that has negative consequences for students and their families. It forecloses prime opportunities for them to have a more secure future, especially during such troubled economic times. The programs that have been eliminated were pathways to employment in a number of economic sectors,” said Joris Taupier, Faculty Co-Chair of the All Unit Congress, the shared governance body that represents more than 75% of the college’s employees. Taupier, a physics professor, is also one of the 21 faculty and staff who are losing their jobs.

STCC has already suffered a notable loss of employees. In answering a question posed during a college Town Hall meeting last year, Cook stated that 150 employees have left STCC since he became its president in 2016. The college has continued to lose employees but the current total has not been disclosed.

“STCC has long served as an engine of economic development for the community. College administration has ripped the spark plugs from that engine and these desperately need to be put back,” said Renae Gorman, President of the STCC Professional Association, a labor union that represents faculty and members of the professional staff.

Th 2 July ~ Update on Statewide Impact Bargaining
Margaret Wong, MCCC President

The following documents are attached:

We have not been able to reach an agreement on compensation with regard to remote learning for the fall. Management used the word impasse with us. We will continue impact bargaining next week.

F 26 June ~ Urgent Notice: Regarding July 1st Pay Increases
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

The management of the college were unable to complete a number of professional staff reviews by the deadline of June 1. This is a violation of the contract. In consultation with the state grievance coordinators, we have been advised to accept evaluations unless the evaluations are anything other than satisfactory and/or if they include work completed after February 28th. If your situation matches either of these conditions, contact Emily at 3asybee@gmail.com ASAP.

Additionally, we need to ensure that all Professional Staff are watching their paychecks for their contractual 2% wage increase. We are concerned that because evaluations were not completed by the deadline, that regardless of evaluation status, the raises may not be applied.

Please make sure to check your July 24th paycheck for the appropriate increase. Contact Emily at 3asybee@gmail.com immediately if you do not see your raise or have questions regarding this situation.

Salary grid explanations start on page 164 of the contract, and the professional staff grids can be found here.

F 26 June ~ Support the HEROES Act
Colleen Avedikian, BrCCC Vice President

On May 18, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act). Among its important features, this $3-trillion aid package would provide additional education funding, state and local aid, a second round of stimulus checks, meals assistance, unemployment extension and Medicaid funding for people negatively impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. The HEROES Act also would provide relief for states, localities, territories, and tribes to pay vital workers such as first responders, health workers, and educators who are at risk of losing jobs from massive budget shortfalls.

Of particular interest to our union members, the HEROES Act allocates $100.15 billion to support the educational needs of states, school districts, and institutions of higher education including:

training and professional development for college and university faculty and staff to use technology and services related to distance education;
general expenditures for institutions of higher education for expenses associated with a disruption in services or operations related to coronavirus, including defraying expenses due to lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, and payroll;
emergency financial aid to postsecondary students for housing, food, technology, health care, and child care.

As of June 1, the HEROES Act has been placed on the US Senate calendar, but no further action has been taken. What can you do?

Become familiar with the HEROES Act. There is a summary put together by the National Education Association attached to this email. In addition, here is a link to the full legislation: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6800/text.
Contact your US Senator to encourage him/her/them to bring the HEROES Act to a vote. https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm
Sign this petition sponsored by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (which will be automatically forwarded to your US Senator): https://actionnetwork.org/letters/support-and-improve-the-heroes-act

Read the Initial Summary of the Heroes Act from the NEA.

Th 25 June ~ Bristol in the News

The Herald News: Bristol Community College is much more than the ‘safest’ school

W 24 June ~ Call for Members of the MCCC Task Force on Race
Rosemarie Freeland, MCCC Vice President

The MCCC Board of Directors unanimously voted in support of the following motion establishing an MCCC Task Force on Race. This call to action is both necessary and overdue.

If you are interested in participating on the MCCC Task Force on Race please send an email of interest to MCCC Vice President Rosemarie Freeland at vpfreeland@mccc-union.org or roz4peas@yahoo.com. Your email of interest will include your reasons for wanting to serve on this task force. The task force charge is included in the motion.

June 17, 2020 – I move that the MCCC Board of Directors establish an ad hoc Task Force on Race effective immediately and authorize President Margaret Wong appoint no more than 5 Union Members to the Task Force on Race no later than July 10, 2020. The MCCC Task Force on Race will organize and carry out the necessary groundwork, including but not limited to developing a Bylaw proposal for the 2021 Delegate Assembly that will result in the formation of a new Standing Committee. Further the MCCC Task Force on Race shall work toward identifying, uncovering and dismantling institutional white supremacy and racism embedded in the organizational structure, policies and practices of the MCCC. The Task Force on Race will develop, plan and implement workshops, regional forums, chapter forums, that strive to engage members. Additionally, the MCCC Task Force on Race will inform MCCC union members of state and national union leadership opportunities designed to educate and activate members on institutional and systemic white supremacy and racism. (Moved by Candace Shivers, seconded by Vice President Rosemarie Freeland)

Tu 23 June ~ Bargaining Update
COVID-19 Statewide Bargaining Team

Over the course of bargaining the summer agreement in April, your MCCC team – Claudine Barnes, John McColgan, Margaret Wong, Rosemarie Freeland, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Bret Seferian – repeatedly stated that MCCC intended to bargain over how fall classes would work and over professional staff issues. Right at the start of May we submitted potential bargaining dates to the BHE, but they did not respond immediately and so we did not meet until May 21 to start the third round of bargaining.

We have been bargaining over professional staff working conditions as campuses plan to reopen. Initially the BHE was not willing to discuss staff issues at all – instead saying that each college would each create their own unique plan. However, the MCCC bargaining team asserted our rights and the BHE eventually relented. We are still bargaining over issues surrounding safety such as PPE for staff when they get back to campus, notice before staff are required to return to campus, adequate supplies for staff to do their jobs, and flexible childcare arrangements.

Sa 20 June ~ Sad News

It is with sadness that we share news of the passing of Ray McKearney. Ray was the dear husband of Liz Alcock, retired professor of communication at Bristol Community College. Liz and Ray had 40 great years together before his passing on May 28. Services were private to honor his wishes. If you would like to send a card to Liz, her mailing address is P.O. Box 625, Rehoboth MA 02769.
Obituary of Raymond McKearney.

W 18 June ~ Summer Member Organizing
Colleen Fitzpatrick, MTA Field Representative

I write to inform you about a grant-funded opportunity through the MTA and NEA, for Higher Ed members to get hired over the summer to reach out to and engage individuals who are not active in the union or who are non-members. This program is aimed at increasing participation in the life of the union, improving membership rates, and strengthening our capacity to support bargaining and other goals. Applications for these paid positions are now open and members are strongly encouraged to apply.

Increasing membership and engagement is a shared priority between the NEA/MTA and MCCC. We know that operating in a post-Janus “right-to-work” environment requires new ways of thinking and acting to improve membership signup and retention. The experience of unions throughout the country reinforces the knowledge that personal, one-on-one contact is essential to a sense of belonging as well as collective power.

Please see the attached posting for more information. Below is an abbreviated summary of the qualifications and commitment for the position.
Those selected to work as member organizers will gain firsthand experience in organizing. Successful candidates will be enthusiastic and must have a strong desire to build the strength of our union. Members from all higher ed locals are welcome to apply. Adjunct and non-tenure-track faculty are especially encouraged to apply.

Commitment: The program will begin with a training in early July. Daily work consists of phone and on-line contact with MTA-represented higher ed workers. The actual hours will be planned with a coordinator. The program will run through August 28.

Compensation: The Member Organizer job is a temporary summer job. The compensation is $500 per full week based on $25 per hour (approximately 20 hours/week).

To apply, visit www.massteacher.org/HigherEdOrganizer. See more information here.

W 17 June ~ Bristol in the News

The Sun Chronicle: A safer alternative for college

Tu 16 June ~ LMS Arbitration Resolution
Dennis Fitzgerald, MCCC Day Grievance Coordinator

Joe Rizzo and I are reporting the resolution of a major arbitration for both the Day Unit and DCE Unit at Roxbury Community College. Roxbury Community College’s LMS is called “MyRCC”. Last year, the chapter leadership discovered that in addition to the faculty member assigned to a course, the RCC administration named deans as faculty for courses. These assignments of deans to courses gave the deans full access to courses. These deans were visiting faculty courses and viewing course materials, course overviews, gradebooks, rosters, and communications between faculty and the students. At no time, did the administration request permission to review course materials or course communications. One week prior to the arbitration hearing, a resolution was reached for both units. The executed MOA mandates that the college will cease and desist accessing individual faculty courses and course shells except for two reasons; 1) When providing emergency notifications to students when the faculty member is unable to do so and when there is no alternative means of communication with students; and 2) When investigating a grade appeal where the faculty member has failed to cooperate after being given a reasonable opportunity to provide necessary information. In such cases, the college shall notify the faculty member of the fact of the access and the purpose and be listed as a guest. In addition, under no circumstances shall administrators be listed as a faculty member or as a student on a course shell.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Joe or me.

Dennis Fitzgerald
grievance-day@mccc-union.org
phone: 978-255-2798, fax: 978-255-2896

Joe Rizzo
grievance-dce@mccc-union.org

Tu 9 June ~ Locked Unemployment Accounts Due to Fraud
Margaret Wong, MCCC President

As you may know, many MCCC members have had their DUA (Department of Unemployment Assistance) accounts frozen due to fraudulent UA claims filed in their name. Many have reported that they are not able to reach a live person to help them get their account unlocked or have been told that it would take six weeks or longer to unlock.

The MCCC and MSCA have been working with a representative of the AFL-CIO who has a contact in the DUA with whom he interacts daily, who is able to help get the accounts that have been locked due of the fraud, unlocked. Members who want to avail themselves of this expedited method to unlock their frozen accounts need to send me their name, telephone number, email address and the last four digits of their Social Security number. I will collect the information and pass it along daily to MCCC Field Representative, Roberta James who is the point person working with the AFL-CIO representative.

Alternatively, members can call the Governor’s office or their State Senator. Several members have reported success in getting their accounts immediately unlocked when they did this.

Margaret Wong, presmwong@mccc-union.org, (508) 560-5218

Th 4 June ~ Letter in Reply to Public Comment Request
Joan Medeiros, Board of Trustees Chairman

Dear President Brown,

Thank you for your letter and your interest in improving the college atmosphere for students, faculty, staff and the community. We would like to congratulate you and other officers on your new leadership roles.

The Bristol Community College Board of Trustees respects the faculty and staff, supports their right to voice their opinions and we are open to listening to your concerns. There is no question that since Prsident Douglas joined Bristol there has been a positive impact at the college and in our communities. The college has been able to quickly pivot to meet the sharp decline in enrollment, close achievement gaps, and work to view the college’s practices through an equity lens.

W 3 June ~ Public Comment Request to Board of Trustees
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

Dear Chair Medeiros and the Members of the Bristol Board of Trustees,

My name is Emily Brown and I am the newly elected President of the Bristol Community College Chapter of the MCCC union. I appreciate this opportunity to speak with you today.

First, I want you to know that it is our intention to request to be put on the agenda for every Board of Trustees’ meeting. We feel it is important that we have the opportunity to maintain dialog directly with the Board about issues that concern our college. We are hopeful that the Board sees collaboration and dialog as a productive avenue to address several critical issues we face, together. The newly elected officers are embracing a team approach for our work and sincerely hope to collaborate productively with the Administration and the Board to solve problems in a fair manner that meets the best interests of all concerned.

W 3 June ~ Bristol in the News

The Herald News: Bristol Community College: No fully face-to-face classes in the fall

M 1 June ~ Join Us!
Emily Brown, BrCCC President

If you were able to make the meeting today – thank you!! I can honestly say we were thrilled that you joined us.

If you were not able to make it, we will notify you when the minutes are available. Minutes can be found here.

As you know, we are approaching the work of the union in the light of teamwork. We are asking for those who want to be involved to join us on several committees. We hope to build a diverse team, with lots of ideas, so don’t be afraid to volunteer.

Here’s a link to our Google Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J0uoJN8PSG41Rq73nDAIwamm4mLjN8wpwflq_MhZSOE/edit?usp=sharing

You can add your name or email carol.martin@bristolcc.edu.

Please let us know if you have questions!