April 3 Meeting Minutes

BrCCC Meeting Notes 

4/3/2023 

1. Guest: Andrea Henry from MCCC: Bristol PAL Needed 
   1. MTA grassroots commission 
   2. PAC on campuses 
   3. Organize chapters around political issues   
   4. Need a PAC liaison from each campus 
      1. Stipend 
      2. Work with other members and get word out about political initiatives 
      3. Meet once a month for 15-30 minutes 
      4. Interested? Reach out to Andrea Henry, ahenry@massteacher.org, 508-583-4301 
2. Presidents Report (Mike) 
   1. Forming a subcommittee to gather specific evidence to support VONC to present at final meeting  
      1. Please do your part and volunteer to help with this effort  
      2. Member comment: VONC should be in place before summer 
      3. Member comment: doesn’t this skew to VONC  
      4. Member comment: language of evidence is the language of the oppressor; dangerous; we are professionals and our feelings should be heard without data  
      5. Member comment: would rather repair relationship with AFSME first   
      6.  Member comment: AFSME relationship important; need list also 
      7. Member comment: need a defendable list for why we voted for VONC; last VONC fell off table  
      8. Member comment: AFSME important, but faculty and prof staff should speak as one 
      9. Email Anthony Ucci to join subcommittee
   2. **Motion to reaffirm VONC from 2019; seconded
      1. Vote: 108 participants, 59 in favor, 16 against, remainder abstention 
   3.  Meeting with interim VPAA to discuss coordinator positions that have been eliminated 
      1. About four that had not been posted 
      2. Not committed to eliminating, but questions on reporting systems; not convinced to eliminate  
      3. Impact bargaining if any are eliminated   
   4. VPAA Search update 
      1. 12:30-1:15 forums with chairs and coordinators 
      2. 1:30-2:30 all-college forums to meet candidates 
      3. Go to campuses for in person or live stream  
   5. Search Committee assistance / Equity Rep training 
      1. Number of positions posted 
      2. Recommend that if a position is important to you, join committee; benefit to faculty and staff 
      3. Equity reps are being asked to serve on too many committees; please consider doing training 
   6. Elimination of failed courses from student records? 
      1. Anecdotal; no concrete numbers  
      2. If anyone sees this happening, let exec com know   
   7. New round of telework soon 
      1. July 1; perhaps decided at the supervisor level? Should have more info at next meeting   
      2. Full-time faculty: If you have not heard about your tentative schedule yet, let us know 
   8. Delegate Assembly on 4/22 (email sent 3/29) 
      1. Up to 24 candidates from Bristol to need forum; good to have representation; will be on zoom; need to send names one week ahead  
   9. Work To Rule status 
      1. People still engaging (last all academic meeting, as example)  
      2. **Motion to come off WTR effective immediately; Vote: 55 in favor; 18 against; remainder abstaining 
   10. AFSCME invited to our next meeting or in fall to discuss differences   
   11. MACER Report (JP) 
       1. Push back on request to only discuss contractual matters during MACER meetings  
   12. Mental health training, including all public facing employees 
       1. $300,000 for mental health training 
       2. Opportunity should be given to all public facing employees 
       3. Will happen over summer 
   13. Emmanuel looking into telework; potentially putting in hands of supervisors   
3. Chapter Director’s report (Tom) 
   1. SAC: Reminder to contact the Governor re. 20% salary increase (email sent 3/24; see below) 
   2. Day Bargaining Team invite (email sent 3/28)
4. Grievance Report (Kelli) 
   1. Day distance ed grievance still in process 
   2. May change depend on what happens with other colleges   
   3. Wait and see or now 
   4. Grievance: a DCE faculty member not given classes; all accommodation denied; on to mediation 
   5. Working on issues with health sciences    
5. Membership Report (Jayme) 
   1. Have been attending new employee orientations; advising  
   2. Will not be able to continue in role—Nancy Gilman volunteered
6. Member questions 
   1. Any guidance on when we will receive letters about how much our salaries will change?  

CRITICAL MCCC STRATEGIC ACTION ALERT 

 

THE ASK:  Write an email and follow it up with a phone call to Governor Healey asking her to set parameters of at least 20% over three years.  Use the script below.  It is imperative that the emails and phone calls keep coming, so if you do not have a personal story to add to the text of the email, please send it anyway.  Be sure to add your name to the email. 

 

Note:  Governor Healy and Lt. Governor Driscoll have one phone line together.  You will get a phone message with an opportunity to leave your message.  It is entirely possible when you call that you will get a busy signal. Keep trying. 

 

Governor Healey’s email link email Governor Healey   The link will ask you to fill out a form with contact information and have a place where you can copy and paste the email into a dialogue box. 

 

 

Governor Healey’s Constituent Services Main phone number:  (617) 725-4005 

 

Toll-free Massachusetts only line: (888) 870-7770 

 

Springfield Office:  (413) 784-1200 

 

TTY  (617) 727-3666 

 

Phone Script: (Feel free to modify as fits your sense of how you want to write to the Governor.) 

 

Dear Governor Healey, 

 

My name is _________________ and I am a Faculty /Professional Staff member working at Bristol Community College, as well as a voting constituent/Massachusetts taxpayer.  I am upset to hear A&F Secretary Gorkowicz offered the public sector coalition two parameters proposals that failed to adequately acknowledge and address the substantial pay cuts people like me have taken over the last eight years, and the damage that has done to us.  

 

It’s not acceptable to make us wait for fully funding our request for a 20% increase over three years, with additional support for achieving greater equity, when revenues are at their highest levels ever and the voters just passed the Fair Share Amendment, which will provide upwards of $2 billion a year for the Governor’s initiatives. 

 

Please direct Secretary Gorkowicz to offer parameters of no less than 20% over three years, with additional support for achieving greater equity, when the public sector coalition meets with him again. 

 

Governor Healey, I supported your campaign for Governor. (If you did.) I would feel betrayed should you fail to act with dispatch and fairness to reward the service of the hard-working people who kept the Commonwealth running during the pandemic. (If this is how you feel.) 

 

Thank you for your consideration. 

 

 

 

THE BACKGROUND 

 

MTA attended a meeting with A&F along with representatives of the public sector unions coalition to continue advocacy for fair parameters.  Secretary Gorzkowicz floated a possible scenario “for our consideration”, and although it was a considerable improvement over the Baker era parameters, the offer was not in the 20% range needed to address the substantial pay cuts our members have taken over the last eight years.  Furthermore, A&F proposed a one-year extension rather than a three-year contract.  Both in the meeting with A&F and in the debrief that followed, coalition representatives were united in outrightly rejecting a proposal that does not rectify the real loss in wages, improve salary equity, and help improve recruitment and retention.  Attached to this email is the letter the coalition is sending as a follow-up to Secretary Gorzkowicz.  

 

Even worse, all of the higher ed unions just went through a round of bargaining during years when the state was flush with money only to be told that “the Legislature wants to wait and see if these revenue surpluses would last from year to year,” as an explanation for their failure to fully fund public higher education.  Now, the Governor has proposed a tax cut package that would return $400 million a year to the people the voters of the Commonwealth decided weren’t paying their fair share.  It’s hard not to view that response as a betrayal of all the people who worked and voted for passage of the Fair Share Amendment, especially when at the same time we are hearing from the Legislature once again that they “want to see if the money coming in from the Fair Share Amendment will be a reliable stream of funding” they can allocate to ongoing expenses in support of our members and our students.  

 

It is time to increase the pressure.  Turn up the heat on the Healy administration with a clear message.  We need to see dramatically improved parameters that acknowledge and address the substantial pay cuts our members have taken over the last eight years.