http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html Berklee Faculty Union: Minutes Jannis' PHPRss class - http://www.jannis.to/ Mon, 06 Sep 2010 01:02:14 -0700 http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#112 April 29, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.
Guests: Diane Frey AFT-MA, Clay Hoener, President Longy Faculty Union, Jonathan Kohler, Longy Faculty Union

1. Danny made a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting and update the website. Marti seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

2. Preliminary meeting to set-up language for proposals Tuesday May 25 at 4:00 pm. Bargaining team meeting Wednesday June 2 at 4:00 pm.

3. Guests: Diane Frey AFT-MA, Clay Hoener, President Longy Faculty Union, Jonathan Kohler, Longy Faculty Union. The campaign to have representation at Longy has been quite long and arduous. They are now at the table and have received a lot of push back from the administration. They read a resolution of support, that they have drawn up and would like us, to sign off on, Mike will send a copy of their resolution to all of us for review.

Mike: We cannot pass this resolution until the entire Executive Committee has had a chance to review and comment on the language that you presented, but we certainly support all of your efforts to give the Longy faculty a voice.

Beth: It is disappointing that one of our members was treated with disrespect when she came to speak to Longy faculty about Yeshiva issues.

We discussed the Longy situation and the struggles that they are currently facing establishing a faculty union. There have been representatives from our Union Executive Committee at a Longy meeting to share our insights into the development of a successful union. The main struggle facing Longy is that management at Longy is currently not recognizing the union. Management has limited the number of faculty that are allowed to join the union. The environment at Longy right now is toxic.

4. Benefits Committee report (Jackson, Rick and Wendy) with discussion of vote or statement in Friday’s meeting. Management wants to cut the defined benefit plan and push more money towards the 403b. This will put older faculty vs. newer faculty. Jackson made a motion that the we stay away from any vote during this meeting — we will address all of these issues during bargaining. Mike seconded the motion and we discussed the topic. Rick: let’s make an open ended recommendation to continue the discussion, Beth seconded, and the vote was unanimous.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#112 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#111 April 22, 2010

Mike opened the meeting with a statement regarding the upcoming bargain and the important issues that we face. We have many proposals from last year and a few new ones. Mike and Larry met to discuss the bargaining terms, every Monday starting June 7, from 3-6; our committee will have a prep meeting from 2-3. We will be meeting in 855, 7th floor. All faculty are welcome to attend a session or two, please call or e-mail to confirm attendance, there are a limited number of seats.

Bargaining team: Mike Scott, Beth Denisch, Rick Applin, Marti Epstein, Jackson Schultz, Jonathan Holland, Will Silvio, and Jeff Perry: Danny Harrington and Prince Charles Alexander will be alternates, and Wendy Rolfe will be special counsel for part-time and benefits. Jeff Jacobsen will be our counsel; he has done all our contracts since 1986, Haidee Morris will also participate.

Larry Simpson anticipates we will be completed by July 4th, Mike is not as optimistic, we may go into October. Management opened their books last year, we asked them to open the books for us before we begin bargaining this summer, they essentially said NO. For us, that means they can accept all of our proposals.

We are going to basically give management the same package from last year with a few additions: clean up language regarding wage renegotiation, have seniority be a primary factor regarding lay-offs, benefit threshold reduced for part-time, weighting system change for performance (Ear Training) and classroom faculty, more conversions from part-time to full-time (with a minimum years of service at 5, or perhaps after a certain numbers of automatic conversion, other criteria?), defined benefit plan for FT be accessible after the 3-year transition contract, increase PT benefit with the 403b, clean up language around the 3-year contract, and more.

We discussed PT conversion at length with many good ideas; we will put together several options for bargaining. Mike moved to adjourn.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#111 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#110 April 15, 2010
UEC Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

1. Mike opened the meeting, Rick made a motion to accept the minutes from last meeting, Jonathan seconded, and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes. Rick made a motion to accept the revised notes from the Union/Management meeting, Jonathan seconded, and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

2. Mike continued with a discussion on the upcoming bargain. We will begin June 7, the first Monday in June. We will meet 3-6 pm and will not meet July 5. The negotiating team will meet an hour before the bargaining sessions and Mike will continue to send out the weekly updates as we progress. We will not accept the results from last year. There are a few dates that stand out — Opening Day is one — Management wants to get the contract done by that day. This may be a source of leaverage for us — perhaps not — we may need to go beyond that date — in which case we will need to rally the faculty and increase the communication from the negotiating team to the rest of the faculty. Rich Grudzinski will lead the communication to the Division Reps, then the Department Reps, then to the department. Please send in your cell phone numbers and e-mail address (home, not college) to Will Silvio (wsilvio@berklee.edu) so we can get in touch with everyone as soon as possible.

3. Management will not be opening their books for us this year, as they did last year, when we saw their book, it did to prove to us that they could not pay us. It looks like they have the money this year, but they do not want to show us. Most likely we will be going into September or beyond for bargaining. We need to keep the faculty involved throughout — we have always had tremendous faculty support and we need to keep that happening. We need to keep communication up — the team will be working hard through August — then we will need the department reps to get involved.

4. New items for the bargain — check with your department in the next few weeks to see if there are any new items. We will propose Faculty Property rights — to control your work, as of now the college owns all the work that faculty do to create a class. Evaluations are also an issue, there should be a warning before an Unsatisfactory is given — faculty need an opportunity to address the issues before the evaluation process, perhaps a verbal communication before a written one. There is a model already in place for public school systems; perhaps we can use that as a starting point. Chair observation is another issue — we need to get specific language in the contract — announce before the visit and faculty get to choose the class that the chair attends.

5. We will send all the Department Reps a list of all the proposals that the Executive Committee will be presenting during bargaining. Please contact your department in the next few weeks to see if your faculty have any issues for bargaining.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#110 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#109 April 8, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

1. Jeff made a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting and update the website. Rick seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

2. Mike and Larry met yesterday regarding the bargain this summer. We will meet from 3-6 pm on Mondays all summer starting June 7. Essentially we will be dealing with the same management team. We will be working with the same team as last summer with the same alternates. They are not planning on opening their books this time; they have already backed away from sharing that information with us.

3. Other bargaining topics: one bright spot coming is the 50-minute lesson with several options including lessons, labs, and ensembles. Raises and workload are on the top of our list. Class size may also be a discussion during bargaining. Service to the college is becoming an issue — the new ACI course is requiring a lot of extra preparation time, professional development, and visitation to other classes. In regards to service, we need to communicate with faculty and make sure that they are not being exploited; if they are they must come forward and file a grievance — that is the only way we can regulate.

4. Grievance update — we are working on two unsatisfactory evaluations being changed to satisfactory. We are still working out the details.

5. Next two weeks in room 118 for Dept. Rep meeting the following week will be an all faculty meeting.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#109 Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#108 April 1, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

Management — Larry Simpson, Jay Kennedy, Kari Juusela, Darla Hanley, Stephen Croes, Jeanine Cowan, Amelia Koch, Chris Connors, John Eldert.

1. Larry opened the meeting. College financial picture — union request. Let’s clarify the current financial picture at the college earlier in the bargain so we don’t waste time. Larry mentioned that the college is in the middle of the budget process right now, Larry and Mike will get together outside this meeting.

2. Jay discussed the Voice department and their new scheduling block scheduling approach that should alleviate some of their space issues and limit their movement. Matt will also be applying this concept to other departments in the Performance division. The bathrooms at 1140 need to change to meet code requirements — there will be change in the near future in 1140, John Eldert is working on that right now. We now have 956 voice principles and will soon take over guitar. We need to accommodate this growing population and their faculty. The 2W room is now a faculty lounge again and will be going through renovations to make it more comfortable, sound proofing, new carpet, a couple of computers, and small lockers for faculty use.

We are looking at A&I, the recruitment process, and how we can best serve Berklee. Currently 6,000 applications for fall, we have admitted 1700, we are hoping that 975 come, typically 60-65% show up, we are starting a waiting list again, about 350 on it right now.

Beth mentioned that perhaps we can limit how many of each instrument we let it. Other schools have a limited number of spots for each instrument, and perhaps Berklee could do the same.

Larry: we are trying to look at the market and how to bring in the best class. Currently, A&I is auditioning 6,000 students.

3. CRI Initiatives — Mike asked to reschedule the History of European Music meeting from Thursday at 1 to a different time to accommodate several of the Executive Committee members. How about the 50-minute lesson, where are we in relation to labs, ensembles, etc.

Jeanine: three new CRI elements will be implemented this fall. Music Application and Theory, First Year Seminar, and 50 minute lesson for a certain population around 300, the lab program may be trimmed to accommodate the extra lesson times — the lab teachers that get their classes cancelled will then teach private lessons.

Larry: the lab program grew out of Berklee’s 30 minute lesson, as we implement the new 50 minute lesson, the lab program must change. We are in the process of communicating these changes to the entire college community.

Eight sections of the MAT course will be involved in the fall, 20 faculty will be teaching the new ACI (first year seminar), 38 faculty will be going through faculty development this summer. Jeanine mentioned the population will be limited to 15 because ”we want to set them up for success.” When fully implemented the entering student will have seven classes as opposed to nine. A lot of faculty development this summer for Ear training as well as all of their first semester classes will meet for three hours a week.

4. College space moves — we are trying to get more classrooms in 22 the Fenway, but for this summer 22 will be used as a way station — admissions will be taking over the CDC, so the CDC will be over in 22 the Fenway. Seven current moving projects underway.

5. May meeting: Special needs — continuing discussion]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#108 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#106 March 25, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Marti Epstein, Jonathan Holland, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio, Haidee Lorrey.

1. Rick asks for clarification on the process for part-time rate re-negotiation. Jackson suggests that if a faculty member wants to wait to re-negotiate later than the 3rd year, that the faculty be able to and renegotiate in a year better for the faculty member.

2. Prince Charles asks why we don't have salary stats by department. Mike answers that some departments are so small, it would identify particular faculty members.

3. Grievance update - Marti's grievant is not happy with the proposed rememdy to her grievance. Mike's grievant isn't happy with just having the evaluation changed to satisfactory. The grievant wants some language removed from the evaluation. Mike's other grievance regarding double punishment may go to the NLRB for an unfair labor charge.

4. Danny reads a couple of threatening emails that he received from a student he had 21 years ago. It's up to Danny if he wants to file with the Boston police.

5. Diane gives a report on the voice department meeting. Issues discussed: Space issues, A&I, getting a councilor of physical problems not just psychological, level of respect or lack of respect that vocalist get.

6. Rick passes out some stats that he generated on salary and gender.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#106 Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#105 March 11, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Marti Epstein, Jonathan Holland, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

1. Marti made a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting and update the website. Rick seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

2. Charlie passed out the faculty report. 524 total faculty, 233 FT (44%) and 291 PT (56%). We are scheduled to have four conversions for next fall.

3. Grievance update — we have several grievances at different stages, one may be going to arbitration. We may be able to file an unfair labor practice for failure to bargain in good faith regarding discipline.

4. We should propose a two-step warning system before a faculty member receives an unsatisfactory review. We will discuss in future meetings to get the correct language before bargaining this summer.

5. We are currently working on a new salary analysis from several different perspectives, we will review the material next meeting, and then disseminate to faculty.

6. All-faculty meeting in April (2nd or 3rd week).

7. Department rep meeting in April.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#105 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#104 March 4, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.
Management — Jay Kennedy, Kari Juusela, Matt Marvuglio, Stephen Croes, Jeanine Cowan, Josh Singeltary, Mark Campbell, Bob Mulvey, John Eldert, Amelia Koch, Chris Connors.

1. Jay opened the meeting. Personal information security protocol, Josh Singletary is here to share information on the new law to make sure we have compliance around personal information that can lead to identity theft. IT has studied best practices on maintaining the security of all this information. Faculty advisors and other faculty that have access to colleague, have access to personal information. IT has closed the loopholes that would have allowed the information to be accessed — the information is now secure. Work-study timesheets used to have social security numbers on them — they are now electronic and the social is no longer on the form. Getting the word out — department meetings, union website, e-mail to all faculty,

2. New class cancellation policy — we are still encountering issues. We need to keep the phone line, we don’t always have access to a computer, and the students don’t always have access before the class. We would like a history of why the change has taken place; we would like to have the white notices on the door to cancel class.

3. CRI changes and faculty retraining — Jeanine gave us a broad overview. For every class that is new there will be time set aside for faculty training; during the year not during the summer. PT will be paid and FT will get service to the college credit. Rick brought up a specific situation — Counterpoint 2 will no longer be required by all — there will be a loss of hours of some kind to faculty. Jeanine mentioned that there will be a shift in faculty schedules when all the CRI changes take effect. We will table this discussion and continue at continuing meetings.

4. Bob Mulvey and Mark Campbell are here to discuss special needs students. Mike asked how do we get the support we need and how do we get the training we need. There is a specific situation regarding a blind student and breech of confidentiality. What is the protocol? There is no obligation for faculty to go beyond “reasonable accommodations.” The chair needs to waive the student into the class. Management will remind chairs about the protocol, etc. Mark Campbell is working on information sharing ahead of time to increase communication throughout the college.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#104 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#103 February 25, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

1. Danny made a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting and update the website. Marti seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

2. Mike opened the meeting and we discussed special needs students and the need for faculty support to teach them: training, additional compensation, or service to the college. There is a specific situation that we are working to resolve regarding a blind student. Additional time is hard to find, maybe release time for faculty training. The administration needs to support both the faculty and the students. We have discussed this for years and the administration has not supported the special needs students and the needs of the faculty. The college is acting criminally by NOT supporting the students and their needs. Another issue is that faculty names that have allegedly refused to teach students are being shared with students.

3. Class cancellation policy and the “user errors” will be discussed next week with management.

4. Faculty are being taken out of classes to travel and audition students, faculty are supposed to find subs, perhaps we could request that the faculty pool be increased to take the pressure off the performance faculty. This is starting to impact our day-to-day operations.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#103 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#102 February 18, 2010
Present — Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

1. Rick made a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting as amended and update the website. Jackson seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

2. Private Lesson policy — any student adding a private lesson will start the week after it is added, this is in the registration manual — we need to check prior manuals — how long has this been in effect? This will be an item at the next Union/Management meeting, we need to see the history — when did it start and how was this communicated to faculty?

3. Lost teaching hours in Composition Department — the Counterpoint 1 course will be three hours a week not two, and Counterpoint 2 will no longer be required by degree, only Film Scoring and Composition majors. This will result in a loss of about 13 hours, which is equal to one full-time position, or, most likely; several part-time faculty members will lose a course. The chair is trying to lower the class size to create more sections, but there is no guarantee.

The Music History course will be moving over to the Liberal Arts department, it will change to be one semester and not two, and we don’t know who will teach the course. Currently, the class size is 85, if we can reduce the class size, we may not lose the hours. The History component of our curriculum is actually going up to six credits with Western Music (2), African/Roots (2), and Music of the Americas (2).

We need to discuss how these CRI changes are effecting our current faculty at a Union/Management meeting. We have a NEASC deadline, when? What timelines have been imposed on all of us?

4. New Benefits Committee member is needed as Jonathan will be stepping down — he has meeting at the same time. We will fill the seat at a later date. We will set a meeting between the three union representatives on this committee and Mike to discuss any recommendations that we will make as a part of this committee.]]> http://berkleefacultyunion.org/news.html#102 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800 Serving Berklee Faculty Since 1986 - Berklee Faculty Union - Minutes