Berklee Faculty Union: Minutes

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
February 10, 2011
Present – Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Jonathan Holland, 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 as amended and update the website. Peter seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.

2. April elections, we will hire AAA once again to oversee the ballot box, etc. Tom McGah will oversee the nomination process and contact AAA as well. We will be mailing everything to faculty homes, and the actual election will take place in the lobby of the BPC.

3. Union/Management committee to study gender issues? We will discuss at length at the next meeting.

4. Travel arrangements for the AFT Higher Ed conference, Will and Mike will put a few options together for us to look at.

5. CPA Michael Bijan presentation, an accountant that is interested in a bookkeeper position, we would still have a treasurer overseeing the finances. We discussed the possible position and bookkeeper’s general responsibilities. Michael introduced himself and discussed his experience.

Union notes from Union / Management Meeting
February 3, 2011
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.
Management – Larry Simpson, Jay Kennedy, Kari Juusela, Phil Lima, Matt Marvuglio, John Eldert, Darla Hanley

1. Larry opened the meeting. We have a lot to get through today, so let’s get to it.

2. Health Insurance Options – Phil Lima, we currently have two PPO options, one has 27 people, we will be shutting that one down. There will be two options for those 27 individuals, either stay with a PPO with better coverage for the same price or switch to the HMO for a cheaper price. PPO I is no longer a standard plan for BCBS, the real meaningful choice is PPO vs. HMO, there are only 27 people enrolled, and the coverage is better for PPO II. There will be extra time for people to choose HMO or PPO (4 full weeks) and we will have counseling available for those 27 individuals (Thorbahn).

3. Wage Renegotiation Process, Mike covered the new process. Every three years, no more than, promotion within the three years will be an additional opportunity, then the three year cycle will begin again. Letter or e-mail to the chair by March 15, the chair is the designee, the chair and dean will sit together, then the SVP of AA will meet with the Deans.

4. Student Evaluations (Mike), the numbers are lower than when we did hard copy versions. What can we do to increase the response? Jay – we are thinking of options, maybe even going back to hard copy. There is no prefect way to do this, we are working on options, we want a higher rate of return. Larry, let’s put a small group together to look at this issue, with recommendations.

5. Snow closings (Larry) – this is a tough call, we have already missed 2.5 days early in the semester. There is no requirement for faculty to make these classes up, but you can make them up – we are looking to make more class space available 8-10 pm and on the weekends.

6. Next time, Faculty Office Space and On-line Course Development and Delivery.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
January 20, 2011
Present – Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

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

2. The sexual harassment case regarding a faculty member and student has concluded with the faculty member no longer at the college. It was in house with no arbitration; the faculty member was on a one-year contract and received payment for the spring schedule. The issue is, the accusation cannot be the verdict, there needs to be more proof.

3. We discussed the sexual harassment policy throughout the college and recent BTOT comments by our leadership. We will draft a letter and send to management. Rick made a motion and Michael seconded and the vote was unanimous to send a letter from the UEC.

4. The AFT Conference has been moved to Philadelphia from Chicago. Thursday – Sunday, March 31-April 3. We would like to invite Jeff J. and his wife to accompany us, Jackson made a motion and Rich seconded and the vote was unanimous to invite Jeff J. and his wife.

Union notes from Union / Management Meeting
December 9, 2010
Present – Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.
Management – Larry Simpson, Jay Kennedy, Kari Juusela, Amelia Koch, Jeanine Cowan, Richard “Mac” Hisey.

1. Rick made a motion to approve minutes and update the website. Peter seconded and the vote was unanimous.

2. Larry opened the meeting. Space updates around the college. Jay, there are several projects in the works. New rooms in 22 the Fenway. 150 bathrooms will be moved near 179-183 to be ADA compliant as well as the entrance to 150. Considering an elevator instead of a ramp, very in depth decisions looking for the least disruptive path. Future plans will address the side of 150 that is on Belvedere. A lot of planning has taken place and more to do. Once you start a renovation project you are subject to all the new rules of compliance.

3. 168 – the demo should start next fall, complications with scheduling, etc. Fall of 2013 would be the target open date. 12 above ground with 4 below for a total of 16 stories. Management has worked hard to communicate with the neighborhood and community so there should be very little backlash.

4. What about office space for the faculty? Larry: as we work on revising the space around us we are working on improving space. Rick: if you can set a goal of each faculty member having his or her own office space then you MAY actually achieve it. Larry: we have made significant changes to faculty offices, 7 Haviland, 155 Mass. Ave., it’s not just about the Writing Division. We are working on it, 22 the Fenway is next, we are hearing what you are saying and we are working on it. Mike: we would like to hear you address the needs of the Writing Division at some point.

5. 22 the Fenway is to be updated like 7 Haviland and 155 2nd floor. Three classrooms first, then the offices.

6. What about the mailroom and the Project band room? Jay: the plan is get rid of the faculty boxes all together with mail going to each area. Project band is up in the air right now, the rest of the offices in that building will be moved around the new buildings. There are a lot of dominos that need to fall into place, when an office moves, where is it going?

7. Performance space is still an issue; the Orchestra will be performing in Jordan Hall. A lottery system is in discussion, to deal with the amount of performances that are needed for the students. Other areas are focusing on these issues.

8. Larry: we are spending a lot of money on performance space, technology, etc… can we predict what the industry will be like in 10 years? We have a lot of discussions ahead that can address these issues; that is what I would like to discuss in these meetings.

9. Rick: perhaps we can see how these changes are going to be funded.

Minutes from All-Faculty Budget Meeting
December 2, 2010
Present UEC – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

1. Mike opened the meeting, thanks for coming. You must be present to vote. Charles will take us through the budget in a couple of minutes. The Contract has not been signed yet, but we have gone through the entire document. There are still a few edits necessary and some language problems in the table of contents. The benefits article has been turned into several different articles to make it easier to find the items that are most important to each faculty member. There will be a meeting with management to discuss the final version of the contract. A signing will take place sometime after that.

2. Union elections will be in April of 2011. There will be a nominations meeting in late March that will be announced next semester. There are seven officers, four division reps, and six councilor at large positions. Any dues-paying faculty member may run. Information will be sent to all faculty in early March.

3. The AFT-MA convention will be in May, it is always good for us to attend, since they are in direct support of us. Because there is a vote during the convention, faculty must nominate the delegates. The Union Executive Committee can choose the six delegates with faculty’s permission. Jeff made a motion to allow the UEC to choose the delegates, Danny seconded, and the vote was unanimous to allow the UEC to choose the delegates for the AFT-MA convention.

4. Charles Cassara has been through two audits this year, thanks for all your hard work. Charles presented the annual budget, we use the accrual method, the labor department prefers the cash flow method, most accounts use the accrual method. All the figures were sent to all faculty in the Fall 2010 Union Newsletter. The budget is based on management’s projections of the total cost for the year in advance of overall faculty salaries.

5. Michael Johnson made a motion to support the proposed budget, Beth seconded, and the vote was unanimous to support the proposed budget.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
November 18, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Jonathan Holland, Michael Heyman, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

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

2. We have had a harassment complaint against one of our faculty. We are looking into this issue and will be working with the Dean and the Sr.VP/AA. Marti and Mike will be working with the faculty member.

3. We may consider a class grievance next semester regarding faculty scheduling preferences.

4. Rick, Will, and Mike finished reading the contract; most of it is in good shape. A few typos and formatting issues. Mike will meet with Jay on Friday at 3 pm to discuss the issues. Signing the contract at this point may be put off; Mike and Jackson will meet with Larry to discuss further.

5. All-faculty meeting will be scheduled for December 2, 1 pm to present the budget to the faculty. Charles will handle the majority of the meeting, room TBA.

6. The treasurer position may be changing; we are looking at getting a professional accountant/book-keeper to handle all the heavy lifting. Mike and Charles are interviewing several candidates that are interested in working with us. We will also be looking at department reps/division reps and sharing the workload to take pressure of the president position.

7. We adjourned.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
November 10, 2010
Present – Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott.

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

2. Update on the Berklee financial status and the BBJ article. The endowment is the 17th largest in the region and has had the 5th highest increase in the last year, from 176 to 203 million.

3. Charles discussed the budget and possible changes. We need the information back from Joseph Cowan after our most recent audit. Jackson made a motion to postpone the all-faculty meeting to approve the budget, Beth seconded, and the vote was unanimous to move the all-faculty meeting to Dec. 2. We now need to move the union/management to Dec. 9.

Rich made a motion to amend the budget based on the new estimated income for the budget, Danny seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the amended estimated income for dues.

4. Mike discussed our options of a bad faith bargaining case. They mislead us with Amelia and her poorly estimated budget figures. If we void the contract there are many possible issues that may cause problems with faculty support – lost raises, promotion bumps, etc. We would have to gain a lot to make up for the possible losses. Our lawyers think we have a case but not a very strong one. Can we win it? Perhaps we could put a little of the BBJ articles in our newsletter to get the word out to faculty. We took them at their word and trusted them – this will affect future bargains. If we can’t take them at their word, we are done. Jackson and Mike will discuss this with Larry.

Union notes from Union / Management Meeting
November 4, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

Management – Larry Simpson, Jay Kennedy, Kari Juusela, Matt Marvuglio, Darla Hanley, Richard “Mac” Hisey, Rob Rose, John Eldert, Amelia Koch, Chirs Connors, Jeanine Cowen.

1. Jay opened the meeting and introduced Richard “Mac” Hisey, the new Senior VP for Finance and Administration. Formerly at AARP, financial services.

2. Boston Business Journal articles, Oct. 15-21 article stated a 6 million surplus, there was no Berklee official comment before publication. Larry called Mike to discuss. Larry was contacted by BBJ to discuss a follow up. Larry read Mike’s quotes and discussed the articles and the letter from Roger Brown from June 23.

Amelia went through the numbers and budgets, most of the temporarily unrestricted funds are from gifts, scholarships, city-music, Valencia, Global Jazz Inst., etc… there were many budget cuts and we moved funds from temporary restricted to unrestricted to keep the operating budget.

Mike – what about the projection of a million deficit, while running a six million surplus. This is misleading.

Amelia went through more numbers to show budget cuts and movement of funds from temporary restricted to unrestricted to keep the operating budget.

Larry – we finished bargaining, the opportunity was there to continue to bargain. It was your choice to accept the deal, you could have kept going, and it was your call as a Union to accept the deal. My issue is that this was made public, my hope is that this ends today. It would be very burdensome to void the contract and start over.

Mike – in terms of taking this public, the article came out and I was incensed. I called to verify the story and the source. He went with the next story because it is news now, not in three weeks after we met. We are still considering further action.


3. Status of contract review by Union – we still have about 20 pages to go. A couple of issues in the Table of Contents, we will forward that to you.

4. Writing Division area – water leak and carpet replacement event. Air quality and mold testing is complete. Chris Connors sent out info to all faculty regarding the event.

5. Larry and Mike agreed to adjourn.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
October 28, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

1. Jeff 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. 11/4 is a Union/Management meeting discussing the financial state of the college as portrayed in a recent Boston Business Journal article. The following Wednesday (11/10) is a Thursday schedule, this could be a very important meeting as we discuss our options.

3. We reviewed the job description for the Union Officer Manager position. Danny made a motion to accept the job description as written, Rich seconded, and the vote was unanimous.

4. November 3, contract read from 12-6, 12-1 in Mike’s office and 1-6 in the fishbowl. We will need three people at all times, Mike, Jackson, Rick, Will, and Jeff will be reading throughout the 6 hours.

5. Charles met with the Labor Board accountant currently doing an audit, we will make the suggested changes. Charles passed out the proposed budget for our review. Danny made a motion to accept the budget as amended, Rick seconded, and the vote was unanimous to accept the budget. Wendy made a motion to thank Charles for all his hard work, Peggy and Beth seconded and we all thanked Charles.

6. Rick passed out the salary and wage comparisons for the academic year of 10-11. All ranks full and part-time averages will be included, gender and ethnicity may also be included per request. Wendy made a motion to send out info, Danny seconded and the vote was unanimous.

7. Mike discussed the article in the Boston Business Journal. There will be an article coming out told from the Union’s perspective, management lied to us, it is wrong to do this. It is one thing to say “we have the money but we are not giving it to you” and another thing to give us false numbers to get us to accept a low contract in 2009.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
October 21, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denish, Rich Grudzinski, Michael Heyman, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

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

2. Mike welcomed the new faculty member present.

3. The new contract is done. We will proofread on Wednesday November 3rd. We need three people from 12-6; we will start in Mike’s office and then fishbowl from 1-6.

4. Flu shots are available on November 3rd in DFRH from 12-3:30.

5. The President’s cabinet had a meeting about the leak in the PWC and praised the clean-up, etc. Not sure they understand the severity of the problems and the working conditions that we have been subject to. The restrooms in the PWC need to be re-done, hopefully that will solve the leak issues we have had. There is still a mold issue in some offices; this must be dealt with. The whole process of the clean up and trying to save the carpet was a joke! VERY hazardous to our health.

6. There was an article in the Boston Business Journal about the financial well being of the college. It was reported that Berklee had a 6 million dollar net excess when they were telling us they had no money. We will take the next meeting to discuss this at length. It appears that we have been lied to.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
October 14, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denish, Rich Grudzinski, Michael Heyman, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

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

2. 30+ million is the estimate for faculty salaries. Our budget will be based on the dues from that income.

3. The Pro Writing Center mess – leak, carpet, and proper cleanup. We can consider a grievance in regards to working conditions. There may not be any way to be heard before it gets fixed. Perhaps we can contact OSHA to deal with black mold and sewage mold, or the state health department. The mold can get in the walls, etc… we should contact someone soon. Beth will make the call.

4. We will have a New Faculty Luncheon October 21, room 118.

5. We will have a meeting for the Department Representatives on October 28, room TBA. Let’s spread the work around, not just the President doing all the work, but the Executive Committee and the Department Representatives participating.

6. Union Management meeting on the November 4, budget meeting possibly on November 18.

7. Rick Applin – salary stats, he will send out to all faculty later this week.

Union notes from Union / Management Meeting
October 7, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

Management – Jay Kennedy, Kari Juusela, Amelia Koch, Chris Connors, Jeanine Cowan.

1. Jay opened the meeting. The contract draft status, we are in the process of revising the language and breaking out a few articles. Jim Bucking is suggesting a couple of MOU’s be included in the contract: the TCA and the number of full-time faculty. The contract will be adjusted and then be ready for review: some language will be in red and blue and we will discuss that when we read the contract.

2. Defined Benefit plan changes – Chris Connors will address. In process of identifying the new actuarial table, it will take a few more weeks, and then we will have more concrete information. The Old table was based on 1971, a shorter life span and a 90/10 ratio of men to women. These are national actuarial tables, not a reflection of Berklee. This new table is ONLY for post 65 retirees, if you retire at 65, there is NO change. It will be very individual, very difficult to generalize; the best solution is to discuss specifics with Phil Lima.

3. PT faculty payment at start of semester. In regards to add/drop and payroll of private instruction teachers. The process is the same; it’s just a week earlier – with add/drop only one week now. Jay – we need to know specifics to check to make sure they have been paid. If the student changes teachers – the faculty member will be paid until we get the notice, in fact, they may be paid for a lesson they do not teach. Mike – there may be two policies – one for the student that changes teachers and one for a withdrawal from the college. Rick – is the policy the same for Directed Study? Kari – they are listed separately as different sections, but I am not sure if the policy is the same. Jay – we will look at it and get back to you. Mike – yes, we would like to know what the actual policy is.

4. New Faculty Orientation – Mike and Jay have discussed that the Union was not represented for the past two years. Jay – due to the limited number of new faculty initially hired, as the date approached more faculty were hired. Roya will be contacting the Union in the future to discuss the number of new faculty for the orientation to make sure we will be involved. Beth – in the future we need to make sure the printed contract be in the information packet.

5. The retro pay should be in the October 14th paycheck. Rich Vigdor or Matt Frias handle the payroll process if there are any discrepancies.

6. A quick update on the Writing Division leak. They have been working on the classrooms below the writing center first, but they will be changing the carpet in the offices this weekend, and the hallway early next week. Beth – we need to streamline this process, this is a health issue – we should not have to beg for money to fix this issue.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
September 30, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.

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

2. The final tally of votes from last week on-line was 91 for and none against. The vote for ratification was 90 for and 3 against, for a combined total of 181 to 3. Overall, the faculty response has been great, a lot of support for this contract. We also have a 90% response from the faculty for contact information outside of the college – very important as we move forward.

3. The update to the DB plan involving a new actuarial table updating our demographics is still unclear, but it now fits our population more accurately.

4. Opening day was a half hour shorter than it has been in the past, 3.5 as opposed to 4. That works out to around 11k that part-time faculty missed out on.

5. The Labor Board is doing an audit of our books. Charles gave us an update. We will also have our usual yearly audit in October. We have 239 FT and 287 PT faculty. We will have an open house for all faculty hired in past two years.

6. Next week (10/7) will be a Union/Management meeting. On 10/21 we would like to have an open house for new faculty and on 10/28 we will meet with the Department Reps to set up hierarchy to share information. This is a very important topic and we will dedicate a couple of meetings to it.

Minutes from Ratification Meeting
September 23, 2010
Present UEC – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Haidee Lorrey, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio, Jeff Jacobsen.

1. Mike opened the meeting, thanks for coming. You must be present to vote. We can over the bargain then ask questions. A very difficult bargain as last year was. The economy is tough all over the country, management is getting away with murder all over the place, not just here. Once again, we got one of the best contracts in the country for higher education. NO take-backs and we got several things. OUR management is rolling in dough, they did not have to go on the cheap, but they did. They gave us an offer that was a little hard to refuse. The resources are there for a better contract, but they did not make that choice. I do recommend ratification, however, we could have and should have been given more. The one glaring in-equity that we have is the 14 contact hours, should be 12 at a maximum, and 8-10 at the optimal. We should bring that issue back up in three years.

Mike went through the new contract language and clarified the DB and the new DCP, lowered threshold for full health benefits, promotion increases, TRC can access DB, 12 conversions, wages 2.5, 2.75, and 3, PT 3-year contract, saved PPO rates, modified the DB plan to fit our members.

Beth called for the vote, Peggy seconded, unanimous to vote. 90 yes, 3 no.

Charlie motioned to adjourn, Rick seconded, unanimous to adjourn.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
September 16, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, and Will Silvio.

1. Jeff 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. Charlie, Mike, and Will met with auditor last week for three hours. A lot of paperwork to file.

3. Next week will be the ratification meeting in room 118. The delay is to finalize language from management regarding the new Defined Contribution Plan (for FT hired after 1/1/12), the lowering of the threshold for PT faculty to achieve FT benefits, and the implementation of the promotion increase. New language will be here on Friday afternoon for review. We discussed language possibilities.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
September 9, 2010
Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peggy Codding, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.
Guests: Jeff Jacobsen and Haidee Morris

1. Mike opened the meeting, welcome back. Thanks to all out members and alternates that assisted us in the final evening of bargaining. The team did a lot of soul searching in the last hour before we accepted the final deal.

2. Let’s go through the deal: a three-year deal, lowered part-time threshold to 810 from 1020 for benefits, the defined benefit plan access for TRC, wage renegotiation every 3-years, better language for course materials, grievance procedure language cleaned up, parental leave typo, Defined Benefit Plan for all people hired FT between now and 12/31/11 - ALL part-time faculty employed as of 10/1/10 can be grandfathered in the DB or have the new plan: 3% up front with no contribution and a 100% will match up to 6% for a total of 9%. increased the promotion bumps

3. We will clarify the new DCP and the 403b at our meeting today.

4. Ratification meeting in 118 next week, Thursday 1-2 pm.

5. For the second year in a row we were not a part of the new faculty orientation. SO, we are going to have a new faculty orientation of our own. We will shoot for two weeks from today, 1-2 pm.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
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.

Minutes from Union All-Faculty Meeting
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.

Minutes from Department Rep. Meeting
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.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
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.

Union Notes from Union / Management Meeting
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

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
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.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
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.

Union notes from Union / Management Meeting
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.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting
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.