Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting

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Present – Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Peter Cokkinias, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Michael Heyman, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio,

Guests - John Eldert, Phil Lima, and Judy Heaton

  1. Rich 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. John Eldert, Phil Lima, and Judy Heaton are here to share information on benefits. John spoke about his experience and health care. The Boston consortium is 15 schools in the Boston area that are working together to address many similar issues. Managing healthcare takes a collaboration of efforts. With our 1600 insured members at Berklee it is very difficult to negotiate with BCBS or Harvard Pilgrim, we are too small. The consortium schools are looking at binding together to have group insurance, to shape and design a program that works for our institution. We could save 4-6% in our premiums. Health costs are escalating each year, we need to find a way to manage it. Investing in our health is a better way to save, this takes education, it may take more time, but it will pay off in the long run.
     
  3. Mike: what are the numbers that would impress BCBS? 1600 isn’t enough, what is enough. John: the consortium is around 60,000 now, with changes in student health insurance, we could grow to 100, 000 to 350,000 very quickly. Phil: the power of the numbers is in the expense, our annual cost is around 8 million; the aggregated cost of the consortium members is around 500 million. John: other possible changes, BU has its own medical facility, if we get them involved we could change the health care model, i.e.: our local people may have access to their facilities. 
     
  4. Phil: there is a long-term care program study currently going on, we will be sharing this information and options to Berklee in the fall. John: downstream, we could make those costs cheaper as the consortium model is explored. Long-term care products are drying up, if we have our own model to offer, it will be a very good thing.
     
  5. Managing our health, the bottom line of health care costs is health! It is all about education, sharing information, and increasing awareness. Of our 1600 members, approximately 800 get annual physicals, we need to know more about our health if we are going to stay healthy. What can we do for faculty and staff like the “Live Well” program for students? We have started “Healthy You.” We need to get the word out and share tools with faculty to get and stay healthy! 

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting

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Present – Rick Applin, Charles Cassara, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Mike Scott, Will Silvio.  

  1. Wendy made a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting as amended and update the website. Danny seconded and the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.
     
  2. Mike met with management regarding two faculty members and their positions at the college. There will be further meetings to discuss their situations. We discussed their cases at length, confidentially.
     
  3. Rick presented a wage comparison by rank, gender, and years of service. If we are going to pursue this, how are we going to handle it? What about a consultant, a third party, not a faculty member to crunch the numbers. There are a lot of variables to look at that can factor into our conclusions. 
     
  4. Let’s continue this gender discussion in two weeks.
     
  5. Next week John Eldert, Phil Lima, and Judy Heaton will be coming to discuss benefits.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting

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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.