Union notes from Union / Management Meeting

Present – Michael Abraham, Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Peggy Codding, Beth Denisch, Marti Epstein, Richard Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Teodros Kiros, Jeff Perry, Jackson Schultz, Will Silvio.  

Management – Larry Simpson, Jay Kennedy, Jeanine Cowen, Kari Juusela, Darla Hanley, Mac Hisey, Bill Whitney, John Eldert, Amelia Koch, and Chris Connors.

1. Danny made a motion to make a $1000 donation to Jackson Schultz. His house was flooded recently and he lost all of his musical instruments and amplifiers. Jeff seconded and the vote was unanimous to make the donation.
    
2. Larry opened the meeting. The topic for today is ADA compliance in 150. Mac Hisey: this is an extremely complex issue. Many options have been considered, the building is used all the time, and the disruption factor has been a big consideration throughout. The entrance creates issues as a range ranch type of entrance, either going up or going down right away with a lot of congestion. We have looked at ramps, elevators, lifts, etc. with 8 to 10 plans trying to come up with best possible entrance. Another factor is the flow from building to building - access to elevator and additional floors. The leading plan right now is very early on, expanding the entrance at 146 and 142 with a 3-stop elevator with easy access to other parts of campus and additional parts of 150. A ramp can also be installed - now 2 widely accessible entrances. We are still at the beginning stages; a wooden model may be built to look at all the moving parts, built to scale of course. Still in consideration is the back freight elevator, so we could have more than one entrance.
   
   Union: A ramp is a better consideration instead of lift, in case of fire. What about compliance? Is the college in compliance at this point?
   
   Management: Code compliance has a certain amount of grandfathering involved. Our focus is doing this the right way with limited disruption. We are trying to find the best possible way to complete the project.
   
   Union: From the outside looking in, this is NOT a priority. Other projects have been fast tracked ahead of this. This has been going for quite some time with no movement. If Roger had a disability, this would have been taken care of in the first two years of his tenure.
   
   Management: In regards to the new 168 building, it has been in the works for a very long time. We have been working on this project for the past year at length on a weekly basis. Roger is absolutely focused on this project, he wants to gets it done right. There are many facilities in Boston that are not in compliance they are old buildings. We can't totally disrupt this building like we are in 168. We will get this done. Times have changed and we are moving forward.
   
   Union: The entrances are constantly packed with students, with 2 entrances maybe the flow will just get bigger?
   
   Management: We are looking at the one story add on Belvedere St. side; removing that and create a larger "south beach" for a better flow and a possible additional entrance.
   
   When we look at 168 in 2013 - there will be a brand new building and we don't know where students will be hanging out. Also 161 and 171 will be used in the near future.
   
   Union: When is the date for completion for 150?
   
   Management: Nine months for planning and one year for completion. Assuming the plan all works, two years.
   
   Union: When will we know if the project is moving forward?
   
   Management: Let’s get to the next stage with an update in the near future.
   
   Union: This is a very serious issue to this committee we want this to be dealt with ASAP.
   
   Management: It is a complex project when dealing with an occupied building. We need to get this right the first time with limited displacement and disruption.
   
   Egress is always going to an issue – a ramp will not get you to all the floors. 
   
   Union: Can you start a part of the project so we can see that the work is being done?
   
   Management: Once we get an approved plan, it might be possible but we need to make sure that it will work with the whole plan.
   
   Jackson: This monthly meeting is very important to the Union, it helps break down the barriers that we have.
   
   Larry: By definition, collective bargaining is "us vs. them" but we can see that we all are on the same page with this issue in particular.

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting

Present – Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Dennis Cecere, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Teodros Kiros, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Will Silvio. 

Guest - Charles Cassara.

1. Jonathan made a motion to accept the minutes from the previous meeting and Dennis seconded, the vote was unanimous to accept the minutes.
    
2. Charles talked about the audit on October 13, 2011. He is finishing the 3rd quarter then Jeff will take over the books with much assistance from Michael Bijan. 19.4 million, 10.6 million, 30 million total faculty salaries, 1.25 % to base our budget on. We will have a monthly financial report and a budget committee.
    
3. Jackson met with Larry Simpson yesterday as a meet and greet. They discussed many things including the new Master’s programs both here and in Valencia. We want all new faculty to be in our bargaining unit. Workload is another issue, curriculum development, and salary structure. They are still in the planning stages and trying for approval to start fall 2012, maybe only the performance component. There are two stages; state approval and NEASC. Music Education, CWP, Film Scoring, Studio Performance, Music Therapy.
    
4. Next week is the Union/Management meeting. Main topic will be ADA and access to the 150 building. What has happened to all the plans for access and where are they now? Jackson passed out a synopsis of ADA access. Equal access for all individuals. The liability issue is huge, what happens during a fire?
    
5. Another topic that is very important for a future meeting is a discussion of teaching of students with learning disabilities or visually impaired students with no assistance or training for faculty. The training should take place before the class is taught for the faculty not while the student is in the faculty member’s class.
    
6. The on-line issue is a very large issue. Berkleemusic pays a royalty to all authors that have written a course when it is taught. It is a separate entity from the college. With the new on-line on-campus courses, what will the compensation be? Will there be a royalty for authors? If not, why not? Intellectual Property rights are a very important topic. Berklee is interested in offering two on-line Baccalaureate degrees. Perhaps we can get Dave Kusak or Debbie Cavalier to come in and talk with us.
    
7. Space is another issue throughout the college, especially felt in the voice department, we will discuss in future meetings. 

Minutes from Union Executive Committee Meeting

Present – Michael Abraham, Prince Charles Alexander, Rick Applin, Dennis Cecere, Peggy Codding, Peter Cokkinias, Beth Denisch, Rich Grudzinski, Danny Harrington, Jonathan Holland, Teodross Kinos, Jeff Perry, Diane Richardson, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, Will Silvio. 

Guests - Michael Bijan and Charles Cassara.

1. Jackson opened the meeting; we went around the room and introduced ourselves. We discussed the new members and the role of the department reps. We need to change the current culture of faculty regarding how they need to address their issues, this is no longer a one-man shop, but grievances will still go through the president and the grievance officer.
    
2. Stipends – the new secretary/treasurer and president have requested that instead of a lump sum at the end of the year, they are paid monthly or bi-weekly. We discussed. Danny made a motion to accept the bi-weekly pay schedule for the new positions. Rick seconded and the vote was unanimous.
    
3. Union/Management meeting is coming up, e-mail ideas to Will. One possible topic is the ADA accessibility to the 150 building. The college is currently out of compliance and is more interested in building a new 94 million dollar building at 168. Another issue is the construction vehicles parking in the handicap only parking. We worked hard to get four spots around 150. We should have management invite the appropriate individuals to come to our meeting next month.
    
4. Jeff brought up the concept of a Budget Committee to discuss the Union finances: Danny, Jonathan, Peggy, Jackson, and Jeff are interested in being on the committee.
    
5. Communication with the rest of college. Jonathan brought up ways in which we can send e-mails. Rich is the postmaster of the BAFT e-mail, perhaps we can use that avenue. Jonathan brought up the BCC concept, so not all the e-mail addresses are shown. If a reply is to come from one person, it will come from Jackson or his designee. Rick brought up that it is not always a bad thing to have the “voice of the people.”
    
6. We discussed the folding in of the Technology Division into the Writing Division, now only three divisions and three deans. There are currently eight searches for chairs. Change is coming around the college.