MSP EXECUTIVE BOARD

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2007

Present: Banach, Barker, Brewer, Brigham, Ganz, Gore, Hemment, Ishii, Lovett, Luce, McDermott, Moffitt, Pfeiffer, Phillis, Scharrer, Sutherland

Staff: Reardon, Wulkan, Gallagher

Absent: Barrington, Danai, Freeman, Gencarella, Gubrium, Lawrence, Page, Paynter

1. Minutes

MSP Board Minutes of September 26 were approved unanimously

2. Organizational Structure

Board members continued signing up and adjusting who will be in contact with which departments.

3. Department Meetings

Ray described a successful meeting he attended in the School of Management. He got a good reception, found the materials helpful, found support and interest, and decided it was easier than he had expected.

Others described their experiences starting to contact departments. It was suggested that the MSP office make the first overture to chairs in departments that don’t have MSP reps

It was agreed that if a Board member is unable to attend a meeting s/he schedules, the MSP office will find someone to go instead.

4. Agency Fee Payers

A number of Board members described their experiences discussing the union, and union membership, with agency fee payers. The experiences were fairly positive whether or not they resulted in people changing their status. There was a lively discussion about the different reasons for union membership and involvement stressed by different Board members. They included the union being the only avenue for collective faculty/librarian power, the MTA discounts, the ability to influence policies and politics, the liability insurance, the precarious role of public employees, the connection to legislators, and an appreciation of the union’s gains. The common theme was that discussions are very valuable and should be non-confrontational and educational for both parties.

It was suggested that we might analyze membership data by college, department, or title, and perhaps focus our discussions in certain departments to find out what the perception of the union is.

5. PHENOM

Various upcoming events were discussed, and members encouraged to attend:

a) Informational meeting today for MSP members

b) Talk on Free Higher Education by Adolph Reed 10/17 on campus

c) Higher Education Summit 10/26 at Framingham State College

6. A Better Chance

John described “A Better Chance”, a national high school program that prepares motivated students from under-served communities for college. Amherst High School is a participant, and he urged MSP members to participate in the Fall Foliage Walk on October 13, or to contribute in other ways.

7. GEO

GEO is holding a rally on 10/11 to try to push forward their stalled contract negotiations. Issues include child care, diversity, and the curriculum fee. GEO is asking MSP for our reaction to their considering a turn-grades-in-at-the-last-minute action, and their potential request for MSP members signing a non-retaliation pledge. While there were some concerns, there was general support for such an action. MSP will invite GEO representatives to come to the next Board meeting to discuss their negotiations in more detail.

8. Gender Equity Issues

Graduate students in one department discovered significant gender-based salary discrepancies, and the Chair recommended that MSP be approached, perhaps to try to negotiate for a larger anomaly pool that could correct the discrepancies. This issue is coming to a head. Possible bargaining issues include the size of the anomaly pool and the decision-making process. The recently-negotiated contract included an agreement for a study of gender/salary issues, and it was agreed that MSP needed to push to make this happen.