6.1 The Union shall have the exclusive right to the checkoff and transmittal of Union dues on behalf of each bargaining unit member.
6.2 A bargaining unit member may consent in writing to the authorization of the deduction of Union dues from his/her wages and to the designation of the Union as the recipient thereof. Such consent shall be in a form acceptable to the Employer/University Administration and shall bear the signature of the bargaining unit member. A bargaining unit member may withdraw his/her union dues check-off authorization by giving at least sixty (60) days notice in writing to his/her campus personnel office. The Employer/University Administration will attempt, within fourteen days of receipt by the Human Resources Office, to notify the Union of any such withdrawal of check-off authorization. If the Administration does not notify the Union of any such withdrawal within thirty days of receipt, the matter will be subject to Article XXV, Grievance Procedure.
6.3 The Employer/University Administration shall deduct dues from the pay of bargaining unit members who request such a deduction in accordance with this Article and transmit such funds in accordance with University policy as of July 1, 1977, to the treasurer of the Union within thirty (30) days after the last day of the month in which the deduction is made together with a list of bargaining unit members whose dues are transmitted, provided that the Employer/University Administration is satisfied by such evidence as it may require that the treasurer of the Union has given a bond, in a form approved by the Employer/University Administration, for the faithful performance of his/her duties in a sum and with such surety or securities as are satisfactory to the Employer/University Administration.
6.4 The Union will indemnify and hold the Employer/University Administration harmless from any and all claims, demands, liability, costs or damages arising from or related to this Article.
6.5 The treasurer of the Union shall submit and certify to the Employer/University Administration each year the annual dues or agency service fee payable to the Union in lieu thereof.
6.6 An amount equal to one-tenth (1/10th) of the annual dues certified by the Union treasurer pursuant to Section 6.5 shall be deducted monthly from September through June from the pay of bargaining unit members who have consented to said deductions as provided above.
7.1 Beginning thirty (30) days following the commencement of his/her employment, each bargaining unit member who elects not to join or maintain membership in the Union shall be required to pay to the Union as a condition of employment (pursuant to the Rules and Regulations of the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission, Section 17.05), an amount equal to one-tenth (1/10th) of the regular annual dues uniformly charged by the Union as a condition of membership on a monthly basis from September through June inclusive.
7.2 A bargaining unit member may seek conscientious objector status pursuant to appropriate provisions of the Union's constitution. The granting or denial of such status shall not be subject to Article XXV, Grievance Procedure. A bargaining unit member, upon request, may obtain, under M.G.L. Chapter 150E, Section 12, a rebate under current rules of the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission.
7.3 A bargaining unit member may consent in writing to the authorization of the deduction of the agency fee from his/her wages and to the designation of the Union as the recipient thereof. Such consent shall be in a form acceptable to the Employer/University Administration and shall bear the signature of the bargaining unit member. A bargaining unit member may withdraw his/her agency fee authorization by giving at least sixty (60) days notice in writing to his/her campus personnel office. The Employer/University Administration will attempt, within fourteen days of receipt by the Human Resources Office, to notify the Union of any such withdrawal of check-off authorization. If the Administration does not notify the Union of any such withdrawal within thirty days of receipt, the matter will be subject to Article XXV, Grievance Procedure.
7.4 The Employer/University Administration shall deduct the agency fee from the pay of the bargaining unit members who request such deductions in accordance with this Article and transmit such funds in accordance with University policy as of July 1, 1977, to the treasurer of the Union within thirty (30) days after the last day of the month in which the deduction is made together with a list of bargaining unit members whose agency fees are transmitted, provided that the Employer/University Administration is satisfied by such evidence that it may require that the treasurer of the Union has given a bond, in a form approved by the Employer/University Administration, for the faithful performance of his/her duties in a sum and with such surety or securities as are satisfactory to the Employer/University Administration.
7.5 This Article shall not become operative until the Agreement has been formally executed, pursuant to a vote of a majority of all bargaining unit members in the bargaining unit present and voting.
7.6 Upon the request of the Union, the Employer/University Administration shall suspend for one (1) week without gross pay (1/52nd of annual salary) any bargaining unit member who, after proper annual notice and final demand, has refused to pay the agency fee or failed to challenge its validity by filing a timely charge at the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission. Within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of such request, accompanied by proof of notice and of final demand, the President shall notify the Union and the individual bargaining unit members whose names appear on such request that the one (1) week suspension without gross pay shall occur during the next one (1) available week when classes are not in session. The Union will intervene in and defend any administrative or court litigation concerning the propriety of such suspension for failure to pay the agency fee. In such litigation, the Employer/University Administration shall have no obligation to defend the suspension. When a bargaining unit member is suspended without gross pay under the terms of this Article, the Employer/University Administration shall pay an amount equal to the one (1) week’s salary into, at the Amherst campus, the Meline Kasparian student scholarship fund, and at the Boston campus, a student scholarship fund.
7.7 Disputes between the parties concerning this Article shall be resolved in accordance with Article XXV, Grievance Procedure. In the event such a dispute is submitted to arbitration, the arbitrator shall have no power or authority to order the Employer/University Administration to pay such agency fee on behalf of any bargaining unit member.
If the arbitrator decides that the bargaining unit member has failed to pay or authorize the payment of the service fee in accordance with this Article, the only remedy shall be the suspension of the bargaining unit member for one (1) week without gross pay (1/52nd of annual salary) and the payment by the Employer/University Administration of an amount equal to the one (1) week's salary into, at the Amherst campus, the Meline Kasparian student scholarship fund, and at the Boston campus, a student scholarship fund.
7.8 It is specifically agreed that the Employer/University Administration assumes no obligation, financial or otherwise, arising out of the provisions of this Article and Article VI, Dues Checkoff, and the Union hereby agrees it will indemnify and hold harmless the Employer/University Administration from any costs, claims, actions or proceedings by a bargaining unit member arising from the suspension of a bargaining unit member hereunder or from deductions made by the Employer/University Administration.
8.1 The Employer/University Administration and the Union endorse the principles and spirit of academic freedom as embodied in the 1940 AAUP Statement of Principles as amended and as modified below. The following statement constitutes the provision on academic freedom for the purposes of this Agreement.
8.2 Bargaining unit members are entitled to full academic freedom in research and in the publication of the results. They are entitled to full academic freedom in discussing their subjects in the classroom, but they should be careful not to introduce persistently, into their teaching, matter unrelated to their subject.
8.3 Bargaining unit members should remember that the public may judge their profession and the University by their utterances. Hence, they should at all times make every effort to indicate whether or not they are speaking officially for the University.
8.4 Bargaining unit members are entitled to freedom of political belief and/or affiliation.
8.5 A bargaining unit member(s) or department, program, division, center or other comparable administrative unit, as appropriate, shall be entitled to freedom in the selection of textbooks and other materials involved in the performance of teaching responsibilities.
8.6 Since certain aspects of the information obtained by bargaining unit members in the course of their work can be considered privileged, no bargaining unit member shall be required to disclose such information. The Employer/University Administration shall, within a reasonable time, advise the bargaining unit member of any effort to secure such information obtained by the bargaining unit member.
8.7 A bargaining unit member shall not be disciplined or deprived of any professional advantage for exercising his/her rights to academic freedom as set forth in this Article or as protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
8.8 The parties recognize that there shall be no censorship of library materials.
9.1 Representatives of the Employer/University Administration shall meet with Union representatives at mutually agreed-upon times to discuss matters of mutual concern including, but not limited to, the program and program planning. Such meetings shall not be for the purpose of discussing particular grievance cases or for the purpose of formally conducting negotiations on any subject. The party requesting the meeting shall submit a written agenda in advance of the meeting.
9.2 The President and/or designee shall meet with Union representatives within the first thirty (30) days of each semester for the purpose of discussing such matters. A written agenda shall be submitted by the Union to the President or designee no less than five (5) days before the scheduled date of the meeting. Additional matters for discussion may be placed on the agenda at the discretion of the President or designee.
9.3 Chancellors and/or their designees shall meet with local Union representatives once each month to discuss such matters. Written agendas shall be submitted by the Union to the chancellors or their designees no less than five (5) days before the scheduled date of the meeting. Additional matters for discussion may be placed on the agenda at the discretion of the chancellors or their designees.
9.4 Other consultations may occur by mutual agreement, as needed, between Union representatives and the President or designee, or the chancellors or designees. Similarly, nothing contained herein shall prevent the aforementioned from meeting less frequently, upon mutual agreement. The University will provide to the Union, upon its written request and within a reasonable period of time, copies of any and all official documents related to the budget.
9.5 The aforementioned principal administrative officials of the University shall make themselves personally available for such meetings within thirty (30) days upon receipt of a written request from the Union.
10.1 Tenure shall mean the right of the faculty member to continuous employment in an academic position subject to dismissal for just cause.
10.2 All faculty members who hold tenure as a result of previous Employer/University Administration action shall continue in that status as defined in Section 10.1.
