29 August 2002
WELCOME BACK!
This fall is going to present challenges and opportunities in great abundance. On the one hand, we have the ongoing struggle to get our contracts funded; on the other hand, we have a new and energetic leader for the campus. While we all will be stretched thin, trying to make up for the absence of all the campus employees who opted for one of the retirement incentive plans, we also will be looking toward creating a brilliant future for this University. We hope all of you will join us in our efforts!
CAMPUS COFFEE BREAK
We definitely need to create a presence at the campus-wide coffee break scheduled for September 5th at 10 a.m. Students and other campus union members will be participating in this event in large numbers, and we need faculty and librarians to be a visible and significant presence. Please call us to sign up for this event and let us know which of the four location(s) is/are most convenient for you:
- Franklin Dining Commons
- Whitmore
- Between Campus center and the Garage
- Berkshire Dining Commons
You can email us at msp@external.umass.edu or call at 5-2206. Thanks!
OTHER CONTRACT-FUNDING ACTIONS
By the time you receive this bulletin, the first of our planned activities will have taken place. Along with other unions on campus, MSP handed out flyers to incoming students and their parents over Labor Day weekend. Throughout the fall we will continue to participate in Labor Coalition activities aimed at funding our contracts, as well as being active participants in the political process statewide. We will keep you apprised as events arise.
There is also a meeting scheduled for September 18th of all our campus unions to decide on future activities that can be undertaken as joint projects. Please attend as many of these meetings as you can, since they are a chance for input on strategy decisions, as well as sources of information.
ELECTIONS
MSP has endorsed Pat Duffy and Chris Donelan in the primary races being held on September 17th. We beg those of you who live in their districts to be active on their behalf prior to the primary—to leaflet, hold signs, canvass door-to-door, donate money—and to vote early and often. Or bring a friend to vote with you!
MSP has not endorsed a gubernatorial candidate in the primary (though our statewide affiliate, MTA, has endorsed Birmingham). But we urge you to get solidly behind the Democrat of your choice, donate time and money, and support the eventual winner of the Democratic primary with all your resources and energy. If the Democratic party looks divided, it makes it harder to press the Republican candidate for commitments to public education and OUR RAISES, so it is essential to support the primary winner visibly.
MSP BUSINESS
This year’s dues are $632, and you can pay them by check or via payroll deduction. The deductions are taken September through June, so you pay equal installments over ten months. Many find this a much less painful system than paying in one lump sum, and our office finds it much more convenient, as well, since we don't have to devote large amounts of staff time to billing folks who have signed up for the payroll deduction system. If you want to do this, call Lori Reardon at 5-2206.
OCTOBER SICK LEAVE BANK
We usually wait until October to remind you of the opportunity to sign up for the MSP sick leave bank, since that is the only month in the year during which you can do so. Just in case this fall gets too frantic for us to include this information in a later newsletter, you can sign up by filling out a simple form and donating one of your own personal sick leave days to the bank. This entitles you to draw up to 90 days from the bank, once your own sick leave has been exhausted, and is a great form of short-term disability security. Forms are available at the personnel kiosk just across from the back elevator in Whitmore. Call us if you need more information (5-2206).
FREE ADVICE
One of the things we’ve noticed over the years at UMass Amherst is that when things get tough, our members have more employment-related difficulties. If this happens to you, please don’t be embarrassed. Call Mary Fletcher at 5-2206. This is our job, and we keep your issues absolutely confidential. We’re here to help you if we can!
