11 December 2001

THE STATUS OF OUR CONTRACT

Please excuse the delay in getting this Bulletin out to you. There have been so many ups and downs in the Legislature on our contract funding that we’ve been waiting for the dust to settle a bit. The process still isn’t over, but an update would probably be helpful at this point anyway. And let me say: We remain optimistic.

The Current Situation

On December 5, the House voted to fund a group of so-called "vintage" contracts that the Governor’s Office had submitted to the Legislature some time ago. Our contract and 22 others, most of them from the UMass campuses, were forwarded later because they were ratified and reviewed later.

The Governor urged the House to fund this batch along with the others. The Senate voted unanimously to do so. The leaders of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers thought they had an agreement with the Speaker to fund them all together. But that proved not to be the case, so that our contract and the other so-called late arrivals never reached the House floor for a vote.

For the moment, therefore, we remain unfunded. But there is reason to believe we will be funded soon if we keep at it.

Next Steps

There is an all-out push to have the remaining contracts funded before the end of the calendar year. The Labor Coalition in Boston is working to forge another, firmer agreement with the Speaker to bring them forward. All campus unions, here and on the other campuses, are contacting area legislators to urge immediate funding.

We are asking you, then, to write or make phone calls once again to your representative. Let them know that you hope they will help secure funding before the end of the year. You might note that the contracts were not only bargained and agreed to in good faith and are supported by the Governor and the Senate, but will also provide a tremendous, much-needed lift to the local economy. This is a strong argument given the big budget cuts looming ahead. Our local representatives are as follows:

Representative Nancy Flavin – South Hadley, Hadley, Easthampton

State House, Room 238, Boston MA 02133. (617-722-2380)

Representative Reed Hillman - Belchertown

State House, Room 38, Boston MA 02133. (617-722-2470)

Representatives Stephen Kulik –most towns northward except Greenfield

State House, Room 279, Boston MA 02133. (413-722-2210)

Representative John Merrigan - Greenfield

State House, Room 36, Boston MA 02133. (413-773-7340)

Representative Ellen Story – Amherst

State House, Room 167, Boston MA 02133 (617-722-2692)

If you live in Northampton, please send letters or make calls to Speaker of the House Thomas Finneran, State House, Room 356, Boston MA 02133. (617-722-2500).

If you live in Pelham or Shutesbury, you might want to contact Representative Kulik, since he will represent you next year and will want to know what you think. Letters, written or faxed, are better than phone calls. Phone calls are better than emails. Emails are better than nothing.

I know you’re tired. It’s been an exhausting semester, and this is a taxing month. But please write or call. A few short sentences will do. Our legislators, all of whom have been supportive to some degree, need to hear from you so that they can let the Speaker know that this matter is urgent. Members of every other union are doing the same thing.

Why We Should Have This Raise

People have asked why we should get a pay raise when the campus and library are suffering, the economy is hurting, and social and human services are being cut.

Well:

-- Even if we get 5% raises for three years, we would still have less purchasing power than we had 12 years ago.

-- Even with this whole contract funded, we would still be significantly below the average salary at UConn.

-- Full professor salaries currently rank within the third quartile of research universities nationally.

-- Overall average salaries are low even among Northeastern public research universities.

-- There are fewer of us than a decade ago, dealing with the same if not greater workload. A lot of people are burning out. A decent pay increase is more than in order.

What about the campus or those less fortunate? The budget is a horror show. But there is no reason to think that if we don’t get paid, more money will go instead to higher education or human services. It would not. For that matter, as we well know, even if a little extra money found its way to the campus, there’s little reason to think it would go towards academics, and much reason to think it would not. Stay the course.

Ron Story, President

Retirees Get Salary Increases

It turns out that we have been giving out the wrong answer as gospel truth for years, and telling people that if raises are made effective after they have retired, they don't get them. Makes sense, doesn't it, that if you're no longer an employee, you don't get an employee benefit like a raise? Well, it's not true!! If you are retired or deceased, you or your estate receive the raise you would have received for the period in question if you had still been on the payroll.

For example, if you were to receive a 3% raise on July 1, but the contract didn't get funded until February, and you retired in January, you would receive that raise retroactive to the effective date and your pension would be recalculated to include that amount in your base.

If you simply resign, you do not get this sort of raise post-resignation.