3 January 2002
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The Contract
Our contract remains still unfunded for the moment.
Speaker of the House Finneran, having first said through his supporters that the funding bill, even if not enacted now, would carry over into the new legislative session, reversed himself and said that a new bill must be introduced, which might have sent us back to the bargaining table. He now seems to have reversed himself again, so that the bill will in fact carry over. We should therefore expect funding, including a retroactive, sometime in the foreseeable future.
But we must still press this matter. Fortunately, we have many union allies, and many administrative allies, to help us. Once again, let me reiterate that there is money available to fund these contracts, which amount to only a little over $20 million dollars altogether. So there is no question of needing to locate revenue sources, as some legislators have informed us.
Early Retirement
The head of every employee union in the higher education system, as well as every union leader of other state government, testified in favor of the early retirement bill that the Legislature just passed.
I attended the committee hearing. I did not testify in favor because some faculty had qualms about the consequences of this program for their programs. But I also did not oppose it. I thought it would be inappropriate and unfeeling to argue against the interests of non-faculty employees on this campus, many of whom stood to lose their jobs (some still might). I also thought, and still think, that faculty themselves were in jeopardy of being terminated, if not this year then next year, and that the early retirement measure might help to stave that off.
The measure passed overwhelmingly. Unfortunately, Speaker Finneran added one very unfair provision at the last minute, excluding trust-funded employees from participating in the program. We tried to get this new provision, which affects hundreds of workers on this campus, deleted, but we (and all the other unions who tried) failed.
Nonetheless, this is a great program and will help to prevent the layoffs of many individuals who otherwise might have lost jobs in a deteriorated economy. The Governor has signed the bill into law, and individuals interested in pursuing this opportunity have until February 15th to apply. Forms for doing so are available on the
Commonwealth’s web site (www.state.ma.us/treasury/srb.htm) by clicking on "Download the 2002 Early Retirement Eligibility Requirements and Forms." If you prefer, we can send you the forms via campus mail – just call us at 5-2206.
Retirements for higher education personnel would take place on June 15th of the current year. Payment for unused vacation time (calendar year employees only) and longevity pay would be spaced out over 3 years rather than being paid on the actual retirement date, as is the case with the normal retirement process. The bill requires the State Retirement Board to give you counseling if you are interested in this program. It is also possible to do calculations on line, and our own Human Resources people in Whitmore are always helpful on issues surrounding retirement.
