DEMOCRACY, ELECTIONS, and an MCCC PRIMER

The MCCC represents four (4) distinct constituent groups: full-time faculty, full-time professional staff, part-time faculty/professional staff and adjunct faculty.

A democratic union requires engaged and informed members who are willing to run for offices (local or state) and to VOTE. A democratic union requires fairly conducted elections that are equally open to all eligible voters (dues paying members).

Statewide election nominations for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, At Large Part-time/Adjunct Director (2 seats), MTA Annual Meeting delegate, and NEA RA delegate opened on November 1, 2017, and close on February 1, 2018, at 4 p.m. Learn more about the various elections and submit your nomination(s) at https://mccc-union.org/nominations/

Get your nomination in TODAY; start campaigning NOW.

Candidates for the four (4) statewide officers and the (2) at large part-time/adjunct directors need to collect signatures (using the official “signature form” found on the MCCC website), submit those signatures to the MCCC Office for “verification,” and then request the database of contact information for all eligible voters represented by the elected office. For questions regarding elections, email elections@mccc-union.org

Candidates for President, VP, Secretary, and Treasurer need to collect 50 signatures from members (day and DCE, full-time and part-time) at any or all of our 15 community colleges.
Candidates running for the two (2) At-Large Part-time/Adjunct Director seats need to collect 10 signatures from part-time/adjunct members at any community college(s).

The campaign window from close of nominations to close of elections is very small.

• February 1, 2018, by 4 p.m. – nominations close; signatures due to MCCC Office
• February 1 by 4 p.m. – “certified candidate” deadline for submission of picture and 250-word statement to communications@mccc-union.org for the February newsletter.
• February 28 – newsletter mailed
• March 2 – notice of electronic voting procedures are mailed to member home address.
• March 2– electronic voting opens
• March 22 – voting closes at 4 p.m.
• March 23 – election results are certified by the Nominations & Elections Committee
• March 23 – MCCC President announces the results
• March 24 – Results are posted on the MCCC webpage.

Duties and compensation for each elected position, including delegates, are posted on the MCCC webpage.

Briefly, current salaries* for elected officer/Director positions are:

• President –
  • FT member – $34,301 plus 4 releases per semester per year.
  • PT member (adjunct or PS) – $61,685 (yearly equivalent)
• Vice President –
  • FT member – $18,866 plus 2 releases PLUS 2 releases for serving as SAC
    (strategic action committee) Chair for a total of 4 releases per semester per year. Note:  As of right now the position of SAC Chair gets two courses of reassigned time.  This is under review by the Finance Committee and may change.
  • PT member (adjunct or PS) – $46,250 (yearly equivalent)
• Secretary –
  • FT member – $13,720 plus 2 releases per semester per year.
  • PT member (adjunct or PS) – $27,412 (yearly equivalent)
• Treasurer –
  • FT member – $25,726 plus 3 releases per semester per year.
  • PT member (adjunct or PS) – $46,249 (yearly equivalent)
• At-Large Part-time/Adjunct Director –
  • $500 per semester or $1,000 per year (one-year term)

*NOTE: Full-time members (faculty or professional staff) receive release time from their regular workload and continue to receive full salary and benefits while doing Union work. It is expected that full-time elected officers will NOT pick up extra courses under the DCE contract. Reassigned/Release time equivalent for adjunct part-time officers is based on a 3-credit DCE course at Step 2. Officers are elected for a two-year term. Elected officers/Directors are seated on June 1, 2018. 

Chapters must hold elections in March or April and may be elected for one- or two-year terms. Each chapter has a different “stipend” amount that it pays to each of its elected officers and/or other chapter appointees. Mandatory offices requiring election are:

• Director to the MCCC Board of Directors
• President
• Vice President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Delegate to the MCCC Delegate Assembly (elected each year)
• Professional Staff representative to statewide Professional Staff Committee (may be appointed or elected by PS FT/PT members).
• Adjunct representative to the statewide Adjuncts Committee (may be appointed or elected by adjunct faculty members).

Each chapter should have a Nominations and Elections Committee that follows MCCC election guidelines. On-site elections MUST offer absentee ballots.

• Notice of nominations and elections must be distributed at least two weeks prior to the deadline for nominations.
• The notice should specify (1) open offices, (2) nomination procedures and deadlines,
  (3) election procedures and timeframe, (4) the time, date, and place of the election if it is to be an on-site election (absentee ballots required) or the time and date by which online ballots must be received.
• Candidate names for each elective office must be posted for at least five (5) working days before the start of the election.
• Election violations/challenges may be appealed first to the chapter Nominations and Elections Committee and then to the statewide Nominations and Elections Committee at elections@mccc-union.org within five (5) working days from the day the vote count is announced.

While MCCC currently does not have statewide term limits, it is healthy for organizations to have periodic changes in leadership. Doing so reminds everyone that the Union belongs to the members and encourages ongoing leadership development. Bylaw proposals are due by February 1 to bylaws@mccc-union.org
Please consider running for an office. Get to know the candidates running for office and
VOTE.

Union Solidarity. What Is at Stake?

There will be a number of external challenges facing unions in the months ahead. If we are to survive and preserve our strength to collectively bargain agreements that improve the working conditions for our members and the learning conditions for our students, we must come together in solidarity of purpose.

On October 2, 2017, the United States Supreme Court began a new term. As one of its first acts, the Court has agreed to hear Janus v. AFSCME, which will determine whether the First Amendment operates as a constitutional “right to work” law in the public sector. The issue was before the Court two years ago in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which ended with a 4-to-4 tie vote following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. All eyes are now on Trump’s appointee, Neil Gorsuch, to cast the deciding vote in Janus.

The Janus case represents a decades long campaign by the National Right to Work Committee and other anti-labor groups to prevent state and local governments from entering into “fair-share fee” arrangements (called “agency fees” within MCCC). Allowing the sharing of fees represents decades of cooperative labor history in collective bargaining.

A statement released by leaders of our nation’s four largest public-sector unions – the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – called the Janus case “a blatantly political and well-funded plot to use the highest court in the land to further rig the economic rules against everyday working people.”

If Janus passes, the rights of workers Union to organize and share the costs associated with collective bargaining will be severely limited.

Across the Commonwealth, unionized faculty and staff at our community colleges, state universities, and UMass campuses have been attempting for months to negotiate successor contracts with the state. The financial offers are less than cost of living increases and amount to pay cuts. The lack of funding by the state in supporting public higher education contributes to course cancellations; increased use of adjunct faculty and part-time employees who lack wage parity, job security and benefi ts; and more hikes in tuition and fees for students. Meanwhile, the state’s per-student investment in public education has declined 31% since 2001.

SEIU 509, representing Tufts University part-time faculty, won a tentative contract agreement with its administration on October 10, 2017—one day before a massive faculty walkout. After seven months of negotiations, the proposed five-year contract achieved fairer pay, better job security, more paid professional development opportunities, and other benefits for its part-time faculty. Highlights included:

• Significant pay increases: Over half of the part-time faculty will see a raise of 22.5% over the life of the contract. Others will receive a minimum 12.5% pay increase during this contract
• Job Security and Professional Courtesy: There will be stronger provisions governing the review and appointment process. Faculty will receive earlier notification if their contract will not be renewed, giving them adequate time to find other employment.
• Professional Development: Tufts will expand the eligibility criteria to improve access to fund for paid professional development opportunities for faculty.

The achievement of this SEIU contract demonstrates the power of solidarity of action that involves all stakeholders including students and the community served and demonstrates that “When we fight, we win.”

The MCCC DCE/adjunct unit bargains with the 15 Massachusetts community college presidents because the unit must, by law, be totally self-supporting. But, we go far beyond being self-supporting. The MCCC DCE/adjunct unit of over 4,500 underpaid, non-benefited adjuncts who teach 70-85% of all community college credit courses is actually a “revenue generator” for the community college system—the “cash cow,” if you will. Yet, less and less of that generated revenue goes to supporting teaching and learning.

The time is ABSOLUTELY NOW to stop the exploitation of adjunct faculty and to provide #EqualPay4EqualWork for instruction to all faculty within the Massachusetts community college system, whether full-time or part-time.

The MCCC adjunct (DCE) unit has been bargaining with the employer (community college presidents) for over 440 days and (while negotiating two years of a three year contract that expired on May 31, 2016) has been offered 0% and 1%, which would give adjunct faculty an insulting $10.66 – $12.88 per credit raise over two years.

The lowest-paid adjunct faculty (Step 1) currently receives $3,198 for teaching a 3-credit course. The highest-paid adjunct faculty (Step 4) currently receives $3,864 for teaching a 3-credit course. The revenue generated (tuition and fees) by that same 3-credit course (based on $619 for 3-credit in-state tuition/fees times a maximum enrollment of 32 students per course) amounts to $19,808. The revenue surplus after taking out direct costs for faculty instruction is $15,944 to $16,610 per 3-credit course. Even with just 15 students per course, the Colleges generate $9,285 per 3-credit course with a revenue surplus of $5,421 to $6,087 per each 3-credit course.

The revenue exists to provide for pay parity for adjunct faculty.

The MCCC Board of Directors is being asked to support DCE (adjunct) contract negotiations through the use of strategic actions, including Work-to-Rule that was successfully used in reaching an agreement on MCCC Day unit contract negotiations in 2015

It is time for the Board to zealously represent the DCE/adjunct Unit and authorize aggressive actions to reach a contract settlement that respects the work of adjunct faculty.

Renewing Our Commitments

Our union needs to recapture the energy, the spirit, and the commitment that enabled the labor movement to play a key role in shaping our country; in giving dignity and respect to workers through advancing working conditions, wages, and benefits; and bringing a better quality of life to families.

Our work is education. Most of us entered community college teaching and academic support because we are passionate about the mission of improving lives through education…one student at a time. Quality public education is something people had to fight to win, and our unions (MCCC/MTA/NEA) have been and continue to be central to that fight to provide the learning and working conditions needed for student success and to provide the schools our communities deserve

Members=Power. As a union of members, we need to renew our commitment to democracy, to civility, and to working together for the common good. This past year, we have been caught in a cycle of recrimination among a small inner circle within the Board focused on attacks. Most members want an end to the squabbling and want the leadership at all levels president, vice-president, secretary, Board of Directors, chapter presidents to focus on union solidarity and on advancing our work as education professionals.

After 38 years of full time teaching, I ran for statewide MCCC President because I wanted members’ voices to be heard, because I wanted us to advance equality for adjuncts, and because I value openness and transparency. And, despite the political distractions within leadership, we have succeeded in accomplishing many of these goals this past year:

• New, previously unengaged members have become involved and are now serving on statewide committees and many were first-time attendees at the MCCC, MTA, and NEA Delegate Assemblies.
• Our DCE bargaining team is strong in its commitment to achieve a contract that respects the work and contributions of our adjunct faculty. Our bargaining process is more transparent; members, for the first time ever, have been invited to observe negotiations!
• A DCE bargaining support team was created to work with Chapter Presidents to provide ongoing member support for contract negotiations.
• The Day contract was finally signed and printed well past ratification, and the Day contract Salary Grid was brought to a successful ratification vote despite almost impossible timeline constraints.
• Resources were expended to develop and strengthen chapters weak in member involvement, to provide stipends to members to attend conferences and workshops, and to support leadership training forums for local chapter presidents and for members seeking greater involvement in their union.
• A new and improved MCCC website was launched, providing ease of use and the ability to be viewed on multiple devices from computers to smartphones.
• We entered into social media with the creation and launching of an MCCC Facebook Page.
• A Fall Conference open to all unit members at no cost is scheduled for October 26. Workshops of interest to members are being planned.
• The Bylaws and Rules Committee brought forward 13 new bylaw proposals to the Delegate Assembly in April despite the proposals not being acted upon.
• The Nominations and Elections Committee took over the statewide elections process and heard an appeal on a Spring 2017 chapter election that failed to provide absentee ballots; the Committee’s decision was that a new chapter election be held in Fall 2017.
• A Blue Ribbon Ad Hoc Committee was formed to review our MCCC policies on reassigned time/stipends given to Board members and others (currently valued at $3,423 each) to ensure that member dues are being used responsibly and that there are accountability measures in place; a report is due to be presented to the Board in August or September.

Renewed commitments are needed not just for the MCCC but for all public sector unions as we are about to face an unprecedented attack on our very existence. It is almost certain that the Trump Supreme Court (in the Janus case) will issue a decision that will abolish agency fee provisions for all public sector unions nationwide in an attempt to destroy unions by requiring unions to provide many of the benefits of the contract but without requiring non-members (agency fee payers) to pay anything for the services they receive.

If we are to survive the attacks, we need to renew our commitment to the core value of unionism: to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to our nation. Our power as a union is in our MEMBERS collectively standing together in solidarity to advance respect for our profession and to advocate for our students; it does not reside in top-down leadership.

We need to come together, talk with each other, and democratically decide what matters to us. As individuals, power resides with management. As a union of engaged members, we hold shared power and have to be taken seriously. We have seen this past year, through the work of MTA, that “when we fight, we win.”

MTA is launching an “All In: Building Union Power” campaign: “Public education is under assault. The threat of privatization is real. Public educators must speak out. We must use the power of our collective voices to promote and protect the ideals that are vital to helping students learn and succeed.”

The campaign requires grassroots member organizing through member-to- ing. For example, we worked with the MTA to develop House Bill 639, called the “Faculty Restoration and Equity Fund,” which is now before the Joint Committee on Higher Education. H639 calls for pay parity, access to health care and a state pension, a state contribution to the Smart Plan, and priority hiring for adjuncts.

In recent bargaining sessions, some of the issues on the table have been:

Sick Leave: we have improved the conditions for using sick leave, but language has not been finalized. Lab instructors do not get equal treatment for their lab-hour, sick-time computation. The good news is that management has dropped its insistence that only deceased members can cash out their unused sick leave. Now you can get it upon retirement – while you’re still breathing.

Job Postings: The union had been asking for preference in full-time job openings, but management was adamantly opposed. The union continues to demand more timely assigning of courses for adjuncts to give them adequate time for preparation.

DCE MACER improvement: A number of college presidents do not participate in Management Association Committee for Employee Relations (MACER) meetings. The union has asked for stronger language covering MACER with a train- member conversations. For MCCC, with our vast s y s t e m o f 15 community colleges spread across the state and with our diversity of students and over 7,000 members, the challenge is to develop member communication networks on each of our college campuses with a cadre of trained members willing to pledge to talk with twenty other members.

I will be visiting chapters this year and working with chapter presidents in developing this network. If we can do this, we will be a far stronger union – for enforcing our contracts, for winning better contract terms, and for putting our issues on the political map. I am willing to travel across the state to meet with members to discuss shared values and how we can build power to bring about better contracts (currently negotiating DCE but Day negotiations will soon begin), to achieve equity through legislation (HB.639), and to get financial resources for our colleges through the Fair Share Amendment. Members interested in greater union engagement may also contact me directly at president@mccc-union.org or by calling 508.947.5822. I want to meet you; your voice matters!

#Respect4MCCC.

In Solidarity

Diana Yohe, MCCC President

Without Due Process…

At the MCCC delegate assembly this past weekend, delegates – based on false, unsubstantiated allegations and without any prior notice or due process – voted ‘no confidence’ in me and vice president Jeff Seideman. While this may come as a shock to the rank and file member, it was, unfortunately, not surprising to me. Given how little opportunity members have had to hear from me and how distorted the reports of my words and actions have been, it’s no great surprise that the Delegate Assembly passed a vote (80/59) of ‘no confidence’ in me and asked me to resign. I won’t resign, and I’m convinced that if the members knew what was happening, I would have strong support.

My personal philosophy is to always try to take the high road. When others go low, I try to rise above. My efforts to go high, however, have led to a vote of no confidence in me because of lies, misinformation, intimidation, and outright bullying. I don’t want to go low, but I do think it is time to speak the truth.

And here is the basic truth: The minute I was elected – in fact well before I was elected – a majority faction of the Board of Directors was totally opposed to me and to what I stood for and determined to block everything I attempted to do. This majority faction of the board believes in relying only on board members and chapter presidents, keeping decisions in their own hands, frequently acting in secrecy in executive session, and restricting communications to the members. I believe in relying on the members, incorporating new people, opening up the process, promoting maximum transparency, and sharing information widely. I also believe in term limits.

In 2015, a year before I was elected president, I was peacefully serving as president of the Bristol chapter and as the Bristol representative to the MCCC Board of Directors. I had no thought – zero – of running for president of MCCC. In the spring of 2015 an election was conducted for the two at large part-time/adjunct representatives to the board; the board didn’t like the election results and threw out the election. They immediately proceeded to a new election, without any due process. I was not a candidate in that election, but I was concerned about – in fact offended by – the board’s action to undermine an election; and I and the Bristol Chapter Executive Committee (consisting of faculty and professional staff–both full-time and part-time/adjunct) filed a formal appeal.

Long story short, our parent union, the MTA, appointed someone to mediate the disagreement and if necessary to serve as an arbitrator to settle the issue. The person appointed quickly decided that mediation would never work, that the board had no intention of compromising, and moved directly to arbitration. I and others who joined the Bristol Chapter appeal made a compelling case that the board was wrong in throwing out the results of the at-large part-time/adjunct election. The independent outside arbitrator hired by the MTA concluded that the board had “acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner” and that its “determination was neither correct nor was it based on an adequate consideration of relevant facts and circumstances.” The first election results were reinstated.

With this recent ‘no confidence’ vote and the demand to resign, the board wants once again to proceed in secrecy, and to prevent an independent mediator – never mind an arbitrator–from reviewing the charges against me. Indeed, if the board’s interest was in transparent democratic processes, the MCCC bylaws provide a carefully specified procedure for removing a president from office. The “problem” is that procedure calls for openness, transparency, and a vote of the membership. I’d be glad to have people invoke that procedure, and I’m confident I would win a recall vote. The board wants to ignore the constitution/ bylaws, make up its own rules, hold a secret hearing, and remove me from office.

Central to this whole situation have been two factors. First, I’ve tried to stay above the attacks; and no matter how outrageous the behavior of board members, I’ve tried to avoid broadcasting that–assuming that washing dirty linen in public does not build member confidence in the union. Some of this linen is pretty amazing: In February one chapter president notified the provost and campus security that if I came on campus he wanted me “escorted off campus if possible.” In an email to me, this chapter president added “It is not a veiled threat, and it is meant to intimidate you.” It’s also meant to keep me from talking to members. (That message, by the way, went to all board members. Only an adjunct board member objected to the bullying behavior. Am I to conclude by the silence of the majority, that board members see such behavior as appropriate?)

Second, the MCCC has operated by the bizarre custom that the president of the MCCC does not have easy ways to communicate directly with members. All messages are supposed to be sent by me to chapter presidents, who are supposed to send them out to members; but some chapter presidents act as “gatekeepers”– deciding which messages members should see–and are delaying or refusing to distribute the messages I send. Instead, the chapter presidents send out messages attacking me.

I’ve tried to open the union up, to involve new members, to be as transparent as possible. I’m going to continue to try to do so. The change will be this: one way or another, I will find a way to communicate with members. I’ll do my best to talk about the positive things that are happening in our union – and there are many – but if I have to do so, I will also talk about what I see as inappropriate behavior by chapter presidents or the board.

Ultimately the decision will be up to the members. I hope that more members will get involved, that the processes of our union will be opened up to scrutiny by the members, and that new people can get beyond the battles of the past. We face so many challenges, have such wonderful members, and together can accomplish so much. Let’s tackle the union’s real issues, and if we have internal disputes, let’s settle them according to the procedures in the bylaws.

#Respect4MCCC.

In Solidarity

Diana Yohe, MCCC President

MCCC DELEGATE ASSEMBLY

The MCCC Delegate Assembly is the most democratic body in the MCCC, and it’s also the most powerful. It’s easy to be elected, and it makes a difference

The statewide elected officers, Board of Directors, and Chapter Presidents matter in carrying out the day-to-day work of the Union, but the decisions of the Delegate Assembly are the highest authority. As our Bylaws say “All legislative responsibilities of the Council shall be vested in the Delegate Assembly, and its policies and programs shall be implemented by the constitutional officers and governing bodies of the Council.”

The Delegate Assembly is held once each year. For 2017, it will be held on Saturday, April 29, at Doubletree by Hilton, 5400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581. In addition to conducting important work, it provides an opportunity for you to meet and get to know colleagues from other chapters.

The Delegate Assembly determines what dues members pay, and (related to that) also determines the annual budget for MCCC, what’s in, what’s out. Most members care about dues rates.

The Delegate Assembly is also the only body that can amend the MCCC’s Bylaws (which are in effect our constitution). Doing so requires a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting. This year the body will consider a number of proposed changes to the Bylaws. Bylaw proposals may be submitted by any union member. Bylaw proposals submitted by February 1, 2017, will be posted on the MCCC website and will be given to elected delegates from each of our 15 chapters at least two weeks before the Delegate Assembly so that the bylaw proposals may be thoughtfully reviewed and considered prior to voting at the Delegate Assembly.

MCCC Elections policies and procedures require that there be a chapter-wide call for nominations over a reasonable period of time so that all members have an equal opportunity to put their name forward to serve as delegates. In most chapters if you want to be a delegate, all you need to do is send an email to your chapter president saying “I’d like to run for delegate assembly.” In theory delegates are elected, and on rare occasions there is an actual election; but most of the time chapters don’t fill their full allotment, so anyone who puts their name in is elected. If you are at all interested, please send an email to your Chapter President; do it today!

If all the allowed delegate slots were filled, there would be more than 250 people at our MCCC Delegate Assembly. A quorum of 80 members is needed to hold the Delegate Assembly. Chapters have been notified of their allowed delegate count and are urged to meet a minimum number of delegates to ensure a quorum. Each chapter is required to provide the names of its elected delegates and alternates by April 14, two weeks prior to the April 29 Delegate Assembly

Becoming a delegate to MCCC’s Delegate Assembly is a relatively small step, but it’s an important one, and can make a difference. You are the union. To make it work for you requires your input and engagement. I urge to send an email to your Chapter President asking to be a delegate.

If you encounter any problems in running for delegate, please send an email to office@mccc-union.org for follow-up.

For a comprehensive overview of this year’s Delegate Assembly, please visit the MCCC webpage at www. mccc-union.org and look in the middle of the page for:

MCCC DELEGATE ASSEMBLY Saturday, April 29. Become a delegate for your chapter. Click here for full details.

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday, April 29.

#Respect4MCCC.

In Solidarity

Diana Yohe, MCCC President

Why MTA Matters

For many MCCC members, “the union” means the local MCCC chapter (15 community colleges) and maybe even the statewide MCCC Board of Directors (21 voting members). The MCCC has over 7,000 members that include full-time, part-time, and adjunct faculty and professional staff.

But “the union” is also the state organization, the 116,000 member Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) and the 50-state National Education Association (NEA). “The union” is us, the members. The members have a voice once each year at the MCCC Delegate Assembly, at the MTA Annual Meeting, and at the NEA Representative Assembly to shape our unions’ direction. We are the ones who decide what “the union” will and won’t do if we step up to exercise our rights.

Specifically, a ballot and online voting instructions (user name and user ID) will be going out by March 1 to all MCCC members and the election will close on March 24….a very short window. Be alert! The ballot will include five (5) candidates for two at-large Director seats on the MCCC Board of Directors, candidate delegates to the MTA Annual meeting on May 19-20 in Boston, and candidate delegates to the NEA RA in Boston on June 30-July 5.

When the ballot goes out to elect MCCC delegates to Annual Meeting, those 61 members who submitted nominations by 4 p.m. February 9 will be automatically elected, but there will be another potential 38 seats that will go to the candidates who get the most write-in votes since MCCC is entitled to approximately 99 delegates to the MTA Annual Meeting. I encourage you to run and write your name in on the ballot to be a delegate.

MTA’s Annual Meeting is a wonderful event, the most democratic part of the MTA, and the one involving the most members. Last year about 1,500 delegates attended the MTA Annual Meeting, including almost 100 from MCCC. It’s the largest gathering of educators in the state and provides the opportunity to shape our union’s (and our state’s) policies.

If you are elected as an MCCC delegate to MTA’s Annual Meeting, your (double occupancy) hotel room will be paid for if you live more than 25 miles from Boston; and wherever you live, you will receive a $50 per day stipend

Annual Meeting considers all sorts of issues and is an amazingly democratic process. Any member may speak to the issues presented (for three minutes) and even propose new business items (NBIs). It’s too early to know what issues will come up this year, but it’s likely there will be NBIs about a range of issues, from supporting immigrant, Muslim, GLBT and other targeted groups of students, to opposing efforts to privatize education, to protecting funding for domestic spending, to divest from fossil fuels, etc.

Members will also adopt a budget for the MTA, which determines the dues level for the coming year. That often leads to sharp debates with motions made to add expenditures for one or another cause or to cut one or another expenditure in order to avoid a dues increase.

On Saturday, May 20, from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. elections for open MTA Board and MTA Executive Committee seats will take place. The MTA Board of Directors (like the MCCC Board of Directors) govern the union between annual meetings of delegates, so these positions are extremely important.

There is also a Higher Education Caucus group that meets on Saturday from about 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. to discuss issues of importance to higher education members.

In the next month, not only will we be voting on which of us will represent MCCC at the state level, we will also be voting who will represent us at the national level. The National Education Association (NEA) has an almost weeklong meeting (called the Representative Assembly, or NEA-RA) where 8,000 members from around the country assemble for almost a week. The process and the issues are similar to the MTA’s Annual Meeting, except on a larger scale. This year’s NEA RA is June 30 – July 5 and will be held in Boston! The same ballot you use to elect MCCC delegates to MTA’s Annual Meeting will enable you to vote on delegates to represent you at the NEA-RA. MCCC’s delegate entitlement to NEA RA is about 33 members. At the close of nominations on February 9, 31 MCCC members had submitted their names as candidate delegates. The top 20 vote getters will receive a stipend from MCCC of $400 in addition to the stipend of $400 given by MTA to offset expenses for travel, hotel, meals, etc.

The state and national levels of our union may seem remote; but if you become a delegate to these meetings, you will meet fellow-educators from around the state and the nation, will see that the issues in your chapter are similar to the issues educators face elsewhere, and will be able to shape our response to compelling state and national events. I urge you to run, to become a delegate, to represent your fellow members, and to make connections with other educators. It’s energizing and uplifting

#Respect4MCCC.

In Solidarity

Diana Yohe, MCCC President

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It has been almost seven months since I began my two-year term as your elected statewide MCCC President. During these seven months, I have learned a great deal about our statewide union that I didn’t know or appreciate as a member.

YOU are the union. If the Union is to work for YOU, you must know how the union works so you can be a knowledgeable voter and participant.

Directors are the most important positions in our Union. The management of the MCCC union is the responsibility of the Board of Directors, which consists of 21 voting members and four (4) non- voting members as follows :

Chapter Directors (15); one from each local chapter elected by all members.

Part-Time/Adjunct at-large Directors (2); elected statewide by all part-time professional staff and adjunct faculty. Statewide MCCC President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer (4).

Non-voting members include MCCC MTA Board of Director Members (3) and an NEA Director who is an MCCC member but whose duty is to represent the entire body of MTA members and not just the MCCC.

The Board decides by majority vote, with each voting member casting one vote.

How The Board Works: The Board meets the third Friday of most months; there are no meetings in July, December, or May. Elected Directors may receive scheduling accommodations in order to attend these meetings.

Two primary powers and duties of the Board per the MCCC Bylaws are:

Recommend policies or changes to policies to the Delegate Assembly (which generally meets each year on the third Saturday in April ). During the time between each yearly MCCC Delegate Assembly, the Board creates new policies and makes changes to existing policies. These policies should be reviewed by the members before being voted on by the Board, but sometimes the Board votes to override that notification requirement.

Adopt procedures and rules for conducting the business of the Council (the MCCC union). These are created internally within the Board and may or may not be communicated to the members.

Bylaws are available on the MCCC website (www.mccc-union.org) for members to view; policies are currently not available to members.

Chapters. There are 15 College Chapters with locally elected leaders who are the first line of contact with members at that college. Chapter elections typically follow the same timeline as the statewide officer elections; i.e. every two years. Each Chapter should hold an open and fully accessible election in March or April for the chapter positions of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Many chapters elect a statewide Professional Staff representative by a vote of only the professional staff members and elect a statewide Adjunct (DCE) representative by a vote of only the adjunct (non-full- time) faculty members.

How Chapters Work: According to the Day Collective Bargaining Agreement, “The Employer shall provide each Chapter President with a workload reduction of one (1) course section per semester without cost to the Association.”

The MCCC pays $500 for each Chapter Strategic Action Committee (SAC) representative and $500 for each Chapter Webmaster or Newsletter editor.

The MCCC offers a yearly Chapter Reassigned Time/Stipend “to broaden leadership and to develop new union talent.”

Chapters should hold monthly chapter meetings to which all members are invited.

Two primary powers and duties of Chapters are:

Assist the Council (statewide MCCC) in the administration of the collective bargaining agreements on their campuses.

Secure the advice and recommendations of their members when such is sought by the Council, the Board of Directors, or committees of the Council.

Members belong to the MCCC; chapters cannot charge dues. Chapter President should forward all messages sent by the MCCC President and should invite the MCCC President to attend chapter meetings or events.

If you want a democratic union, you must engage at whatever level you are able. Consider serving on a local or statewide committee. Consider running for a local chapter or statewide position. Attend a chapter meeting. Meet the local chapter officers and ask questions. Attend the MCCC Delegate Assembly in April as a chapter delegate. Take advantage of professional development opportunities offered by the MCCC, the MTA, and the NEA.

The strength of our statewide union rests on the strength of each individual chapter. Chapter strength rests on broad member engagement in leadership positions, attending meetings, and voting.

I ran for MCCC President to work with you to build your individual power and to build our collective power so we can improve our working conditions and improve the learning conditions of our students. If you are interested in receiving leadership training or would like to learn more about union opportunities, please contact me at president@mccc-union.org or by phone at 508-947-5822.

#Respect4MCCC.

In Solidarity

Diana Yohe, MCCC President

SURVEY SAYS… Equal Pay for Equal Work

Anyone who has ever been treated unfairly by an employer has learned that if we stand alone, we are weak. But if we stand together in solidarity, “our union makes us strong.”

We saw the power of union solidarity with the November election win on ballot Question 2. A loss would have jump-started the privatization of public education by allowing a big expansion in the number of charter schools in the state. The odds against winning were overwhelming. In March the polls showed a big lead for the pro-charter side with over $24 million invested by mostly out-of-state billionaires. Our union, the MTA, couldn’t even begin to match the pro-charter money, but we had thousands of volunteers knocking on doors and making phone calls. As a result, by No- vember, the results had flipped, and our side, the pro-public schools side, won by 24 percent (62-38%), a smashing ballot victory that no one thought possible.

Union solidarity and member involvement in bargaining our DCE/Adjunct contract will be required if we are to achieve equal pay for equal work and other improvements in benefits and working conditions for our DCE/adjunct members.

One of the first steps in achieving solidarity is to share information so we can deal with misconceptions. The survey conducted by the DCE/Adjunct bargain – SURVEY SAYS… Equal Pay for Equal Work ing team will help us understand what adjuncts think about the issues.

Do adjuncts want equal pay? You bet they do. The survey showed that 92% of those members who teach only in the DCE/adjunct unit ranked per course pay equal to that of full-time faculty as important or very important.

Do adjuncts want full-time positions and job security? You bet they do. People sometimes say “many adjuncts don’t want full-time jobs.” The survey showed that 87% of adjuncts – almost seven out of eight adjuncts – think that when a full- time position becomes available, qualified adjuncts should get the first shot at it. After all, they’ve been doing the job.

In order to ensure priority hiring for adjuncts, almost 85% think that jobs should be posted internally before they are posted externally and that the pool of currently employed adjuncts should be exhausted before new adjuncts are hired.

There is also widespread support for other measures to provide job security: 76% think it’s important to get earlier notification of course offerings, and 72% think it’s important to have annual or multi-year contracts instead of single semester contracts.

Having a pension plan comparable to full-time members (prorated) was ranked by 82% as important or very important, and 71% ranked health insurance com-parable to full-time members (pro-rated) as important.

Other issues also garnered widespread support: 70% think office space is im- portant, 72% want to eliminate pro-rated pay based on class size, 73% want free tuition at state colleges and universities for employees and family members. It should come as no surprise to anyone that our employers will resist these demands by saying they are too expensive or too impractical. But our employers should be clear, our legislators should be clear, and our own members should be clear: these are issues with widespread support among adjuncts.

It should also come as no surprise that we will have another challenging fight on our hands. But if we maintain solidarity, we can make big gains. We will need solidarity among all our MCCC members: full-time and part-time/adjuncts. We will need solidarity and support from our MTA colleagues. We will need support from students through groups such as PHENOM…the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts. We will need support from our communities.

Our students deserve equality in instruction and support that can only be provided by a secure and stable work force.

#Respect4MCCC.

In Solidarity

Diana Yohe, MCCC President

Equality for Adjuncts Benefits Full-time Faculty

Our adjunct members and our part- time professional staff are paid substantially less than our full time members, they have less job security, limited or no benefits, and are often treated as second class citizens who are not, for example, equal participants in college governance, eligible for certain awards, or given recognition for their service or achievements. With DCE (adjunct) contract negotiations currently underway, we have the opportunity to move toward equality for adjuncts. With future Day contract bargaining, we can move towards equality for part-time professional staff.

It’s easy to make the argument for equality as a matter of social justice: We should have equal pay for equal work. Women shouldn’t be paid less than men, African Americans and Latinos shouldn’t be paid less than Whites, and part-time faculty shouldn’t be paid less than full- time faculty for doing the same work. (Sometimes there is an argument about how much of the job is teaching versus non-instructional work, but that is a matter of implementation, not of principle.) Adjuncts deserve a substantial pay raise, and it’s easy to see how they benefit from that.

But in this column, I want to make a not-so-obvious argument: It is in the self- interest of full-time faculty to fight for equality for adjuncts . Take a hypothetical case, with round numbers to be easy to understand. Suppose an administrator knows that next year she or he will need to cover 20 courses in, let’s say, the English department. One way to do so would be Equality for Adjuncts Benefits Full-time Faculty to hire two full-time faculty at $60,000 a year each, with benefits that cost an additional $20,000 a year for each of them. That is, it costs $160,000 to cover 20 courses, an average of $8,000 per course. Alternatively, the administrator could hire 20 adjunct instructors at $3,000 per course, for a total cost of $60,000.

Faced with that choice, and facing a budget squeeze, most administrators hire adjuncts, regardless of their personal preferences. When a full-time faculty member retires, the only “cost-efficient” strategy is to replace the full-time retiree with more adjuncts. Adjuncts are not required to advise students, hold office hours, attend meetings, or serve on committees. Administrators load the extra non-instructional work onto existing full-time faculty. It’s a hassle to hire that many adjuncts; but in a financial crunch, it’s easier to lay them off. Administrators may even start looking for ways to push out existing full-time faculty in order that they can be replaced by more cost-effective adjuncts.

On the other hand, if adjuncts were paid $8,000 per course and had increased job security, the administrator would have a lot less incentive to push for more adjuncts. Hiring and keeping track of many people is a hassle; having a full-time person who does the necessary non-instructional work required outside the classroom is an asset. Administrators would still have the choice to hire full-time or adjunct faculty, but the choice would no longer involve a big cost savings.

Winning equality for adjuncts won’t be easy. In the coming months, I and the DCE bargaining team will be listening to you and talking with you about ways we can change the game: arguments we can use, ways we can spread the word, pressure we can bring to bear. A DCE bargaining support team is currently working with Chapter Presidents to organize and engage our members in strategic action throughout the negotiation process.

This sort of change can’t be won by a handful of people engaged in smart bar-gaining. Unions gain our power through our solidarity. We need to help all members understand this issue and why it is vital to all of us, adjunct and full-time; and we will need to undertake creative actions to make equality a reality. What that means and how we can do so will be the focus of many future communications from me, from the bargaining team, from the DCE bargaining support team working with the support of Chapter presidents, and I hope from member to member.

#Respect4MCCC.

In Solidarity

Diana Yohe, MCCC President