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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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