In attendance: J. Martin, S. Dorn, M. Klisch, R. Weatherford, B. Welker, S. RamÃrez Wohlmuth, M. Kaplan, F. Burgos, A. Shapiro, B. Frank
Adoption of the Agenda: The agenda was adopted ‘with flexibility.’
State Budget Status:
On Monday, UFF chapter presidents will meet to discuss the ramifications of the state’s budget status. S. Dorn will take with him to this meeting 2 ideas to float before the group. One is that the BOG mandate a $2 surcharge on all athletic tickets to benefit library subscriptions and the second is for 2% of fundraising overhead go to student scholarships. This could be called “our own 2+2 program.†It appears that the community colleges have taken a bigger financial hit than the state universities have. It was mentioned that there has not been any response to the ‘Sky is not falling’ document.
Class–size Increases:
There was discussion on the effects that increases in class size have on teaching – including student evaluations. The chapter could request impact bargaining.
Consultations:
Three consultations are scheduled (one is left from summer): Wednesday, August 29th, 3 to 5 pm; Thursday, September 13th, 1 to 3 pm; and Friday, October 19th, 1 to 3 pm. S. Dorn listed 11 consultation topics (in no particular order) on the chapter meeting’s agenda: instructor promotion track, annual review procedures update, new-hire welcome, GEMS, H1B/Permanent residency, mediation, domestic-abuse leave, ORP=>FRS law, annual appointment letters, distance learning courses and intellectual property (under current contract), and COPH and its faculty under 1.0 FTE.
Reports:
Bargaining:
The two sides will meet this afternoon. The UFF team has made clear that it is not presenting anything else new at this time. B. Welker discussed expectations, etc. for the session.
Grievances:
M. Klisch discussed 2 new grievances (on assignment) and the other holdover grievances.
Treasurer:
S. Wohlmuth announced that the chapter has money in the credit union account. She just received the list of dues deductions for the summer, and from that should be able to deduce the amount of the next rebate check.
Political Action:
R. Weatherford reported on the differences between the two annual conferences of the NEA and the AFT, both of which he attended.
He also talked of the Central Labor Council and how it mostly functions via email and meets once a month. He is seriously looking for someone to attend these meetings. If you are interested, or know of anyone who might be a good candidate, please contact Roy Weatherford.
Membership:
Two new memberships in the last month. The new faculty breakfast is scheduled for August 17th — at the end of the week. Next year the chapter will request Tuesday morning.
Other Business:
There was general discussion about when to have the chapter meetings in the fall. Since Thanksgiving is on the 22nd and the next day is a payday Friday, a motion was made, seconded and passed to continue meeting on alternate Fridays from paydays. The first meeting of the fall semester will be on Friday, August 24, the Friday before classes begin.
Good of the Order:
R. Weatherford talked about plans for after he retires in January. He is thinking of doing arbitration work. He will undertake training and will shadow an arbitrator as well. It’s tough for a ‘union goon’ to be trusted by any administrator, so if anyone knows any higher education administrators from around the country, please let him know.
Respectfully submitted by Jana Martin.
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