Latest
updates will be posted on ACSUM home page. You can view the previous
updates by scrolling down the page. The most recent are listed first.
NOTE: Some remote links may no longer be valid.
ACSUM MEDIATION UPDATE
October 10, 2006
TEMPORARY AGREEMENT REACHED!
A member or members of
the ACSUM Negotiating Team will be available at the following times to
explain
and/or answer questions pertaining to the TA reached with the UMS
negotiating
team. We encourage all members to attend these informational meetings
in your
area to make an informed decision on your vote. Further, some
members may
receive there ballot before this meeting. We encourage those members to
hold
their ballots until they have attended their respective informational
meeting.
If you cannot attend the scheduled meeting time in your area, members
are
invited to attend a meeting at any alternate location if they so choose.
Ballots will be mailed out on October 18th. All completed
ballots
must be received at the MEA office no later than 4:30 pm on Wednesday,
November 1st.
Ballots will be counted on Friday, November 3rd and the results will be
announced on the listserv and website soon after.
If you have not received a ballot and return envelope by October 23rd,
please call Mona Lothian at the MEA so that she can check your address
on file and send you another ballot. Mona's phone number is
1-800-371-7341 ext. 102.
If you are not a dues
paying ACSUM member and want your vote counted, now is the time to join!
The deadline for new applications to be received at the MEA office is
Tuesday, October 17, at 4:00 pm. They can be faxed to the MEA
at
942-0531 or delivered to a campus representative.
ACSUM MEDIATION UPDATE
September 8, 2006
ACSUM
and UMS negotiators met with the mediator at the UMS headquarters
in Bangor. Language changes were discussed, but no signed TAs
(tentative agreements) resulted.
At this meeting, an alternative "mediator's proposal" on wages also
began to emerge. Because of this, the situation has become very fluid.
The proposal is still under construction, so any merit the proposal may
have could not be readily judged. However, the team asked a lot of
questions and agreed to meet with the mediator again on Monday,
September 18.
Meanwhile, ACSUM has filed for fact-finding, and our Prohibited
Practices Complaint remains active.
The ACSUM team remains firm in its commitment to the greater good for
our unit.
We believe every ACSUM-represented employee deserves a decent raise,
continued access to affordable health care and improved working
conditions.
We thank you for your continued support. Let our determination carry us
forward!
Alone, we beg. United, we bargain.
ACSUM Negotiations Team
ACSUM MEDIATION UPDATE
August 21, 2006
On
Monday, August 21, the ACSUM Negotiating Team gathered at UMS
headquarters in Bangor for our first mediation session since May 17.
The session was scheduled at the University’s request.
Your ACSUM team began the meeting by requesting that UMS sign Tentative
Agreements (TAs) on those few issues where the two sides did agree.
These TAs are a standard part of negotiation practice. They remove
items from the table, allowing both sides to focus on issues still
unresolved, but do not actually take effect until the whole contract is
signed and ratified. We had first asked UMS to TA items not in dispute
in September 2005. At that time UMS had refused, saying that
‘disagreements were too great on other issues.’
This time ACSUM—having filed a Prohibited Practices Complaint
claiming that UMS was not bargaining in good faith—was in a
better position to insist.
As a result, the team engaged in the first real
negotiations—in the sense of give, take, compromise, and
agreement—we had experienced in nearly two years.
Unfortunately, this engagement concerned only minor issues.
Good
morning Chancellor MacTaggart, Trustee Weston, and Ms. Bigney,
I'm writing to you this morning to express my extreme disappointment in
regards to the status of contract negotiations with ACSUM. At the
request of UMS, ACSUM agreed to hold another mediation session on
August 21st with the expectation that UMS was going to make an honest
attempt to resolve our contract dispute. As you are well aware, over
one thousand ACSUM employees have been working without a contract for
over a year now.
My optimism that UMS was going to increase its offer to ACSUM was
quickly replaced with frustration. In fact UMS was presenting the same
wage offer that they had discussed with us at a conceptual meeting we
had in July. ACSUM quickly rejected the offer when it was presented to
us in the conceptual meeting and we were surprised and disappointed
that UMS would waste our time once again by presenting the same offer
to us on Aug. 21st.
UNIONS FILE LABOR RELATIONS COMPLAINT
AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY
The
associations bargaining for the clerical employees and faculty
(ACSUM and AFUM respectively) have filed a Prohibited Practice
complaint (PPC) with the Maine Labor Relations Board (MLRB) against the
Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System. ACSUM and AFUM are
affiliates of the Maine Education Association. The MLRB is the agency
that enforces and the law that protects the rights of university
employees to form a union and negotiate contracts.
ACSUM’s and AFUM’s complaint states that for the
past year the Board of Trustees has engaged in illegal bargaining
conduct, which prevented the associations from reaching agreement on a
fair and reasonable contract for more than 2,000 faculty and staff
employees. “With the filing of this PPC we are holding the
Board of Trustees publicly accountable for their illegal and unethical
refusal to bargain fairly,” Ron Mosley, president of AFUM
affirmed.
AFUM and ACSUM
File Complaint against the University
The Faculty and
clerical bargaining units (AFUM and ACSUM) have filed a Prohibited
Practice complaint (PPC) with the Maine Labor Relations Board (MLRB)
against the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System.
The Board of
Trustees is engaging in unethical and illegal conduct in the
negotiating process, preventing us from negotiating a fair contract
(and wasting our financial resources, which means your resources as it
is your dues which pay for negotiations, 20 months and counting).
Our complaint has
two major parts:
1.
Illegal Parity Agreement
The UMS Board has
entered into illegal contracts with some bargaining units that include
parity agreements. In 1976 the Maine Supreme Court found that these
parity pay provisions are contrary to public policy. The MLRB found
that these so called “Me Too” clauses are a
“detriment of efficient collective bargaining” .
What is wrong with
a parity agreement?
The MLRB and
Court have ruled that a parity agreement places an excessive burden on
the unions that have not settled. The union that settles early does not
have to worry about losing anything by settling first, because it has
not really settled its contract. The University creates a charade or
pretense of settlement and uses that so-called settlement to put
pressure against those units still seeking to bargain in good faith and
reach a fair settlement.
Settlement with
any group has significant PR value for the University and may make it
appear that the other units are being unreasonable and muddies the
waters for the public and the legislature. This makes AFUM’s
and ACSUM’s efforts to negotiate a fair contract more
difficult.
These are exactly
the events which transpired during this round of negotiations. After
the Teamsters settled we were told, in negotiations, that we would have
to settle for the same agreement as the Board decided that all would be
treated the same, hence we would all see a 30+% increase in health
insurance and benefit reductions, all units will see the same salary
increase as % of base. In other words the UMS Board refused to bargain
these mandatory bargaining issues with the faculty or clerical units.
The parity
agreement, implicit and explicit, with both represented and
non-represented employees, has dominated our negotiations, preventing
the faculty and clerical unit from negotiating a fair contract for our
constituents, while bearing the full, and growing, costs of
negotiations.
No one blames the
Teamsters for this situation. They, like all of us, are seeking the
best possible deal for the members. The parity clause ultimately hurts
all of us as the University uses it as a weapon against our right to
collectively bargain, holding salary and benefits down for all of us.
2. Surface Bargaining
The Board of
Trustees has engaged in surface bargaining, the appearance of
bargaining in good faith but with no real intent to bargain, related to
health insurance premiums. The facts have demolished the UMS position
that they need to increase our premiums over 30% and shift significant
other costs onto the faculty related to prescription drugs. In spite of
the indisputable evidence the System insists that we accept these cost
shifts. (The duty to bargain in good faith includes the requirement
that parties justify positions taken by reasoned discussions.)
Our hard work and
your patience and hardships while we continue to work without a
contract have been a major benefit to the unrepresented and the
‘Me Too” employees in the System. They have,
through no effort of their own, seen their salaries and benefits
improve as a result of our refusing to accept yet another lousy
contract, our unwillingness to put up with System incompetence and
lies.
With the filing of
this PPC we are holding the Board of Trustees publicly accountable for
their illegal and unethical refusal to bargain fairly.
The filing of
this PPC will not stop or delay the mediation process for ACSUM. We
will still be holding a mediation session with UMS on August 21st. The
filing of the PPC and mediation are separate actions and one does not
impact the other. Ideally the filing of the PPC, and the public
attention we intend to bring to it, will increase the pressure on UMS
to settle our contracts sooner rather than later. Time will tell!
United We
Bargain, Divided We Beg!
Jim Bradley
State President
ACSUM (Associated COLT Staff of the Universities of Maine)
Final Mediation Session Fails June 21, 2006
Greetings one
& all-
ACSUM's negotiations team met Wednesday, June 21, to discuss the next
steps. Given our charge to negotiate a fair contract for over a
thousand unit members, we entered our deliberation solemnly. We realize
and respect the responsibility entrusted to us as your representatives
at the negotiations table and, because of that, we were passionate yet
reflective in our debate.
Three core principles have guided the team's deliberations. One is that
we cannot accept an offer that doesn't give all the people we represent
a cost of living increase, in addition to step movement provided by the
contract. A second has been to defend access to affordable health care.
For many of us, reasonable health insurance costs have gone a long way
to make up for low wages. A third core principle has been contract
changes that improve working conditions or retirement prospects.
On Monday, May 22,
over 200 staff and faculty members of the University of Maine System
protested outside the University System office in Bangor. The
rally/picket was organized by ACSUM, AFUM, UMPSA, and the MEA.
The good news is
that, with a lot of help from ACSUM, UMS finally got the numbers right.
For the first time in over a year, both parties can agree on data that
allows us to cost out proposals. That’s the end of the good
news.
The mediation
session of Wednesday, May 17 might have been the
one that finally marked the breakthrough to settlement of our contract.
The impending departure of Chancellor Westphal and return of former
Chancellor MacTaggart might have signaled a
change in policy. Legislative leadership had just agreed on an extra $4
million for the University System. Some of that money might
have been earmarked for labor costs.
I wanted to remind you that ACSUM, UMPSA, and AFUM have scheduled a
large picket/solidarity rally of the UMS system office in Bangor on
Monday, May 22nd starting at 11:30 am. This picket will target the UMS
Board of Trustees which will be meeting in the system's office that day.
It is critical that we have a large turnout (over 200 people) for this
rally if we want to increase pressure on the Board of Trustees to offer
fair and just contracts. Given the current status of contract
negotiations (UMS is still only offering a package that results in a
net pay cut for most of us), we must increase the public pressure on
the BOT. We will have plenty of media coverage and we know the BOT
hates that!!
Here is the schedule for the day:
11:30 - everyone meet in Pickering Square for a rally
12:00 - 1:00 we march to the system's office and protest until 1:00 pm.
1:00 - 2:00: lunch/wait in BOT room for public meeting to begin
2:00 many of us will be speaking during the BOT meeting. We plan to
fill the room with ACSUM, UMPSA, AFUM folks.
Event concludes when the public comments portion of BOT meeting ends.
Please plan to attend this important event. Isn't it worth using
vacation time if it results in not having to pay 32%-35% more for
insurance - more for parking fees - and getting a minimal raise that
results in a net pay cut?
Like the protest at USM, this picket will be very peaceful and fun so
certainly feel comfortable bringing friends and family.
Below is contact information for your campus. Several campuses, with
the help of the MEA, have arranged bus transportation to the rally.
Others will be carpooling, etc. Please let your chapter contact know if
you plan to attend.
Let's stand together and send a strong message to the BOT that we
deserve fair and just compensation and we won't settle for less than
that!
United we bargain, divided we beg!
Thank you
Jim
Jim Bradley
President, ACSUM
Update of April 19, 2006 Mediation Session
The ACSUM
negotiation team met at the MEA office in Bangor on Wednesday, April
19, with the belief that a ‘dramatically
reconfigured’ set of proposals would be forthcoming from UMS.
Instead the University continued to insist on big increases in the cost
of health insurance. It also “increased”
its previous offer of a 1.5% raise to 1.75% in
the first year, with no raise for the second year.
UMS also distributed estimates of the cost of implementing
ACSUM’s April 5, 2006 counter-offer. Unfortunately,
this document contained errors in basic arithmetic and included
proposals never made—or even contemplated by—ACSUM.
Both the mathematical errors and the unexplained proposals
inflated the estimated cost. The negotiating team was unanimous in
rejecting both the costing out and the mystery proposals.
Discussion after discussion around compensation has been hamstrung as a
result of the University’s questionable numbers. It
didn’t take long for the mediator to clearly understand the
level of frustration our team has reached as a result of the
University’s apparent inability to get the numbers right.
Further, the University has shown little or no willingness to pass on
the savings in the Anthem/BCBS insurance deal to employees. ACSUM
negotiators have made it clear—fairness dictates that the
savings must be passed on so that premiums do not increase.
To date the University has shown absolutely no willingness to
discuss proposed improvements to the contract like rolling sick time
into retirement, tightening up the internal hire process, addressing
the issue of out of title work, career advancement, release time for
wellness activities, or early retirement opportunities.
ACSUM, AFUM, and PaTFA (adjunct faculty) are in mediation. The
University has taken UMPSA to fact-finding. Bottom
line: the University is unwilling to pay its employees fairly
for the hard work we perform. Instead, it is willing to
invest in a golden safety net for chancellors whose contracts may not
have been renewed, or campus presidents who have been fired by one of
those same chancellors. UMS doesn’t have a fiscal
crisis—what it has is a distribution crisis, with top
administrators getting richer on the backs of its employees.
It’s time to invest in the people who actually do the work.
The next mediation session, originally scheduled for May 3, has been
cancelled, to give UMS a chance to sharpen its math skills.
If you are not a dues-paying ACSUM member, now is the time to join and
pay your way. You are part of the problem if you aren’t a
dues paying member—the University is counting that as a vote
in support of their compensation practices, whether it is beneficial to
you and your co-workers or not. You are letting the
University decide your wages, benefits and working
conditions. You have no say if you do not join
ACSUM. Add your voice!
If you are a dues-paying ACSUM member, please contact any one of us on
the negotiations team with your questions, suggestions, and concerns.
Show your support for your negotiations team. Get involved
with your chapter boards. Be part of the next planned
action.
United we bargain. Divided we beg. In solidarity for the
greater good,
ACSUM Negotiations Team
UMPI unions, students picket meeting
from Staff Reports of the University Times
UMPI Student Newspaper [republished
with permission from the UTimes Advisor]
Shouts of
“Hey Joe, where’s the dough?” rang
through the air as about 35 to 40 faculty, staff and students picketed
during the University of Maine System Board of Trustees meeting held on
Monday, March 20 in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s
Campus Center.
Protesters marched
in a ring outside the Campus Center after being booted from the
building, waving signs that read “UMS Administration
Doesn’t Care” and System Office = Cadillac of
Administration.”
Faculty members
held the protest over labor issues with the University of Maine System
and receiving strong support from students during the afternoon event,
which was meant to disrupt the Board of Trustees’ lunch.
“It’s
over fair pay and health care compensation which we feel the system if
failing to offer us,” said Ray Rice, President of the
Associated Faculties of the Universities of Maine System (AFUM)***.
System officials
have stated that the system does not have the ability at this time to
give more in terms of pay and health care.
Students who
participated in the protest brought up the ADA compliance issue that
has been raised here at UMPI.
Jenni-Lyn LaChance
wore a sign on the back of her wheel-chair that read, “Equal
Access for ALL Students!”
Faculty and staff
came from as far as Fort Kent, Machias, and Orono to demonstrate. Nine
to ten people spoke for three minutes each at the open forum during the
Board of Trustees meeting.
Karen Barrett,
Associate Professor of Rehabilitation, drove four and a half hours from
Farmington to speak for her three minutes.
Her message to the
Board of Trustees was to consider that a more positive image of the
university system would attract more students.
Rice’s
three minute time allotted speech to the board stated, “The
brain drain of students may not be as damaging as some thought. But the
brain drain from faculty and staff is just beginning and can only
worsen unless fair and open equitable wages are brought
about.”
Rice went on to
say that without quality instructors, neither classroom nor online
rosters would fill.
Though the
demonstration was a peaceful one, there were times when it was tense.
UMPI security officials removed LaChance’s sign from the back
of her wheel-chair before they would allow her to enter the Campus
Center.
Scott Brickman,
Associate Professor of Music and Education at Fort Kent, was one of
many people who took part in the protest, which began inside the Campus
Center. He was physically grabbed and shoved by a man – who
Brickman said refused to identify himself, but was later identified as
Greg Daniels, UMPI’s coordinator of safety and security
– in an attempt to make Brickman leave the Campus Center.
Officials told
Brickman he couldn’t be in the building with a posterboard,
citing the university’s security policy. They threatened him
with arrest. Still amazed at what happened he said,
“I’m a music teacher. Most of the time I play
sing-alongs with kindergarten classes.”
Brickman said he
and others asked repeatedly to see the mentioned security policy.
Eventually, the policy, as well as an attorney, were provided to union
representatives.
This policy, dated
May 15, 2000, states, “…protests/demonstrations
are prohibited within fifty (50) feet of any public
entrance…”
When asked about
the protest, Charlie Bonin, Vice President of Administration/Finance at
UMPI said, “It was a clarification of policy and then once
everyone understood, it was fine.”
Rice agreed.
“The [UMPI] President was very cordial and understanding
throughout the ordeal,” he said.
The presidents of
the three unions, Universities of Maine Professional Staff Association
(UMPSA), Associated COLT Staff of the Universities of Maine (ACSUM),
and AFUM decided the three groups need to have more communication.
Members of the other two unions have said they support the
faculty’s stance on labor negotiations.
Rice said,
“The three unions need to work closely because the system has
played them against each other in the past.”
***Note:
Ray Rice is President of UMPI-AFUM.
Negotiations
Update April 5, 2006
On April 5, ACSUM
and UMS met with the mediator at the MEA office in Bangor. ACSUM
presented a counter to the offer UMS presented at our last mediation
session. The UMS offer, as discussed in detail in our last negotiation
update, was completely unacceptable and resulted in many ACSUM
employees receiving a net pay cut. The counter that ACSUM presented
today, dealing with wages and healthcare, is fair and results in actual
raises for all ACSUM employees. ACSUM is standing firm in our position
that there be no changes in our healthcare plan or premiums. UMS will
review our offer and respond to it at our next mediation session which
is scheduled for April 19th.
In what may be a
positive sign that some movement in negotiations is possible, the
mediator has scheduled additional sessions for May 3, May 17, and May
31. We must continue to put public pressure on the UMS. The picket on
the University of Southern Maine campus March 10 sent a clear message
that UMS employees are unhappy and that we are united in our demands
for a fair and just contract. The picket that followed at UMPI
reinforced that message. Stay tuned as ACSUM, along with our sisters
and brothers in UMPSA and AFUM, announce future calls-to-action. If UMS
didn't like our picket at USM, and the press coverage it generated,
they are really going to hate what we are planning next :-)
United we bargain,
divided we beg!
Hey
Joe, Show us the Doe!
What
1st Amendment?
ACSUM, AFUM, UMPSA Hold Picket at UMPI!
Yesterday's picket
was a success, but it still has the undertones of an embarrassment at a
few UMPI Administrators because of how a couple of altercations were
handled. Our event was not as smooth as at USM on the 10th.
On the positive
side, we had an exceptional turn-out of about thirty- five to forty
(35-40) people for this tiny campus. MEA, ACSUM, AFUM, UMPSA, and
students attended. Also, we had campus representatives from UMFK, UMM,
USM, UMF and, I believe, UMA, too. I did not have a chance to meet some
of the folks.
The day was crisp
and our voices surely did carry up to the Campus Center meeting rooms.
Occasionally, someone would peek out from behind the blinds at us, so I
know we were heard.
Ron Mosley, AFUM
President, and I were interviewed by our local television station,
WAGM, before our picket started and pictures were then taken outside
while we picketed. The 6:00 PM Edition on March 20th and the AM News on
March 21st gave the perspectives of the Chancellor and the union and
the broadcast was quite fair to us.
The Public Comment
Period began at 2:00 PM with nine speakers giving their speeches to the
Chancellor, Trustees, UMS employees, and a large audience. I presented
our Personal Economies II Paper giving a brief speech with UMPSA
President/ MEA Representative, Nancy Fletcher, standing at my side in
solidarity. The Chancellor began leafing through the paper, scanning
data, immediately. Hopefully, it will make an impact for ACSUM.
Yes, yes..Now on
to the gritty negative story of how the First Amendment can still be
denied. As we were entering the Campus Center to warm up and to prepare
for the Public Comment Period, a UMFK professor was confronted by our
Security Officer and the CFO and told that we were not allowed to enter
the building. The policy regarding this access law was demanded by the
UMFK professor several times which led to the Security Officer putting
his hand on the professor's chest and demanding he leave or the cops
would be called. Much yelling continued involving many of the "suits"
that were in attendance in a private closed-door meeting. When all was
said and done, Ron Mosley, AFUM President, announced that "we could not
go into the building with our large signs, but if an 8.5 x 11 inch
piece of paper was written on as a sign then we probably would not get
arrested". Also, the access policy was provided to us. Another incident
involved one of our students in her wheelchair having her poster
regarding "fair access for all students" ripped off of her wheelchair
by our Security Officer as she entered the ladies room. She was so
appalled! It put a negative spin on the whole mood from then on until
the more formal meeting at 2:00 PM.
I was proud of
the people who showed up in solidarity to help our plight. We did make
a statement by actually being visible whether it was picketing outside
or attending the meeting. As our Student President, Zach Smith, said
during his speech, "I want you to know that these UMPI people are so
conservative! They don't get angry, but you should take note of how
unusual it is for them to picket. There is a problem here".
Let's keep up the
good fight! United we bargain, divided we beg...
ACSUM, along
with faculty, professionals and students, held a large picket at the
Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine on March 10th. Over
125 people attended the picket, held signs, and sent a loud and clear
message to Chancellor Westphal that UMS’ current contract
offers are unfair and unacceptable!
The day began
with a rally on the steps of Payson Smith Hall. ACSUM president Jim
Bradley began the rally by clearly outlining ACSUM’s
positions regarding wages and healthcare. Following Bradley, others who
spoke were UMPSA president Kerry Sullivan, AFUM president Ron Mosley,
and MEA president Rob Walker. After about fifteen minutes, the crowd
marched to the Abromson Center to picket while waiting for the
Chancellor and Vice Chancellor to arrive. When Westphal arrived, he
chose to enter the Abromson Center from the rear parking garage, rather
than the main entrance where he would have been met by the picketers.
Although he didn’t have to walk through us, he clearly saw
the crowd.
The crowd then
moved inside the building, filling the Abromson Center lobby with
chants of “Shame,” “We Want a Fair
Contract Now,” etc. Shortly thereafter the Chancellor, Vice
Chancellor and USM president walked through the lobby to enter the
auditorium and were greeted with a large chorus of
“boos.”
The Chancellor
intended to speak about the status of the Strategic Plan and future
goals of the University. After a few minutes it became clear that those
in the audience, mostly our protesters, wanted to hear about wages and
healthcare. Forced to stray from his prepared comments, the Chancellor
struggled to answer questions and ended the discussion at its scheduled
time, even though many folks were still standing in line to ask
questions. Without question, the picket at USM was an overwhelming
success and something that all three units, ACSUM, AFUM, UMPSA, should
take great pride in having been able to organize. All the University of
Maine campuses were represented and we received a considerable amount
of press coverage.
Thanks go to
all of you who helped organize and/or attended this solidarity picket.
The work doesn’t stop here though. To keep up the public
pressure that this picket generated, all employees are asked to display
the “Another
University Employee Without A Contract” [pdf] sign in their vehicles.
ACSUM also has “ACSUM – For the greater
good” pins available and your local chapters will be
distributing them to you shortly. Please wear them while on the job!
To read or view
media coverage of the picket, visit the following links:
Please
be patient, these movies take time to download
To view additional
photos of picket: visit
The Gallery
Negotiations Update
October 3, 2005
After nearly a
year of bargaining with the University for a proposed two-year
contract, the UMS team dropped the bombshell that it would have to
negotiate a one-year contract, due to increased fuel costs. It offered
a 1.5% across the board raise, step movements every other year, and the
increases to healthcare costs already noted in an earlier report.
ACSUM’s
team stated in no uncertain terms that the people we represent are
painfully aware of increased fuel costs at every turn. The team also
advised the UMS team that preliminary results from the latest personal
economies survey supports the necessity for ACSUM’s
compensation and health insurance proposals. Further, the team asked
UMS representatives if they believed themselves to be acting in good
faith.
Regardless of
blunt discussion, ACSUM expressed a willingness to continue
discussions. However, the University left the table to file for
mediation, claiming the distance between its and ACSUM’s
proposals was too great to bridge. The Maine Bureau of Labor will be
assigning a mediator within the next few weeks.
As reported
earlier, ACSUM is very much concerned that with the UMS move to
centralization, some of our jobs will change dramatically.
Consequently, job security is very much an issue. The University claims
it is unable to confirm the number of positions that may be eliminated.
However, the strategic plan indicates as many as 200 positions could be
lost. While another 150 “new” positions could be
created, the danger exists that ACSUM-represented members may not be
considered qualified by UMS to perform the work entailed in any of
these “new” positions.
When questioned
by ACSUM, the University agreed to continue bargaining around impact
issues that may arise as a result of the implementation of the
strategic plan. ACSUM and the University are in the process of
scheduling a time to continue the discussion of such issues.
If you are not a
dues-paying ACSUM member, now is the time to join us, pay your way, and
add your voice. If you are a dues-paying ACSUM member, please contact
any one of us on the negotiations team with your questions,
suggestions, and concerns. United we bargain.
Divided we beg.
In unity for the
greater good of all,
ACSUM
Negotiations Team
September 13, 2005
Greetings, ACSUM members—
Much has happened
in our country since ACSUM last posted a report on negotiations. We are
certain that all eyes have been on the Gulf Coast and the terrible
tragedy playing out across the land. We encourage you to do what you
can for the dispossessed, whether volunteering at a soup kitchen in
your home town or donating to a charity assisting those affected by
Hurricane Katrina.
ACSUM and University representatives last met on August 31 on the UM
campus, where the UMS hosted the session. On this date, both sides
presented written proposals for wages. The University proposed a 1.2%
raise, with step movement as currently defined. ACSUM presented its
written proposal, which includes a 5% increase to base, step movement
every year, and placement at max for those employees who
haven’t reached max after 20 years of employment.
ACSUM advised the
University that the results from its latest Personal Economies survey
support the necessity of a 5% increase to base. ACSUM further stated
that in these times of scarce resources, those who make the most should
be part of the solution—and pointed to the fact that the cost
of a 1% raise for the 1,000+ COLT workers equals a 1% raise for the
highest paid administrators in the UMS.
Two more sessions
were scheduled, the first for September 28th and the second for October
12th. ACSUM will host the next session, which is being held at the MEA
office in Augusta.
If you are not a dues-paying ACSUM member, now is the time to join us,
pay your way, and add your voice. If you are a dues-paying ACSUM
member, please contact any one of us on the negotiations team with your
questions, suggestions, and concerns. United we bargain. Divided we beg.
In unity for the greater good of all,
ACSUM Negotiations Team
Negotiations Update August 10,
2005
ACSUM and
the University met on August 3 at the USM campus. In the spirit of
getting everything out on the table, ACSUM negotiators initiated this
session by presenting a number of proposals. The proposed language
changes to the current contract reflect member concerns as expressed in
an earlier survey, and include improvements to bereavement, layoff and
recall rights, internal hires—just to name a few.
Because the
University has expressed general satisfaction with the contract as it
stands, ACSUM emphasized that a number of proposals continue to come
forward precisely because they are important to members.
The University
caucused, and returned with a few questions to “better
understand the proposals.” The UMS team also dismissed out of
hand ACSUM’s proposal to allow retiring unit members to roll
sick time into TIAA-CREF because it would "cost millions and the
University has no interest in spending that kind of money.”
Its team said it would cost out the proposed differential pay and get
back to ACSUM.
The University
indicated in mid-April it would respond to ACSUM’s proposal
to help remedy some of the suffering unit members have felt as a result
of high temperatures and have not yet responded.
The UMS proposals
once again discussed wage compensation and changes in health care it
deemed necessary, but did not present written proposals. Another
meeting has been scheduled for August 31.
A
list of language change proposals by ACSUM can be found by clicking here.
Note that words that have a strike-through are current words we want to
eliminate and words that are just bold (no strike-through) are new
language we are proposing. At the end of the page you will also find a
summary of the UMS proposals to date.
In unity for the
greater good of all,
ACSUM Negotiations
Team
Negotiations Update July 22, 2005
ACSUM negotiators met with UMS representatives
on Tuesday, July 19 at the System Office. The UMS team hosted this
session.
At the July 15
session, the University’s team had indicated it would have
written proposals regarding compensation and healthcare benefits ready
to present at this session. However, no written proposals were
forthcoming. Instead, another “what if” session
occurred—once again with a different set of
possibilities—as University negotiators advanced several
general explanations (some of them contradictory) of what they had in
mind for a wage package and tentative numbers on health care increases.
None of these would advance our unit’s economic well-being.
ACSUM negotiators
spent much of the session questioning the data on employee wages and
seniority provided by the University. More importantly, ACSUM generated
a serious discussion about whether or not the data being provided is
reliable, because University representatives have come to the table
over time with different salary base projections. Reliable data is a
prerequisite for bargaining over wage issues, otherwise costing out
proposals becomes nothing but a crap shoot.
Most University
proposals have been minor and for the purpose of clarification or
“housekeeping.” That held true at this session when
UMS presented proposal changes for language in Article 4 (Information
to Unit Members) and revisited Article 7 (Evaluation) with a clarifying
change. Major exceptions have been proposed changes in the evaluation
process and a proposal to increase parking fees at the largest
campuses, increasing the fee to $50 a year at UM and a whopping $180 at
USM.
ACSUM negotiators
presented three proposals for changes in the contract. The proposal to
address inequities in internal hiring procedure (Article 23) is a
substantive change and would broaden our rights and opportunities as
internal candidates. We also proposed changes in Article 26 (Tuition
Waiver) to include employees who are matriculated but not attending
full-time. Finally, we presented a proposal for a career advancement
system for employees who have reached “max.”
“Time is
money—money is time” is the University’s
mantra. Perhaps they were trying to be cost-effective by multi-tasking,
because in tandem with our meeting the University was also talking with
the Teamsters. But we all know that multi-tasking in the end leads to
mistakes and increased costs. In this case, it also signals the
University’s contempt for the bargaining process.
Another meeting is
scheduled on August 3rd at USM. ACSUM will host this session.
If you are not a
dues-paying ACSUM member, now is the time to join us, pay your way, and
add your voice. If you are a dues-paying ACSUM member, please contact
any one of us on the negotiations team with your questions,
suggestions, and concerns. United we bargain. Divided we beg.
In unity for the
greater good of all,
ACSUM Negotiations
Team
Negotiations Update July 17, 2005
The ACSUM
negotiations team met with UMS representatives on Friday, July 15. The
meeting was hosted by ACSUM and held at the UM campus. Dr. Allen
Berger, Chair of the UMS THESIS Committee, was there to present an
overview of the THESIS Project and to field questions from ACSUM's
negotiators.
Just a week before
this session, ACSUM finally received a copy of the THESIS Interim
Report, which had been requested in mid-June. Although the team had
limited time to review the report, its members came to the meeting with
a thorough understanding of the document. ACSUM will be involved in
bargaining over impact issues created by any changes the THESIS Project
causes in our unit, and had seen this session as an opportunity to get
our minds around the project.
Dr. Berger
indicated that campus Presidents are committed to “one
stop” information desks for registration, loan processing and
other financial functions, but seemed to indicate that admissions
offices would be separate and distinct from the so called
“one stops.”
Dr. Berger
contradicted earlier information, provided by UMS during the May 11 th
negotiations session, that the central location for “back
office work” would be in Bangor or Augusta . According to Dr.
Berger, no location has yet been chosen for the centralized office. He
also stated that the THESIS Committee has concluded that further
planning is needed for the implementation of the campus one stop
centers. Apparently, that planning process is scheduled to last through
the 2005-2006 academic year. Berger also stated that UMS did not know
how many COLT positions would be lost. (Click here to view proposed staffing levels
in interim report.)
During the course
of the discussion, however, it became apparent that ACSUM negotiators
were working from a different document than the one being referred to
by UMS administrators. When it was determined that ACSUM had only been
provided with one of the two documents that make up the THESIS Interim
Report, the team made it clear that the purpose of the discussion had
been badly undercut.
However, Dr.
Berger left with a clear understanding that ACSUM has serious concerns
about the project. J ob security is very much an issue.
Beyond our concerns about the impact that the project will have on
current COLT employees and the bargaining unit, ACSUM negotiators made
it clear we are also concerned about the impact this project will have
on the delivery of education and services to students.
In the afternoon,
the discussion moved from issues with implications for impact
bargaining to a discussion about compensation and healthcare. As you
recall, during the June 14 session, University representatives
presented a second version of the System's wage and healthcare
proposals, which did not substantively differ from their previous
proposal. ACSUM requested bargaining unit data in order to cost out
wage and healthcare so that we could prepare counter proposals. Because
the data request made by ACSUM did not arrive in a timely fashion, we
could not prepare our counter-proposals. (Please read STONEWALLING
or Dealing with Negotiations University Style .)
However, the
University floated yet another trial balloon regarding a compensation
and healthcare package. ACSUM negotiators indicated that we wanted to
see a written proposal.
The bargaining
process is building in intensity. If you are not a dues-paying ACSUM
member, now is the time to join us, pay your way, and add your voice.
If you are a dues-paying ACSUM member, please contact any one of us on
the negotiations team with your questions, suggestions, and concerns.
United we bargain. Divided we beg.
In unity for the
greater good of all,
ACSUM Negotiations
Team
Negotiations Update June 10, 2005
Today, June 10, your ACSUM negotiations team met at the UMA campus,
prepared to continue negotiations at 11 am with University management.
We had invited dues-paying members to sit in and observe the session.
Membership involvement is crucial to successful negotiations.
University
management, however, refused to even enter the room and negotiate until
the invited members were removed, claiming that negotiation sessions
are “private.”
ACSUM members
chose to stand together. As a result, University management chose not
to negotiate.
Our next meeting
is scheduled for Monday, June 13, hosted at the Systems Office in
Bangor.
Your ACSUM
negotiators are committed to keeping our membership involved and the
lines of communication open. Talk to team members; talk to each other!
Negotiations
Update May 24, 2005
Your negotiations team met with UMS management in Bangor on Wednesday,
May 11, 2005. UMS did not make any firm compensation proposals, but did
discuss plans for a future reevaluation of the job classification
system. ACSUM provided its own insight into this process, and made
recommendations for how to best proceed. In addition, ACSUM also
proposed a revised salary schedule (step system).
The most important
result from this meeting was information about the work of the THESIS
Committee (strategic direction 5 of the UMS Strategic Plan), charged
with assessing centralization or regionalization of administrative
services. We understand that individual THESIS committee members have
been under a gag order during their discussions, so the nature of input
is not available—only the finished product.
Indeed, in our May
11 negotiations session, University management finally indicated
that—if plans for centralization proceed—such an
office would be located in either Bangor or Augusta. In this central
location, “back office work” (a term coined by UMS)
would be done. This work is currently done by employees in Admissions,
Registration and Student Records, Financial Aid, Loan Processing and
Receivable Management, and the Bursar’s Office.
If these
administrative functions are centralized, some of our jobs will change
dramatically. Thus, job security is very much an issue. While the
numbers have not been confirmed, ACSUM understands that as many as 300
positions could be eliminated as a result of this move to
centralization, though we do not know how many of those positions are
ACSUM-represented. While another 150 “new”
positions could be created, the danger exists that ACSUM members may
not be considered “qualified” to perform such work.
ACSUM will be
involved in bargaining over impact issues created by any changes the
THESIS Project causes in our unit. We have included a document of
pertinent pages from the first THESIS report that describes the
centralization possibilities. When you review the document, notice that
proposed centralized functions appear on the bottom half of each
page—these are functions (jobs) that will be reallocated away
from campuses to the central location.
Another important
note is that UMS is now backing off its claim that centralization will
save money.
The bargaining
process is about to become more intense on many fronts. If you are a
dues-paying ACSUM member, please contact any one of us on the
negotiations team with your questions, suggestions, and concerns. If
you are not a dues-paying ACSUM member, now is the time to join us, pay
your way, and add your voice and strength For the Greater Good of All!
Further
negotiation sessions are scheduled for May 26, June 2, June 10, and
June 13.
To view the
pertinent pages of THESIS, Click Here.
United we bargain.
Divided we beg,
Your Negotiations
Team
Negotiations Update for May 4, 2005
ACSUM and
University Administration met on Friday, April 29 and will meet again
on May 11. Both sides have presented their list of issues to be
addressed in our current round of negotiations. To view the issues,
click below. The first 6 pages are ACSUM's identified issues. The last
2 pages are issues identified by UMS Administration.
ACSUM met with
University representatives twice last week. The University was
represented by Frank Gerry (UMS Director of Labor Relations), David
Lane (UMA/USM), Mary Hawkins (USM), and Michelle Wood (UM).
The meeting at the
MEA office in Augusta on Thursday, April 14, marked the first
negotiation session since we negotiated ground rules on March 31.
The day consisted
of a coordinated exchange of articles under consideration by ACSUM and
the University, in accordance with the ground rules. The exchange was
cordial and informative. ACSUM was prepared with written documents of
our proposals, including substantiating statements. The University
opted for a verbal presentation; at the conclusion of the session ACSUM
was provided with a partial list of the articles UMS has under
consideration. ACSUM requested a written summary of the
University’s proposals and position statements by the next
day at 9:00 am.
ACSUM met with the
University the next morning at the System Office in Bangor. The
University provided us with the summary, as requested. The negotiations
session began at 10:00 am. There was little agreement, and
philosophical differences between ACSUM and the University began to
emerge. The University abandoned cordiality, making it clear that it is
not prepared to discuss any matters relating to compensation, in any
form. Their mantra became, “Time is money, money is
time.” The University hinted that our health care is too
expensive, given that Anthem increases costs at 15% per year.
ACSUM also learned
that, when its request for allocation of state funds is made, the
University does not have a specific line item in its budget dedicated
to employee compensation. For an institution that claims to recognize
its employees as its most valuable asset, one might think that
compensating them fairly would be front and center when securing funds.
The University receives $187,000,000 from the State per annum for the
next biennium.
Because the
University did not provide any financial framework, ACSUM felt limited
in what could be usefully discussed at this session. The University did
not elaborate on any of its proposals at the second meeting. Each of
ACSUM’s non-financial proposals was presented in more detail;
but as of this report, no tentative agreements have been reached.
We will meet with
the University again on April 29, with ACSUM hosting the session in
Augusta.
In unity,
Negotiations Update - March 6, 2005
Greetings ACSUM
members,
Negotiations were
scheduled to begin Thursday, March 31. Unfortunately our session was
canceled by the university early in that week due to illness. We have
rescheduled our initial negotiations session for April 14 in Augusta at
the MEA, then we have a session scheduled for April 15 in Bangor as
well.
This year ACSUM
and the University have agreed to alternately host the negotiation
sessions at mutually agreeable meeting
places. This is a cost and time saving measure for many of your team
members, all of whom travel some distance to participate in
negotiations.
As a rule,
negotiations updates will be posted on the ACSUM website www.acsum.org
following every session, and the posting will be announced on the ACSUM
listserv; the listserv provides information to members only.
Your negotiations
team has worked very hard in crafting this year's proposal. Using the
information that was provided on the bargaining surveys which were
conducted on each campus earlier this year, we feel we have a proposal
which honors the needs and principles of each of the 7 campuses as well
as our constituencies at UCB, SWS and Cooperative Extension. Please
believe that your information as you presented it on the surveys is the
foundation upon which we have crafted this year's proposal, and have
established a standard by which your team will negotiate for all of our
members.
Stay tuned for
updates and for opportunities to support your team as we begin this
process.
United we bargain,
divided we beg.
Your 2005
Negotiations Team
Negotiations Update - Feb. 24, 2005
Your ACSUM
Negotiations Team has been meeting over the past several months in
preparation for our current round of contract negotiations. These
preparations have included three Saturday meetings; attendance at the
fall MEA leadership and collective bargaining training; a review of
issues of importance to members as indicated through campus
pre-negotiation surveys; and a great deal of individual work, looking
at specific contract language options.
The opening
session of full negotiations between ACSUM and University management
was held on the Orono campus on February 18. In an effort to initiate a
productive and equitable negotiations process, ACSUM proposed ground
rules that were initially met with stiff resistance by University
management. After 3 ½ hours of steadfast resolve on
ACSUM’s part, agreement was reached on reasonable ground
rules by which both parties can negotiate with respect and fairness.
Several
negotiations sessions have been scheduled for the upcoming months, and
ACSUM will report out in as timely a manner as possible after the
following meetings with University management: March 31, April 15, and
April 29. Your negotiations team will meet several more times in
preparation for these sessions. This collective bargaining process will
result in a contract proposal that ACSUM members will have the
opportunity to review and, if it meets with their approval, ratify.
Thank you for your
support!
Sincerely,
Your ACSUM
Negotiations Team
Your 2005 Negotiations Team is:
Janine
Bonk, Farmington, Chief Negotiator jbonk@maine.edu John Bracciodieta,
Maine Education Association jbracciodieta@nea.org Kathleen Brown,
Orono kathleen_brown@umit.maine.edu Lisa Feldman,
University College, Bangor lisa.feldman@maine.edu Dina Kiernan,
Farmington dkiernan@maine.edu Rosanna Libby,
Orono rosanna.libby@umit.maine.edu Jim Bradley, USM
jbradley@usm.maine.edu Tim Pinkham, UMA
tpinkham@maine.edu
NEA Higher Education
