Fund the Contract - Talk to Your Legislators!

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Help America's working families improve their standard of living. Workers in unions earn 30 percent higher wages and are 59 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance. Fix a broken system that gives corporations far too much power.

CCCCA Elections
Ballots will be counted on May 24, 2010.

Running for President

Running for Director

  • Claudine Barnes
  • John French

Running for Day Grievance Officer

  • Daniel McCullough

Running for Executive Committee Member-at-Large

  • Frances-Dee Burlin

Write-in Candidates are allowed. Please mail your ballots so that they are received by May 21, 2010. Ballots must be mailed in the envelope provided.

Contract Funding Talking Points

Let's work together.


IMPORTANCE OF HONORING THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS

  1. Massachusetts citizens and their elected officials have long respected and supported collective bargaining as a valuable institution that contributes to the health and prosperity of our democratic society.
  2. At the heart of collective bargaining is the core concept that when the parties enter into an agreement, both sides honor it. Our contracts were entered into and bargained by both parties in good faith, with the expectation that the contracts would be funded.
  3. Our contracts were settled, ratified and executed by the parties only after more than a year of extensive and protracted negotiations and then were submitted by the Governor to the Legislature.
  4. All of this was completed during a time of recession, so that the contracts, as negotiated, reflected the state’s fiscal insecurity. Significant concessions were made by union members due to the state’s financial situation.
  5. The contracts to be funded are bare-bones: after agreeing to a one-year wage freeze, there is only a 1 – 1 ½% increase in the first year of a new contract. In addition, health insurance deductibles and co-pays have increased, resulting in an effective pay cut for most members.

INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN THESE DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES

  1. Economists and the federal government have recognized that education and training of the workforce, particularly that offered by our public higher education institutions, will be one of the ways that the nation and our state will grow out of the present economic downturn. The federal ARRA money that has helped to fund public education came with the stipulation that the state would not reduce funding to education, in order to ensure that our schools and colleges continue to educate students for current and future economic prosperity.
  2. Investment in public higher education has a huge, positive financial return to the state. Money invested in campuses brings an immediate, direct economic gain to the state, while money invested in public higher education also creates a highly educated workforce in the long term. Since four out of five public higher education graduates remain in Massachusetts, this builds the economy over the life of the worker. Educated workers build more businesses, inspire more innovation and develop more jobs.
  3. Investing in our higher education workforce is investing in higher education: the quality of education is at stake and, without the ability to recruit and retain excellent faculty and staff, colleges and universities cannot deliver the excellence that is expected and required. And yet, studies done by the University of Massachusetts and the Board of Higher Education clearly show that our salaries lag well behind our peer institutions.
  4. Enrollment in all our public higher education institutions has sky rocketed, while the number of faculty and staff positions have been reduced or remained stagnant. As a result of this reality, the workload of our members has increased.

FOR THESE REASONS, WE ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT TO FUND THE HIGHER EDUCATION CONTRACTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

The MCCC Board of Directors voted unanimously not to reopen the contract at this time. Stay tuned for developing news.

The Strategic Action Coordinator position is still vacant. Contact Claudine Barnes if you are interested in serving.

Reversing Course: The Troubled State of Academic Staffing and a Path Forward

  1. The decline in FT tenured and tenure track faculty coincides with the growth of part-time/contingent/adjunct faculty positions.
  2. 70% of faculty nationwide are contingent faculty. They receive disproportionately low pay (an average of $2758 per course) and minimal benefits (ex. no health insurance, pensions, etc.)
  3. They teach the majority of college courses (in some disciplines 100% of courses). On average, they teach 60% of courses at community colleges.
  4. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) proposes a model for change, an incremental financial plan to promote �a more stable and equitable staffing structure.� There are two fundamental goals: increase the ratio of FT tenure/tenure track faculty and pay equity for adjunct faculty.
  5. They average 2.09 course per semester at community colleges and many teach at multiple institutions,
  6. Their numbers are discipline specific.
  7. They tend to be women and faculty members under 35 and over 64 (more than 50% of those in these categories are adjuncts. Note that all FT and PT faculty are more likely to be white)

FACE (Faculty and College Excellence Campaign) - (The MCCC would like to move toward adoption of this or a similar model and set of goals.)

  1. Increase the FT/adjunct ratio to 75/25
  2. Provide pro-rata pay and equitable health care benefits and pensions
  3. Develop institutional [plan to accomplish this through normal faculty turnover and creation of new positions (not taking jobs from current contingent faculty)
  4. Offer preferential consideration to qualified PT/adjunct faculty in filling new Ft tenure-track positions
  5. Create a dedicated funding source to do this