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Notes on Labor/Management MeetingsOctober 5, 2006 Present: Dennis Selzner, Darryl Wood, Jim Dix, Beth Kilmarx, Sylvia Hall, Joe Schultz, JoAnn Navarro, Jeff Hadley • UUP involvement in negotiations for new contract. Management wanted to know which UUP members will be involved in the negotiations with the State over the new contract. UUP stated that Darryl Wood is on the Negotiations Team, Fran Goldman and Beth Kilmarx are on the Negotiations Committee, and that Ed Chidester and Jim Dix are on the ad hoc Advisory Committee. • Fees for UUP members taking BU courses. UUP stated that UUP-represented employees taking courses on a space-available basis have to pay fees such as a health fee and transportation fee. These fees can amount to several hundred dollars, and are assessed even if the course is audited. UUP asked that management consider an employee fee structure for UUP-represented employees, in which the fees would be reduced or eliminated. Management stated that they would look into such a fee structure, and may consider a more easily implemented fee rebate system. • Travel to downtown center. Management stated that there would be a regularly scheduled shuttle between campus and downtown. UUP raised the concern that for emergencies an employee might have to travel between campus and downtown during times the shuttle was not available, and that for these situations in which a travel B form could not be filled out and approved in time, would the employee be covered by, for example, Workman's Compensation should something happen to the employee traveling in his or her personal car? Management replied that existing procedures were adequate to cover this exigency and that a Travel B form was not necessary, However, Management said they would look into how travel to the downtown center using non-university transportation would be handled. • Take your child to work day. UUP enquired as to the University's position on Take Your Child to Work Day, i.e., did BU administration think it is a good idea and actively supports it, or a good idea and go ahead and do it without active support. Management said they would get back to us on a policy. They also stated this would probably depend on local offices making a determination regarding the appropriateness of this activity. Physical Facilities runs a program that has set guidelines (e.g., age minimum, no grandchildren) which appears to work well. • MOU Committees. Management had a number of questions about processes followed by the College Review Panel and the College Committee on Professional Review. For example, who on the Panel or Committee should receive and disseminate information. UUP will hold talks with Management outside the scope of the Labor/Management meetings to address these issues. • MACCC specifications. UUP questioned management on whether they were following the guidelines promulgated by the 1987 MACCC review of compensation and classification for professionals. In particular, some advertised jobs which contain suggested qualifications (e.g., a certain academic degree) are de facto requirements for the jobs, in contrast to the MACCC guidelines. A particular case was mentioned in which a person with an associate's degree and 10 years experience in the field was passed over for a job in favor of a person with a bachelor's degree but no experience in the field. Management replied that BU's unclassified system is useful for flexibility, but to go above a SL2 level, one needs credentialing. Management acknowledged that this creates a “ghetto” of frustrated people who cannot advance because of a lack of a credential, but that this might provide an impetus to get the required credential. Management agreed to work with offices when they advertise jobs to determine the appropriate educational level. • Meeting with President DeFleur. President DeFleur will attend the next Labor/Management. Management inquired as to what UUP's agenda for that meeting was. UUP replied that one item was to foster a closer relationship between UUP and Binghamton University , so that UUP can be involved in joint initiatives. • Biannual performance programs and evaluations for permanent employees. Management stated that they were trying to figure out the best way to implement a biannual Performance Program and Evaluations. Apparently, the Oracle database system cannot track performance programs. Management is considering creating a separate database in Access. • Professional salary and promotion request window. Management is still considering how they can implement two windows for promotion and salary requests. • University hiring plan. UUP commented that other constituencies on campus had been given specific numbers for new faculty hires this year (56 total, 37 tenure track, 17 net gain), but UUP had not. Management reiterated that the official numbers would be on the OIR web site later in the semester; that information is given to UUP at Labor/Management meetings that the President's desgnee has been given by talking to appropriate people; and that senior management views relations with UUP as collaborative. • Compliance rates for performance programs. Management stated that they were in favor of a one-month grace period for updates of performance programs. The next report on performance program compliance rates will be November. • Appointment of College Panel. Administration and UUP stated that they each have names of potential members of the college panel as per Article 33.5 of the contract with the State. • Part-time academic minimum salaries . UUP inquired whether the starting salary ranges provided by management last year for part-time academics had been increased by the across-the-board percentages that UUP-represented academics received. Management replied that they had not, and stated that part-time salaries were set based on budgetary considerations and market conditions. UUP argued that those starting salaries should have increased by the across-the-board amounts as well. • UUP service as university service . UUP asked if there was a university policy on whether UUP service counted as university service for purposes of renewal and promotion. Management stated that they were still in the process of formulating a policy. UUP responded by indicating that in letters commenting on faculty annual reports, the Provost has recognized UUP service as university service. • Selling of classroom notes . UUP asked management whether there was a university policy on having students attend class and take notes, then sell the notes. Management replied that for the particular case that arose last summer, the Provost had not approved the process. This decision had been made some time ago. UUP asked why it had taken so long to get this information to UUP. Management replied that the Provost was unavailable to get the information in time for the last Labor/Management meeting. • Downtown center . Management had no new information about how the downtown center was going to be integrated into the university. The current plan is to have 130 parking spaces at the downtown center, but the policy on paying for parking in these spots had not been set. UUP stated that to satisfy the terms and conditions of employment, management might consider moving some of the “free” parking spots on campus to the downtown center. • Strategic plan questions . Management had no update on answers to questions asked in previous Labor/Management meetings about metrics used to measure progress toward the goals stated in the university's strategic plan. • Plans for Newing and Dickenson . Management stated that contrary to rumors, there has been no decision made about what to do about the fact that Newing and Dickenson communities are in code violation. Options still include tearing down the buildings, building new buildings, and renovating the existing buildings. • Lighting project . Management reported progress on identification and replacement of PCB-laden ballasts in light fixtures in the library: 40% of the project is complete; the target date for completion is January 31, 2007; in addition to removing PCBs, the project will improve lighting in the library and lower utility costs.Archived LM notes:
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