Association of Professional Administrators

Minutes 2024-9

Date/Time: Friday, September 20, 2024, 10:00 am
Location: ZOOM Room

Present

APA Statewide

  • Seth Bean, President
  • Susan McNeil, Vice President
  • Mark Powers, Secretary
  • Julie Dunlap LePoer, Web Manager (Non-voting)
  • Sean Barrett, MTA Field Representative (Non-voting)

APA Chapter Presidents

  • Seth Bean, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
  • Brian Cahillane, Westfield State University
  • Kelly DeMello, Massachusetts Maritime Academy
  • Peter Fenuccio, Worcester State University
  • Susan McNeil, Massachusetts College of Art & Design
  • Jenna Shales, Bridgewater State University
  • Rebecca Shersnow, Fitchburg State President
  • Rosa Taormina, Salem State University

Guests

  • Gretchen Mayhew, Fitchburg State Vice President

Absent

APA Statewide

  • Aaron Childs, Membership Coordinator (Non-voting)
  • Maria Brunelle, Treasurer (Non-Voting)

APA Chapter Presidents

  • Jane Decatur, Framingham State University

Call to Order

  • Time: 10:01am

Approval of Minutes

  1. Approval of June 21, 2024 Executive Board Meeting Minutes
    • Amendments: None
    • Motion to approved the minutes of the June 21, 2024 Executive Board Meeting as presented/amended made:
    • by: Susan McNeil 2nd by: Peter Fenuccio
    • Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

Public Comments

  1. None.

President’s Report – Seth Bean

  1. Summer 2024 Negotiations with Management Regarding 2024-2027
    • BHE Financial Proposal (see below)
  2. Proposal Tracker
  3. MTA Report – Sean Barrett
    • All President’s Meeting for Local President’s – Saturday, Sept 21, 2024, Natick MA

BHE Financial Proposal

Board of Higher Education and the Association of Professional Administrators, MTA/NEA:
APA Negotiations
August 1, 2024
Article V, C. Salary Adjustments.

  1. Year 1. Effective six (6) months after the commencement of the collective bargaining agreement, the annual salary rate of every eligible APA bargaining unit member shall be increased by three and one-half percent (3.5%).
    • Eligible employees shall be defined as bargaining unit members who were then employed as of July 1, 2024 and who remain employed as of the first pay period of when the increase is implemented and all former bargaining unit members who retired between those two dates.
  2. Year 2. Effective six (6) months later, the annual salary rate of every eligible APA bargaining unit member shall be increased by two and a quarter percent (2.25%).
    • Effective six months later, the annual salary rate of every eligible APA bargaining unit member shall be increased by two and a quarter percent (2.25%).
  3. Year 3. Effective six (6) months later, the annual salary rate of every eligible APA bargaining unit member shall be increased by two and a quarter percent (2.25%).
    • Effective six months later, the annual salary rate of every eligible APA bargaining unit member shall be increased by two and a quarter percent (2.25%).
  4. For purposes of Year 2 and Year 3 increases, eligible employees shall be those who were employed as of the last date of increase through and including the date of the next increase when implemented and all former bargaining unit members who retired between those two dates.

Discussion: The counter will include Jan 1, Jul 1 language instead of “6 months”. The commencement of the contract is July 1, 2024.

Treasurer’s Report – Maria Brunelle

  1. Payroll due on September 23, 2024 by 12:00pm.
  2. Approval of June 2024, July 2024, & August 2024 Treasurer’s Report
    • Amendments: None
    • Motion to approve treasurer’s report as presented/amended made:
    • by: Rosa Susan McNeil 2nd by: Susan McNeil
    • Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

Membership and Data – Aaron Childs

  1. 1474 Overall Membership since June 2024. A(n) Increase/Decrease of 14.
  2. 263 Non-Dues Paying Member. A(n) Increase/Decrease of 12 since June 2024.
  3. The updated dues rates for FY25 are as follows (see chart below):
  4. The MTA and APA Data Collection Forms to use for this fiscal year have been sent to the Chapters. Both are fillable. Please do not have the member print it out and fill it out by hand. I have written a script to read in the fields in the PDF document and automatically insert the data into our database to help minimize carpal-tunnel.

    For the MTA form, please remember to fill out the Payment Information Box. The Type code is the applicable code in the above table, AC1-100, AC1-80, or AC1-50. Full-time, three-quarter time, and part-time respectively. The reduced rates is used when a member enrolls after a particular date in the year. For example, a new full-time member enrolls December 1st would have the type code AC1-100 with the dues listed on the line with 75%.
DescriptionNEAMTAAPATotal
Regular full-time membership (AC1-100)$213.00$556.00$85.70$854.70
Three-Quarter Time (0.51 – 0.80%) (AC1-80)$213.00$417.00$85.70$715.70
Part-time (<50%) membership (AC1-50)$118.00$278.00$42.85$438.85
Reduced Rates Fulltime (AC1-100):
November-14 75%$165.50$417.00$64.28$646.78
February-01 50%$118.00$278.00$42.85$438.85
April-14 25%$70.75$139.00$21.43$231.18
Reduced Rates Three-Quarter (AC1-80):
November-14 75%$165.50$312.75$31.42$509.67
February-01 50%$118.00$208.50$20.95$347.45
April-14 25%$70.75$104.25$10.47$185.47
Reduced Rates Part-time (AC1-50):
November-14 75%$94.25$208.50$32.14$334.89
February-01 50%$70.75$139.00$21.43$231.18
April-14 25%$46.75$69.50$10.71$126.96
For full-time members, the MTA increased dues by $33 and the NEA by $5.
For part-time members, the MTA increased dues by $16.50 and the NEA by $2.50.
Updated Dues Rates for FY25

Website – Julie Dunlap LePoer

  1. Normal Housekeeping update.
  2. Posted Minutes.
  3. Any changes to Chapter info, please forward.

Health and Welfare Fund Report – Susan McNeil

  1. 1st Meeting: Thursday November 14, 2024 at 11:00am
  2. 2nd Meeting: Thursday February 27, 2025 at 9:00am
  3. 3rd Meeting: Thursday April 24, 2025 at 9:00am
  4. July Report (July 23, 2024)

Committee Reports

  1. Budget & Finance Committee – Rosa Taormina, Jenna Shales, & Seth Bean
  2. Employee Relations Working Group – Dissolved
  3. Committee on Professional Development – Vacant
  4. Special Committees:
    1. Committee on Legislative Action – Susan McNeil, Seth Bean
    2. Committee on Health & Safety – Dissolved
  5. Employee Relations Committee (ERC) as per the APA CBA – Brian Cahillane, Jane Decatur, & Rosa Taormina
  6. Nominations & Elections Committee – Vacant. Will need to be constituted after contract is ratified.

Old/New Business

  1. FAQ of the Month for the Website for October. Maybe rename/rebrand this page – Hot Topic or Spotlight or Support & Guidance or Knowledge Base… just not a FAQ page
  2. Annual Statewide Meeting November 15, 2024 to be held on the Fitchburg Campus
  3. The Language of Janus and discussing ways to charge non-dues-paying members for services beyond the basics (R.Taormina). (see below)
  4. Counter Proposals
    1. Counter to APA Proposal 13b: Appendix C: Administrator’s Self-Report to Supervisor
    2. BHE Revised Proposal 7_Promotions & Transfers (002)
    3. Counter to APA Proposal 13a: Performance Evaluations
    4. Counter to APA Proposal 13c: Supervisor Annual Performance Narrative Form
    5. BHE Proposal 1 (previously 1_5)_Sept 11
    6. Counter to BHE 9/16 draft Counter to APA Proposal 13a: Performance Evaluations
    7. 9/16 APA counter to BHE Counter to APA Proposal 13c: Supervisor Annual Performance Narrative Form
  5. Cybersecurity Awareness Training Compliance for APA (B.Cahillane)
    Impact bargain Management’s intent to monetarily penalize employees who do not complete the training.
    From the contract:
    The parties agree that these duties and responsibilities include: attendance, during work hours, at trainings on topics determined or selected by the President or their designee including, but not limited to, cyber security, anti-discrimination policies and practices, issues confronting the university and skill improvement. The university will endeavor to offer multiple opportunities for each training.
    From Sean:
    I would say since they are introducing this while we are bargaining then it becomes decisional bargaining and tell them to bring it to main table.

(The Language of Janus, from #3 above) https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXII/Chapter161A/Section26

Section 26: State labor relations law; applicability; non-members; limitations of exclusive representative’s duty of fair representation; grievances Section 26. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, the provisions of section 5 of chapter 150A shall so far as apt apply to the authority and its employees, excepting directors, executives and those confidential employees representing the authority and dealing with employee organizations. Nothing in this section shall be construed as conferring upon the employees of the authority the right to strike, nor as detracting from the obligations of the authority and the employees to submit all grievances and other disputes to arbitration.

The exclusive representative may act for and negotiate agreements covering all employees in the unit and shall be responsible for representing the interests of all such employees without discrimination and without regard to employee organization membership. The exclusive representative may require a non-
member to pay for the reasonable costs and fees, including arbitrator fees and related attorney fees, for grieving or arbitrating a matter arising under an agreement negotiated pursuant to this section and brought at the non-member’s request. The exclusive representative may require non-members to pay anticipated costs and fees prior to a grievance or arbitration hearing. Failure to pay costs and fees shall relieve the exclusive representative of further responsibility to the non-member regarding the matter.

An exclusive representative’s duty of fair representation to a public employee who is in the bargaining unit shall be limited to the negotiation and enforcement of the terms of agreements with the authority. The laws of the commonwealth shall not prohibit an employee organization from providing only to its members legal, economic or job-related services or benefits outside of the collective bargaining agreement.

An employee may present a grievance to the authority and have the grievance heard without intervention by the exclusive representative of the employee organization representing the employee; provided, however, that the exclusive representative is afforded the opportunity to be present at conferences and
that any adjustment made shall not be inconsistent with the terms of an agreement then in effect between the authority and the exclusive representative.

Motion 2024.09.20-01
Move to have the APA Executive Board further investigate charging fees to non-dues paying members if they have a grievance or are arbitrating a matter arising under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

  • By: Rosa Taormina 2nd by: Kelly DeMello
  • Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

Institutional Issues

Information has been redacted.

Announcements

  1. None.

Adjournment

  1. Motion to Adjourn made at
    • by: 2nd by:
    • Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

APA Meeting Schedule 2024-2025:

EventTimeDateFormatLocation
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, September 20, 2024RemoteZoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, October 18, 2024RemoteZoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, November 15, 2024HybridZoom/TBD
Annual State-wide Membership12:00pmFriday, November 15, 2024HybridZoom/TBD
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, December 20, 2024HybridZoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, January 17, 2025RemoteZoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, February 21, 2025RemoteZoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, March 21, 2025RemoteZoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, April 18, 2025RemoteZoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, June 20, 2025In-personTBD
APA Meeting Schedule 2024-2025

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