Association of Professional Administrators

Minutes 2023-09

Date/Time: Friday, September 15, 2023, 10:00am
Location: MTA Office @ Worcester & Zoom

Present

APA Statewide

  • APA Statewide:
  • Seth Bean, President
  • Susan McNeil, Vice President
  • Mark Powers, Secretary
  • Aaron Childs, Membership Coordinator (Non-voting)
  • Catherine Santiago, MTA Field Representative (Non-voting)

APA Chapter Presidents

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

Guests

  • Gretchen Mayhew, Fitchburg

Absent

APA Statewide

  • Maria Brunelle, Treasurer (Non-Voting)
  • Gerol Petruzella, Web Manager (Non-voting)
  • Roberta James, MTA Field Representative (Non-voting)

APA Chapter Presidents

  • Edward Vacha, Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Call to Order

  • Time: 10:08am

Approval of Minutes

  • Per agreement of the Executive Board, the Minutes of the June 17, 2023 Executive Board Meeting were approved electronically on July 7, 2023.

Public Comments

  • None.

President’s Report – (S. Bean)

  1. Summer 2023 Negotiations with Management Regarding a one-year Successor Agreement with parameters as provided by the Governor.

    BHE Financial Proposal
    Board of Higher Education and the Association of Professional Administrators, MTA/NEA:
    APA Negotiations
    July 14, 2023

    Article V, C. (4) Salary Adjustments. Amended this section by reflecting the following:
    Forty percent (40%) of the total amount of each university’s Adjustment Pool shall be utilized as a longevity increase and distributed equally among bargaining unit members with five (5) or more consecutive years within the unit at their respective university as of July 1, 2023. For unit members who are less than full-time, this longevity increase shall be prorated.

    This longevity increase shall be added to the base salary of eligible unit members after the July 2023 four percent (4%) increase is implemented. In order to be eligible for this longevity increase, a bargaining unit member must be on the payroll at the time the salary increase takes effect and on the payroll at the time of the distribution as well as have five or more years in the unit as of July 1, 2023. Each university shall provide the Chapter President and APA Statewide President a list of all eligible unit members with their initial date of hire/appointment into a unit position, and their calculated years within the APA unit as of July 1, 2023.

    Article V, Section C (6), Adjustment Pool. New Language:
    Sixty percent (60%) of the total amount of each university’s Adjustment Pool shall be utilized as a retention increase and distributed as follows:
    For unit members in the lowest 25th percentile for salary, who have been hired/appointed to a unit position prior to July 1, 2022, a factor of 2x will be applied to their base salary.

    For unit members in the 26th – 50th percentile for salary, who have been hired/appointed to a unit position prior to July 1, 2022, a factor of 1x will be applied to their base salary. For unit members who are less than full-time, any retention increase shall be prorated.

    This retention increase shall be added to the base salary of eligible unit members after the July 2023 four percent (4%) increase is implemented. In order to be eligible for this retention increase, a bargaining unit member must be on the payroll at the time the salary increase takes effect and on the payroll at the time of the distribution. For bargaining unit members who are less than full-time, eligibility shall be determined based on what the unit member’s salary would be as a full-time employee. Additionally, for unit member who are less than full-time, any retention increase shall be prorated. Each university shall provide the Chapter President and APA Statewide President with a list of unit members eligible for the retention increases.

    Members eligible for longevity and retention pools will receive both increases. Eligibility for the retention pool will be determined prior to the addition of the longevity increase.
  2. Election Runner to be used for the CBA Ratification vote. All chapters need to make sure that Aaron has a valid university email address for all unit members.
  3. No other changes to the existing contract language are being allowed at this time.
  4. Possible location for the December meeting – preferably in the Worcester area as that seems to be the most central.
  5. MTA Report – Catherine Santiago
    • Cherish Act Meeting on Monday, September 18, 2023
      https://linktr.ee/mahigheredforall
    • MTA Higher Education Conference – October 21, 2023
    • Looking for HE support to abolish the MCAS.
  6. E-Board Meeting Calendar Dates/Times for Academic Year 2023-2024
    APA Meeting Schedule 2023-2024:
EventTimeDateFormatLocation
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, September 15, 2023HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, October 20, 2023HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, November 17, 2023HybridBridgewater/Zoom
Annual State-wide Membership12:00pmFriday, November 17, 2023HybridBridgewater/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, December 15, 2023In-PersonTBD
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, January 19, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, February 16, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, March 15, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, April 19, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, June 21, 2024In-PersonTBD
APA Meeting Schedule 2023-2024

Motion 2023.09.15-01
Move to approve APA E-Board Meeting Calendar Dates/Times for Academic Year 2023-2024 as amended on September 1, 2023.
By: S. McNeil 2nd by: J. Shales
Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

Treasurer’s Report – Maria Brunelle

  1. Payroll due on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 by 12:00pm.
  2. Approval of June 2023 Treasurer’s Report
    Amendments: None
    Motion to approve membership report as presented/amended made:
    by: S. McNeil 2nd by: J. Decatur
    Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries
  3. Approval of July 2023 Treasurer’s Report
    Amendments: None
    Motion to approve membership report as presented/amended made:
    by: 2nd by:
    Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries
  4. Approval of August 2023 Treasurer’s Report
    Amendments: None
    Motion to approve membership report as presented/amended made:
    by: 2nd by:
    Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

Membership and Data – Aaron Childs

  1. 1401 Overall Membership since June 2023. A(n) Increase/Decrease of 18 .
  2. 219 Non-Dues Paying Member. A(n) Increase/Decrease of 13 since June 2023.
  3. Has a contact Toni Ivers of the Massachusetts Controllers Office regarding having the Annual Dues amount corrected in HRCMS.
  4. Server used by APA – now 12+ years old but should be replaced. One option is to go to a Virtual Server which would save the cost hardware.

Website – Gerol Petruzella

  1. No report.

Health and Welfare Fund Report – Susan McNeil

  1. No meetings set up yet.

Committee Reports

  1. Budget & Finance Committee – Rosa Taormina & Seth Bean
  2. Working Committee for Employee Relations – Still Needed?
  3. Committee on Professional Development – Edward Vacha
  4. Special Committees: Disbanded as these are Inactive.
    • Committee on Legislative Action – Susan McNeil, Seth Bean, & Sherry Horeanopoulos
    • Committee on Health & Safety – Susan McNeil
  5. Negotiations – Contract Committee
    • Employee Relations Committee – Brian Cahillane, Jane Decatur, & Rosa Taormina
      Topics for next round of negotiations:
      • Salary Compression
      • Longevity
      • Workload

Old/New Business

  1. FAQ of the Month for the Website for October
    • The Cherish Act??
    • The process that happens
  2. Stipends for the Chapter VP – separate from Grievance Officer. (McNeil)
    • Suggesting that Chapter President, Chapter Vice President, Chapter Grievance Office, Chapter Membership Coordinator all receive a Monthly Stipend.
    • Concerns are that at some campuses, the chapter bylaws don’t attribute any specific responsibilities to the Chapter VP.
  3. Does MTA have any legal expertise regarding address Salary Compression language to be considered/included in the APA contract? Will MTA charge us for this? (Decatur).
  4. Determination within APA Statewide Bylaws regarding Non-Dues Paying members and being able to vote on collective bargaining agreements.
    • Per the Bylaws, only Active Members are permitted to vote. And Active Members are defined as Dues Paying members.

Institutional Issues

Information has been redacted.

Announcements

  • None

Adjournment

  1. Motion to Adjourn made at 1:52pm
    by: S. McNeil 2nd by: R. Shersnow
    Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

Next APA Meetings

EventTimeDateFormatLocation
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, December 15, 2023HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, January 19, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, February 16, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, March 15, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, April 19, 2024HybridWorcester/Zoom
APA Executive Board10:00amFriday, June 21, 2024In-PersonTBD
APA Meeting Schedule 2023-2024

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