Association of Professional Administrators

Minutes 2023-10

Date/Time: Friday, October 15, 2023, 12:00pm
Location: MTA Office @ Worcester & Zoom

Present

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)
  • Roberta James, 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
  • Edward Vacha, Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Guests

  • Eric Feibel, Bridgewater Chapter VP
  • Gretchen Mayhew, Fitchburg VP

Absent

APA Statewide

  • Maria Brunelle, Treasurer (Non-Voting)
  • Gerol Petruzella, Web Manager (Non-voting)

APA Chapter Presidents

  • None

Call to Order

  • Time: 10:12am

Approval of Minutes

  • Per agreement of the Executive Board, the Minutes of the September 15, 2023 Executive Board Meeting were approved electronically on October 2, 2023.

Public Comments

  • None.

President’s Report – Seth Bean

  1. Required Individual Campus Information sessions dates for the BHE Financial Proposal:
    • BSU: 10/3
    • FiSU:10/5
    • FrSU:10/6
    • MCOA:10/6
    • MMA: 10/2
    • MCLA:10/6
    • SSU: 10/5
    • WeSU: (not reported yet)
    • WoSU:10/3
  2. 2023-2024 MOA Ratification Vote
    BHE Financial Proposal
    Board of Higher Education and the Association of Professional Administrators, MTA/NEA:
    APA Negotiations
    July 14, 2023
    Article V, C. Salary Adjustments. Amended this section by reflecting the following:
    One-year contract. Effective the first pay period of July 2023, the annual salary rate of every bargaining unit member who is employed as of the first pay period of July 2023 shall be increased by four percent (4%). In addition, six months later, effective the first pay period January 2024, the annual salary rate of every bargaining unit member who is employed as of the first pay period of January 2024 shall be increased by four percent (4%).

    Article V, Section C (6), Adjustment Pool. New Language:
    Effective the first pay period of July 2023, each University shall establish a pool of money equal to five hundred dollars ($500.00) per FTE in the bargaining unit. A prorate amount will be factored into this pool for less than full time or partial year bargaining unit members. The method for distribution of this pool shall be mutually agreed upon by the parties.
  3. Reminder for each campus to notify members who have accrued 375 or more vacations hours. November 1st is the deadline to use or lose these hours.
  4. MTA Higher Education Conference September 21, 2023. Seth is attending, Susan may go.
  5. MTA Report – Catherine Santiago
    • Relevant workshops at the MTA Higher Education Conference https://web.cvent.com/event/db64a884-03f1-489f-a3a9-c4356864a642/summary
    • Cherish Act – would have the cost of the CBAs paid for by the Commonwealth and not the individual campuses. Lots of work to be done here with State Legislators and parameters for the next contract.

Treasurer’s Report – Maria Brunelle

  1. Payroll due on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 by 12:00pm.
  2. Approval of September 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

Membership and Data – Aaron Childs

  1. 1408 Overall Membership since September 2023. A(n) Increase/Decrease of 7 .
  2. B. 219 Non-Dues Paying Member. A(n) Increase/Decrease of 0 since September 2023.
  3. 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.
  4. Updated dues rates for FY 24. They are as follows:
    • AC1-100
    • NEA: $208 (+ $4)
    • MTA: $523 (+ $20)
    • APA: $85.70
    • Total: $816.70
    • AC1-50
    • NEA: $115.50 (+ $2)
    • MTA: $261.50 (+ $10)
    • APA: $42.85
    • Total: $419.85

Website – Gerol Petruzella

  1. No report.
  2. Replacement for the Web Manager needs to be found as soon as possible as Gerol is unable to continue.
    Motion 2023.10.20-01
    Move to increase Web Manager stipend to $150.00 per month.
    By: S. McNeil 2nd by: R. Taormina
    Vote: 8-0-1 Action: Motion Carries

Health and Welfare Fund Report – Susan McNeil

  1. Still no meetings and the BHE has still not assigned a representative to the group.

Committee Reports

  1. Budget & Finance Committee – Jane Decatur, Rosa Taormina, & Seth Bean
  2. Working Committee for Employee Relations – Still Needed?
  3. Committee on Professional Development – Edward Vacha
  4. Negotiations – Contract Committee
    • Employee Relations Committee – Brian Cahillane, Jane Decatur, & Rosa Taormina
      Topics for next round of negotiations:
      • Salary Compression
      • Longevity
      • Workload
      • Vacation Loss – change to once per year not twice.
      • On-Call Compensation
      • Meal Reimbursements

Old/New Business

  1. FAQ of the Month for the Website for November – skip for now as no active Web Manager
  2. Possible Revisions to the APA Statewide Bylaws regarding Timeline for collective bargaining agreement ratification vote (McNeil) – Referred to Bylaws Committee (Special Committee)
  3. Discussion regarding hiring a new Website Manager (McNeil). A call will go out to the membership regarding hiring a Web Manager from the membership.
  4. Increase APA Annual Dues (Feibel) – Referred to Budget & Finance Committee.
  5. Penning a letter of support for the campus police officers regarding Bill S.1658. (Shersnow)
    Motion 2023.10.20-02
    Move to send a letter of support to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Service [Senate Members Michael D. Brady, Chair & Patricia D. Jehlen, Vice Chair and House Members Kenneth I. Gordan, Chair & Natalie M. Higgins, Vice Chair] on behalf of the Association of Chiefs of Police of the State Universities of Massachusetts regarding Bill S.1658 “An Act Relative to The Retirement of State University and Community College Police Officers”
    By: S. McNeil 2nd by: R. Shersnow
    Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries
  6. Annual Meeting at Bridgewater State
    • Details of the annual meeting date/time/location as well as Zoom link should go out to the state-wide membership approximately two weeks prior to the meeting date. The notification should also ask if attending, please indicate if in-person or via zoom.

Institutional Issues

Information has been redacted.

Announcements

  • None

Adjournment

  1. Motion to Adjourn made at 1:35pm
    by: S. McNeil 2nd by: B. Cahillane
    Vote: Unanimous Action: Motion Carries

Next APA Meetings

EventTimeDateFormatLocation
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

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