Union notes from Union / Management Meeting

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Present –Prince Charles Alexander, Dennis Cecere, Peter Cokkinias, Marti Epstein, Danny Harrington, Helen Lewis, Jeff Perry, Wendy Rolfe, Jackson Schultz, David Scott, Elizabeth Seitz, Will Silvio, Denise Pons, Andrew Shryock, and Jeri Sykes. Guest: Michael Johnson.

Management – Jay Kennedy, Joe Bennett, Michael Shinn, Tommy Neblett, Matthew Nicholl, Ron Savage, Darla Hanley Guests: Chris Kandus-Fisher, Bill Whitney, Rich Vigdor, Eileen Alviti, Scott Runkle

  1. Jay opened the meeting.

  2. We discussed the Counseling Center space. Former EPD space in 161 on the 4thfloor is the targeted location of the new Counseling and Health and Wellness Centers. Best case is moving in October or perhaps pushed back to the spring semester.

  3. Faculty absences – sub payment policy/process. Management is aware that there are inconsistencies throughout the college and will be putting together a statement to address them and get out to all the chairs and faculty.

    Eileen Alviti introduced Scott Runkle as the Interim Director of Benefits. The Mass Earned Sick Time Law was discussed in relation to faculty and process/etc. You earn 1 hour for every 30 that is worked up to 40 hours for the year. The Berklee program is better. If you are going to be sick for more than 5 days – HR suggests short-term disability up to 90 days, if longer, we have long-term disability (66% of your pay). All of this information is on the Benefits website.

    Eileen also clarified that the Mass law and these policies also apply to faculty who have to take care of immediate family members.

    Jay – In terms of shorter absences – faculty can work with chair to get subs and everyone gets paid. There should be no exchanging of money between faculty members. There is a co-responsibility between faculty and chair – the sub must be Berklee of Conservatory faculty member – no one from the outside. If the faculty member goes out on tour, the faculty member won’t get paid but the sub would be paid by the college through payroll.

    If a faculty member misses a day due to illness – content must be made up but the class does not need to be made up. A lot of private lesson teachers do make-up lessons but it is not required. The chair and faculty member can work together to find a sub. The law states that if you are sick you should be able to call in sick and the onus is on the chair to find a sub.

    We are trying to get chairs and faculty on the same page in regards to this policy. There are huge inconsistencies throughout the college and conservatory that we are trying to address. The reality of faculty canceling on a regular basis may lead to students not signing up for specific teachers.