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August 20th SPS Labor-Management Notes

PSC Notes on SPS Labor Management Meeting, Aug. 20, 2018

 

Attendees:

Management: John Mogulescu, Dean;  George Otte, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs; K. Maynard, Director of Faculty and Staff Resources; Washington Hernandez, Interim Associate Dean of Administration and Finance; Tracy Meade, Senior Associate Dean for Strategy and Innovation; Pat Stein, Legal Counsel and Labor Designee for SPS

PSC: Susan Fountain, Adjunct Professor, PSC Delegate; Jennifer Lee, Associate Registrar, PSC Welfare Fund representative;  Marc Kagan, Graduate Center Chapter of PSC.

Agenda:

  1. Union orientations for newly appointed and reappointed faculty and staff
  2. Update on water testing 119 W. 31st building
  3. Active shooter training
  4. List of adjuncts who received 3-year appointments in May 2018
  5. Update on proposed governance plan

Union orientations

PSC reminded management that in light of the changes to NYS Civil Service Law in April 2018, union orientations must be offered to all newly employed and re-employed faculty and staff. PSC is seeking access to lists of those employees, clarification on outreach to online faculty, and payment procedures.

Access to lists: Management said that CUNY Central will provide lists to the PSC. Management agreed to provide email addresses.

Orientations for online faculty: Management agreed that a special email outreach to online faculty is needed. Management also suggested creating an asynchronous online platform for orientations for online faculty. PSC stated its preference to use Zoom, so that real-time interaction can take place between the PSC and members. Orientations using Zoom will be offered at multiple times to take into account the schedules of online faculty.

Orientations for staff and face-to-face faculty: Management and PSC will work together to schedule room reservations; orientations will be offered both during day and evening times. Management will notify PSC when individual on-boardings for new staff are held.

Payment for attending orientations: Management agreed that payment for part-time faculty will require both a sign-in sheet and completion of a time sheet – management will provide time sheets, and PSC member leading orientation will sign.

Unresolved issues were:

  • Whether adjuncts paid for professional hour should use it for union orientation (PSC argues no)
  • Whether adjuncts will be paid at the full rate or the NTA rate (PSC argues for full rate)
  • What to do if the orientation pushes a non-teaching adjunct over the 225 hour cap

Union information: PSC will provide OFSR with updated information.

Update on water testing in 119 W. 31st building

PSC asked why, since water testing was done in June, there has been no notification of results. Typically results are available within a few weeks.  

Management responded that it was found that the sampling in June was not done appropriately, and needed to be repeated, causing the delay; the delay was not due to issues with the findings.

New testing was carried out on Aug. 15, 2018.  Full results will be shared with PSC. Bottled water will be provided, and water fountains will not be turned on until results have been received. Management is pushing Howard Apsan (University Director of Environmental Health, Safety and Risk Management) for action on the water issues at SPS.

Active shooter training

PSC reminded management of the request from faculty and staff for active shooter training that was discussed in the April 30, 2018 labor management meeting. Management said that a link to a useful video would be sent to staff on Aug. 20, and that in-person training would be rolled out after the start of the Fall semester.

PSC asked about offering this training both during the day, when staff are more likely to attend, and in the evening when adjuncts who teach face-to-face are more likely to attend. Management responded that trainings will be done in the evening if necessary. PSC reminded management that both faculty and staff have raised concerns about safety procedures for specific building locations – these are best addressed through in-person training, rather than video training.

Adjunct 3-year appointments

The PSC’s list of adjuncts who received 3-year appointments was shared with management, and there was agreement that this list is accurate.

Update on proposed governance plan

Management indicated that a revised draft of the proposed governance plan would be available early in the Fall semester.  Management has listened to the concerns of the PSC and the University Faculty Senate, and indicated that the PSC may like some of the forthcoming changes and not others. Once the revised plan is completed, it will be made available for comments by the SPS community, the PSC, and the UFS.  It is hoped that the plan will be sent to the Governing Council by the end of 2018, to the CUNY Board of Trustees in early 2019, and adopted by Spring 2019.

Other business:

  • Management pointed out that the Murphy Institute is now known as the CUNY School for Labor and Urban Studies, and is no longer a part of SPS.
  • PSC informed management that Ivana Durovic is the new grievance counselor for the Graduate Center Chapter of the PSC.

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