October 29, 2002
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| Editor: Betsy Cohn |
October 29, 2002 |
| STATE AND SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS Local 1650 continues important preparations for the upcoming HFCC Board of Trustees/Dearborn Board of Education and General Election campaigns. Several Dearborn School employee unions - Local 1650, Local 71 (HFCC administrators), Dearborn Federation of Teachers, Dearborn School Operating Engineers Association, and Dearborn Federation of School Employees - have joined Mayor Michael A. Guido in endorsing James Schoolmaster in his run for reelection to the School Board. Schoolmaster faces two opponents. In his successful one-year term, Schoolmaster has addressed a range of important issues, including school overcrowding and safety, integration of technology into the school curriculum, and contract negotiations. If re-elected to a full four-year term, Schoolmaster should accomplish even more to ensure that Dearborn Public Schools and Henry Ford Community College provide high-quality instruction. Local 1650's Legislative Committee has prepared informational packets for 1650 members regarding State candidates and ballot proposals. Three packets, being delivered to members' mailboxes, provide valuable background on State House and Senate elections; the Governor's race and ballot proposals; and the State Supreme Court, University Boards of Regents, and the State Board of Education races. Before Election Day, each 1650 member will be contacted individually to ensure he or she has received the information and to be reminded of how critical it is to vote. Volunteers are needed to work
the polls on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, for 2-3 hour shifts, and
Dearborn residents are asked to put lawn signs in their yards. If you can
assist in any of these efforts, please call John McDonald's office (x9666).
HFCC-FT PAF COLLECTION As of October 23, 70% of the Local 1650 membership had responded to the Union's request for PAF contributions, donating a total of $12,845 to Local 1650's Political Action Fund. Local 1650's Executive Board has recommended that each teacher contribute $100 to our local PAF. The response so far is significantly lower than in the past, when up to 90% of the membership contributed, and given this year's high-stakes elections, additional contributions are sorely needed. How will your contributions be used? As in the past, Local 1650 operates two PAF funds. The first, a restricted fund, is used only for local millage/bond elections, Board of Trustees' campaigns, and the campaigns of municipal and/or State Legislative candidates whose decisions impact directly on HFCC revenues. This year, the Local 1650 is using this fund to support James Schoolmaster for HFCC Board of Trustees, Ismael Ahmed for University of Michigan Board of Regents, and candidates for Dearborn's State House and Senate seats. The Local uses the "unrestricted" fund to engage in political activity and to support candidates not so directly involved with the revenues of HFCC, but whose decisions definitely affect Local 1650's ability to represent the interests of its members. Gubernatorial, State Supreme Court, State legislative campaigns, as well as the State-wide political action efforts of the Michigan Federation of Teachers fall into this category. The Local is using this fund to support Jennifer Granholm for Governor. This year's elections are particularly important, as there is a substantial opportunity to return various arms of State government to Democratic control and thereby fight for reversal of legislation, such as Public Act 112, that has been so damaging to education and collective bargaining. The Executive Board thanks those who have already contributed and thus supported Local 1650's political efforts to protect their bargaining rights and secure the local and State funding necessary to operate HFCC and compensate its employees. Additional checks should be made out to HFCC-FT 1650 PAF and forwarded to your Area Representative.
In addition, five retirees have contributed a total of $350 to the unrestricted fund. 1650 ELECTIONS Nominations for 1650 Officer and Area Representative positions (except Area 10 Representative) closed at the October 21 membership meeting. The following people are running for 1650 office: President, John McDonald; Vice President for Internal Affairs (special election, one-year term), Betsy Cohn; Vice President for External Affairs, Nancy Widman; and Treasurer, Ed Fryzel. The following people are running for1650 Area Representative: Area 2 (English), Jim Wanless; Area 4 (Business & Math), Jeannine Dawson; Area 6 (Trade & Apprentice), Tony Mazurek; and Area 8 (Social Science), Margaret Thornburg. Because retirees must be notified separately about open nominations for Area 10, a separate election will be held. CONTRACT HIGHLIGHTS With a contract as complex as ours, it can be easy to overlook some valuable features. Below, three important contract provisions are highlighted; consider taking advantage of them. Flexible Spending Account For many years, members of Local 1650 have had the option of establishing a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) through payroll deduction. These pre-tax dollars can be used to cover medical expenses not covered by insurance (such as deductibles and co-pays) and childcare costs. To set up such an account, however, teachers must file a payroll deduction form with the Human Resource Office each year. The filing deadline for a 2003 FSA is December 1. Payroll deduction forms are available from John McDonald's office. Send completed forms to Dani Thornfelt in the Human Resources Office by December 1. Tom Maxey and Bruce Marwil from Consolidated Financial Corporation, which administers the FSA program, will be present at the November 18 General Membership meeting to answer any questions about the FSA program and to discuss changes in federal tax law as well as tax-sheltered annuity (TSA) opportunities also available through payroll deductions. Professional Improvement Fund The Professional Improvement Fund (PIF) is designed to help defray the costs associated with continued professional development, such as memberships in professional organizations, the purchase of books, periodicals, computer software and hardware, and continuing education unit fees. It can even be used to supplement funds provided by the contract's travel-conference fund. Please see Article XV.D of the Local 1650 contract for a more detailed description of this benefit and the kinds of expenses that qualify. Monies remain unexpended from PIF for the 2001-02 contractual year. If you were a full-time member of the Bargaining Unit during the 2001-02 contractual year and have NOT already submitted for the entire $750 PIF reimbursement, you have until November 15 to apply for the $750 reimbursement or the difference between $750 and the PIF reimbursement already received for 2001-02. Receipts up to $750 must be dated 8/16/01 through 8/15/02 to be eligible. Submit your itemized receipts and a cover memorandum listing the receipts in chronological order to the College Controller's Office. Sabbatical Leave After seven years of active service, any tenured teacher can apply for Sabbatical Leave for the purpose of improving instruction. Such leave may involve instruction-related professional study, work on publications, or travel and may last for one semester at full salary or two semesters at half-salary. Other conditions and application procedures are detailed in the contract. If you are interested in applying for Sabbatical Leave for the Fall 2003/Winter 2004 semesters, you must submit your application to the Vice President for College Relations no later than February 1. LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE As noted in Article XXIV.H, full-time teachers are eligible for long-term care (LTC) insurance coverage. Local 1650 members may also be interested in a LTC insurance program now offered to all State of Michigan retirees (state, public school, judges, and state police) and their families. The State and the Office of Retirement Systems (ORS) have selected MetLife as the carrier of this insurance, which offers coverage at a competitive group rate. Participants pay the full premium themselves. Applications may be completed at any time, and they as well as premium payments should be sent directly to MetLife, not to ORS. For more information about LTC insurance in general, visit the link found under Online Services at www.michigan.gov, or go to www.1866michltc.net. To learn more about Medicare's limited LTC coverage, contact the Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program at 1-866-MICH-LTC. To learn more about the MetLife LTC plan, call MetLife directly at 1-800-438-6388, identify your company as "State of Michigan," and request a no-obligation Information & Enrollment Kit, or visit the Web site at http://stateofmichigan.metlife.com. MEMBER NEWS Local 1650 extends its congratulations to Dorothy Rothgery's daughter, Emilie, for winning the Gottfried Labor Relations Scholarship, which is awarded to the student most likely to enter labor relations law. A second-year law student at Wayne State University, Emilie has gained direct experience with union issues, first doing paralegal work with a Detroit firm that handles the Detroit Firefighters union negotiations, and is currently working part-time for a Troy firm that handles Highland Park City employee union negotiations. The Local wishes Emilie well and values her commitment to workers' rights. Henry Ford Community
College |