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Dear Statewide Members;

As I recently stated in an email to the membership, these are extraordinary times. I hope this post finds you doing well at your institution and enjoying a safe and productive work environment at campus or from home.  The last 7+ months have been formidable, to say the least, but I have heard nothing but praise for our members, who have demonstrated that creativity and ingenuity are clearly what it takes to get the job done when challenges are plentiful. 

You should know that your efforts are appreciated across the state.  The changes that have occurred on campuses, and the efforts on your part to incorporate them successfully, have ensured that our institutions have been effective in delivering quality academic programing and thoughtful service to our students and to our colleagues and constituents.  Thank you for all you have accomplished under these unusual and demanding circumstances.

Stay tuned for our APA Annual Meeting on Friday, November 20, 2020.  As with most meetings held since March, this will be an online meeting using Zoom. The general membership will be invited to join the meeting at 11:00am on the 20th.  Although the Executive Board will miss visiting a campus this year, we will be happy to host you from the comfort of your own desk and assume we may see more of you from the various campuses than we do when we meet at a single College or University campus.  Our Auditors will be available to present their fiscal report for 2019.  We will inform you on the status of Health and Welfare Trust and provide an update on our progress in Bargaining a successor APA Agreement.  MTA reps will be in attendance and will update you on what MTA organizers are planning.

Mostly, however, we would like to hear from you.  Stay tuned for both a calendar invitation to attend the Annual Meeting and a form you can use to submit questions or topics in advance.  We will provide answers or discussion regarding your concerns during the meeting.  There will also be an opportunity to ask questions directly during the online event.

To date, we have had two bargaining sessions with Management and will likely have had a few more negotiation meetings by the time we see you at the Annual Meeting.  We are currently discussing a one-year extension of the existing Agreement.  We are also working on separate documents covering Health and Safety during the Pandemic and a Remote Work Arrangement Policy.  

Finally, I'd like to remind everyone that the state (Governor) has come through with proposed level-funding for public Higher Ed institutions. Coupled with the knowledge that cost-of-living increases are unlikely in 2020, it is obvious that measures to control costs are being applied across the board in Massachusetts.  We continue to hope that further austerity measures will minimally affect employees.  Union organizers are actively working to find solutions that will preserve jobs and salaries of members.  

I look forward to seeing you all in November with details about all of the above and to consider other items that concern you.  In the meantime, please continue to work and live safely.  Hope you have been enjoying the glorious fall colors here in New England.

Best wishes and sincere thanks for all that you are doing,
Sherry Horeanopoulos
APA President