Association of Professional Administrators

Contract MOA

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BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION
and
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATORS, MTA/NEA

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

This Memorandum of Agreement, effective upon the latest of the dates on the signature page, is entered into by the Board of Higher Education (the “Board”) and the Association of Professional Administrators, MTA/NEA (the “Association”).

WHEREAS, the Board and the Association have been parties to a collective bargaining agreement (the “2020-2021 Agreement”), which has remained in full force and effect;

WHEREAS, this three-year agreement for the term July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023 will supersede the one-year successor agreement for the period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021;

WHEREAS, the parties have conducted and concluded their negotiations for a successor to the 2020-2021 Agreement;

WHEREAS, the parties wish hereby to record and memorialize the terms of the agreement reached by the parties on August 30, 2021. The parties have prepared this Memorandum to provide a document that can be used in the Association’s ratification of the agreement and other purposes; and, together with the 2020-2021 Agreement, shall constitute the parties’ Agreement until a single, comprehensive, and updated version is executed by the parties.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises and of the mutual covenants hereinafter set down, the parties agree as follows:

  1. Article III. Add the following language at the end of subparagraph 3 in Art. III, A:
    • The parties agree that these duties and responsibilities include: attendance, during work hours, at trainings on topics determined or selected by the President or his designee including, but not limited to, cyber security, anti-discrimination policies and practices, issues confronting the university and skill improvement. The university will endeavor to offer multiple opportunities for each training.
  2. Article V, C. Salary Adjustments. Amended this section by reflecting the following:
    1. Delete the two sentences following the heading of section C.
    2. Year 1. Effective the first pay period of July 2020, the annual salary rate of every eligible bargaining unit member shall be increased by two and one-half perecnt (2.5%). Eligible employees shall be defined as bargaining unit members who were then employed at the time of the first pay period of July 2020 and who remain employed as of the first pay period of July 2021 and all former bargaining unit members who retired between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.
    3. Year 2. The annual salary rate of every bargaining unit member who is employed as of the first pay period of July 2021 shall, effective the first pay period of July 2021, be increased by two percent (2%).
    4. Year 3. The annual salary rate of every bargaining unit member who is then employed shall, effective the first pay period of July 2022, be increased by two percent (2%).
    5. The parties agree that for the purpose of providing unit members with a one-time COVID-19 Adjustment bonus, after the salary increase in 2(c) above is added to the bargaining unit member’s base salary, every active bargaining unit member who was employed as of July 1, 2021 and remains employed on the date of execution of this Memorandum of Agreement will receive a one-time COVID recognition bonus of one and one-half percent (1.5%) of their base salary rate, with a minimum bonus amount of $1,000.00.
    6. The APA acknowledges that the one-half percent (0.5%) increase already included in Year l, above, fully satisfies any and all obligations that the BHE has or may have to it or its members pertaining to Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) contributions. Specifically, the APA hereby waives its right to assert, and hereby relinquishes any and all claims, whether pending or to be brought, including matter SUP-19-7682, regarding the BHE’s obligation to bargain over the amount of PFML contributions to be paid by its members, and regarding any entitlement to compensation or reimbursement for PFML contributions paid since October 2019 or to be paid by its members at the maximum allowable contribution rate determined by the Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML).
  3. Article V, D. Salary Ranges. Replace the two tables with tables that will be developed by the parties, providing the new salary range tables will not cause an increase in compensation for any unit member or new hire upon the date the tables are adopted.
  4. Article VI. Add the following subparagraph to Art. VI, B: 3. University-initiated Salary Adjustment The state university Appropriate Administrative Area Supervisor and the Chief Financial Officer, or comparable titles at a university, may initiate an increase in the salary of a unit member to recognize exceptional service, accomplishment, or circumstances when an adjustment is in the best interests of the university. Adjustments may take the form of a single bonus payment or an increase in base salary.
  5. Article VII, B(1). Add the following new section h. to identify PFML benefits and the option of employees to select benefits h. Paid Family Medical Leave Massachusetts’ Paid Family and Medical Leave (“PFML”), codified as Mass. G.L. c. 175M, provides eligible bargaining unit members with paid family and medical leave. This leave is funded through mandatory payroll contributions at a rate that is assessed annually by the Department of Family and Medical Leave (the “Department”), which shall set the rate as a percentage of an employee’s annual wages. The Department of Higher Education attributes a portion of the mandatory payroll contribution separately to medical leave and to family leave. Bargaining unit members shall pay 40% of the medical leave contribution rate and 100% of the family medical leave contribution rate from their eligible wages. Eligible bargaining unit members shall be entitled to take leave in accordance with Mass. G.L. c. 175M and the applicable regulations promulgated thereunder. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to abridge any right conferred on any member of the bargaining unit under the Paid Family Medical Leave Act. Leave taken under M.G.L. c. 175M shall run concurrently with leave taken under other applicable state and federal leave laws, including the Commonwealth’s Parental Leave Act (M.G.L. c. 149, ยง 105D) and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), as amended, and leave under Section B of this Article VII to the extent the same are congruent. Any member of the bargaining unit who seeks to be granted leave under this subparagraph shall submit to the University in accordance with University policy appropriate documentary confirmation of his/her entitlement to or qualification for such leave; and any member of the bargaining unit who seeks to be granted such leave shall give advance notice to his/her supervisor as may be required by the law and its regulations.
  6. Art. XI Grievance Procedure. In Section C, Step 1 of the Article, change from ten (10) days to fifteen (15) days the filing period for a notice of a grievance.
  7. Art. XVI, A. Amend this section to reflect the Agreement shall expire at midnight on June 30, 2023. Either party may at any time give notice to the other requiring commencement of negotiations for a successor agreement. Negotiations for a successor agreement shall commence no later than March 31, 2023.
  8. Appendix E will be amended by striking the sentence which reads “The first evaluation period under this Agreement is July 1, 2018-March 31, 2019,” striking “First” in the first bulleted sentence, striking “Second” in the second bulleted sentence and striking the sentence “The second evaluation period is April 1, 2019 -March 31, 2020.”

WHEREFORE the Parties hereto hereunder set their signs and seals as follows:

BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Michael J. Murray Esq.
Director of Employee and Labor Relations

James F. Birge
Chair, Council of Presidents

ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATORS

Sherry Horeanopoulos 
President, Association of Professional Administrators