The Council of Community College Presidents is demanding that rank-and-file MCCC members be prohibited from attending upcoming bargaining sessions for Day negotiations or they will withhold course releases of the union's core negotiating team, disregarding decades of past practice. The hundreds of MCCC members who have attended bargaining sessions over the last year as silent representatives have made invaluable contributions to the process and strengthened our contracts and colleges. Transparency and democratic participation are essential elements of the collective bargaining process and should not be curtailed in any way! Urge your president to respect the voices of faculty and professional staff and drop the College Presidents unfair demand to bar rank-and-file union members from negotiations!