Hello MSCF members!

Many of you showed up on Oct. 16 and made your voices heard at the Chancellor’s inaugural address. This was a huge step for us and definitely had an impact, but we can’t let up now! We are scheduled for mediation again on Nov. 9. This means we need to maximize the next few weeks and continue putting the pressure on the system office to give us a fair contract.

We are asking you to take a few minutes right now to send emails to three key individuals who have tremendous influence on our bargaining. The individuals are Vice Chancellor of Finance Bill Maki, Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Eric Davis and Director of Labor Relations/ Minnstate Lead Negotiator Betsy Thompson.  

Below you will find some bargaining facts and other key talking points that you can use to inform your message.

·   Over the last 10 years MSCF has lost the equivalent of over 925 full-time faculty members while we have seen 0 reductions in administrators.
·   The system office spent 2.61% LESS money on MSCF salaries as a whole compared to 10 years ago while all other employee groups have seen increased spending.
·   The average compensation for MAPE employees is now greater than MSCF salaries. This shows how losing a little here and a little there adds up over time.
·   System unrestricted Net assets currently at $810 million which reflects a 57% increase since 2013.
·   Minnesota State received the biggest state appropriation in history last legislative session (due in large part to the lobbying and support by MSCF members). This represents over a 20% increase from the 2023 to 2024 fiscal year.
·   During his recent inaugural address Chancellor Olson spoke about the role our colleges have in investing in the future workforce of MN. We may want to remind the system office that step one should involve investing in the faculty who educate that future workforce.

Bill Maki -Vice Chancellor of Finance

·  Bill Maki is a primary voice in establishing and maintaining the system’s bargaining parameters. His choices directly impact our bottom line.
·   As part of the Minnesota State legislative ask Vice Chancellor of Finance Bill Maki stated in his testimony that it is “more difficult to recruit and retain our faculty due to the minimal salary adjustments that have been made for the last several years.”

Eric Davis-Vice Chancellor of Human Resources

·  Eric Davis oversees the human resources and labor relations departments for the system.
·   He is the primary voice in establishing labor relations’ narrative and approach to bargaining. When disrespect is shown in the process, it is his responsibility.
·   If you have ever missed a paycheck or had errors in your pay, Eric Davis holds a great deal of responsibility for this.
·   He continues to advocate for a payroll system that routinely results in missed paychecks or payroll errors. While he stated in email communication that he finds “pay delays and errors disheartening” and his team continues to “strive for perfection” he has been unwilling to implement improvements to a system that is inherently flawed.

Betsy Thompson- Director of Labor Relations- Lead Negotiator for Minnesota State

·  Last April, during the handshake meeting at the start of bargaining we asked about perception in the past that the system as a certain amount of $ to spend on all bargaining unit settlements and if the first units settle higher then the rest of the units need to come in lower. Betsy Thompson said that this was not accurate. She stated what it takes to get a settlement with us will be what it takes. In the event a settlement comes in higher than what they have, they will have to deal with that.
·   The system is now going back on this comment and stating that they cannot afford to give us a settlement like MAPE and AFSCME because they don’t have enough money in the budget to do this.