LFU house party

Erik Entwistle hosted a lovely house party for Union members and friends at his home in Cambridge on Tuesday, September 21, 2010. The event was a big success. Good food and wine, lively conversation and fun was had by all. While pickup music was planned for the evening, the discussion, food and wine were so good, we actually forgot to pull out our instruments! We are planning future house parties, some at which the music will come first. Back to top^

Setting the record straight

On August 11, 2010, LFU President Clayton Hoener sent a letter to the Board of Trustees, also copied to the Board of Visitors, to inform them of the charges filed against Longy by the American Federation of Teachers on behalf of the Longy Faculty Union. On August 26, 2010, Longy President Karen Zorn responded by sending a letter to the Longy Board of Visitors purporting to address some of the issues raised in that letter.

Contrary to President Zorn's characterization in her letter, the Executive Board of the Longy Faculty Union, all of whom are Longy faculty members, voted to file charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) only as a last resort, not as a negotiating tactic. Since President Zorn's March 5 announcement of unilateral changes, the Union has repeatedly asked the Longy administration to rescind these illegal changes to terms and conditions of employment of members of the collective bargaining unit. The administration has steadfastly refused, and has made many additional unilateral changes since then. The LFU protested all of these actions to the administration in our meetings with them, and we are adding them to the charges that have already been filed with the NLRB.

In her letter, President Zorn states, "As you know, these faculty changes were part of the strategic plan the Board of Trustees approved at the end of 2008, long before there was a faculty union at Longy."

This is false. There is nothing stated in the strategic plan, copies of which all faculty received in early 2009, about the new terms and conditions of employment that were unilaterally implemented in March and thereafter.

President Zorn also states, "After nearly five months of negotiation, we finally received their complete initial proposal on August 3."

This is false and misleading. The LFU has been submitting complete written proposals on a regular meeting-by-meeting basis since May 17. Each proposal included one or more complete Articles of the proposed contract. As of August 3, we have submitted more than 40 complete detailed, substantive proposals, totalling 50 typewritten pages. We have collectively spent hundreds of hours writing, editing and refining these proposals with input from LFU members. To date, the administration has submitted no proposals of their own, and has responded with only two short counterproposals, totalling less than one typewritten page.

Contrary to President Zorn's implication, there is absolutely nothing in law or common practice that implies or requires the Union to submit a complete contract before the administration begins to negotiate. The administration has repeatedly used this false premise as justification for its virtual total lack of response. In fact, the law requires very much the contrary: that both parties come to the table to negotiate in good faith, which requires a give and take of proposals.

President Zorn states, "Rather than spending their time and energies drafting a useful proposal and negotiating, the union has chosen to stir up numerous distractions for the administration..."

Patently, this is false. In meeting after meeting, we have spent hours presenting and explaining complete, substantive written proposals to the administration.

President Zorn states, "We are dealing with an inexperienced negotiating team on the side of the union, including the attorney — we think their approach is part tactical and part naiveté."

First, while we have AFT field representative Diane Frey on our negotiating team, the AFT attorney is not on our negotiating team. Second, our negotiating team includes individuals with decades of negotiating experience in union-related negotiations, 501(c)(3) negotiations, and general business negotiations.

President Zorn states, "From their comments and actions, it seems that the union thinks negotating means giving them precisely what they are asking for — if we do not, the Administration is 'refusing to negotiate.'"

None of our written contract proposals have contained demands of any kind. The only demand that we have made of the administration, and that we continue to make, is that they rescind the illegal unilateral changes. This is a matter of law.

President Zorn states, "The union is asking the School to negotiate subjects which are well outside the mandatory subjects of collective bargaining, such as the process for hiring new faculty and determining who is eligible for state unemployment insurance."

We have not asked the administration to bargain over who is eligible for state unemployment insurance, as that is a matter determined by the state. Their statement that we have asked them to negotiate this matter is patently false. We have brought to the table some issues of permissive bargaining, which is allowed; however, the vast majority of our proposals concern mandatory subjects of bargaining. It is, in fact, common for hiring procedures to be a part of collective bargaining agreements.

President Zorn states, "As evidenced by the letter you received from Clay Hoener, it seems that the union either does not understand or does not acknowledge the basic rules of collective bargaining, circumventing the School's designated negotiating committee to reach out to the Board of Trustees."

To impugn the AFT (AFL-CIO), one of the largest and most well-established unions in the country, as not understanding the "basic rules of collective bargaining" is silly. Sending an informational letter to the Board of Trustees, copied to the Board of Visitors, is not circumventing anyone. At no time in that letter, or anywhere else, either in writing or verbally, have we attempted to "negotiate" with any person or persons other than the negotiating committee. Unfortunately, it seems, the administration does not want us to excercise our right of free speech in informing interested parties about what is going on at the school, which is of great concern not only to faculty members but the entire Longy community.

On the other hand, the administration itself — by its own admission to us in the most recent negotiating session — has been circumventing the negotiating process. As recently as last week, they sent emails directly to individual bargaining unit members to negotiate pay ratios and other terms and conditions of employment. This is in direct violation of the law, which requires them to bargain only with the Union negotiating committee as the official representative of the bargaining unit.

President Zorn states, "I also ask you to remember that, just like during the election, the union can say whatever they want, true or not. I am allowed only to state the facts, which is what I will continue to do."

The Union is committed to providing all concerned and interested parties with accurate information. The Union has been and will continue to be here for the future of Longy, its faculty, its students and for the entire community. We sincerely hope that the administration will stop its continued campaign of false statements and disparaging remarks and begin to negotiate with the LFU in earnest. Back to top^

Voices of the "realigned"

This faculty profile is a continuation in a series of articles honoring the contributions of faculty members who have been affected by the "realignment" that was announced in a faculty meeting on March 5 of this year. The announcement of this faculty restructuring — which affected ninety-two faculty members, according to administration count — came just weeks after the faculty voted by overwhelming majority to form a union on January 20. The LFU has steadfastly demanded that the administration rescind the letters that were sent to individual faculty members shortly after the March 5 meeting.

The LFU welcomes comments here from anyone who feels concerned by the faculty "realignments". Affected faculty who would like to present their stories in future issues of LFU News are encouraged to contact Deborah Beers.

Profile: Lois Shapiro

I have been at Longy since the early 1980s, teaching piano and chamber music to children and adults in the Preparatory and Continuing Studies divisions and in the Conservatory. Then, with no advance notice or warning given to me individually, I received a registered letter in March of this year, saying that I would not be teaching at the school for the next academic year.

Throughout these many years, I have actively donated my time to Longy — performing in many chamber music and solo recitals, volunteering to create a story about Béla Bartok, and serving as narrator for three of the Dalcroze Department's hugely popular family series concerts.

What made my relationship with Longy special? The vibrant and joyful music-making at all levels of experience and the possibility for truly creative exploration and collaborative "cross-fertilization" with my many wonderful colleagues. One example: I was able to invite a Persian sitar player to join me in improvising for a Dalcroze class and for a piano seminar.

I had also been hoping some day to bring the Triple Helix Trio, of which I am founding pianist, for an interdisciplinary program at Longy. The Trio was cited by the Boston Globe as one of the top chamber ensembles of Boston, and chosen as "Musicians of the Year in 2000".

I actively recruited students to Longy because I believed in the unique quality of the education and in the kind of nurturing that went on there. Three students were planning to apply to the graduate program to study with me next year. They changed their plans, though, when they found out I had been fired.

—Lois Shapiro

LFU Executive Board meetings

The next two LFU Executive Board meetings take place at Longy as follows:

• Tuesday, October 19 from 2 to 4pm in Room 21
• Monday, November 8 from 12 to 2pm in Room 21