IFO MnSCU Agreement 05-07

This Agreement is entered into by and between the Board of Trustees, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities hereinafter called the Employer, and the Inter Faculty Organization, hereinafter called the IFO.

ARTICLE 2

Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination

Section A. Employer Responsibility. The Employer accepts its responsibility to insure equal opportunity in all aspects of employment for all qualified persons regardless of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, disability, reliance on public assistance, sex, marital status, sexual orientation/affectional preference, or any other class or group distinction, as set forth by state or federal anti-discrimination laws, or in Board policy.

Section B. IFO Responsibility. The IFO accepts its responsibility as exclusive bargaining representative, and agrees to represent all faculty members in the bargaining unit without discrimination as to race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, disability, reliance on public assistance, sex, marital status, sexual orientation/affectional preference, or any other class or group distinction, as set forth by state or federal anti-discrimination laws, or in Board policy.

Section C. Affirmative Action Plan.

Subd. 1. The Employer shall have an Affirmative Action Plan that is uniform in application throughout the Minnesota state universities. The IFO shall have the right to meet and confer on the provisions and procedures of the Plan. The employer and the IFO are both firmly committed to affirmative action.

Subd. 2. Americans With Disabilities Act. Whenever the employer or President/designee determines to take actions within the faculty bargaining unit which are necessary for the reasonable accommodation of any qualified disabled individual to effectuate compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or other applicable law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, he/she shall first discuss the action with the affected department/unit. In these decisions, all participants shall adhere to the rules pertaining to confidentiality.

Subd. 3. Processing Allegations of Discrimination and Final Jurisdiction. The IFO recognizes the employer’s obligation to take timely and appropriate action with regard to allegations and findings of discrimination. This includes the employer’s obligation to establish procedures for investigation of discrimination complaints. The IFO shall have the right to meet and confer on the procedures established by the employer. The employer recognizes the IFO’s obligation to fully represent bargaining unit employees when asked by employees to do so. The parties recognize that final jurisdiction for resolving claims of discrimination is vested in various state and federal agencies and the courts.

Subd. 4. Voluntary Mediation of Disputes. The IFO and the Employer agree to offer a voluntary mediation option for resolution of allegations of discrimination.

Section D. Association Membership . There shall be no discrimination by the Employer or the Administration because of membership or non-membership in the IFO, or because of activities on behalf of the IFO, nor shall any attempts be made to discourage or encourage membership in the IFO.

ARTICLE 3

Recognition

Section A. Recognition. Pursuant to the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act of 1971, as amended, the Employer recognizes the Association as the exclusive representative in the appropriate unit as described in the decisions of the Bureau of Mediation Services in the cases 72-PR-180-A, 73-PR-414-A, and 73-PR-431-A dated January 24, 1975; and the Bureau of Mediation decision in cases 72-PR-180-A, 73-PR-414-A and 73-PR-431-A dated April 24, 1975, case 80-PR-1305-A dated June 30, 1980; and case 83-PR-1218-A dated September 9, 1983.

Section B. Exclusive Right. The Employer will not meet and negotiate relative to those terms and conditions of employment subject to negotiations with any employee groups or organizations composed of employees covered by this Agreement except through the Association.

Section C. Unit Disputes. The parties will attempt to resolve disputes over bargaining unit inclusion or exclusion of new or revised positions. In the event the parties fail to reach agreement within thirty (30) days as to the inclusion or exclusion of such positions, either party may refer the matter to the Bureau of Mediation Services for determination.

ARTICLE 4

Academic Freedom

Section A. Policy. It shall be the policy of MnSCU to maintain and encourage full freedom, within the law, of inquiry, teaching, and research. The Employer shall not discriminate against a faculty member for engaging in political activities or holding or voicing political views, so long as the exercise of this right does not interfere with responsibilities as a faculty member.

Section B. Prohibition. The Employer agrees not to use any mechanical or electronic listening or recording devices except with the faculty member’s express consent, and to inform the IFO if that consent is given; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed to preclude the recording and/or transcription by court reporter of formal proceedings, including arbitration, where a record or minutes are customarily maintained. Both the Employer and the IFO agree that neither may unilaterally record or transcribe, by court reporter, contract negotiation sessions or grievance meetings, including those at the universities, without the written consent of the other party.

Section C. Faculty Rights, Responsibilities and Obligations. In the exercise of academic freedom, the faculty member may, without limitation, discuss his/her own subject in the classroom; he/she may not, however, claim as his/her right the privilege of persistently discussing in the classroom any matter which has no relation to the course subject. In extramural utterances, the faculty member has an obligation to not represent himself/herself as an institutional spokesperson, unless so designated by the President.

Section D. Research and Publication. A faculty member is entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of results, so long as he/she fulfills the requirements of his/her other academic duties.

ARTICLE 5

Definitions

Section A. Service. When a written notice or a written response is required to be given under the terms of this Agreement, such notice or response shall be made by personal service or service by first class mail. Personal service shall be deemed complete when the notice or response is handed to or receipted by the party to whom directed. First class mail shall be deemed complete and sufficient service upon mailing to the last home address of the faculty member contained in the official personnel file.

Section B. P.E.L.R.A. P.E.L.R.A. shall mean the Minnesota Public Employment Labor Relations Act of 1971, as amended.

Section C. Employer. Employer shall mean the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, also referred to as MnSCU.

Section D. Administration. Administration shall mean the Chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, university presidents, and designees.

Section E. Employee(s), Faculty and Faculty Member. Employee or Faculty Member shall mean a member of the appropriate unit as described in this Agreement. Employees or Faculty shall mean all members of the appropriate unit as described in this Agreement.

Section F. IFO. IFO shall refer to the exclusive representative.

Section G. Association. Association shall mean the local IFO chapters (Faculty Associations) at each university.

Section H. President. President shall refer to the presidents of each university.

Section I. Chancellor. Chancellor shall refer to the Chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

Section J. Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities or Board shall mean the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

Section K. Meet and Confer. Meet and Confer shall mean the exchange of views and concerns between employers and their respective employees at meetings scheduled for this purpose in accordance with Article 6 of this Agreement and the applicable provisions of P.E.L.R.A.

Section L. Meet and Negotiate. Meet and Negotiate shall mean the performance of the mutual obligations between MnSCU and the IFO to meet at reasonable times, including where possible, meeting in advance of the budget making process, with the good faith intent of entering into an agreement on terms and conditions of employment without compelling either party to agree to a proposal or to make a concession.

Section M. Academic Year. Academic Year is defined as beginning with the start of fall semester and ending with the completion of spring semester.

Section N. Duty Day. Duty Day shall mean a day included in the university calendar or individual faculty member's ~~contract~~ appointment on which a faculty member engages in duties as described in this Agreement.

Section O. Immediate Supervisor. Immediate Supervisor shall mean a Dean or other individual, not a member of the bargaining unit, who has supervisory authority over faculty.

Section P. Program. Program shall mean units in which a major and/or minor area of curricular study is normally available.

Section Q. Recommendation. When the contract requires or provides for a recommendation on a personnel action, the recommendation must include written reasons and must be signed and dated by the person or persons who make said recommendation.

Section R. Days. Days means calendar days excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays as defined by Minnesota Statutes. Where the Agreement sets a specific date, and that date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday on which the University or Chancellor’s Office is closed, the due date shall fall on the next regular business day.

Section S. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (or MnSCU) or System. System or Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System shall mean System of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (also known as MnSCU).

Section T. Presidential Designee. Whenever allowed by this Agreement, the use of a designee by the President shall in no way abrogate the responsibility and accountability of the President for the decisions made by the designee. Within thirty days of signing this Agreement, each President will furnish the IFO and the local Association a list of his/her appropriate designees. A President may revise his/her list of designees after the Association has been provided an opportunity to meet and confer in accordance with Article 6. In the event of a new President being appointed, he/she will submit a list of designees within thirty (30) days of assuming office. No member of the bargaining unit shall be a presidential designee.

Section U. Just Cause. Just Cause as used in this Agreement means that there must be reasons for disciplinary action and that the action taken must be commensurate with the severity of the offense.

Section V. Resident Faculty. Resident faculty at Metropolitan State University shall be those faculty appointed as fixed-term, probationary or tenured faculty.

Section W. Domestic Partner. Domestic partner shall mean domestic partner as defined by the Department of Employee Relations.

Section X. Cohort. A group of students, committed to an academic program, who take the same courses at the same time and location with the same instructor(s) throughout the program. Courses provided by alternative delivery modes, such as ITV or web-based instruction, are considered to be delivered in the same location.

ARTICLE 6

Association Rights

Section A. Dues Check-Off.

Subd. 1. The Employer agrees to cooperate with the Department of Finance and the IFO in facilitating the deduction of membership dues established by the IFO from the salary of each faculty member who has authorized such deduction in writing. The aggregate deductions of all faculty members shall be remitted together with an itemized statement to the IFO office no later than fifteen (15) calendar days following the end of each payroll period.

Subd. 2. In accordance with Minnesota Statutes, the IFO may request the Employer to check off a Fair Share fee for each member of the unit who is not a member of the IFO.

Subd. 3. The IFO agrees to indemnify and hold the Employer harmless against any and all claims, suits, orders or judgments brought or issued against the Employer by a faculty member as a result of any action taken in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

Section B. Meet and Confer

Subd. 1. State IFO Meet and Confer. The IFO shall have the right to meet and confer with the Board or designee(s) pursuant to Minnesota Statutes §179A.08.

Arrangements for meet and confer sessions with the Board shall be in accordance with established Board procedures for meetings. If the meet and confer session is with the Board’s designee the procedure shall be as follows.

A mutually acceptable time and place for such conferences shall be arranged upon request of either party. The Employer shall provide the facilities. A written agenda and pertinent materials shall be submitted by the party requesting the meeting at least fourteen (14) calendar days in advance of the scheduled meeting date. Additional matters may be placed on the agenda upon notice of either party. When the subject of meet and confer involves any one of the areas provided below, the other party shall have the right whenever possible to ten (10) days from the time of the meet and confer in which to respond to the party who has placed the item on the agenda. The IFO shall have the right to make policy recommendations including but not limited to the following areas: budget planning and allocations, programs and program development, long-range planning, and development of campus facilities. Such recommendations may be made at meet and confer sessions, or by presentations at meetings of the Board. Also, subject matters for meet and confer meetings may include matters such as implementation of this Agreement. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to preclude other components of the university or System from making policy recommendations. The IFO President and the Chancellor shall confer on the need for faculty to serve on System-level committees, after which the IFO shall appoint the faculty By mutual agreement between the IFO President and the Chancellor, the Chancellor in his/her discretion may appoint an agreed-upon number of additional faculty members to serve ex officio as resource persons based on professional expertise.

Subd. 2. University Meetings. The Association may establish a local committee to meet and confer with the President, or when the President is not on campus, his/her designees, at least monthly for the purpose of discussing matters of mutual concern. Additional committees which deal with meet and confer issues or which are appointed via the meet and confer process may be established as mutually agreed to by the Association and the President. The Association and the President shall confer on the need for faculty to serve on college and university-level committees, after which the Association shall appoint the faculty. By mutual agreement between the Association and the President, an agreed-upon number of additional faculty members may be appointed by the President to serve ex officio as resource persons based on professional expertise. Faculty members appointed to committees in an ex officio capacity will not serve as representatives of other faculty.

The Administration shall provide the facilities and set a mutually acceptable time and place for such conferences upon request of either party. A written agenda shall be submitted by the party requesting the meeting whenever possible at least five (5) duty days in advance of the scheduled meeting. Additional matters may be placed on the agenda upon notice by either party. When the subject of meet and confer involves any one of the areas provided below, the other party shall have the right to ten (10) duty days from the time of the meet and confer in which to respond in writing. Implementation of new policies or changes in existing policies affecting any of the listed areas shall not occur until the opportunity to meet and confer and respond to the proposals has been provided to the Association. Either party may request a meet and confer for a response, the meeting to be held ten (10) duty days after the meet and confer session at which the topic was introduced. In such case no action shall be taken on the topic under consideration prior to the conclusion of this second meet and confer.

Failure of the Association to meet and confer or to respond shall not prevent the Administration from implementing decisions. The Association shall have the right to make policy recommendations, including but not limited to the following areas: curriculum; evaluation of students; graduation requirements; admission policies; budget planning and allocations; the reallocation of vacant positions that had previously been filled by tenured or probationary faculty members from one department or program to another; programs and program development; long-range planning; development of campus facilities and procedures for the selection of personnel.

Also, subject matters for meet and confer meetings may include matters such as implementation of this Agreement. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to preclude other components of the university or System from making policy recommendations.

Section C. Information. The Employer and Administration agree to provide the IFO and Association with information pertaining to the System and university budgets, both present and proposed, and statistical/financial or other information necessary for the negotiation and implementation of collective bargaining agreements or the processing of grievances. Such information shall be supplied, as it becomes available, to the IFO and Association, upon its written request, and within a reasonable time thereafter. This shall include monthly reports of additions and deletions to the unclassified payroll. It is understood that this Section shall not be construed to require the Employer to compile information and statistics in the form requested which are not already compiled in such form, unless mutually agreeable.

Section D. Communications. In each building containing offices assigned to members of the bargaining unit, the Administration shall set aside appropriate bulletin board space for IFO or Association use. Subject to applicable laws and policies of the Employer and/or the State of Minnesota, the IFO or Association shall have the right to use campus e-mail, Internet access, and the university distribution mail service for disseminating information and communicating with faculty members. This provision shall not be construed to permit the IFO or Association to establish web-pages on the Employer’s electronic resources or make other similar use of those resources.

Section E. Copies of Agreements. The Employer shall print and distribute final copies of the Agreement to all members of the appropriate unit within forty-five (45) days after execution and legislative or legislative commission approval.

The Employer shall print and distribute final copies of the Agreement. If the final copies are received by the IFO within 30 days after execution and legislative or legislative commission approval, then the IFO shall reimburse the Employer for all reasonable costs of printing the final copies of the Agreement. If the copies are received between 31 and 45 days after execution and legislative or legislative commission approval, the IFO shall reimburse the Employer for half of the reasonable costs of printing the final copies of the Agreement.

Section F. Association Membership. The Employer and Administration hereby agree that all employees of the System in this bargaining unit shall have the right to organize freely, join and support the IFO and/or the Association for the purpose of engaging in collective bargaining.

Section G. IFO/Association Business. Duly authorized representatives of the IFO/Association shall be free to transact official IFO/Association business necessary to the performance of IFO/Association responsibilities to bargaining unit members, including grievance representation activities. Such business may be conducted on the campuses at reasonable times so long as it does not interfere with the normal functioning of the university.

Section H. Release Time.

Subd. 1. Release Time for IFO President. Upon request of the IFO, the IFO President shall be granted release time from his/her university assigned workload in the amount requested. In the event that the amount of release time is less than full time, the scheduling and amount of release time shall be subject to mutual agreement between the affected university, the IFO, and the faculty member.

The IFO shall reimburse the university at the applicable minimum adjunct rate set forth in Article 11, for the amount of release time granted.

In addition, upon request of the IFO, the IFO President shall be granted up to sixty (60) extended duty days to fulfill his/her duties as IFO President. The IFO shall reimburse the university for the full cost of the IFO President’s wage and benefit package for each such day.

Subd. 2. Other Release Time. Upon request of the IFO, the Employer shall afford release time to a maximum of two hundred (200) semester credit hours, to IFO or Association officers for purposes of conducting duties at the state or local level. The IFO shall reimburse the Employer for such release time at the applicable minimum adjunct rate set forth in Article 11 for the release time granted for the first one hundred thirty-three (133) credit hours and the actual replacement cost of the salary and benefits for any additional hours of the release time granted. The total payment by the IFO to the Employer shall not exceed the total actual replacement costs.

Subd. 3. The Association shall notify the President by August 1 yearly as to the number of credits of release time to be used for the academic year.

Section I. Sabbatical. Upon returning to his/her university, a faculty member who has served as IFO President shall be given the right to a one (1) semester sabbatical after serving one (1) term in office, and two (2) semesters if he/she has served more than one (1) term. The sabbatical shall be at the rates and consistent with the provisions of Article 19, Section C, Subd. 3-7.

ARTICLE 7

Management Rights

Except as expressly limited in this Agreement, the Employer reserves all management rights and management functions as provided by law to the State of Minnesota. The State and the Employer have the responsibility to make and enforce rules and regulations, subject to limitations of statutes, governing the affairs of the universities consistent with expressed provisions of this Agreement, recognizing that the primary obligation of the Board is to provide higher education opportunities.

ARTICLE 8

Agreement Against Lockouts and Strikes

Section A. Lockouts. No lockout of faculty members shall be instituted by the Employer during the term of this Agreement.

Section B. Strikes. During the life of this Agreement, no strike of any kind, as defined in Minnesota Statutes § 179A.03, Subd. 16., shall be engaged in, sanctioned, or supported by the IFO, its officers, or agents. In the event the Employer alleges that any faculty member or faculty members are engaged in a strike, the IFO will, upon written notification, immediately notify such faculty member or faculty members in writing of the allegation and the implications of a strike. However, nothing in this Article shall be construed as a waiver by IFO of the rights of faculty members to conduct a permissible and legal strike pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 179A.18.

ARTICLE 9

Personnel Files

Section A. Personnel Files. Each university shall maintain at the university one (1) official personnel file for each faculty member. Such file shall contain copies of personnel transactions, official correspondence with the faculty member, material collected in accordance with procedures established in Article 22, which may include summaries of unsigned student evaluations, as well as other similar materials. Unsigned letters or statements, other than those indicated above, shall not be placed in the faculty member’s personnel file. Only those MnSCU employees whose job responsibilities require it, and who are designated by the Administration or other persons specifically authorized by law, shall have access to a faculty member’s personnel file. Faculty members shall not have access to the personnel files of other faculty members except as authorized in Section C below. This Section shall not be construed to prohibit access to materials provided as part of an application for promotion, tenure, or non-renewal recommendation.

Commencing January 1, 1990, a dated log shall be maintained of official correspondence with faculty members and of material collected in accordance with the procedures established in Article 22 including any unsigned student evaluations which are added to or removed from faculty personnel files. Errors in the maintenance of the log shall not be subject to the grievance procedure.

The Dean may also keep a personnel file for any faculty member which shall only contain copies of resumes, educational transcripts, appointment documents, Article 22 materials, application files, forms and recommendations for action under promotion, evaluation, non-renewal, or tenure. However, the administration shall only take action on personnel matters with respect to a faculty member based upon file information contained in the official personnel file.

Section B. Access. Consistent with law, each faculty member shall have access to his/her official and Dean’s personnel file. Such access shall be during normal business hours under university supervision. A faculty member shall have the right to place in his/her official personnel file such material as he/she determines may have a bearing on his/her position as a faculty member, including statements in response to any items in his/her file.

Section C. Exclusive Representative. Representatives of the IFO, Association, or other persons having written authorization from the faculty member concerned may examine, under university supervision, the official and Dean’s personnel file of that faculty member, except for the limitation provided in Section B of this Article.

Section D. Right to Copies