IFO BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS CONTRACT RATIFICATION:
As we notified you recently, the IFO and MinnState reached a tentative agreement for the ’19-’21 IFO/MinnState contract. On Thursday, October 17 the IFO Board of Directors reviewed the settlement and unanimously endorsed ratification by the IFO membership. The Board recognized the negotiations team ability in this round to achieve many delegate assembly resolutions that will improve working conditions, while at the same time, they were successful in fending off numerous employer proposals to increase management control and eliminate well-established benefits and protections for all faculty, including library and media faculty, counselors, coaches, and faculty in adjunct and community faculty appointments.
DETAILS OF THE SETTLEMENT:
The full details and documents summarizing the changes may now be found at ifo.org/contractsettlement.
The documents include:
RATIFICATION TIMELINE:
Important Dates
Campus Meetings - October 29 - November 6
Last day to become a member to be eligible to vote – November 11
Voting open - November 12-18
MinnState Board of Trustees Review - November 20
Each campus faculty association will hold at least two official meetings between October 29 – November 6. Many campuses will also hold additional meetings with various groups to review provisions in the contract specific to their job duties or appointment.
Ratification voting will begin on Tuesday, November 12 and remain open until 4 p.m. on Monday, November 18. We have moved to an entirely online voting process. You will receive an email with directions on how to vote on the evening of November 11. If you do not receive an email by November 12 please contact Donna Blake at blake@ifo.org.
In order to vote, you must be an IFO member. If you are not currently a member, you may join until 12 p.m. on Monday, November 11 and you will be eligible to vote. You can become a member today by clicking here. To check your current membership status, please click here.
If the IFO membership votes to ratify this settlement, we expect the MinnState Board of Trustees to take action at their meeting on November 20. The contract would then be sent to the Legislative Joint Subcommittee on Employee Relations to be considered to go into effect retroactive to July 1, 2019. Our goal is to have the settlement go into effect in January of 2020.
HEALTH, DENTAL, AND INSURANCE CHANGES:
As a reminder, also included in the settlement are the plan changes to health, dental, and short-term disability insurance previously negotiated through Labor-Management Coalition on Health Insurance and follow-up negotiations at the AFSCME bargaining table. Insurance changes will include improvements in the Dental plan and an increase in Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage. Please click here for more information on the health insurance changes. These changes will go into effect on January 1, 2020.
VOTE!
We are proud of this settlement and urge you to vote. It is an opportunity to send a clear signal to our employer that we are an engaged and powerful voice for all faculty. The simplest and easiest way to show your pride and engagement in the union is by casting your vote for ratification of our contract.