Present were President Marie Vitulli (UO) (phone), Vice-President Steve Gibbons (WOU), Secretary-Treasurer Kemble Yates (SOU), Tim Thompson (OIT) (phone), Greg Monahan (EOU), Jacqueline Arante (PSU), and Bob Becker (OSU) (phone).   Also present:  Mark Nelson, Erica Hagedorn, and Karen Mainzer.

President Marie Vitulli called the meeting to order at 9:00 AM. 

The minutes of our September meeting were approved as amended.

Treasurer’s Report:  We are behind in our collection of dues – more in the “by check” category than in the “payroll deduction” category.  We’re about to send out a membership recruiting letter.

Campus reports—

UO (MV)

• Huge gift (over $70 million) recently announced to support academics.
• Serious concerns over new campus budget model to be implemented in 2009. The model will distribute tuition dollars, with factors including SCH, majors, etc.
• Still great concern about the finances and cost of new basketball arena.
• Raises for January, 2008 announced: 2% for everyone, plus 2% merit, plus maybe and additional 1%.

OSU (BB)

• Faculty Economic Welfare Committee… Provost continues to promise good raises, but details sketchy – right now a similar raise package to UO for January 1, 2008, looks likely.
• Capital campaign continues.

SOU (KY)

• New budget model based on a simple ratio of revenue divided by cost, program by program, is percolating.
• APSOU negotiations not yet to salary, but summer school talk has been interesting.  RAM monies from state have not been reported to the union. 
• SOU faculty are very upset about how the Legislative appropriation got redistributed by OUS.

EOU (GM)

• No search underway, even though Acting President can’t work past January 1 because she’s retired.
• Enrollment will be down, but not as badly as feared.
• 45% of EOU’s enrollment is in Distance Education (!).  Faculty pay is about $45/cr hr enrolled (up to $47.50 in summer 2008 in this contract).
• There have been a large number of administrative cuts.
• Union contract settled, and the details are online.  EOU got a similar package of raises as WOU, but implementation is delayed to midyear.  Whole step system went up 1% in July 1; steps increase by 1% per year.  On January 1, 2008, the whole base inflates 3% for lower ranks, 4% for Associates, and 5% for Professors.  On July 1, 2008, people move up a step.  And on January 1, 2009:  lower ranks up 4%, Associates move up 5%, and Professors move up 6%.  Merit fund got folded into faculty development.  And they got Fair Share; their dues are currently 1.4% of salary.
• They are working on an early retirement plan – pitch is to let full professors retire & hire them back for 2/3 time.  Institution saves 1/3 of salary plus all retirement costs.

OIT (TT)

• President Dow’s passing has left a leadership vacuum… No dean searches underway at this point, no strong candidate for even an Interim President. 
• Everyone got a 2% increase this fall.  Provost talks about a 5%+5% over the biennium.  It would take 9.5% + 9.5% to get to 100% of median.  They (the Faculty Compensation Committee) actually want to get to the upper quartile.

WOU (SG)

• The union has settled bargaining: 33 steps, 2% between steps, 11.7% overall increase over biennium.  Lowest step moves up to $40.5 thousand this year and to $42.0.  COLA amounts to 3.84% in first year and 3.70%.  Will add a 34th step in 08-09.  Each promotion = 4 steps up.  Contract has now been ratified.
• Provost search well underway.
• Faculty searches beginning even with no Provost.

PSU (JA)

• First salary proposal by administration truly insulting.
• Administration is refusing to bargain on a working conditions article, claiming it’s not a mandatory subject of bargaining.  Only about 30% of PSU’s faculty is now tenured/tenure track.
• Lots of questions inspired by Marie’s AOF solicitation letter and its estimates of funds for salary increases.

Executive Director Report (Mark Nelson) --

There will be a February session, supposedly for 30 days.  There will be something like 50 bills on the Senate side.  Because of Speaker Merkeley’s U.S. Senate candidacy, the House organizing is not happening.  Highest profile issue right now is regulating the mess in mortgage foreclosures, short term loan businesses, etc.  Karen and Mark met with Schraeder… He’s open to asking each campus to testify on how they spent their share of the $10 million in salary dollars.

Research faculty line item (“3%/2% research faculty monies”) is supposedly for a 3% + 2% “catch up” raises. (??)  Mark will be asking for more details.  Who really gets these dollars?

We discussed the “bigs” and how potential salary dollars may be being diverted to new programs, new administrators, etc.  Mark wants to know the salary base at each institution so AOF can more pointedly lobby for $ amounts.

AOF has asked for more information about the various pots (Recruitment & Retention, Regionals, Student/Faculty ratios, etc.).  What we have so far is the S/F ration ($6.9M) goes for 43 new faculty lines at the five institutions who get them.

The $10M for faculty salaries will ALL BE ROLLED UP.  This from Senator Schraeder.  E.g. if we put $10M in the beginning of the second year, it will roll up to $20M in the next biennium.  But the money in future years is NOT bound to faculty salaries.  Administrators may disagree.

There is some interest in unionization at OSU and UO; nothing imminent.

PERS:  Attorney fees on the Strunk case have been awarded.  AOF will get about $4500 from this settlement.  We are still getting monthly bills to stay in the PERS coalition.

Third Tier PERS folks are now getting less than 6% employer contributions in their ORP accounts (most folks are still getting considerably more).  Decoupling with a floor is still a high priority for us.  Mark thinks the 2009 session will be the right time/vehicle to go after this. 

What the PERS Board is doing with reserves is still a huge issue:  eventually, the coalition needs to sue the Board on their failing in their fiduciary duty to give money to its retirees (and NOT the employers or others).  The PERS Board is also pushing an “MLAC” committee organization (which would mean that a committee would have to bless any legislation on PERS), and we’re opposed because we know they would stack that committee against employees/retirees.

• Membership: We looked at a draft of a membership brochure.  We need more goals/future activities.  Less “institution-speak”.  Get comments back to Erica soon.  Work continues on updating our web site. 

Future meetings:          Nov. 17, no Dec. mtg., Jan. 12 

Meeting adjourned at 11:40 AM