Board Cancels Meeting After
Administration Keeps Employees Out

November 28, 2006

Frustrated 212 members lined the halls outside the Board Meeting Room Tuesday night and were joined by members of MATC’s other two unions, Locals 587 and 715.

Without a contract for five months and fed up with the Administration’s refusal to honestly bargain, faculty, staff and counselors were also angry with the board for handing Dr. Cole a Cadillac contract with an 8.56% increase before settling with other employees.

Then, adding insult the injury, the administration imposed a new rule, allowing 60 people in to the meeting and prevented more than 80 employees and members of the public from entering the board meeting.

Those left on the outside chanted and sang.

The MATC Board was so angered by the administration’s response that they cancelled the meeting after dealing with several brief, time-sensitive items.

Rather than move the meeting to Cooley Auditorium or S-120, the administration prevented people from entering the Board Room after 60 people were let in and then directed the overflow to watch via video in Cooley Auditorium.

As several board members pointed out, the administration had plenty of time to set up an alternative site, since they had called board members early in the afternoon to tell them to expect a large crowd of faculty and staff.

“It was not our intention to see the meeting postponed,” explained 212 President Michael Rosen. “We wanted to make a statement to the board alerting them to the bait and switch games the administration is playing instead of bargaining honestly.”

“But the Board decided it should not conduct business with employees and members of the public kept on the outside,” Rosen explained. “The administration could easily have made arrangements to allow the meeting to take place with full attendance of the crowd, but as we know from Coordination Day, the administration prefers to be on video rather than appear live before the employees.”

The Board decided not to reconvene until the December 19th meeting, at which time it will get a larger meeting room to accommodate employees. Please mark down Tuesday, December 19th on your calendars, so that we can once again have a great turnout. Thanks for all of you who attended yesterday.