Upcoming SHARE Information Meetings in September

Please join us at one of the following drop-in times to learn what's happening with your union now. Stop by for a quick question, or stay a while and bring your lunch. (And your questions! And your friends!)

CCU -- Wednesday, 9/7/16 (2 -4pm) -- 1st Floor Conference Room

Main Campus -- Thursday, 9/8/16 (noon-1:30pm) -- Sherman Cafeteria, west end, near the elevator bank

If these meetings do not work for you, give us a call and we'll work with you to schedule a time and place that is more convenient: 508-929-4020.

Family Fun! Labor Day Event

This Labor Day, Lawrence Massachusetts will host its 32nd Annual Bread & Roses Heritage Festival. The family-friendly event will feature fun activities, including historic walking and trolley tours, performances by the renowned Bread & Puppet Theater, pony rides, juggling, exhibits, social justice sign painting, a kids-zone, and more, all free of charge.

The event commemorates the historic Lawrence Textile Strike, which involved over 20,000 diverse men and women who worked in the local mills. They spent the brutally cold winter of 1912 opposing, specifically, pay-cuts resulting from a shortened workweek, and, more generally, the deplorable working conditions of the mills.  

We know and appreciate that many SHARE members will be doing important work to keep our hospital and medical school running on the holiday. The Festival will run from 11:30am-5:30pm. Several from SHARE plan to converge at Campagnone Common for the event. We hope you can join us! The drive is under an hour from the main UMass Medical School campus.

GIC UPDATE: No Increase to GIC Health Insurance Employee Contribution for FY2017

The House and the Senate met last week and approved to override Governor Bakers' budget vetoes that would have raised premium contributions to public sector employees hired before July 1, 2003 and many state retirees for FY 2017. 

Thank you all of you who participated by writing a letter or getting in touch with your Senator and supporting to maintain the employee contribution percentages as they are. For the past two years, there has been continuous pressure by the Governor to push healthcare cost onto employees. Last year, many union members and representatives, including those from SHARE, lobbied the State House to oppose the same proposed increase in premium contributions to the GIC. Union members' involvement was key in stopping the proposed increases. This year the letter campaign also succeeded in overriding the Governor's budget vetoes. Thank you for telling your story and participating!

SHARE Information Meetings In August

Please join us at one of the following drop-in times to learn what's happening with your union now. Stop by for a quick question, or stay a while and bring your lunch. (And your questions! And your friends!)

CCU -- Wednesday, 8/3/16 (2 -4pm) -- 1st Floor Conference Room

South Street -- Thursday, 8/4/16 (noon-1:30pm) -- England Conference Room

And, for a more structured update about the latest with the GIC, the new AFSCME College Benefit, and other union news, join us here . . . 

Main Campus -- Thursday, 8/11/16 (noon-1:30pm) -- Sherman Center, AS6-2072

If these meetings do not work for you, give us a call and we'll work with you to schedule a time and place that is more convenient: 508-929-4020.

Free Online Associate Degrees for SHARE Members

As a SHARE member, through the AFSCME Free College Benefit, you and your family can now earn an associate degree completely online–for FREE. SHARE leaders learned about this new program when it was announced last week at the AFSCME International Convention.

The benefit is offered through our parent organization, AFSCME, in cooperation with Eastern Gateway Community College, to provide members and their families “the chance to earn an online degree from an accredited school with no out-of-pocket expense,” as described on the program flyer. The program is open to active and retired AFSCME members, their children, and dependents.

The degree programs are currently limited to Associate of Business Management, Associate of Criminal Justice, and Associate of Arts (which can be used to progress into baccalaureate programs including psychology, sociology, English, history, fine arts, and communications). An Early Childhood Education degree will be offered beginning next year.

The program is designed to welcome traditional as well as non-traditional students, including those who have been out of school for a long time, and to be flexible, allowing participants to work while earning their degree. And the degrees are designed to parallel the first two years of related Bachelor's Degree programs to make the coursework transferable.

Learn how the program works by clicking HERE.

The application process involves submitting a simple application form, along with a completed FAFSA form, and school transcripts. Applicants are required to include their AFSCME member number. Although SHARE does not receive information about member numbers, we will be happy to help you find out yours. If you receive mailings to your home from AFSCME, including the AFSCME Works magazine, you can find that number on the address label. Your ID number will look something like this:

SHARE is extremely excited for this new offering. If you run into difficulty finding answers to any questions, we're happy to help: please call the SHARE office at 508-929-4020.

URGENT!! Click on link to oppose increase in GIC costs

Governor Charlie Baker signed the Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) budget into law at the beginning of July 2016. After approving the budget, he has 10 days to issue his vetoes and amendments.  For the FY 2017 budget Governor Baker issued several vetoes and amendments regarding GIC premium contributions for state employees which attempts to raise the premium split to 25% for all active state employees. Other amendments included healthcare premium contributions for municipal retirees and sick leave accrual for state employees. If Governor Baker’s vetoes go through, state employees, including SHARE members at UMMS, who were hired prior to July 1, 2003 could see an increase to their health care premium contribution. The AFL-CIO, SHARE, and many other unions, are encouraging all public sector employees to contact their State Representative by writing a letter to request that the House of Representatives override the Governor’s budget actions. Thank you for participating by using this link to write a letter:

actionnetwork.org/letters/support-public-sector-workers-today

You just need to enter your name, e-mail, home address and a customizable letter template will pop-up, addressed to your own local lawmakers. If you have any questions, you can contact the SHARE union at 508-929-4020 or share.umms@theshareunion.org

SHARE Raises Now in Effect

The 2016 SHARE raises go into effect this week. SHARE members have begun earning their new higher rate, and will see the effect in the July 15 paycheck.

For most members, the raise is the higher of $0.45 or 2%. That means that a full-time person is earning at least $36 more per paycheck before taxes (or almost $1,000 per year).

Probationary employees

• If you are a new employee in your 6-month probationary period on June 26, 2016, your raise will be delayed, and a little smaller: 1.5% increase, as of the first Sunday of the next full pay period following satisfactory completion of the probationary period
• If you are a transfer employee in your 3-month probationary period, you get your regular raise on time

Merit based on performance reviews

• Employees with an Exceeds rating receive an additional $100 lump sum
• Employees with an Outstanding rating receive an additional $250 lump sum
• Employees with Does not Meet or Needs Improvement rating raises may have their raises withheld (this is subject to review by HR and the union through the problem-solving process)

Employees at grade max

• The grade maximum increases by 1.5%
• If your raise would take you above this new grade max, you move to the new max and get the rest as a lump sum.                            

Employees at grade min

• The grade minimum increases by 1.5%
• If your rate is below the new grade min, you move up to the new min, and then get your raise

Structure Raises for employees too low in their grade – you may be eligible if…

• You have 5 full years of service but are not 25% through your grade
• You have 10 full years of service but are not 50% through your grade
• You have 15 full years of service but are not 75% through your grade

If you have questions about the structure raises, call the SHARE office at 508-929-4020.

For more information see the SHARE contract or call the SHARE office

• See page 54 of the SHARE contract for this year’s raise and next year’s raise
• See pages 57-59 of the SHARE contract for the SHARE Salary Chart effective June 26, 2016
• See pages 27-28 of the SHARE contract for more details on how raises work
• Call the SHARE office at 508-929-4020 if you have other questions

GIC Insurance Update

SHARE, along with other state employee unions, has been lobbying the State Legislature against increasing the percent of health insurance costs paid by employees and retirees. Many thanks to the SHARE members who emailed or called their state legislators! It looks like we may be successful. We will know for sure when the budget is finalized.

Governor Baker introduced the increases in his budget for the coming year. Under his plan there would be two big changes:

1. State employees who retire after 6/30/16 would have a 75/25 premium split for retiree health insurance
2. State employees hired before 6/30/2003 would have a 75/25 premium split for their health insurance (they are currently"grandfathered" at the old 80/20 split) 

So far the House and Senate have rejected these cost-shifting proposals. 

This is good news for us, although it is not yet final because the House and Senate now have to reconcile their two slightly different overall budget proposals. Since they don't disagree about the GIC, we are hopeful that there won't be any changes to that section of the budget. 

We will keep you posted.

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FY17 Budget Timeline - GIC Overview

• February Governor's budget ($1,078,340,881)
  • $27M increase from FY16 budget ($1,051,480,303) 
  • includes increased cost estimate from GIC, partially offset by savings from shifting costs onto employees and retirees:
    • state employees hired before 6/30/2003 - increase premium share from 20% to 25% (est $30M savings)
    • future state retirees - increase premium share from 20% to 25% for anyone retiring after 6/30/16 (est $3M savings)
• April House Ways and Means budget ($1,111,340,881)
  • no cost shifting 
  • $33M more than Governor's budget
• April House Budget (1,080,123,761)
  • agrees with HW&M structure: no cost shifting
  • takes into account new, lower cost estimate from GIC (est $31M savings)
• May Senate Ways and Means budget ($1,080,123,761)​
  • no cost shifting
  • very similar to House
• May Senate budget (1,080,123,761)
  • no change from SW&M
• June House and Senate Conference Committee
  • have to reconcile the differences between the House budget and Senate budget
  • they don't have differences between them on the GIC
  • we are not completely done and safe until they have a final agreement and Governor Baker signs it

Information summarized from Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center http://www.massbudget.org/budget.php​. 

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SHARE Information Meetings in July

Please join us at one of the following drop-in times to learn what's happening with your union now. Stop by for a quick question, or stay a while and bring your lunch. (And your questions! And your friends!)

CCU -- Wednesday, 7/6/16 (2pm-4pm) -- Conference Room

South Street -- Thursday, 7/7/16 (noon-1:30pm) -- Brazil (off the cafeteria)

Main Campus -- Thursday, 7/14/16 (noon-1:30pm) -- Sherman cafeteria

If these meetings do not work for you, give us a call and we'll work with you to schedule a time and place that is more convenient: 508-929-4020.

Solidarity

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub Shooting, their families and their friends. 

We stand in solidarity with all those affected by this senseless violence, directly or indirectly, and especially with our own LGBTQ, Latino, and Muslim communities here at UMass Memorial Hospital and UMass Medical School.​

Member in the Spotlight: Kimberly Benoit

We’re excited to spotlight Kim this month! At the same time, we’re sorry to say that this will be the final MITS post from the originator of the column, former SHARE staff organizer Laurie Lynch, who has followed her vocation in animal science: she’s off to do research and serve as an Animal Lab Manager at Brown University. We’ll spotlight Laurie herself in a blog post soon. 

In the meanwhile, if you have a suggestion for an upcoming “Member in the Spotlight,” please let us know! Want to recognize someone who’s retiring soon? Welcome a new member? Highlight someone who’s doing interesting things at UMass? Or impressive things outside the university? Do you yourself want to say “hi” to all of SHARE? We love featuring our own. Please email kirk.davis@theshareunion.org.

Member in the Spotlight: Kimberly Benoit

By Laurie Lynch, SHARE staff organizer

Aww, an animal lover after my own heart! Kim has 2 dogs that she loves and spoils. She has a Silky Terrier named Travis that she adopted a few years ago and she has a Teacup Cockapoo named Molly that she inherited when her mother could no longer care for her.

Kim was also incredibly lucky (in my opinion) to have grown up right down the street from Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, MA. Her first job as a teenager was working at the zoo, and she continued working there for many more summers throughout the years. Kim shared many great stories with me about her time at the zoo, including one about a chimpanzee they had at the zoo many years ago that she really liked. She enjoys the zoo so much that she is planning on working there again part-time for the 2016 season!

Kim graduated from Blackstone/Millville High School and then went on to Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Travel Tourism Management. After college, she worked as a tour guide for many years and traveled much of the United States, Eastern Canada, France, and Ireland. She loves to travel and plans on continuing.  

Kim also loves to sing. Kim has been singing with the Blackstone Valley Community Chorus for 12 years, since the chorus began. The group is now 60 members strong. Kim told me that, “The members have become like family.” She had also been singing as a Cantor for her church for 30 years, however she just recently decided to take a break from that.

Another one of Kim’s hobbies is woodworking. Kim enjoys making yard decorations out of wood; she stencils what she wants to create, cuts it out, and then paints the piece. When she is done with each new piece, she donates her art. She has donated to her church, The American Cancer Society, and local libraries, just to name a few.

Kim has been working here at UMass in the Department of Neurology as an Administrative Assistant for almost 2 ½ years now. She told me that she works with a great team that includes six Principal Investigators. She believes her boss, Karen Anderson, is an incredible women and mentor. Kim told me, “She is always supportive, easy to talk to and work with.”

25 Random fun facts about Kim Benoit

• Favorite color – Blue
• Favorite season – Summer
• Beach or woods – Woods
• Chocolate or vanilla – Chocolate
• Dream vacation – Australia
• Number of siblings – 4 (1 brother and 3 sisters)
• Favorite style of music – Classic rock (especially U2 and Eric Clapton)
• Favorite food – Pizza
• Do you have any pets – 2 dogs
• If you could only eat 1 meal for the rest of your life, what would it be – Vegetarian lasagna
• If you could go back in time, when would you go to and why – 1850’s because it was a time of new exploration and expeditions into the west. It was also a very romantic time in our history.
• If you got stranded on a deserted island with no power source, what 5 items would you bring – Book on survival, gun with ammunition, her dog, survival kit with utility knife
• Do you blow dry your hair? or just let it dry on its own, or towel dry – Blow dry
• Do you untie your shoes when you take them off – No
• Favorite book – Any craft books/magazines
• Last thing you bought – Dog treats (She spoils her dogs!)
• Favorite day of the week – Saturday
• T.V. show you secretly enjoy – NCIS & Castle, however, baseball trumps ALL. Kim is a huge Red Sox fan!
• Favorite Potato Chips flavor – Classic Ruffles
• Do you play a musical instrument – No
• What's your worst pet peeve – Being untidy or sloppy
• Do you have dream car – Anything with four wheels (She likes her car just fine.)
• Who named you and why – Parents. It was a popular name in the 60’s and her parents liked it.
• Do you speak any other languages – No
• Do you have a favorite life motto – “Do what you gotta do to survive.”

Personal Essay: A Trip to the Homeless Shelter

The following essay comes from the pen of Kathleen Bateman, SHARE-UMMS Treasurer, who works in the Pathology Department. If you read this and get excited to dedicate some of your own time to families in need, check out this directory of central Worcester homeless shelters.

Kathy, preparing for last year's SHARE Chocolate Day

Just a couple of weeks ago, I volunteered a few short hours of my time at a homeless shelter in Worcester for the first time ever. I had no idea what to expect or what I would be walking into. The host welcomed me and gave me a quick run-down on the layout of the building and some background information about the families living there. Then she passed me the keys and I was left with the families. The adults occupied themselves by cooking dinner or staying in the one bedroom that they shared with their whole family, or watching television in the main family room. Two little girls, with paper and paints in hand, ran straight up to me and asked me to paint with them. So I said ok. They moved very quickly and in about one minute, they were covered up to their elbows in finger paints. Luckily I had some help from another parent cleaning up that catastrophic mess. Shortly thereafter, the person who was the designated cook for this night’s evening meal announced that dinner would not be ready at 6:00 and it would be at least another hour to hour and a half for the roast to be done, that she had put it in the oven too late. I panicked, not knowing if this was something I should involve myself in, or if there was anything I should say or do or not. It was clear that some of the children were hungry. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was in over my head and this was the right thing for me to be doing. After a few minutes, the cook-of-the-day and the other parents decided that the rest of the other food was ready and brought it out to the table. Everyone ate their dinner while the roast continued to cook. It finished cooking at 7:30 and the families munched on it.

There were many children ranging in age from three to sixteen years old. Even today I can picture each child in my mind; however, there was one child in particular, a beautiful ten year old girl, who will remain in my memory. She stood straight and tall, walked up to me with a smile on her face and asked, “Would you help me with my homework, please?” She asked so confidently and unafraid. I said that I would be happy to help her with her homework and said, “I just hope it isn’t math.” She laughed and said, “It is Math”. The homework was to calculate the areas and the perimeters of rectangles! I am no whiz at mathematics, it is my Achilles heel, (again, in over my head), but we sat together and she showed me the “how to” directions at the top of the page on how to calculate the area. She struggled to add up the columns and carry her “1”s, and I guided her as best I could. You could see the effort and earnestness in her desire to learn, and to learn how to do it right. She completed the area calculations into centimeters, however there was no instruction on how to calculate the perimeter of a rectangle. I now believe that Google is a miracle! We googled how to calculate the perimeter of a rectangle – which turned out to be pretty simple. So she finished her homework and we joined the other children and a few mothers in the family room. Some of the older children occupied a few of the younger ones, by playing dolls, brushing their hair, and reading books to them. I was amazed by their cooperation.

We sat, talked, and eventually we got around to singing. This beautiful ten year-old girl said that she loved to sing, that she and her mom sing together and that their favorite song to sing together is, “Killing Me Softly.” Roberta Flack had a huge hit with this song in the late 1900’s, way back in the last century. It was made into a remix recently, which is the version she sang for me, still sung by Roberta Flack. The voice that came out from this girl was so amazingly beautiful – I couldn’t help but think that she should be on American Idol. The other children sang their favorite song, “Stitches,” and they danced along to it too. We read a few books and soon it was time for the children to go to bed. Each child said good night but this beautiful 10 year old girl in the 4th grade came over to me and gave me such a goodnight hug and said, “Thank you.” She hugged me for a very long time. I felt that hug on my whole drive home. Those few short hours have stayed with me ever since and I think of her often.

I will surely be volunteering my time again.

2016 Central Massachusetts AFL/CIO College Scholarship

The SHARE office recently received the following notice in the mail from Joe Carlson, the President of the Central Massachusetts AFL/CIO, about a really great scholarship opportunity for our members. The lottery for these scholarships will be open to any SHARE members, as well as children and grandchildren of our members, who will graduate from high school this year and attend college next year. The details are posted below. Please note that applications should NOT be sent to the SHARE office. If you would like a copy of the nomination form, please click here.

***

To: All Affiliated Locals of the Central Mass AFL/CIO,

We are pleased to announce that we will be awarding six $1,000.00 scholarships as well as a number of  $500 Platinum sponsored scholarships.

The scholarship recipients will be drawn by lottery at the May community services committee meeting and the winners will be announced at the Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament on Friday, June 3, 2016.

The scholarships will be presented at the Labor Day breakfast September 5 2016

To be eligible, the student must be a 2016 graduating high school senior and going on to college, and a child, grandchild, or member whose local is affiliated with the Central Ma. AFL/CIO. Union members must live or work in the jurisdiction of the Central Ma. AFL/CIO.

All names must be submitted by April 29, 2016 and returned to:

Paul Soucy

AFL/CIO Labor Community Services

Central Ma. AFL-CIO

400 Washington St

Auburn, Ma. 01501

Fraternally Yours,
Joseph P. Carlson, President
Central Massachusetts AFL/CIO

Don't Raise Health Costs for State Workers!

Governor Baker's latest budget proposal includes changes that will affect State employees--including SHARE members at UMMS--by requiring employees to increase their Health Insurance contribution. We ask you to urge your State Representative to reject this unfair cost-shifting.  According to the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Action Network:

The FY 2017 budget proposal put forward by Governor Baker asks the legislature to raise the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) premium contribution rates for active state workers hired prior to July 1, 2003 and retired workers who leave the workforce after June 30, 2016 from 20 percent to 25 percent. State workers would face a substantial financial impact as a result of this change.

When a similar threat was made to insurance rates last year, SHARE members lobbied on Beacon Hill to defend against the bait-and-switch for longer-service employees. SHARE believes that if you put in your years to the State, you should pay the same percentage of your health insurance in retirement as when you were working. This issue affects all SHARE members at UMMS: if we allow lawmakers to go back on this deal made in 2003, it sets a bad precedent, and could weaken all agreements already negotiated with the state.

Thank you for participating by using this link. You just need to enter your name, e-mail, home address and a customizable letter template will pop-up, addressed to your own local lawmakers. (See the full text below.) If you have any questions, you can contact the SHARE union at 508-929-4020 or share.umms@theshareunion.org

Dear [your local Representative will be automatically addressed here],

The FY 2017 budget proposal put forward by Governor Baker asks the legislature to raise the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) premium contribution rates for active state workers hired prior to July 1, 2003 and retired workers who leave the workforce after June 30, 2016 from 20 percent to 25 percent. State workers would face a substantial financial impact as a result of this change, and I hope you and fellow legislators will reject the Governor’s proposal which seeks to balance the budget on the backs of hard-working families.

Even without changes to premium contributions, workers who receive their health insurance from the GIC have been facing growing out-of-pocket costs for their care. Plan design changes implemented by the Group Insurance Commission that have raised co-pays and deductibles have resulted in a significant shifting of costs from employer to employee over the past decade. A review of GIC total plan cost data performed by the Milliman Actuarial firm shows that from 2007 – 2016, the true share of GIC health care costs paid by employees (premium contributions plus cost-sharing) now averages 37%, up from a rate of 28% in 2007[1]. An additional 25% increase to the premium share would result in cost increases of over $1,300 in FY 2017 for many families in premium costs alone[2].

In a budget proposal that does not raise taxes or fees elsewhere, this proposal from Governor Baker stands out as a notable exception. State workers and retirees face the same fiscal constraints as all other working families in this Commonwealth, and in fact have sacrificed especially greatly over the past decade as a result of the fiscal crisis and years of budget cuts. It is simply not fair to place an undue financial burden on this specific group of workers in an effort to balance the state budget.

I strongly urge you to oppose this proposal. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

[1] Based on analysis of Tufts HealthPlan Navigator and the Unicare State Indemnity Plan Basic, plan designs effective July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2015.

[2] Based on FY 2016 premium rates for UniCare State Indemnity Family Plan

SHARE Hospital Reps Learn to Use Lean to Improve their Jobs

One morning in early March, over twenty SHARE leaders from all over UMMHC came together for a special, customized “White Belt” training. We even welcomed a few SHARE colleagues from UMMS who work in related jobs. Our hospital has adopted a "lean methodology," and our union wants to understand that, to know how we can make it work for us. So far, SHARE members’ experience of lean has been uneven: many SHARE members feel that their idea boards are helping make their jobs better, while some have not noticed any change.  Others wonder how to use these tools more effectively.

We began by talking about the purpose of process improvement.  A “good process” is one in which doing a great job is relatively straightforward; in a good process, it is difficult to make a mistake. A “bad process” is unnecessarily complicated, one in which it can be frighteningly easy to make a mistake, leading to high levels of stress and burnout (not to mention worse outcomes).  If you have to struggle against the system to make the right thing happen, leaving you exhausted and frustrated, you’ve got a process that needs improving.  SHARE reps’ stories of processes in need of improvement were hilarious and horrifying, sometimes at the same time.

When some organizations say “lean,” what they mean is “do more with less.” However, SHARE reps learned to substitute an idea of flow, since the point of process improvement is to keep things working smoothly, to remove barriers that get in the way, wasting SHARE members’ time.  Reps learned more about idea board best-practices; many left with ideas about how to improve their department’s board.

One highlight of the morning was a visit from Eric Dickson, CEO of UMMHC, who encouraged the SHARE Reps to "ask what is the problem we are trying to solve?". When a manager or supervisor proposes a process change that an employee is not sure will work, or doesn't understand, Dr. Dickson suggested, rather than just accepting it but being frustrated, or refusing to change, they should ask the manager to clarify the purpose of the change. Ask why. Work to agree about the definition of the problem. He pointed out that when we're on the same page about the problem to be solved, we're more likely to come to consensus about how to solve it.

At the end of the training, the SHARE reps wanted to know more about the flow and problem-solving tools involved in lean. The next step, a “yellow belt” training, is in the works!

All SHARE members can sign up for lean process improvement training (many hundreds have already attended).  You can sign up on Ournet.

Member in the Spotlight: Geoffrey Bottone

By: Laurie Lynch, SHARE staff organizer

Polite, friendly, hardworking, and very much a gentleman: that is how I would describe Geoffrey Bottone. As well as a writer, game designer and an entrepreneur.

Geoffrey has invented several games, including "The Red Dragon Inn." In this card game, participants roleplay as fantasy adventurers . . . after their adventures have concluded, when they’re relaxing and drinking in the tavern. The last player who is both conscious and has money wins.

Geoff also enjoys writing science-fiction fantasy. He has has written and is currently editing several books. Once done, he can start working toward finding a publisher. He does have one published piece of work currently in print, entitled "The Fear Vampire."

Geoff grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut, and graduated from the local town high school before attending Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington, MA. There he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts. He then went on to obtain a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Southern Connecticut State University.

Geoff really likes working for UMass, and he enjoys his job as an Administrative Assistant II for both the Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute (BNRI) and the Center for Comparative NeuroImaging (CCNI). He is very lucky to have an extremely short commute of only about five minutes. He also really admires how beautiful the campus is. He began working at UMass as a temp back in 2010, and was offered a permanent position in 2011, which he happily accepted. The position allows him time in the evenings and on the weekends to continue working on what he is passionate about—writing and creating board games.

25 Random fun facts about Geoffrey Bottone:

• Favorite color – Black. Why, you might ask? Because Geoff is color blind and black is the one color he can clearly recognize.
• Favorite season – Autumn
• Beach or woods – Woods
• Chocolate or vanilla – Chocolate
• Dream vacation – Italy AND is getting to go there this summer on a family vacation.
•  Favorite style of music – Whatever is on is fine
• Favorite food – Pizza
• Do you have any siblings – 1 sister and twin brothers
• Do you have any pets – No
• If you could only eat 1 meal for the rest of your life, what would it be – Could NOT do it! No way!
• If you could go back in time, when would you go to and why – 9-10-2001 to warn everyone and stop the attacks on 9-11-2001.
• If you got stranded on a deserted island with no power source, what 5 items would you bring – A boat, fishing gear, knife, flare gun and a tent.
• Do you blow dry your hair? or just let it dry on its own, or towel dry – Air dry
• Do you untie your shoes when you take them off – Depends on the shoe but does not un-tie sneakers.
• Favorite book – Anything by Lloyd Alexander
• Last thing you bought – Replacement pads for Swiffer Wet Jet.
• Favorite day of the week – Saturday
• T.V. show you secretly enjoy – Rick and Morty on Cartoon Network
• Favorite Potato Chips flavor – Original Cape Cod
• Do you play a musical instrument – A flute - for 1 year while in school.
• What's your worst pet peeve – People who merge into traffic at the last second and force their way in.
• Do you have dream car – Tesla Model S
• Who named you and why – His mother named him; she wanted him to have the same initials as his father but not be a 3^rd (father is a junior). Also, his mother really liked the author of Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer.
• What languages do you speak – 4 years of Latin but did not retain any and 1 year of Arabic and all he remembers is how to say in is “انه جنون ليلى. أنا أحبها وتحبني وجملي يحب الجمال لها.” Which means, “He is mad for Layla. I love her and she loves me and my camel loves her camel.”
• Do you have a favorite life motto – Don’t panic.

Member in the Spotlight: Heather Learnard

By: Laurie Lynch, SHARE staff organizer

"Hmmm, if I could go back to any moment in time, when would I go?" Heather wonders out loud, in response to my question. "I want to say I would go back to the moment, right before I broke both of my ankles doing gymnastics, so I could land the flip right and not break my ankles. However, I learned a lot from that experience and how it feels to be in a wheelchair for quite some time while I was healing. So, I guess I'd have to say my high school trip to Europe during junior year!"

Heather's face lit up and her eyes brightened with excitement as she started reliving the trip in her mind. I asked her what she enjoyed most about the 12 day trip She said, "Everything!" She explained the experience to me as one of those almost-perfect moments in time that could never be repeated. It was a great time and place to be, with great people all experiencing so many new and exciting things for the first time together.

Heather is definitely a glass half-full kind of person. She is a hard worker, who worked while in high school and worked all through college. She is also the sort of person who can make someone feel warm and comfortable right away, as she did for me. She is the type of person who sees a stray cat looking cold and hungry in a parking lot and just cannot leave it behind. In high school, Heather noticed a skinny cat walking around her work parking lot for several days, until one cold October afternoon she came up to her and she was able to pick her up. Heather took the cat home to get warm, fed her, cleaned her up and brought her to the vet. She was nervous that the cat may actually have an owner, but the vet said she was very malnourished, and if she had an owner at some point, they had stopped taking care of her a long time ago. Six years later and she is still Heather's baby.

Heather has already accomplished so much in her twenty-two years: graduating from Lunenburg High School, and obtaining her bachelor's degree from Bridgewater State University in Biology with a concentration in Biomedical and Molecular Science, all-the-while working part-time jobs on the side. After all of her hard work, Heather is finally doing what she loves, science, working in the Cardiovascular Lab in the Sherman Building. She feels very lucky to have landed in such a wonderful lab with two amazing bosses who Heather says have not only been incredible mentors already, but have also been very friendly and patient with her. Although she has only been at UMass for a couple of months, she is already looking into Master’s Degree programs to do part-time in the evenings while she continues working in her new position.

25 Random Fun Facts about Heather Learnard:

• Favorite color – Purple

• Favorite season – Summer (She is a Summer baby!)

• Beach or woods – Beach

• Chocolate or vanilla – Vanilla

• Dream vacation – Anywhere with sun, sand, and pina coladas 

• Favorite style of music – Mostly country, but likes a bit of everything

• Favorite food – Chicken piccata

• Any siblings – 3 brothers

• If you could only eat 1 meal for the rest of your life, what would it be – My dad’s pancakes, with real maple syrup, bacon, strawberries and pineapples

• If you got stranded on a deserted island with no power source, what 5 items would you bring – A book, sunscreen, water purifier, solar powered radio and a fishing pole

• Do you blow dry your hair? or just let it dry on its own, or towel dry – Air dry

• Do you untie your shoes when you take them off – Only wears shoes to the gym and does untie them

• Favorite book – Stephanie Plum series, by Janet Evanovich

• Any pets – 1 family cat and 1 cat she rescued

• Favorite hobbies – Baking and being outdoors in nature

• Last thing you bought (other than food) – Long winter coat

• Favorite day of the week – Friday

• T.V. show you secretly enjoy – Grey’s Anatomy

• Favorite Potato Chips flavor – Salt and Vinegar

• Do you play a musical instrument – No

• What's your worst pet peeve – Spitting (She answered this question really fast!)

• Do you have dream car – A new, white, Range Rover Sport

• Who named you and why – Her mom and dad. They decided to each make a list of the top 10 names they liked, when they compared their lists, Heather was the only name they had both written.

• What languages do you speak – Took Spanish for 5 years but only retained a little

• Do you have a favorite life motto – “Believe”

Update on Supreme Court Case

A few weeks ago we wrote about a case at the Supreme Court that might have a big impact on SHARE at UMMS: Friedrichs v. The California Teachers Association. 

As you may have heard, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away suddenly. Justice Scalia was considered by experts to be the swing vote in the Friedrichs case. It is probable that his death will delay a decision on Friedrichs v. CTA and other close cases before the Court this session. 

What will happen next?

The two most likely scenarios are:

1.     The Court could vote 4-4 on the case. Then the ruling from the lower court, in favor of the union, would stand. It would be as if the case had never gone to the Supreme Court. Someone else would likely bring a similar case to the Supreme Court in the future, but it would take a while for a new case to work its way up through the lower courts.

2.     The Court could decide that the case should be re-argued once a new Justice is appointed. This could also take a while. President Obama has said that he will nominate someone to succeed Justice Scalia. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the Senate will block any Obama nominee. So it is unclear whether there will be a ninth Supreme Court Justice before the next President is in office. ​

What does this mean for SHARE members?

Whatever happens, it is likely that the Friedrichs case, or one like it, will eventually be heard by the Supreme Court, but probably not this session. 

We will continue to talk together about what a negative decision would mean for us, what would happen if our union were either gone or weaker, and what we collectively want to do about it. 

Tidbit Time: Week of February 8, 2016

Happy Heart Month! As in, happy Valentine’s. And, more importantly, Heart Health Awareness Month. Here’s our latest roundup of tidbits from our community and the worlds of academia, healthcare, and unions . . .

SUPPORTING FAMILIES and FRIENDS of WORCESTER PATIENTS

One former SHARE member, Nancy Whalen, the President of Healing Heart Hospitality House, has just let us know about an upcoming dinner with real heart. And you’re invited! “Our mission is to help families of patients traveling more than 30 miles to be with their loved ones hospitalized in the Worcester area by providing a suite of services that offers emotional and spiritual support and comfort,” Nancy writes. “Just recently a very generous person has offered to buy us a house. After 10 years of working towards this goal, we are excited beyond words. Pub 99 is sponsoring our fundraiser by donating 15% of food purchased on Tuesday, February 9th when anyone presents the voucher from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.”

You can print your own voucher by right-clicking the above image. Save it to your computer, and you can print it from there.

GOING RED for HEART HEALTH

Heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year, killing approximately one woman every 80 seconds.  Fortunately, we can change that because 80 percent of cardiac and stroke events may be prevented with education and action. On Friday, February 5th, many SHARE members participated in National Wear Red Day, wearing red and working to raise research funds and awareness about women's heart health. 

Go Red Raffle in the University Cafeteria

The American Heart Association provides this guide to Well-Woman Visits so that you can schedule, prepare for, and understand the kinds of physician visits that will help you protect your own heart health, and encourage other women to do the same.

SOME GOOD NEWS for the MIDDLE CLASS

The number of union members in the US held steady from 2014 to 2015, according to the annual Department of Labor report on the subject.  Studies show that increased union membership strengthens the middle class.

HEARTS ARE AMAZING

Did you know that the blue whale has the largest heart, weighing in at 1,500 pounds? Or that your heart will beat about 100,000 times today? That will add up to over a million barrels of blood during an average lifetime.

NOT GETTING UPDATES? A TIP for KEEPING on TOP of SHARE NEWS

If you haven't already signed up to receive blog updates by email, you can do so by entering your address in the box in the top right corner of this screen. Also: for those of you who have signed up, but aren't getting updates, make sure to check your inbox--or your spam filter--for a verification email. When you sign up, you'll get an email from "Feedburner Email Subscriptions" asking you to click on the included link; this will activate your email subscription. If you have difficulties, please email kirk.davis@theshareunion.org.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and that things are off to a very good start for you this week. See you here next time . . .

Member in the Spotlight: Holly St. Jean

By: Laurie Lynch, SHARE staff organizer

Holly St. Jean

Holly St. Jean is an amazing, hardworking, intelligent woman who is always willing to go above and beyond to help those around her in every way she can. She is cheerful, and, more often than not, smiling. We are all very lucky to have Holly as part of our SHARE union; she has stepped up and volunteers to help her co-workers by sitting as Secretary on our union's Executive Board. The Executive Board is the group of UMMS employees who serve as the governing body of the union. Members of the Executive Board have many responsibilities, including helping to keep the union strong by talking with and listening to members throughout UMMS, negotiating contracts, advising and advocating for members with problems at work, and addressing issues with management that have an impact on SHARE members.

Holly is also brave and not scared to take a risk, especially if it means the possibility of improving her life. She recently moved on from a five-year position that she enjoyed at UMass' Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, Continuing Care Units, as an Administrative Assistant for what she believes will be an opportunity to learn and advance in her career at UMass in the department of Disability and Community Service as a Project Assistant II located at South Street in Shrewsbury.

She also took what some might call a risk in love when she signed up on the dating website, E-Harmony. She only met one man that she was interested in, and went out on a few dates with him. However, she nearly gave up on him after she lost touch with him for a couple of weeks. As it turns out, he was away on a trip. He was devastated when he found out that Holly was considering moving on. He was not going to let true love get away! They continued to date for five years, and then married, just over two years ago.

Holly grew up in Worcester with her three younger brothers, and she felt she had a pretty typical childhood. However, others may have found it challenging. Both of Holly's parents are deaf and communicate using American Sign Language. Holly's mom was born deaf, and her father became deaf shortly after his birth, due to an illness.

Mrs. St. Jean successfully achieved her high school diploma from Burncoat High School and went on to obtain her Associates Degree in Human Services from Quinsigamond College. Currently, she is working on completing a bachelor's degree program at Worcester State College. One thing is for sure, Holly has no plans on slowing down anytime soon!       

25 random fun facts about Holly St. Jean:

• Favorite color – Purple

• Favorite season – Summer

• Beach or woods – Beach

• Chocolate or vanilla – Chocolate

• Dream vacation – Any tropical island

• Favorite style of music – Hip-hop, R&B, folk and rock

• Favorite food – Sushi

• If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be – Grilled salmon with roasted asparagus

• If you could go back in time, when would you go to, and why – Right after high school graduation, which is when Holly spent the most time with her beloved Grandmother.

• If you got stranded on a deserted island, with no power source, what five items would you bring – Husband, book, 3 guinea pigs, sunblock and flip flops

• Do you blow dry your hair, or just let it dry on its own, or towel dry – Blow dry

•  Do you untie your shoes when you take them off – No

• Favorite book – Any book by Jodi Picoult

• Last thing you bought (not including food) – Green sweater (Wearing it today, very pretty.)

• Do you have any pets – 3 guinea pigs: Paco, Larry, and Buddy

• Favorite day of the week – Saturday

• T.V. show you secretly enjoy – Keeping up with the Kardashians 

• Favorite potato chip flavor – Salt and vinegar

• Favorite hobbies – Shopping for clothes and playing video games

• Do you play a musical instrument – No, but wishes she could

• What's your worst pet peeve – People who complain but do nothing about it

• Who named you and why – Paternal Grandmother; she rubbed her mother’s belly and said, “My little Holly Ann.”

• What languages do you speak – American Sign Language, English and very little Spanish

• Any nicknames - Hol

•  Do you have a favorite life motto – “Be Yourself.”