NEGOTIATIONS UNDER WAY! 
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING TUESDAY, APRlL 11TH AT II A.M. LLC 124 
AGENDA: Results of full-time faculty survey on: workload, tenure density, salary issues. Please be sure to place this meeting on your calendar; your attendance is important. 

In this Issue:
From the President's Desk
Negotiation Committee for the 2000- 2003 C.B.A 
CIGNA Update
Dental Office 
Grievance Report 
Items of Interest From the NYSUT Newsletter

First of all, I am pleased to announce that on Monday, March 13th, official contract negotiations were begun on the Brooklyn Campus in the Jonas Board Room. An important General Membership meeting will be held on April 11th at 11 a.m. in Room LLC124. Please make every effort to be present. In this issue you will find an update on the University's new insurance carrier, CIGNA, as well as a brief report on current grievances and a number of short articles on NYSUT and AFT benefits and news items, as well as a notice on the makeup of our negotiations team. 
Even before the recent initiation of official negotiations, the Negotiating Committee met with our NYSUT field representative Judy Sandler. We were pleased to learn that the administration did NOT plan to negotiate with CW Post first, as we were originally led to believe. Instead, the University is already negotiating with the Brooklyn Campus. A variety of LIUFF research teams have been busily gathering information and formulating recommendations. In addition to our standing Benefits Committee (chair Dennis Curley, Biology) and Facilities Committee (convener Dennis Curley), we have the following teams. In each case, I list just one contact person, but each team contains additional members:
· Workload (Bill Edelson, Computer Science)
· Salary (Esther Hyneman, English)
· Parity (Suzanne Flower, Nursing)
· Full-time issues (Janet Haynes, Biology)
· Part-time issues (Michael Pelias, Philosophy) 
· Student Liaison (Elizabeth Helmer, Biology) 
All of these teams welcome your input, so feel free to get in touch with the contact person mentioned above if you have ideas or time to contribute. Your input will be actively solicited through separate full-time and part-time faculty surveys. Results of these surveys will be presented at the April 11th Membership Meeting. Rhiannon Allen 
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Negotiation Committee for the 2000- 2003 C.B.A 

At the general membership meeting on 18 October 1999, the LIUFF Executive Committee recommended the following Negotiating Committee slate to the general membership. The slate was ratified unanimously. 
Chief Negotiator: Dawn Kilts (Nursing) 
Recorder: John Reilly (History) 
Members at large (from Executive Committee):
Dennis Curley (Biology): facilities, benefits 
Esther Hyneman (English) 
Paolina Taglienti (Library) 
Michael Pelias (Philosophy) 
Gerard (Tony) McGowan (English) 
Amin Zewail (Economics) 
Michael Brennan (English) 
Members at large (from general membership): 
EIlen Becker (Respiratory Therapy) 
Jordan Kaplan (Accounting) 
Arthur Kimmel (SociologylAnthropology) 
Evelyn Nieves (Social Work) 

SUPPORT
The following will be adjunct to the Negotiating Committee, and shall amend negotiating meetings pursuant to determination of chief negotiator. In addition to those listed below, there are a number of research teams (salary, parity with Post, full time issues, part time issues, workload) currently wording to advise the Negotiating Committee. Any LIUFF member may volunteer to assist in any support capacity. We are particularly in need of volunteers for a strike team, in order to work over the summer and September 2000.
Judy Sandler (NYSUT field representative) 
Rhiannon Allen (Psychology): ex officio 
Ralph Engelman (Journalism): information officer responsible for outside communication 
Marjan Moghaddam (Media Arts): construction or publication of LIUFF Web site
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CIGNA UPDATE 
by Dennis Curley 

Every employee of Long Island University who was covered by the Aetna Indemnity Plan has now received a new CIGNA Medical ID card. This new card indicates that we are now in the CIGNA Indemnity/PPO plan. What this new card indicates to the Health Care Provider is that we have coverage under an indemnity plan. We can select our own provider and reimbursement will be made according to the terms of the plan. The PPO part of the plan means that if you elect to go to a Health Care Provider affiliated with CIGNA, the cost of medical service will be reduced according to an agreement between CIGNA and the provider. The choice of who you get medical care from is up to you and you can use both parts if you choose. Your primary physician might not be part of the CIGNA Network, but you might go to a physical therapist who is in the CIGNA Network.
You have also received a letter from CIGNA (unsigned by the way! Is this the way they do business?) which describes some problems encountered so far and how they will be handled. If they are resolved as stated it will be very good, but keep a sharp eye on prescription drugs not being covered and not being credited with your deductible which you paid to Aetna. Notify LIUFF and payroll of any problems. Also enclosed with this letter was an Enrollment/Change/Waiver form. The purpose of this form was to make sure that CIGNA had the necessary data to recognize each person in the plan. That is, the individual, and all dependents covered. For this purpose section A should be completed (Hours worked = Full Time) Section C should be used to list all dependents. Section D should be filled out, and finally: sign and date section E. 
We need to know if you have problems with your Indemnity/PPO health insurance. Please inform payroll as well as the Union (D. Curley ext. X1463 or dcurley@liu.edu) of any problems. Are you receiving reduced coverage from CIGNA for something Aetna paid at a higher figure? Are deductibles not being applied as per our agreement or are prescription drugs not being covered? Most importantly, let us know immediately if medical bills are not being paid in a timely fashion. (Timely Fashion : within 30 days on a clean claim). This includes reimbursement to your health care providers and reimbursement to yourself. CIGNA does not pay the bills, therefore they do not determine what is paid and not paid. Long Island University pays the claim and therefore determines what is paid. No person in this plan should be under any kind of pressure because CIGNA denies a claim. Remember "Timely Fashion" and notify everyone if this happens. 
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Dental Office

If anyone is looking for a convenient dentist, Hanson Place Dental Associates has relocated to 4 MetroTech Center, in the Lobby of the Chase Manhattan Bank Building at Myrtle and Duffield. Drs. Giddon and Torovsky do both general dentistry and oral surgery, and are familiar with completing the CIGNA dental claim forms. Their phone number is 403 0700. 
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Right now there are about a half-dozen matters at various stages of investigation. We cannot breach confidentiality by citing names, but be assured that information has been or is being gathered to decide whether or not to proceed to a step one with each of these cases. One or two are all but settled, one is out of our hands and we are awaiting a court decision on what comes next, and a couple are just getting under way. 
The big item is the change in health coverage. This has been discussed with the NYSUT attorney and with the administration's representatives at the informal first negotiation session. We have asked the administration for a copy of the new contract with CIGNA, and are asking members on the indemnity plan to inform us of, and to keep records of, any lessening of coverage they have experienced. We will have the opportunity to bring the matter up at the first official negotiation session on March 13. Depending on the response we get, and the reports on new coverage experiences, we will take the matter from there. 
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ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM THE NYSUT NEWSLETTER

Anger in Workplace Rising
AFT Offers Discount Phone Plan 
E-MAIL Alert Launched 
AFL-CIO Endorses Gore 
Prosperity Bypassing Younger Workers; Majority Supports Unions, Poll Finds
New State Program Helps Save Money For College 
NYSUT's Variable Life insurance Offers Choices

'Bottom Line" ANGER IN WORKPLACE RISING
A recent study on workplace anger and stress reveals that one out of six employees being angered by a coworker felt like socking that person - but didn't. About 22% of workers under age 35 and those in clerical, office, and sales jobs were even more inclined to pop someone. 
The findings are from a July national poll of 750 workers aged 18 or over conducted by the Gallup Organization for the Marlin Company which has commissioned similar polls in past years. Nearly half of respondents (49%) this year said they are at least a little angry at work compared to 42% in 1998. The hitting question hasn't been asked since 1995 when 21% of workers said they felt like hitting a coworker. 
Frustration over getting high-tech equipment (computers, faxes, e-mail) to operate properly seems to be a contributing factor to worker stress, 64% said.
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E-MAIL Alert Launched
NYSUT has initiated a new way of communicating quickly with members concerning important legislative and political news. Here's how it works: When people visit the NYSUT web site, www.nysut.org, and click on "Contact Your Elected Officials," they have a choice of sending a fax or e-mail to the governor, state or federal legislators. When they choose one of those options, they are asked to fill out a form indicating their name, address, and e-mail, among other items. It's important to provide an e-mail address, because that places the individual on NYSUT's new On-Line Legislative Alert list. People on that list will receive, via e-mail, special requests to contact their elected officials on important issues. 
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AFL-CIO Endorses Gore
Less than two weeks after gaining the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers in his bid to be the Democratic candidate for President in next year's election, Vice President Al Gore picked up the coveted support of the AFL-CIO. Gore's rival in this Spring's Democratic primaries, Bill Bradley, also had sought the AFL-CIO's nod. The resolution endorsing Gore acknowledged that Bradley "has the respect of many and a good record," but added: "There is no question that Al Gore is the presidential candidate most favored." 
Two unions, the Intentional Brotherhood of Teamsters and the United Automobile Workers, voted against the resolution, not because they oppose Gore, but because they felt it was too soon to vote on an endorsement. The resolution noted that during Gore's seven years in the U.S. Senate, he voted the pro-union position 88% of the time, the second best record to Edward Kennedy.
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Prosperity Bypassing Younger Workers; Majority Supports Unions, Poll Finds
There are 45 million people under age 35 in the work force today. Only about a third of them - just under 9% - belong to unions. If given a chance, 54% of the under-35 workers say they would vote for a union, compared with 36% for workers over age 35, according to a national survey of workers conducted in June.
Why?
"They see today's jobs as failing to meet the most basic needs: health care, retirement security, and time to spend with family," said John Sweeney, AFL-CIO president. The labor federation commissioned the poll by Peter D. Hart Research Associates as part of union efforts to organize workers. 
More than 90% of young workers said they believe large corporations, top management, and stockholders are doing well. But 42% said the economic situation facing their own families is either 'just fair," "not so good," or "poor." More than half (58%) said employers aren't sharing profits with employees, and 55% said companies don't do enough to provide family friendly workplace policies.
Their perceptions are supported by reality. According to Congressional Budget Office and other data, average annual compensation for top corporate executives of the nation's 365 largest public companies made 42 times what a factory worker averaged in 1980; today they make 419 times as much. Top executives' average compensation rose from $1.8 million in 1990 to $10.6 million in 1998, the equivalent of a 481% increase. Average worker pay during the same period rose about 28% from $22,952 to $29,267, reports the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies.The AFL-CIO survey found that: 
* Only 45% of young workers had employer-sponsored health insurance.
* Just 43% had pension plans to which their employers contribute. 
* Fewer than half (45%) of respondents age 18 to 34 rated the economy as "excellent" or "good," compared with 58% of workers over age 35. 
Though it's easier to find work than at any time since the 1960's, 55% of young workers said the new jobs available are mostly lower-paying. The AFL-CIO study found that the 75% of young workers who lack college degrees earn less than $20,000 a year, compared with 32% for college graduates. The economic conditions are even worse for young black and Hispanic workers. 
[Note: The sources of these items has been the NYSUT BottomLine.] 
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New State Program Helps Save Money For College
A new program announced recently by Gov. Pataki and State Comptroller Carl McCall will help people save for higher education expenses and receive tax benefits, as well. The New York State College Tuition Savings Program is administered jointly by the Comptroller's Office and the Higher Education Services Corporation. Individuals may deduct up to $5,000 ($10,000 for married couples each opening an account) from their New York State taxable income, each year. Federal taxes are deferred on earnings. After three years, the money can be used for qualified higher education expenses -including tuition, room and board, fees, required equipment, and books - at any accredited higher education institution in the country and many abroad. Accounts may be opened with as little as $25 or with payroll deduction of $15 per paycheck. State employees may contribute through payroll direct deposit. 
Investments in the program are not counted in determining eligibility for state financial aid programs, such as TAP, but may be considered by other federal and institution aid programs.
For more information, call toll-free 877-697-2837 or visit the web site www.nysaves.org. 
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NYSUT's Variable Life Insurance Offers Choices
Savvy marketers of everything from colas to cars to kitchen cabinets know that the best way to appeal to value-conscious consumers is to offer choices and options. The phrase, "Have it your way," evolved from a fast-food slogan to a universal sales strategy. 
Although it took awhile, financial products and services have also come around to this point of view. Life insurance was one of the last. Up until a short time ago, premiums paid in return for the death benefit "disappeared" into the insurer's holdings. Surprisingly, many people although accustomed to the many choices offered them in the 2lst-century marketplace still regard this kind of life insurance as the only game in town. 
It isn't. NYSUT Member Benefits has developed a life insurance product called Variable Universal Life Insurance (VLI). It Offers a range of investment options into which policyholders can direct their premium payments, making it much more of a true "investment" in financial security. The investment options can be personalized to individual needs and risk tolerances, including fixed, conservative, aggressive or mixed allocations. The cash value accumulated by the policy also allows individual financial needs to be more easily met. VLI lets policyholders access their funds through loans or surrenders, for college expenses or even retirement. 
Underneath all of the ways to customize the policy is permanent life insurance protection. There's even a choice of how to pay the premiums, and ways to change and adjust premium investment allocations. VLI is available to all NYSUT members and agency fee payers up to age 80. It's life insurance for the way we live today ... and want to live tomorrow.
For more information about VLI, call NYSUT Member Benefits at 
1 (800) 626-8101
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Cynthia Danzic, Editor Devabrata Mondal, Shamim, Technical associates.