Mission Statement
The Minnesota State University Association of Administrative and Service Faculty is an organization of academic, administrative and student service professionals whose primary responsibility is supporting student access, engagement and success within the universities of the Minnesota State higher education system. We accomplish this through representing the rights, interests, welfare and professional development of our members through collective bargaining, contract enforcement and advocacy; thereby enabling members to most effectively serve our students.
Guiding Values & Principles
- Advocacy: Actively support changes that meet the needs of our members and students and the provision of adequate resources at the campus, system and state levels.
- Diversity: Recognize and celebrate the diversity of our members, our positions, our students, and our varied perspectives and thoughts.
- Equity: Treat all members, students and other constituencies fairly and with dignity.
- Excellence: Demonstrate content expertise and promote ongoing development of our members to provide high quality professional services.
- Integrity: Uphold principles of ethical behavior that are foundational to our organization and hold one another accountable to these principles.
- Professionalism: Act in a manner that demonstrates our commitment to quality interactions, expectations of mutual respect, and active engagement.
- Representation: Serve as stewards of the collective bargaining process and agreement (shaped by member participation) that meets the interests and needs of all members.
- Shared Governance: Promote a professional, cooperative relationship with campus administrations and Minnesota State leadership, ensuring our contractual right to confer.
- Transparency: Commit to open deliberations, decisions, and communications within the confines of confidentiality and ethical leadership.
Approved 1/26/2018 by the State MSUAASF Board
History of MSUAASF
Prior to 1974 there were essentially two categories of employees in the Minnesota State College System. Prior to 1975, there was only one state university; the University of Minnesota. The current State Universities were State Colleges. Initially there was one group of classified employees who were in the civil service. The second group was faculty, unclassified. That group included teaching faculty and also educational support faculty and administrators.
In 1974, the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) began a process to determine what positions should be assigned to or excluded from a new teaching faculty bargaining unit. In a BMS decision dated April 8, 1974 the statewide teaching unit (now the IFO) was created. In a BMS order dated April 25, 1975 an order was issued specifying what unclassified positions would be excluded from the teaching bargaining unit. Only those positions that contained primarily teaching duties were included.
For the teaching unit, there was an election between the IFO/MEA and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). The IFO/MEA won that election and was certified by the BMS.
All of the non-teaching unclassified positions were assigned to other bargaining units. Positions such as presidents and vice presidents were excluded. The educational support faculty were grouped together and became the origins of MSUAASF. That grouping was not organized as a bargaining unit at first.
The Minnesota State University Association of Administrative and Service Faculty was first recognized as a bargaining unit by the BMS in an order dated September 29, 1975.
The first collective bargaining agreement was signed by the representatives of Minnesota State College Board and MSUAASF was on March 5, 1976. That CBA was effective through June, 30, 1977.
There were reviews over the early years of MSUAASF by BMS of the make-up of the bargaining unit. For example on April 25, 1980 the BMS removed some of the now “supervisory or management” positions, such as deans, as well as associate and assistant vice presidents.
It was clear that the organization of MSUAASF would be better off affiliating with a larger group as opposed to standing alone as an independent association. The State Board of Directors set out in 1977 to look at options for possible affiliation. There were discussions and consideration given to affiliating with the MEA (like the IFO), as well as other possibilities like the AAUP. The Minnesota Education Association (MEA) also represented the Minnesota State Community College Faculty (MSCCF), as well as the IFO. The MEA was not interested in representing MSUAASF, in addition to the other two higher education employee groups. Other possibilities such as the AAUP didn’t seem like a good fit by either party.
As told by Rich Wheeler, founding member
July 25, 2019
The MSUAASF State Board was approached by Jack Mogelson representing Minnesota Teamsters Local #320 to determine if there was a mutual interest in MSUAASF affiliating with Teamsters Local #320. Teamsters Local #320 did work with the MSUAASF State Board and assisted in the negotiating of the CBA that was effective on July 1, 1979. There was an agreement of the State MSUAASF Board to move ahead with the affiliation with Teamsters Local #320.
On April 30, 1980 Minnesota Teamsters Local #320 filed a petition with the BMS requesting to be certified as the exclusive representative for MSUAASF pursuant to the Minnesota Public Employees Relations Act (PELRA). There were several hearings, as required by MN Law.
On June 16, 1980 the BMS issued an order formally recognizing Minnesota Teamsters Local #320 as the exclusive representative for MSUAASF. The positions included in the bargaining unit were as contained in an order by the Legislative Commission on Employee Relations (now JSER) dated March 24, 1980. This confirmed the removal of the “supervisory” employees in a separate order dated April 25, 1980. The total number of employees in MSUAASF as of April 25, 1980 was 228.
So, the formal recognition of Minnesota Teamsters Local #320 dates back to April 25, 1980.
The first CBA that included the recognition of Minnesota Teamsters Local #320 was the one that was effective on July 1, 1981 and was signed by both parties on November 17, 1981.
Release time as we know it now, first became part of the CBA that was effective on July 1, 1987. The first member to use release time was State President Marilyn Leach in 1987. President Leach started with release time of 25%, that later was increased to 40%. President Richard Wheeler and future Presidents have maintained the 40% release time.
The State Grievance Officer release time was first used by Past President Richard Wheeler when the position was first established in 1992. That percentage has always been 20%.
Prepared by: Richard Wheeler (7/25/2019)
Special credit given to Michael Pehler (Past President) as there was MSUAASF historical information contained in his thesis written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Specialist in Educational Administration at Moorhead State University in May, 1994.
