Are you having trouble figuring out your health insurance premiums? You are not alone!

There are two worksheets that make it easier to figure out your costs. The first one for 10-month employees and the second for 12-month employees. Appended to those worksheets are the documents that will provide the information needed to calculate your premium payments. Other documents that may be helpful to you are: 

• Legislative Changes to Health Benefits and Pension 
• Biweekly Premium Rates
• 2012 Health Insurance Chart  

Employees hired before June 28, 2011 will have the new insurance rates phased in over a four-year period. During this time, employees will pay the percentage of their premium or 1.5% of their base salary, whichever is greater.

Employees with a hire date on or after June 28, 2011 will contribute the Year 4 percentage rate as of the paycheck issued October 14, 2011.

Why is it important to keep track of this information? For several years prior to 2011 employees had been paying 1.5% of their base salaries for their health insurance. The new law has changed this so that now the payment is a percentage of the insurance premium and this has the chance of increasing faster than one's salary. The calculations for this are complicated and you should check to be sure that payroll is making your deductions correctly. If you have any questions about your deductions, please call HR at 973-655-7141.

A number of faculty members received awards over the summer. Congratulations to: 

• Charles Du received a grant of $30,000 for "Maize Proteomics Study and Genomics Analysis" from Henan Agricultural University. 
• Eric Fogoston and Lora Billings received a grant of $278,966 from the National Science Foundation for "Understanding the Dynamics of Stochastic Disease Spread in Metapopulations."
• Evan Fuller received a subaward of $17,624 from Rutgers University for "Proving Styles in University Mathematics."
• Jennifer Goeke received a US Department of Education award of $292,345 for her project "Restructuring Preservice Preparation for Innovative Special Education (RePPrISE).
• Pankaj Lal was awarded $349,963 by the US Department of Agriculture for his project "Assessing Socioeconomic Impacts of Forest Biomass Based Biofuel Development on Rural Communities in the Eastern United States."
• Robert Taylor was awarded $29,700 from the Vietnam Education Foundation to teach a class entitled "Current Issues in Sustainability Science: Technologies for Urban Climate Change Adaptation."
• Ashuwin Vaidya, Philip Yecko, Arup Mukherjee, and David Trubatch received a National Science Foundation award of $171,135 for the acquisition of a PIV imaging system for spatial and temporal study of flow patterns. 

Another academic year is upon us. For me, this is the start of my thirty-first year here at Montclair. Although I spent much of the summer engaged in contract negotiations and other Union issues that brought me to campus regularly, I did take a little time off. I am feeling particularly renewed and I hope you are, too.

As a community, we should make a special effort to welcome the new freshman class. They're transitioning into adulthood, with its typical associated growing pains. There are also new faces among the faculty, librarians and professional staff. I've been having a good time meeting new and old friends at Tuesday's picnic, at meetings, and while walking through campus, a campus-under-construction, filled with confused and frustrated faces trying to navigate the maze. If you're among the less confused, lend some friendly assistance where you can.

Our first General Union Meeting (GUM) of the year is Wednesday, September 12th. If you're new to campus, join us for light refreshments and discussions about the issues that the Local is working on, including the details of the new contract and the ratification vote. If you're an old friend, you know that the General Union Meetings are a place where we share good information about issues that matter. I look forward to seeing you all there.

Last year, our Solidarity Walks and Wear Blue on Wednesdays were successful on a number of levels. Not only did we have an opportunity to talk about various issues and get some (in my case, needed) exercise, but we also were able to show the administration that we stand together for a better Montclair State. The walks start at 12:30 p.m. in front of Café Diem. I assure you it makes a difference, and I hope you join us.

There's a lot to do this year, and I look forward to working hard with the Local's officers and the numerous faculty, professional staff, and librarians that serve on our committees. There's also a national election coming up that requires all of our attention, as labor issues are front and center on both party platforms.

That's it for now. If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact me, the office, or any one of our officers. We're here, renewed, for you and for each other. 

In solidarity,

Rich