MINUTES OF THE CCFA REP COUNCIL MEETING ON April 12, 2010
REPS ATTENDING FROM THE FOLLOWING SCHOOLS:
1.ADJUNCT FACULTY
a) George Henson, absent
2.BUSINESS & APPLIED TECHNOLOGY
a) Terri Helfand, absent
b) Vacant
3.COLLEGE & STUDENT SERVICES
a)Marie Boyd, present
b)Toks Oduwole, absent
4.HEALTH SCIENCES
a)Susan Herman, present
b)Heather MacDonald, present
5.LANGUAGE ARTS
a)Sean Connelly, present
b) Stephen Calebotta, present
6.INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT
a)Greg Creel, present
b)Robert Rundquist, present
7.MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE
a)Dan Valdez, present
b)Rod Elsdon, absent
8.SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
a)Robert Carlton, present
b)Vince Nobile, present
9.VISUAL, PERFORMING, & COMMUNICATION ARTS
a)Kipp Preble, present
b) Erik Jacobson, present
VISITOR(S)
John Fay, Negotiator
Robin Devitt, CCA/CTA Staff Consultant
Susan Panattoni, HR
Chris Flores, EOP
Denise Johnson, Art
Robin Ikeda, Biology
OFFICERS/COMMITTEE CHAIRS:
1.PRESIDENT:Bret McMurran (652-6268), present
Social and Behavioral Sciences
2.VICE PRESIDENT:Marylee Requa, present
Social and Behavioral Sciences
3.SECRETARY:Paula Snyder, present
Social and Behavioral Sciences
4.TREASURER:Will Carrick, present
College and Student Services
5. GRIEVANCE OFFICERS:Jonathan Ausubel (652-6937), present
Language Arts
Marylee Requa (652-6279), present
Social and Behavioral Sciences
6.PAC CHAIR:Vacant
I. Call to order
President Bret McMurran called the Rep Council meeting to order at approximately
12:31 p.m.
II. Approval of minutes: March 29th, 2010
It was moved by Sue Hermanand seconded by Will Carrickto accept the
minutes of March 29. Motion carried.
III. President's Report
A.Agency Fees (i.e., Fair Share, Organizational Security) – Robin Devitt
Rationale: Non-union members also receive benefits of the Union. The Union has a legal right to charge a service fee to non-members (Education Code, Government Code, and upheld in court cases). Suggested that a membership campaign be held to inform employees of the benefits of joining the Union prior to switching to Agency Fees. Start-up funds (via grant) are available to assist CCFA with the switch to Agency Fees if so decided.
B.See Appendix 1: March 24th Dean’s Meeting
Questions about the Deans’ Meeting minutes (see Appendix). Revision under Conference Summary: Requested that deans always send a meeting summary to the faculty member(s) with whom the dean has met.
C.Other
Nothing to discuss.
IV. Officers' Reports
- Treasurer/Membership: Will Carrick
The membership percentages remain consistent with the retirements.
- Chief Negotiator: Jonathan Ausubel = Sabbatical Language
Sabbatical language continues to be discussed. The issue will be discussed with Faculty Senate as well.
While negotiations continue, a number of factors including the large number of participants in the voluntary retirement program have made it unlikely that a TA'd contract will be ready this semester. The teams now hope to have a contract ready for voting either at the start of or very early in the fall. This means that the current contract will continue in effect for the fall.
In the past few sessions, the teams have been reworking Article 20 (evaluations) with the aim of standardizing procedures for all evaluations. As required by Education Code, negotiators met with Senate two weeks ago to discuss these changes with Faculty Senate. While a TA'd Article 20 will look radically revised to the eye, in fact, procedures and content of evaluations remain largely unchanged.
The CCFA team is planning to hold Town Halls to discuss the progress of negotiations within a few weeks.
- Grievance Officers: Marylee Requa and Jon Ausubel
One complaint case involving an evaluation has been resolved.
V. Committee Reports
- Calendar Committee: Stephen Calebotta and Rod Elsdon
Nothing to report.
- PAC: vacant
Nothing to report.
- Health and Safety Committee: Will Carrick
Nothing to report.
- Distance Education Committee: Bret McMurran
Nothing to report.
- Curriculum Committee: Joann Eisberg
Nothing to report.
- Evaluations Procedures Committee: Bob Carlton and Bret McMurran
Nothing to report.
- Medical Benefits Committee: Chris Flores and Bob Carlton
Nothing to report.
- Labor, Management Committee: Marylee Requa, Jonathan Ausubel and Bret McMurran
See Appendix.
VI. Old Business
A. Rep Council and Officer Elections
Need more nominations for offices. The deadline is Wednesday, April 14.
B. The make-up of the Negotiating Team
Follow-up to issue discussed at March 29 meeting. Request that the Career Technical Education area have regular representation on the Negotiating Team.
VII.New Business
A. Blue Cross: Chris Flores and Susan Panattoni
A significant increase is occurring (28 percent). Approximately 180 employees out of 500 have Blue Cross. Open enrollment will be in May (effective July 1).
VIII.Floor Items:
Not discussed.
IX. Adjournment: Next meeting is April 26th
The meeting was adjourned at 2:01 p.m.
Appendix 1: From the March 24th Dean’s Meeting Notes
Labor Management Issues
The Labor Management group meet yesterday and several items discussed need to be shared with the deans:
CIW Training: There was an issue in December because instructors teaching at CIW were told that they had to attend a mandatory training session in order to teach classes at the prison. CCFA issued a demand to bargain because they felt this constituted a change in working conditions; however, the demand to bargain was withdrawn when it was determined that the prison mandated the training, not the District, and that these courses met the definition of distance education courses. This is an information item; no further action is needed at this time.
B Seniority: CCFA reported that faculty in a department have used seniority in determining their schedules. It was asserted that the dean has told the department that seniority should not be used as a means of scheduling and that their schedules would be rejected if seniority was used. CCFA is concerned about this statement, as there is
no stipulation as to how faculty build their schedule. The contract only states that faculty will recommend their schedule to their dean. If the dean rejects a schedule based on the best interest of the students, then CCFA would not have an issue. Labor Management recommends that if a dean is not satisfied with a schedule, he/she should suggest changes based on the best interest of students. The suggested changes should be sent back to the department, giving the department the opportunity to review the changes and provide additional input. If no agreement can be reached within the department or between the department and the dean, the dean may invoke right of assignment.
Deans Attending Department Meetings: CCFA asked if deans need to attend all department meetings – there is no stipulation that a dean can or cannot attend any or all of a department’s meetings. In some cases, it may be beneficial to have the dean at a department’s meetings. Though there is no follow-up action on this item, the deans should be aware that this is an area of sensitivity for some departments.
Conference Summaries: Many deans have started the practice of creating summary letters of meetings they have with faculty. There is no dispute to this process; in fact, it is good practice to summarize meetings for understanding. However, CCFA was concerned with the tone of some letters in addition to subjective language being included in the letters. Summary letters should state facts only. Labor Management suggests that in certain circumstances, the dean may want to draft the letter and send the draft to the faculty member for input before rendering their final letter. Deans should ensure that the letter includes facts only and not inferences or perceptions of behavior.
Cleaning: CCFA reports that a school received a memo from their dean stating that a vacuum was available if needed. The District recommends that no one other than FMA’s do regular cleaning as this takes work away from the CSEA bargaining unit. The District is continuing to assess what is and isn’t working with the M&O changes. There were some FMA’s out on various leaves, which has made evaluating the changes difficult. Most have returned and things seem to be running smoothly. The plan is to pull back on vacuums, brooms, etc., as things stabilize.
Auxiliary Accounts: A faculty member had an issue with an auxiliary account, which brought forth a larger issue: it seems that there are no policies or procedures established for tracking how auxiliary money is earned, spent, and who is spending it. Faculty are concerned that they may be held responsible for money that is not spent appropriately. The dean is the responsible budget manager, so deans should be making decisions regarding spending. It is recommended that deans involve faculty in these discussions and clearly communicate spending decisions.
A discussion ensued regarding absence sheets. Contract faculty absence sheets report absences as ¼, ½, ¾, or 1 full day. Many circumstances arise where it is difficult to determine what the appropriate amount of absence time should be. If faculty miss part of their day, it must be reported but determining the length of an absence is generally on the honor system on the part of the faculty member and a judgment call for the dean. It has been suggested that absences be reported by hours, similar to adjunct faculty, but this is difficult since this would involve converting a professional assignment into an hourly assignment. The deans suggested that best practices be created regarding service days because there is occasionally confusion about service days, particularly during finals. For example, if finals week extends through Friday, instructors must continue to work for the college through that Friday even if they gave their last final on Wednesday. If a faculty member misses a service day for any reason other than those listed on the absence form, they must take absence with deduction which goes to the board. At present, there is no provision for personal business time; however, this is something that could be discussed in negotiations.
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April 12th, 2010 Rep Council Meeting