Ronnie Grant, CSUEU Vice President for Organizing, has a new phone number: 818-519-5117. Please use that number when contacting him on union business; you may share it with anyone.
His email address is RGrant [at] calcsea.org.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Successful Unfair Practice Charge In Retaliation Case
CSUEU has won an unfair practice charge against the CSU, in a retaliation case involving an Equipment Technician II at CSU San Diego. PERB (Public Employment Relations Board) found that the CSU had retaliated against an employee because of protected activity, and ordered the CSU to rehire him with back pay.
From the decision:
ORDER
Upon the entire record in this matter, the Public Employment Relations Board finds that the Trustees of the California State University (CSU) violated the Higher Education Employer- Employee Relations Act (HEERA), Government Code section 3571(a), by failing to rehire Terrence Ireland (Ireland) in retaliation for filing grievances and an unfair practice charge.
Pursuant to HEERA section 3563.3, it is hereby ORDERED that CSU, its governing board and its representatives shall:
- CEASE AND DESIST FROM:
- Retaliating against employees because of their protected activities; and
- Failing to rehire Ireland.
- TAKE THE FOLLOWING AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS DESIGNED TO EFFECTUATE THE POLICIES OF THE HEERA:
- Offer to Ireland reinstatement to his former position of employment, or if that position no longer exists, then to a substantially similar position.
- Make Ireland whole for losses which he suffered as a result of CSU's failure to rehire him, including back pay from May 2005 to the date of the offer of reinstatement.
- Within ten (10) workdays following the date this Decision is no longer subject to appeal, post at all work locations where Notices to employees of CSU are customarily posted, copies of the Notice attached hereto as an Appendix. The Notice must be signed by an authorized agent of CSU, indicating that CSU will comply with the terms of this Order. Such posting shall be maintained for a period of thirty (30) consecutive workdays. Reasonable steps shall be taken to ensure that the Notice is not reduced in size, altered, defaced, or covered with any other material.
- Written notification of the actions taken to comply with this Order shall be made to the General Counsel of the Public Employment Relations Board, or the General Counsel's designee. CSU shall provide reports, in writing, as directed by the General Counsel or his/her designee. All reports regarding compliance with this Order shall be concurrently served on the California State Employees Association.
Editor's Note: CSUEU is part of CSEA, which is why this PERB decision identifies CSEA as the charging party.
Links:
Updates: SEIU, Mileage Rate, Objectors, Exec Officer Meeting, Foundation Board Election
Internal updates from Ronnie Grant, CSUEU Vice President for Organizing:
SEIU
The Executive Officer Committee is working to book a meeting with SEIU at their Oakland office in the next 45 days to update them on where we are with organizing Foundations, possibly on Aug 2-3.
Pat has submitted our polling issues to SEIU so arrangements can be made with the polling firm.
Executive Officer Committee meeting
The Executive Officer Committee met by conference call on July 1 at 4:00 p.m.
Highlight:
We have calculated that we have not used all of FY 2007-08 5.11(d) leave. The CSU has agreed to allow us to roll the unused portion over and make it available in FY 08-09 in addition to FY 08-09's contractually guaranteed 576 hours. (Chapter allotments of the 5.11(d) pool will not change, as they are set in the Policy File.) The officers discussed making some of the rolled-over leave available to chapters for the purpose of making legislative district office visits; Pat is working out the details.
Objector period closed
All non-members received a blue annual notice of fair-share fees early in June. The 30-day window form them to object to non-germane expenses ended June 30. If you receive any queries from non-members about fair-share fee objections, please ask them to call Membership Services at 916-326-4300.
Fair-share rates for CSU fiscal year 2008-2009 are the same as FY 2007-2008: fees are 99.2% of dues.
Mileage rates change July 1
In Announcement 2008-63, the IRS announced it is revising Revenue Procedure 2007-70 to increase mileage reimbursement rates for travel occurring on or after July 1, 2008.
For travel on or after July 1, 2008: claim 58.5 cents per mile For travel on or before June 30, 2008: claim 50.5 cents per mile
To determine the rate, use the date the travel actually occurred, not the date the claim was filed.
Details:
- http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-08-63.pdf
- http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=176030,00.html
- http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-07-70.pdf
CSEA Foundation Board election
As a CSEA member, you may run for a seat on the Board of Directors of the CSEA Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Foundation Board members are elected by the Board of Directors of CSEA.
The CSEA Foundation has two vacancies on its Board of Directors as a result of expired terms of office. The special election will be held on September 27 at the CSEA Board of Directors meeting. To be eligible for election, candidates’ resumes and accompanying cover letters indicating willingness and desire to serve as a Foundation board member must be received at the CSEA Foundation, 1108 O Street, Sacramento 95814 no later than the close of business September 5.
- from www.calcsea.org.
CSEA's website does not contain a roster of the current Foundation Board members, but they are listed in the CSEA Board/Committee roster that was sent via U.S. Mail to every Chapter President earlier this year. (At this time the CSEA Board/Committee roster document has not yet been updated to reflect changes to CSEA's Board resulting from Local 1000's officer elections.)
Headquarters Address Change and Email
Information on contacting headquarters from Ronnie Grant, CSUEU Vice President for Organizing:
New Headquarters Address
Please note that our CSUEU office is moving from our leased 10th St. location to the CSEA building on O St. in Sacramento.
First-class mail to our old 10th St. address should be forwarded for the next 12 months. During the 13th through 18th months from the date CSUEU places the forwarding order; mail addressed to 10th St. will be returned to the sender with a note showing the new O St. address; after 18 months mail addressed to 10th St. will be returned to the sender without the new address. See, e.g., Domestic Mail Manual 507 §1.5.1.
However, if you have a pre-printed business reply mail envelope addressed to 1129 10th St., do not change the address on the envelope. Domestic Mail Manual 507 §9.4.4 states, The delivery address on a piece of BRM may not be altered to redirect the mailpiece to any address other than the one preprinted on the piece.
Business reply mail to our old address should be forwarded for 12 months.
However, forwarding can cause several days of delay, so I encourage you to use our new address:
CSU Employees Union
1108 O
Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Our phone numbers will not change: voice 916-319-4800, toll-free 866-763-1452, FAX 916-319-4808.
CSEA Email Issues
[Editor's note: CSEA provides email services for CSUEU staff and some officers, as part of our support contract with CSEA.]
CSEA currently has a misconfiguration in its IT systems which will result in e-mail sent to any calcsea.org address occasionally bouncing with the error Unable to relay.
Due to the nature of the misconfiguration, I have personally experienced bounced e-mail only a few times, all occurring overnight.
If your e-mail addressed to a calcsea.org account bounces, simply resend it and it will likely be delivered.
I have reported this to CSEA's IT department and I am awaiting a response. If you have any bounces, please feel free to forward them to itsupport [at] calcsea.org.
[Technical details: The third (and last) priority MX record for calcsea.org points to portal.calcsea.org, 63.171.1.50. The mail server at 63.171.1.50 is not configured to accept mail for calcsea.org. Thankfully, the first two MX hosts are properly configured to accept calcsea.org mail.]
New Chapter President at Monterey Bay
Steven Rubin has retired from his staff position at CSU Monterey Bay. Andrew Coile is the new president of Chapter 322.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
CSEA Foundation Board Election, and Disaster Relief Grants
CSUEU is an affiliate of CSEA; CSUEU members are CSEA members.
CSEA Foundation Board Election
CSEA has posted this election notice:
The CSEA Foundation Board of Directors is holding a special election to fill 2 vacancies created by the resignation of some Foundation Board members. The special election will be held on September 27. To be eligible, candidates' resumes and accompanying cover letters indicating willingness and desire to serve as a Foundation Board member must be received at the CSEA Foundation, 1108 O Street, Sacramento 95814 no later than the close of business September 5.
Candidates for the CSEA Foundation Board of Directors must be members in good standing of a CSEA affiliate.
Wildfire Assistance
Members whose homes were damaged or destroyed in this latest round of wildfires can apply for assistance from the CSEA Disaster Relief Fund. The limit is $2000. The application is a simple 1-page document.
Links
Member Benefits Agenda for September 7 Meeting
The CSEA Member Benefits Committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Sunday, September 7, 2008, at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza Hotel, 300 J Street, Sacramento. Here are the agenda items sent to committee members today:
- Call to Order at 9 a.m. by Chair Rosmaire M. Duffy
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Roll Call:
- Rosmaire M. Duffy, Chair, Chapter 503
- Caryl Cole, Chapter 12
- Lisa M. Davis, DLC 709
- Robert A. Kersch, DLC 741
- Richard McGee, Chapter 320
- Peggy O’Neil-Rosales, Chapter 315
- Raquel E. Rios, Chapter 514
- Barbara A. Wilson, Chapter 2
- Officer Assigned: Donna Snodgrass, Vice President
- Staff Assigned: Kay Thomas, Benefits Director
Bob Wright, Employee Benefits Representative
Lisa Fong, Program Specialist
- Introductions
- Approval of Minutes of First 2008 Member Benefits Committee Meeting
- Remarks of Chair
- Remarks of Officer Assigned
- Remarks of Staff Assigned
- Old Business:
- CSEA Life Program Request for Proposal (RFP) - Michael Guglielmo, AGIA Vice President, Account Management
- Annual Review of CSEA Sponsored or Endorsed Insurance Plans:
- Group Term Life Insurance Plan - Anthem Life Insurance Company
- Group Ordinary Life Insurance Plan - Anthem Life Insurance Company
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan - New York Life Insurance Company
- Disability Income Insurance Plans (Short Term and Long Term) - New York Life Insurance Company
- Cancer Insurance Plans - Monumental Life Insurance Company
- Family Life Insurance Plan - American United Life Insurance Company
- Legal Plan - Legal Club of America
- Auto and Homeowners Insurance Plan - Unitrin Direct preferred insurance
- Emergency Assistance Plus Plan (EA+) - OnCall International
- PetCare Pet Insurance Plan - Pethealth Incorporated
- Comprehensive Accident Plan (CAP) - Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company
- New Business:
- Travel Accident Insurance Request for Proposal (RFP) - Michael Guglielmo, AGIA Vice President, Account Management
- CSEA Policy File - Division 2: Member Benefits
- Information Items:
- Purchasing Power Report
- Discount Programs and Travel Programs
- Direct Ticket Sales
- Unscheduled Items
- Adjournment
CSUEU members are CSEA members and are eligible for CSEA member benefits.
Links
- CSEA Member Benefits
- CSEA Bylaws and Policy File (CSEA) [PDF]
Monday, July 14, 2008
July 15 Trustees Meeting
The CSU Board of Trustees meets tomorrow at the Chancellor's Office. This is a one-day meeting, as opposed to the usual two-day session. The Trustees meet in closed session beginning at 8:30, with the open portion of the meeting estimated to begin at 9:45 with the Committee on Collective Bargaining.
Agenda Tidbits
- Tentative Agreement with APC (Academic Professionals of California)
- Information Security Audit: According to the agenda, fieldwork is in progress for Chico and San Diego, and report writing is in progress for Fullerton, Pomona, Sonoma, and Stanislaus. This audit is
a review of the systems in place to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and access/availability of information including systems to limit collection of information, control access to data and assure that individuals with access to data do not utilize the data for unauthorized purposes, encrypt data in storage and transmission, and implement physical and logical security measures for all sources.
[Committee on Audit] - Motion to amend the 2008/2009 non-state capital outlay program to include renovation of the Dining Commons at Monterey Bay ($3,000,000), and HVAC and lighting upgrades for utility conservation at San Luis Obispo ($3,630,000) [Committee on Campus Planning, Buildings and Grounds]
- Motion to amend the 2008/2009 state capital outlay program to include Student Center renovations at Monterey Bay ($1,200,000), and HVAC and lighting upgrades for utility conservation at San Luis Obispo ($2,605,000) [Committee on Campus Planning, Buildings and Grounds]
- Approval of plans for a parking structure at San Marcos (estimated project cost $29,898,000) [Committee on Campus Planning, Buildings and Grounds]
- Systemwide revenue bonds and interim financing
in an aggregate amount not-to-exceed $114,625,000
for- A parking structure at San Marcos (up to $36,285,000),
- Student housing, residential dining complex, and
a two story residential life program building
at Chico (up to $63,515,000), and - Student Union at Channel Islands (up to $14,825,000)
- Conceptual approval for a public/private partnership for a student housing project at San Francisco State University [Committee on Finance]
- Discussion of proposed changes to the Management Personnel Plan (MPP):
- Athletic personnel appointments may be for a limited term
- Athletic personnel may be terminated without the 3 months notice or pay required for other MPP employees.
- Compensation for the acting president of San José State University, Dr. Carmen Sigler, at an annual salary of $240,000 effective July 1, 2008 to July 31, 2008. [Committee on University and Faculty Personnel]
- Compensation for the incoming San José State University president, Dr. Jon S. Whitmore:
an annual salary of $328,209, effective August 1, 2008
an annual supplement of $25,000 from foundation sources
the official university presidential residence
Relocation of household goods and property from Lubbock, Texas to California, an amount not to exceed $18,775, unless authorized by the chancellor
Reimbursement for brokerage commissions, escrow fees, prepayment penalties, taxes and expenses incurred in the selling the family residence in Texas, an amount not to exceed $66,577, unless authorized by the chancellor
Choice of a university-owned vehicle or an annual vehicle allowance of $1,000 per month.
Standard benefit provisions afforded CSU executive classification employees regarding retirement program coverage from CalPERS, an annual medical physical examination, health plan programs, insurance programs, and vacation and sick leave accruals
A transition program for university presidents, provided that Dr. Whitmore meets the eligibility requirements described in the Trustees' resolution of November 15, 2006.
According to that resolution, the executive must:- have served 5 years in an executive position at the California State University (CSU);
- be in good standing at the commencement of the program;
- have previously identified a position in the CSU to return to upon completion of the transitional program, and
- not accept non-CSU employment.
Dr. Whitmore will be eligible for appointment as professor of theatre arts with tenure at the discretion of appropriate faculty bodies of San José State University.
The agendas contain minutes from the previous meeting, which generally give a fair if incomplete picture of what went on.
General Updates
Jeffrey L. Bleich is chair of the Board of Trustees for the 2008-2009 year; Herbert L. Carter is the vice chair.
| Date(s) | Day(s) | Location |
|---|---|---|
| January 27-28, 2009 | Tuesday – Wednesday | Headquarters |
| March 24-25, 2009 | Tuesday – Wednesday | Headquarters |
| May 12-13, 2009 | Tuesday – Wednesday | Headquarters |
| July 21, 2009 | Tuesday | Headquarters |
| September 22-23, 2009 | Tuesday – Wednesday | Headquarters |
| November 17-18, 2009 | Tuesday – Wednesday | Headquarters |
Links
- Agendas and notices for CSU Board of Trustees
- November 2006 CSU Board of Trustees Resolutions - the executive transition program begins on page 7 of the document [PDF]
- Resolutions by the CSU Board of Trustees
- Trustees profiles
Action Alert from the Alliance for the CSU
On Friday afternoon the Alliance for the CSU sent out this action alert via email. Links have been modified to lead to their ultimate destination, rather than going through the marketing company's site:
ALLIANCE FOR THE CSU
"ACTION ALERT"
- Your Email Needed to Win CSU Funding
- State Leaders Now Making Final Budget Decisions
Click Here to Email Your Elected Leaders Now
July 11, 2008
Final decisions on state funding for the California State University in the 2008/09 budget year are being made.
As a supporter of the CSU, please send an email today calling on state leaders to provide the funding the CSU needs to educate California's students.
Right now, the "Big 5" are meeting to decide what will be in the budget that goes to a vote in the state Assembly and Senate.
The Big 5 are Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senate Pro Tem Don Perata, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Assembly Republican leader Mike Villines and Senate Republican leader Dave Cogdill.
While the budget plan they are considering does contain the money restored to the CSU when the governor revised his budget plan in May (after some 25,000 faxes and calls from the Alliance for the CSU), the plan still assumes a student fee hike and leaves out more than $288 million in necessary funds - the minimum promised in the governor's Compact for Higher Education.
The Alliance for the CSU continues to fight for the inclusion of all $288 million in promised funding in the final budget. Please act today.
ACTION: Send an email...
...to the "Big 5" to let them know that the proposed budget cuts to the CSU are unacceptable.
Go to http://www.allianceforthecsu.org/send_message.php, where you can quickly and easily send an automated email to all five of these key elected leaders.
THE MESSAGE
While we appreciate the restoration of $97.6 million to the CSU budget, we urge you to fully fund public higher education by restoring the CSU budget to a level that will remove the need for the latest student fee increase and will fund access to the university with enough classes for all eligible students.
Proposed cuts would have a destructive long-term impact on the state's economy.
California badly needs more college-educated people in the workforce. The CSU grants half of all four-year college degrees in California. Cuts will make the shortage of educated workers even worse.
Higher education is part of the solution to our state's troubled economy. These proposed cuts to the CSU will undermine California's economic infrastructure and future revenue.
Privacy Warning
Expect the personal information you provide on the Alliance cards and web form to be provided to others without your knowledge or consent. The Alliance had said, when asked, that they might release people's personal information – without notice or permission – to the CSU administration, but stated they would not release it to anyone else, including unions, outside vendors, or marketers. In fact the Alliance has released information to at least one union and one outside marketing firm. The Alliance does not allow you to opt out of having your personal information released. As of this morning, the Alliance still does not publish a privacy policy on their web site, or otherwise disclose how they will use your information or to whom they will release it.
If your chapter collects cards, or urges people to sign up on the Alliance web site, please warn people that their personal information may be released to others without notice. Employees should not provide any information they don't want given away to unknown third parties, including home or personal cell phone numbers, or personal email addresses. We suggest providing only your work contact information: campus mailing address, campus phone, and campus email address. An alternative would be for a group to select someone to act as a primary contact, who provides his or her personal information to the Alliance and forwards the action emails to the rest of the group.
The (small, low-contrast) privacy policy
link in the footer of Friday's email goes to the outside marketing company's privacy policy, not that of the Alliance for the CSU.
We will post Alliance email messages here as we receive them.
Links
- Send a pre-written message to the
Big 5
(Alliance for the CSU) - Alliance for the CSU
- CSU Budget Central (Chancellor's Office)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)