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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Wende Wahl |
Thank you for the privilege to serve you as President of SEIU at SRJC. I am deeply honored.
We have a lot of work to do together this coming term. I want to run down a somewhat short list of challenges currently facing us, and some goals I would like to achieve.
Effective July 1, 2002, the moratorium on classification review was lifted. SEIU is eliciting requests for review from classified, now through September 3rd. (Please read the article on
Classification Review included in this newsletter.) The current contract restricts the review to just three classifications or series. It isn't going to be easy to choose just three. We will
need to work together to make the selection process as fair as possible, given the restricted guideline. I propose to hold a general membership meeting mid-to-late September to invite
membership input in this process.
Soon, the college will be embarking on a major construction phase. With design and construction will also come issues of concern for classified. Hours of Employment is an issue in arbitration.
For many staff, there is uncertainty about their medical benefits provider, Health Plan of the Redwoods. A pay issue for interpreters, left over from the original classification study, needs to
be resolved. This year there is the additional concern about state budget cuts and how implementation of those cuts might affect classified, as well as services to students. And soon, the classified
Negotiations Team will be entering into this year's negotiations with the District.
It is important - no, imperative - that classified take a voice in the changes what will affect us. There are no greater ways to positively influence our working environment than participating
in shared governance and working together as a union.
During the months of July and August I will be making appointments to fill classified positions on the college's standing and ad hoc committees. Take a moment. Review the Committees
Description List located in the Public Folders in Outlook, and find one that is of particular interest to you. Then send me your written request for placement on a committee, ASAP.
I am confident we will meet the challenges facing us. We will look forward to the opportunities no less than we will the challenges. I can say this because I know what a great organization we
have to work with.
I am grateful to all of you for giving me the opportunity to embark on this adventure with you. Together, the voice of classified will be heard.
How to Access the Committees List
1. In Outlook, Click on "View" menu;
2. Select "Folder List";
3. Then, Double Click on all the folders indicated below:
· Open Public Folders
· Open All Public Folders
· Open Committees
· Open the document - Committee Function/Structur.pdf
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HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT ARBITRATION Ann Samson |
At long last, the arbitrator has ruled in SEIU's favor in this dispute with the District! This edition of The Power Source is a little late because the decision arrived just as we were putting
the newsletter to print.
Here is what the decision says, and following is an assessment of what the decision may mean to us in our relationship with the District:
"FINDING
The District and Union have been at odds over the hours/days of work for some time as demonstrated by the history of the negotiations.
The Union argues that permitting the use of the job announcements to establish the days of work and/or the hours would defeat the purpose of the current contract language without the Union
having the benefit of negotiation for the change. The District states that with no incumbent to provide consent, and with the announcement stating the hours/days, when a candidate applies for
the job, the candidate provides the consent.
The Arbitrator finds that the negotiated contract prevails [emphasis mine] over the Education Code language as to permissible negotiated terms and language. Education Code Section
88010.5 does not [emphasis mine] give the District the right to establish the work week inconsistent with the negotiated Agreement."
"HOLDING
The Agreement makes no provision for establishing the hours/days of work when processing a vacant position. The District does not have the authority to set hours/days of work, other than the
regular work schedule as stated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement [emphasis mine]. The District must negotiate with the Union for works hours/days that vary from the "regular work
week" found in the Agreement."
The decision, welcome as it is, does not mean that shift rotation systems that have been in limbo for months and years will quickly be established; it does not mean that the District will stop
wanting to schedule classified employees' regular work hours for Saturdays or odd hours. What it does mean is that the law is on our side, and we have support for our position that the
District must negotiate rather than unilaterally imposing work schedules that meet only its own needs. The District will most surely want to add this issue to those it sunshines for this next
round of negotiations.
Once again, SEIU's resources have been committed to protect our working conditions, a matter of both economic and non-economic importance to us all!
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ELECTION REPORT Election Committee |
As publicized by e-mail on June 26, election of officers for the period July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2004 was accomplished by mail ballot, with 45.5% of members casting votes. Results are:
President: Wende WahlThe negotiations team will not change, with the addition of John Mercer, through the remainder of this contract, which expires on June 30, 2003. John's election guarantees that at least one member of the negotiations team will continue into the next contract, which should begin on July 1, 2003.
Vice President/Negotiator: John Mercer
Secretary: Debbie Eakins
Communications: Doug Kuula
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CLASSIFICATION REVIEW Classified Advisory Council |
As you may know, on July 1 the moratorium on classification reviews that has been in place since we approved the Classification Study expired. SEIU must recommend to the District by November of
this year three job classifications, job families, or job series to be studied.
The CAC invites expressions of interest in classification review, addressed to the SEIU mailbox in Bailey Hall by 5pm on Tuesday, September 3.
In your correspondence please include the following information:
1) Name
2) Job Classification
3) Basis of misclassification resulting from:
· Departmental reorganizationIt is important to remember that, under the current contract, we are not authorized to study individuals within a classification without studying the entire classification. Nevertheless, we encourage anyone who believes he or she is misclassified to submit an expression of interest. It may appear that the circumstances apply only to you, but they may reveal a systemic problem with the whole job class. In addition, there are alternate approaches that may bring an improvement in your position. This process serves the purpose of information-gathering.
· Major change in technology
· Major change in job duties since classification (80%)
· Inaccurate pay grade
· Pay grade not competitive with market
· Inaccurate title
· Placed in job class as a result of inaccuracies in Classification Study or Desk Audit
· Internal alignment (that is, you are in a classification with co-workers whose work is significantly different from yours)
· Other: (e.g., transferred during the Study and did not complete PDQ; was hired during the study and manager completed PDQ, etc.)
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NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE SEIU/SRJC Classified Staff Negotiations Team |
The negotiations team met several times to review input from classified staff, to establish openers, and to present to the CAC. The following proposal was presented to the Director of Human
Resources:
Article 7 - Pay and AllowancesOur reopeners proposal will be presented at the August Board meeting and the open public hearing will be at the September Board meeting. The District Team will present their reopeners at the October Board meeting and the public hearing will be at the November Board meeting. Negotiations will begin in November.
· COLA
· Lead Worker Pay
· Longevity Pay
· On-Call Pay
· Parking
Article 9 - Health and Welfare Benefits
· Retirement Stipend
· PERS Contribution
· Permanent Part-time Employee Benefit Coverage
Article 11 - Vacation
· Ten-month and Eleven-month Employees
Article 19 - Reclassification and/or Article 6 - Hours of Employment
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WINDSOR SITE-NEW POSITIONS Wende Wahl |
Last month Santa Rosa Junior College opened it's new site in Windsor. Along with the excitement of the new facility, it was noted that maintenance of the site's additional space would cause
already stretched custodians, maintenance and gardeners to be stretched even further to service the newly constructed site.
Dr. Agrella and I discussed this issue at our April meeting. During that meeting Dr. Agrella promised to put through a proposal for 1-1/2 to 2 new positions for the Windsor site to cover the
areas of custodial, maintenance, and landscape. As a result, two (2) new positions for the Windsor Site - 1 grounds and 1 custodial - were approved by the Classified Staffing Committee at its
July meeting. Dr. Agrella and the administration are to be applauded for their recognition of the need for additional staffing in Windsor by creating the new positions.
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MOVIE REVIEW |
Brenda Nichols recommends "Bread and Roses," a new release, as an inspiring film. It features SEIU's successful campaign, Justice for Janitors, of a year or so ago. Custodians in central Los Angeles high-rise office buildings, many of them immigrants, were exploited and isolated; although nearly all sacrificed and suffered as a result of standing up for their right to organize, they were ultimately successful. Their major tactic, in addition to developing courage and unity, was to exert pressure on public opinion for their right to a living wage and the recognition of the dignity of good work. Check it out for Labor Day!