Association of Classified Employees Foothill – De Anza

2025.07.02 Update – President’s Message: Pride at Work, Immigration Empathy, Evening Site Meetings, Treasurer Board Vacancy

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ACE

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ACE Members,

President’s Message
Pride month may be over, but our contract protections exist year-round and ACE is always here to support our members. https://www.prideatwork.org/bargaining is a great resource for establishing language in our Agreement that secures rights even when the law may change. As a rule of thumb, the law is the floor (minimum) and we can always bargain for better (higher) standards with the District. We are always paying attention to strengthening our language to create better working conditions for all of our members.

  • If you have a suggestion for contract language, reach out to a member of the negotiations team.
  • If you need support with a workplace issue, reach out to a steward.

This year it seemed more urgent than ever to raise money and show up for LGBTQ+ equity. @Janie Garcia and myself were able to participate in the final AIDS/LifeCycle event which raised 17.3mil$ for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Roughly 3,000 participants made a 7-day journey from the Cow Palace to Santa Monica in a huge demonstration of solidarity and love. It’s the community “love bubble” and cause that have brought people together for over 30+ years. As a cyclist, I would not have been able to ride 500+ miles if it weren’t for the support of roadies(volunteers) like Janie.

“To serve the whole student, we need to serve the whole worker.” – Janie Garcia, ACE Chief Steward for Foothill

Immigration Empathy
As beautiful as the ride was, on my return trip via US Highway 101 I did see National Guard vehicles on their way to Los Angeles. It was a stark contrast going from an support-focused environment to a punitive one. The actions taken at the federal level have not been about creating social safety nets or establishing systems that equitably create a better future. Much of the activity ACE has been paying attention to revolves around the threat of potential loss for education funding, which would impact our most disadvantaged students. Decreases in enrollment would potentially affect our district’s revenue and demand for the work provided by our bargaining unit. It is in our best interests to demand continued support for higher education. Graduation season is a clear example of the transformative engine that we are a critical component of – maintain the power.

https://5calls.org/ is a great resource for locating your elected officials and providing a framework for how to advocate on issues currently being decided upon. Democracy is not a spectator sport (or a sport at all.)

In my career at the District I have been surrounded by a diverse population from all around the globe. Of the people I’ve met, the ones that I least understand are those that attempt to undermine our mission to provide affordable education and socio-economic mobility. I see no tangible benefit in denying education, food, housing, healthcare or migration to people who are trying to live long and prosperously on a tiny blue orb floating in space. Counter intuitively, funding seems to always exist to criminalize and punish people. ACE has posted the Red Card and Rapid Response Network information on our website, which also links to  the County of Santa Clara’s Division of Equity and Social Justice. Personally, I carry the card with me so that I can be reminded of my own rights and be prepared to defend the rights of others in our community.

We’re continuing to have conversations with the HR and Booth Law Group regarding how to meet the needs of our community.

Evening Site Meetings

ACE held a special site meeting last Tuesday evening to accommodate those who are unable to attend our normal lunch site meetings. Thank you to the members from FH, DA and CS and board members who attended. It was great to have all of our reps from De Anza in attendance to support coworkers who came with questions/concerns – @Marybell Arebalo, @Andrea Santa Cruz, @Lisa Ly, @Adriana Garcia . Appreciations as well to @Alan Nguyen from Central Services.

We’ll create a survey to see if there is more of an appetite for meetings at an alternative time. If a department or group has a specific concern, time can always be scheduled with an Executive Board member. Reach out to any of us.

Executive Board Opening – Treasurer Position [Apply]
As a reminder, we have a vacancy that we’d like to fill for our Treasurer position. Thank you to those who’ve already expressed interested and look for my earlier message today for specific duties.

Email a statement of interest to @Scott Olsen and let me know when we can talk about it prior to next week’s ACE Board Meeting before July 9th.

In Service,

Scott Olsen (he/him) | ACE President
https://acefhda.org | scott.olsen@acefhda.org 
650-949-7789 | M-F 8:30am-5:00pm

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