ACE Members,

For many new employees who come to the district there’s an unfamiliarity about what a union is and how a local independent labor association is different from a national/statewide labor organization. Our history is outlined on our webpage (LINK) but here are a few takeaways:

  • We control our money:
    • We set the dues rate.
    • We determine our budget expenses.
    • We gain interest on funds set aside for litigation, strike, and operating expenses.
    • We don’t charge dues when we have sufficient funds.
    • Our dues are low, and the percentage members pay is fair and solely funded as a percentage of their base pay (excludes overtime, special compensation, etc.).
  • We have direct access to an attorney group versed in Ed Code and Labor Law:
    • We are the only bargaining unit who brings an attorney into bargaining.
    • We don’t have to seek prior approval before contacting an attorney.
  • We are member-run:
    • Negotiations, benefits, and actions we take affect the working conditions of the board member representatives and we are shoulder-to-shoulder with members who are affected by decisions made.
    • This is our workplace. We operate in a way that fosters a positive long-term working relationship.
  • We have no political position conflicts:
    • Due to representing a specific population, we do not have conflicts of interest or take political positions that may benefit one group but be to the detriment of another.

The opposite was true when we were represented by SEIU and CSEA. We didn’t have control over our own money: the dues rate was higher (1.05%), dues were always charged, and money was managed by the outside labor organization. Prior to speaking with an attorney, we would have to talk to a labor representative. Labor representatives and attorneys changed regularly and without warning, which was frustrating and effected outcomes. We had no say in who our labor rep or attorney was. At times SEIU would take political positions which would not benefit community colleges due to the broad group of workers they represent. Long story short: we paid a lot of money for representation that wasn’t the quality we expected.

Our high percentage of members to those who have yet to join remains high, which shows that quality representation matters and running our own organization matters. 9 out of 10 employees across the district choose to join ACE. Once fellow employees understand what we’ve accomplished and what we continue to work on, joining is an easy choice. We have excellent representation from the Booth Law Group and the Executive Committee. When we say they show up or the board acts based on member interests, what that looks like is this:

  • We negotiated a successful classification/compensation study as a means to raise salaries above our negotiated COLAs and more in line with market value for community colleges.
  • We’re challenging the District’s use of temporary employees doing work which falls within our bargaining unit. 
  • We’ve been able to place workers in open FHDA positions who would have otherwise been laid off.
  • PGA awards more than double CSEAs and even though we have a limit of 12 and theirs is unlimited, it takes them twice as long to reach our maximum for the same number of hours needed and 2-year timeframe per award.  Most won’t work for FHDA for that long.  
  • We’ve converted classified hourly positions with limited benefits and no guarantee of hours into permanent positions.
  • Finally, as president I have 100% release time from my FHDA position. This means I can focus on the work of ACE and representing our members. That is a big challenge for our colleagues in leadership positions in CSEA and Teamsters.

Even with full release time, I can’t be everywhere and talk to everyone which is why you carrying this message is important. Thank you for being a member. Thank you to members who’ve ran for elected union positions. Thank you to members who’ve served in union positions. Being independent requires us to do more work but as a group we’ve proven to be extremely capable.

As always, our member application (LINK) is available on the top of our homepage along with instructions to return it to olsenscott@fhda.edu .

… and as a break for those who made it this far into this message:

Two cats

Pandora and Barbie are two female cats who desperately need foster parents/re-homing as their pet parent has passed away. For more information, contact @Cheryl Milan .

Upcoming Reclassification Training – Nov 7th @ Noon via Zoom
ACE members will takeaway best practices for filing a successful position description questionnaire (PDQ) along with a better understanding of the process.

  • Should I file for reclassification?
  • Can a group file for reclassification?
  • What are the criteria that supports reclassification?
  • What does not support reclassification?
  • Where do I begin? What’s the process?
  • How do I appeal if denied?

ACE Agreement Article 15 covers Classification and Reclassification (LINK). Important note:

“A worker who has applied for reclassification may not apply for another reclassification for at least two years from the date of the last reclassification request, including a reclassification request under a prior agreement, except in extraordinary circumstances or reorganization.”

Which is why your first PDQ needs to be your best PDQ

Members will find the link on their Outlook calendars to join.  This will be facilitated by Anthony Booth who has been a part of multiple classification studies at college districts and reviewed many PDQs.

In Solidarity,

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