A locally governed, independent association, incorporated in 2009 by classified professional staff in the Foothill-De Anza (FHDA) Community College District to represent themselves pursuant to the California Public Employees Relations Act of 1976. ACE and the District Board of Trustees collectively bargain decisions on salary, hours of work, hiring practices, classification, and other terms and conditions of employment at Foothill and De Anza colleges.
Thank you to our colleagues for working on implementation of the negotiated 1.07% COLA. Thank you to the District administration for prioritizing timely payment of wages. From September our regular pay for October increased by 1.07% and we all should have received retroactive payment (COLA w/R) for months worked since July 1st, 2024 (July, August, September).
Let me know if you have any questions about your most recent paystub. The COLA increased line items that make up your regular pay (Per Lv, SL-EE, Holiday, Vacation, Comp Tk, etc.) but not special compensation (LG Award, PG Award, Weekend Pay, Bilingual Pay, etc.).
Reminder: The ACE Executive Board voted to approve dues forgiveness for October and November.
Always check your paystub. ACE is here if you experience an overpayment or underpayment.
Elections Results & Negotiator at Large Open Appointment Thank you to @Shawna Santiago for operating the election. Results were sent Monday at 8am and we’re all looking forward to getting things done.
New Executive Board Members begin their terms on Jan 1, 2025.
New Negotiatiors begin their terms on Nov 1, 2024.
We have a vacancy for a Negotiator at Large position. This negotiator seat can be filled by any member. Please submit a statement of interest to @Scott Olsen by Oct 30th if you would like to serve on the negotiations team.
Return to In-Person Work MOU (LINK) If you or your child are sick with covid and able to work:
Stay Home & get tested for covid.
Ask about teleworking (remote work)in writing:
If you are approved, you can work from home.
If you are denied, you can receive paid administrative leave.
If you are too sick to work, use you would use your accrued sick leave.
Reminder: Sick leave cannot be denied for treatment or preventative care. If your manager/supervisor asks you to cancel your medical appointment or requests a doctor note for using leave, contact @Scott Olsen .
Upcoming Trainings/Events
Oct 31stScary Forms Drop-In Event at De Anza
Bring a partially complete form or a completely empty one downloaded from our website (LINK). Ask questions, eat pizza, costumes encouraged (optional).
In-Person event.
Details are on Outlook calendar’s for De Anza and Central Services ACE members.
Nov 5thSite Meeting Topic: Staff Development Leave
Have you been with the District for 7 consecutive years or has it been 7 years since your last SDL? You’re likely eligible to take up to 10 months of leave at 85% pay for retraining. Attend the site meeting to learn more.
See 10.10 Staff Development Leave under our Agreement for contract language (LINK).
Expect additional training sessions on the topic. Applications are due by December 15th,2024; however, all signatures must be received by January 31st, 2025.
Hybrid event.
Details are on ACE member’s Outlook calendars.
Nov 7thReclassification Training
Conducted by Anthony Booth of the Booth Law Group. Anthony has been a part of multiple classification studies at community colleges and assisted members in submitting a clear message that merits a higher classification.
ACE members will takeaway best practices for filing a successful position description questionnaire (PDQ) along with a better understanding of the process.
Note: This training was moved from Wednesday to Thursday. Zoom link TBA.
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:
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.
