Author: ACE

ACE Members,

Board & Negotiator Training
Union trainings have taken place to prepare our organization for duties assigned to each position per the ACE Constitution (LINK). Thank you to Anthony Booth for providing Board Member and Negotiator training sessions. We all owe a huge amount of gratitude to our fellow colleagues for doing union work. As an independent labor association, we rely on members stepping into leadership roles to continue to operate successfully. As an icebreaker we spoke about our very first jobs (unofficial and w-2) which told a story of growth, the value of all types of work, and how important household income is for coping with the rising cost of living. We’re all dedicated toward the maintenance and advancement of our wages, working conditions, and benefits here at the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.

(Special thanks to Alan for being a person who remembers to take group photos.)

ACE Union Logo Stickers
Thank you to @Gera Robredo for taking care of the design and logistics on a initial run of logo stickers. We’ve handed out a few amongst the campuses, but they’ll be available at upcoming site meetings and a stack (+ lanyards) are located in the ACE mailbox in the Foothill College mailroom. Can’t find one? Contact a union rep and we’ll get one to you.

ACE T-Shirt & Sweater Survey
Our swag “stuff we all get” survey is live via a Google Forms. ACE has a $3,000 annual budget for marketing and increasing union visibility. Stickers are a small step, but we’re also looking to offer T-shirts to those who are interested. In the coming years we may need to advocate for workplace improvements at board meetings, city meetings, county meetings, state meetings, etc. and it helps to show we are united as a group with a request. Often, we are mistaken for faculty members or outside community members, but something as simple as a shirt shows that we’re organized together and willing to show up in numbers to speak to a need/concern.

I purchased my shirt from the Labor Notes store (LINK) and would love to see similar shirts with ACE logos around campus showing union pride and solidarity. ACE has a massive effect on our workplace, but our visibility does not reflect that. Let us know your thoughts and T-shirt size so that we can create an estimate.

Thank you to @Janie Garcia Cordova, @Lindsay West, and @Sharon Garcia-Vega for advancing this.

California Public Records Act (CPRA) Requests & Network Privacy
Important reminder that there is no expectation of privacy when communicating via district provided technology services and devices (email/text/chat/cell phone/computer/etc.) and if you use your personal device to conduct workplace business, it would be subject to disclosure as part of a public records act request. Our attorney, Bradley Booth, has written up a document that is attached to this message which provides more detail on the CPRA.

Union-related communication on the District email server is also accessible by the District. To maintain your privacy ACE has email addresses off the District’s network. Executive Board Members, Negotiators, and Stewards all have firstname.lastname@acefhda.org email addresses that you can send messages to from your personal email addresses.

(and this message is akin to a bulletin-board message per Agreement section 5.1.2 if you’re wondering why it is originating from a @fhda.edu address.)

Don’t put anything on your work devices that you don’t want everyone to see.

In Service,

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

ACE Members,

President’s Message
ACE has been following the many executive orders issued by the federal government. We are coordinating with the Booth Law Group and District to understand the effects we as workers may feel. Our Collective Bargaining Agreement, Ed Code, State laws, and status as County employees shield us from many issues, but a major concern is the impact of immigration enforcement on our community.

ACE and HR have been referring employees to consult with Path2Papers (LINK) to review available options for establishing legal permanent residency. Path2Papers provides a detailed individual assessment which employees can choose to share with ACE and HR for assistance in developing a wraparound solution. Your cost-free meeting with an attorney is confidential. Please include your job classification (LINK) when submitting information.

• We may not be able to pursue H-1B visas and labor certifications for certain positions due to the general nature of each job description. The process for those applications may also trigger a multi-year bar for unlawful presence depending on your history, so be very wary of any advice that makes this process seem simple – there is no “one-size fits all” approach.
• We are working with each individual employee to determine viable solutions.

Our Collective Bargaining Agreement applies to all workers within the district. If you have a workplace concern and/or feel your rights under the agreement have been violated, do not hesitate to come forward. Conversations with Anthony Booth are protected by attorney-client privilege and conversations with union representatives are confidential. We are not immigration attorneys or advisors, which is why we are directing employees to work with Path2Papers.

Everyone should be aware of policies, procedures, and means to respond in solidarity:

• If you see Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on campus executing an order, District Administrative Procedure 3415 (LINK) outlines what to do:

College personnel shall advise all students, faculty, and staff responding to or having contact with an officer engaged in immigration enforcement executing an immigration order to refer the entity or individual to the appropriate President’s Office or the President’s designee, for purposes of verifying the legality of any warrant, court order, or subpoena. Central Services personnel shall notify the Chancellor’s Office or the Chancellor’s designee under such circumstances.

• If you see ICE activity in Santa Clara County, you may call the Rapid Response Network at (408) 290-1144.

• Santa Clara County also has printable templates for Red Cards with Know Your Rights (KYR) information in multiple languages (LINK):

• I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.
• I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door.
• I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights.
• I choose to exercise my constitutional rights.

This is a worker issue, a community issue, and a moral issue of humane treatment of people. We can all have a substantial impact by being informed and spreading power.

In Service,

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