Association of Classified Employees Foothill – De Anza

Author: ACE

2022.03.07 Update – Dues Forgiveness, Dental Benefits, Event Center, Network Privacy, Vaccine Policy
ACE Members,

Delta Dental Coverage Survey ( 3^rd & Final Reminder)
There is still time (it only takes a minute) to complete our survey on your experience with Delta Dental. We’ve heard individual anecdotal stories about dental offices changing to being out of network but the survey is intended to capture the experience of the membership:
- Responses are due by Wednesday, March 8^th – (Survey Link Removed)
Survey feedback has a direct impact upon benefits negotiations with the District. Thank you to the many who’ve responded already.

Dues Forgiveness – February
Union dues were not collected from our February paychecks as a part of our budget plan for the third time this academic year. While the base rate is 0.95% of regular pay, the effective rate we pay has been lower as a result of our dues forgiveness practice. The ACE Executive Board continues to be fiscally prudent in spending our money. The ability to control our money is a major benefit of being an independent organization. Our Dues Committee continues to develop a proposal to bring to the membership in response to how conditions have changed since the last time we reduced our dues rate in 2016.

From: “ACE Update 04.08.19” (LINK):
- ACE was incorporated in 2009 and the dues were set at 1.05% of base pay.
  - Under SEIU, dues were set at 1.5% of base pay.;
- In 2016, ACE permanently reduced dues to 0.95% of base monthly salary.
- Over the past five years, on average, ACE has been able to forgive dues twice a year. This occurs when budgeted costs for classification and legal issues aren’t spent, usually the result of our legal representatives resolving issues before any costs are incurred.
It’s worth clicking on the link above to read the full “A Decade of Independence” article by Chris White.

(Fun fact, past update messages are searchable on our website.)

Board of Trustees Measure G Study Session
The FHDA CCD Board of Trustees is soliciting questions to be answered during an upcoming study session on Measure G. They can be submitted directly to aprilstudysession@fhda.edu and/or to scott.olsen@acefhda.org. I’ll attend in person to make sure your question is asked/answered. Meeting details:

Board Retreat / Study Session
Date: April 11^th
Time: 9am – Noon
Location: District Office Building (D700), Board Room (101)

Related projects include De Anza Creative Arts, Services for Students Building, District employee/student housing, and more: https://bonds.fhda.edu/measure-g-project-list/

Thank you to @Christian Bonner, @Andre Meggerson, @Chia Wen, and @Alyssa Vanzandt for speaking at recent Board of Trustee’s meetings. The current plan for De Anza Creative Arts that is being circulated is being presented without revisions to collect consistent feedback. Workspace safety and logistical design concerns will be addressed in future design proposals.

Connect with your Classified Senate Officers for issues that relate to participatory governance: Foothill (LINK), De Anza (LINK) , Central Services (LINK)

California Public Records Act (CPRA) Requests & Network Privacy
Recently the district received a request that required over 200 employees to respond to a public records act request. This is an 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 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. This will be the topic during upcoming ACE site meetings, attend if you have questions.

Union-related communication on the District email server is also accessible by the District. To maintain your privacy ACE is currently transitioning to email addresses off the District’s network. Executive Board Members, Negotiators, and Stewards will 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.)

District COVID-19 Vaccine Policy
At the last Chancellor’s Advisory Council meeting and the Board of Trustees meeting there was a first read of a proposal to rescind the District vaccination policy (LINK). The majority of neighboring community college districts have dropped their vaccine mandates and California recently ended it’s COVID-19 State of Emergency (LINK). Most likely Foothill – De Anza will officially rescind the vaccination policy beginning spring quarter.

Upcoming Events
March 22^nd – Webinar: Might Gay Unions! Queer and Trans Labor Histories and Futures (LINK)
April 8^th – Oakland: Bay Area Troublemakers School (LINK)

In Solidarity,

Scott Olsen (he/him) | ACE President
https://acefhda.org | scott.olsen@acefhda.org
650-949-7789 | M-F 8:00am-5:00pm
2023-03-07
2023.01.31 Update – President’s Message, FH Board Member Needed, Site Meeting & Merch Survey, Vac Leave Limit

ACE Members,

After watching the evening news last week I found myself thinking back to a speech Stacy Davis Gates gave during the 2022 Labor Notes Conference – you can listen to it via YouTube (LINK). The six-minute speech succinctly recognized the transformative power we have together and examples of the issues we have that go beyond the workplace. Here’s a quote from it:

“Workers suffer from police brutality. Workers have their children’s schools closed down. Workers are facing eviction because housing is unaffordable. Workers are suffering under unfair immigration policies. Workers are dying because we refuse to include “they” instead of “he/him” and “she/her.” Workers are everyone who needs an advocate.”

The heartbreaking violence we continue to witness is intolerable, not inevitable. If it doesn’t sit right with you, stand up by attending a community demonstration, supporting organizations pushing for change, contacting your elected representatives, and by activating members within our union to stand together.

“Labor is plural, we speak in “we” and “us”. Labor is action, because it doesn’t mean anything until we do a thing. Labor is transformative, we change all things.”

GoFundMe Stop AAPI Hate (LINK)
GoFundMe for Half Moon Bay Farmworkers (LINK)
Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (LINK)
GoFundMe for Monterey Park Lunar New Year Victims (LINK)
Resources for Monterey Park Victims and Community Members (LINK)
GoFundMe for Tyre Nichols Memorial (LINK)
GoFundMe for Keenan Anderson Memorial (LINK)
GoFundMe for Zirl Wilson Jr Medical Costs (LINK)
Who Are My (Elected) Representatives? (LINK)

Needed – Board Member for Foothill
Thank you to Catalina Rodriguez for serving as a board member during 2022 👏 We are grateful for her time but are now in search of someone to appoint to complete her term which runs through Dec 31^st of this year. Please email @Phuong Tran or @Scott Olsen if you are interested in serving as a board member for Foothill. Duties per our constitution:

E. General Duties of the Board Members at Large
There are four (4) board members at large nominated from and elected by the general membership. The board members at large shall:
1) Ensure that the interests and directives of the general membership are represented at board meetings.
2) Serve on a college or district committee pertinent to ACE business and report back to the Board.
3) Attend the classified senate meeting at each location…

Union Meeting and Merch Survey
How should site meetings be held? When should they occur?
Should we have ACE union merch?

Please answer those questions via this survey (LINK Removed – Members Only).

9.2.5 Accumulated Vacation Leave
…
Workers may accumulate a maximum of two years of accrued vacation. When the accumulated vacation balance exceeds these limits, a worker ceases to earn vacation until such time as the vacation balance is reduced below the maximum earnable…

A worker will be notified by a notice on his/her(their) paycheck when he/she(their) is within two pay periods of reaching his/her(their) maximum vacation accrual for two years. If the worker is within two pay periods of reaching his/her(their) maximum accrual of vacation, he/she(they) will meet with the supervising manager to schedule vacation so that the worker does not lose any vacation to which he/she(they) is otherwise entitled.

To calculate your accrued vacation limit look at your current paystub to see the number of vacation hours you earned, multiply them by the number of months you work during the year, and multiply that by two.

E.g. I earned 16 hours of VAC on my current paystub and I work 12 months per year. 16 x 12 x 2 = 384 hour limit.

If I were near the limit, I would need to take at least 16 hours(how much I earn per month) as vacation before the end of the upcoming pay period. Your limit may be different than mine (it’s admittedly confusing.) Contact a steward if you are near your limit and having difficulty scheduling vacation time with your supervisor/manager/administrator.

In Solidarity,

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

2023-01-31
2023.01.17 Update – Storms, Cycling Lessons, TEAs, Comp Time, Building Projects
ACE Members,

I could not have forecasted January 2023 to begin the way it has. Recent weather has closed the district for two days and a power outage led to an additional campus closure at Foothill. Many roadways around California remain in need of repair. People around the state have experienced significant losses due to flooding, landslides, and storm damage. Reach out to a steward if you are having workplace difficulties because of recent storms.

Before you hear it from someone else, for the past few years I have been a bicycle commuter. It’s an activity that helps reduce stress and keep me in shape, but it also has qualities related to union work:
- Groups accomplish more – Riding in a paceline where riders switch off taking turns at the front is incredibly efficient. Dividing up the work amongst our executive board, negotiating team, and membership allows ACE to get further that we otherwise would on our own. In 2022 I did my first two 100-mile rides. Each one was more bearable among an organized group to split time drafting, sheltering from the wind.
- Preparation matters – Becoming more experienced, trained, and ready leads to success. Our agreement is a document we have refined over time to better prepare us for the mountains we have to climb in the future. The efforts that leave us sore are the ones we continue to negotiate, like remote work, career ladders, and pay increases.
- No one gets left behind – There are numerous unwritten rules to cycling, but many are kindhearted. “No drop rides” are ones where no person is left behind or alone. If you are new to the sport, fatigued, or have a mechanical issue someone will be there with you. Interacting amongst ACE members when you have an issue is a great way to collect tools that may patch it up. Consider bringing up problems you have at a site meeting or in a discussion with another member or steward.
Temporary Employees

We need your help understanding how widespread the misuse of temporary employees is. TEAs are only allowable in two situations:
1. as a “substitute employee,” while an employee is temporarily absent from duty or there is a vacancy due to hiring.
2. as a “short-term employee,” to work on a project not needed on a continuing basis.
Contact olsenscott@fhda.edu if a temporary employee does not fit either of the descriptions above. Workers who perform work that is ongoing and regular have the right to health, retirement and leave benefits, negotiated salary levels and union representation.

13.2.3 Compensatory Time Off

Do you have comp time that is more than 12 months old? Now that we are in a new tax year and both negotiated salary increases have been implemented, this would be a good time look at 13.2.3, which says:

Any overtime worked shall be reimbursed in compensatory time off within 12 calendar months following the month in which it was reported on the time report. If at the end of the 12 calendar month period the worker has not taken the time off, he/she shall receive overtime pay at the rate that was effective for the worker when the overtime was worked. Compensatory time off may not be carried over beyond these 12 calendar months. The worker has the option of receiving either compensation or compensatory time off for overtime work.

Contact payroll@fhda.edu if you would like to receive the time as compensation. Work with your supervisor if you would prefer to take time off. Remember that the choice is yours – you cannot be forced to take time off.

De Anza’s Megaproject

December’s FHDA Board of Trustees meeting was well attended by the Creative Arts community and supporters. In response to concerns raised there has been a commitment on behalf of college administration to create ample opportunities for shared governance and broader input. At January’s meeting $19,400 was approved to explore alternative designs for how Creative Arts, Student Services, and an event center will be configured. How bond money is allocated between the three areas is the issue.

Sunnyvale’s HVAC

Currently a heating and ventilation retrofit has been planned as a temporary solution. Unfortunately, completion of a permanent fix remains 2-3 years away. ACE responded to air quality and temperature issues but there are no Cal/OSHA standards which are being violated.

I hope you were all able to relax and enjoy time away from work during the end of December break. Daylight hours are now getting longer, today the sun is shining, and I’m looking forward to working with you all this year.

In Solidarity,

Scott Olsen (he/him) | ACE President
https://acefhda.org | olsenscott@fhda.edu
650-949-7789 | M-F 8:00am-5:00pm
2023-01-17