Association of Classified Employees Foothill – De Anza

Author: ACE

  • 2022.06.14 Update – June Dues Forgiveness, Annual Survey, Labor Notes

    ACE Members,

    Dues Forgiveness

    ACE is an independent labor organization and non-profit. We only collect member dues needed to maintain our monthly operations, funds for pending legal actions, and strike fund. In August 2021 the Executive Board approved two months of dues forgiveness. As such, membership dues will not be deducted from June 30th (for full-time employees) and July 15th (for hourly employees) paychecks.

    Currently I’m assembling documents for our annual independent audit. If you would like to take a look at the previous year’s report, it is available here:
    https://acefhda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ACE-Audit-June-30-2020-and-2021-Final-Report.pdf

    Annual Survey

    Our initial annual survey has closed, but additional surveys will follow as we analyze the issues and solutions the membership would like us to pursue. Our negotiations team will be meeting soon to  parse the data we’ve received. Thank you to all of those who’ve contributed feedback so far.

    Patience and Understanding

    To put it mildly, Human Resources is in a transition phase. I’ve introduced ACE to our newest Vice Chancellor and look forward to hearing the plans he has mentioned for improving operations. There are certainly vacancies that need to be filled before the department resumes to full capacity. The request for patience and understanding is reasonable at this time, but I recognize the delays are difficult to tolerate. Continue to reach out to ACE if there’s an urgent matter that you’ve not received an expected date for it to be addressed.

    Summer Work Hours

    The ACE summer work hours message you received on June 2nd was sent to administrators(AMA) and supervisors(Teamsters.) Please contact your steward or myself if you are given any direction that is counter to the guidance provided.

    2022 Labor Notes Conference

    Thursday, June 16th, through Sunday, June 19th, I will be attending this year’s Labor Notes Conference in Chicago, IL. I believe ACE will be a very popular organization when I describe it to those who are in attendance. We really are the true spirit of a union in action: member operated and solely focused on improving our own workplace under the direction of members. See more at https://labornotes.org/2022

    COLA Agreement Approved

    Last night the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the joint COLA agreement but it was not without apprehension on their part due to declining enrollment and budget concerns surrounding the Student Centered Funding Formula(SCFF) if Hold Harmless goes away. Regardless of what may come in the future ACE understands the effects of the high cost of living the in bay area and the need to compensate workers fairly for the value of their labor. By approving this item, trustees also align with the effort to provide competitive compensation.

    Messages of gratitude can be submitted to the Board of Trustees using the “send an email” link on this page:
    https://www.fhda.edu/_about-us/_board/board-member-profiles.html
    I’ll be sending my own personal thanks – In my household we (the First Lady and I) depend on our regular paychecks to keep up with rising costs for necessities and unexpected expenses. The approved increase eases some financial stress when it comes to making ends meet month-to-month.

    Take Care,

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

  • Summer Work Schedule 2022

    ACE Membership,

    Summer work hours for ACE employees officially begin the week of July 4th and go through August 26th. Your supervisor can’t ask you to delay it a week or two.

    For the July 4th holiday ACE employees will be paid for the number of hours they would have worked (4-10-40, ten hours; 9-80, nine hours; 5-8-40, eight hours; etc.). All other bargaining units receive up to eight hours holiday pay and if they’re on an alternate schedule (i.e. 4-10-40), they must make up the additional two hours.

    Article 13.5 – Summer Work Schedule

    13.5.1 – Workers assigned to programs and departments where scheduling allows mandated four-day work schedule will be offered a four-day work schedule during the summer for the period beginning the first full week in July and ending the Friday before the Labor Day holiday. Under the summer schedule, the normal workday shall consist of ten hours starting and ending at times appropriate to the needs of the department and agreed upon by the worker and his/her supervisor.

    13.5.2 – Workers who work fewer than 10 hours per day during the four-day summer work week shall select one of the following options to cover time not worked:

    1. Use of earned vacation (see Section 10.1 regarding the circumstances under which certain amounts of sick leave can be converted to vacation).
    2. Use of earned compensatory time.
    3. Leave without pay.
    4. A revised work schedule and/or location to accommodate the employee if they feel they are unable to work a 10-hour per day four-day work schedule.

    Who sets the schedule?

    Employees will establish, with supervisor approval, a work schedule of four days of ten hours of work plus a half-hour meal break for each day (minimum 10.5 hours total). Meal breaks may be longer upon request, and with the approval of the supervisor. The standard 10.5 hours work schedule will occur between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to accommodate the meal break (7:00-5:30, 7:30-6:00, 7:15-5:45, etc.).

    Can I stack my breaks to shorten the workday?

    No. Employees may not stack break periods for later use or to combine with meal breaks and may not use breaks to account for late arrivals or early departures. It is a violation of labor law.

    I am unable to work a 10-hour day may I set up an alternative schedule?

    An employee, with supervisor approval may implement a modified schedule by requesting a different schedule or using accrued leave or leave without pay but cannot use Personal Necessity Leave.

    What guidelines does a supervisor follow to determine if a request for an alternate schedule should be approved?

    1. Supervisors should work with employees regarding requests for alternate schedules to ensure which accommodate special considerations for childcare or other extenuating circumstances to find a solution that works for both the district and the employee.
    2. Supervisors must ensure adequate coverage and appropriate supervision for the official hours of operation. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to determine when an employee’s work schedule includes Friday that a level of supervision is adequately addressed.
    3. Supervisors and classified staff should be familiar with the provisions of the applicable bargaining unit agreements affecting employees on a 4-10 work schedule.

    Bottom line?

    If you are unable to work a 10-hour day and you do not have accrued leave and cannot take time off without pay, be flexible in your request, be clear on what work you will get done and be accountable with it. If you need assistance, please contact your chief steward.

    Take Care,

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

  • 2022.05.05 COLA Tentative Agreement Summary, May 10th General Membership Meeting + Voting Beings

    ACE Members,

    We are happy to confirm the terms of our Joint Labor Management Bargaining Agreement regarding cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2021-22 and 2022-23.  As a rule, we do not share the terms of the agreement until we have a signed tentative agreement (TA).  We have done this long enough to know language used in TAs can alter what we all thought an agreement meant and until we see it and sign it, it’s not confirmed.  

    Effective July 1, 2021, each ACE, CSEA, FA, POA, and Teamsters salary schedule shall include: 

    • The 2.5 percent currently set to expire June 30, 2022, is now permanent and ongoing.  
    • Reminder:  this portion has been included in your pay since July 1, 2021. 
    • Since it is now permanent, employees and employer will need to pay for their portion of CalPERS contributions not collected on the 2.5 percent effective July 1, 2021.
      By law, the District cannot pay the employees portion unless there was an error in reporting. 
    • Plus, an additional 5.07 percent ongoing (the full 21-22 State COLA).
    • For simplicity – this is the amount your salary will increase.
    • In terms of retroactive pay, it will cover the 5.07 percent, with normal deductions for CalPERS, minus the employee portion for CalPERS deduction on the 2.5 percent effective July 1, 2021.

    Effective July 1, 2022, each ACE, CSEA. FA, POA and Teamsters salary schedule shall increase by: 

    • 22-23 State COLA less 1%.
      • For example, if the state COLA is 5.75%, the additional increase will be 4.75%; if the state COLA is 6.2%, the additional increase will be 5.2%. 
      • The Governor’s 2022-23 January budget proposal had a 5.33 percent COLA included. Since then, there has been discussion it could be even higher. The Governor’s budget May revise (mid-May) should tell us what the COLA is set to be for 2022-23.

    Why did we give up one percent of the COLA for 2022-23?
    As mentioned in previous emails, the District does have some rising costs that needs to be addressed. Namely, pension liability. The COLA is one of very few revenues stream the District can use to cover increasing operational costs.  The one percent we gave up as a part of negotiations was to make sure the District had additional funds to cover rising costs. 

    When do we get the money?
    This is unknown. “Implementation shall commence as soon as possible following Union ratification, where required, and approval by the Board of Trustees. Given the short timeline, and as this requires additional programming and system modification, the parties agree to not commit to a specific deadline for implementation. The District will make a good faith effort to implement as quickly as possible”.

    Reminder:  Every department in this district is understaffed and payroll and human resources are no different.   It is a workload issue with not enough people who are familiar with our process to do the work.  ACE has been telling the board of trustees since we incorporated in 2009 that cuts to staffing have a critical impact on how the work gets done.  Single points of failure in a system which then affect all employees.  We need to keep hammering home this issue so adequate staffing levels are addressed.

    What if I retire or quit before the COLA is paid out?  
    You will still receive the back pay up to your final date of employment.  The implementation date is July 1, 2021, meaning it is as if they were paying you at that salary level from July 2, 2021.

    Next steps:

    1. Get a signed TA on this agreement. (In process.) 
    2. Inform the membership, in writing, the terms of the TA. ✅
    3. General Membership Meeting: May 10th @ Noon.
    4. Membership votes on approving TA: May 10th @ 1pm thru May 13th @ 2pm.
    5. Goes to the June FHDA board of trustees meeting for approval.

    On behalf of the ACE Negotiations Team, 

    Chris White, chair of negotiations

    Negotiators
    Sushini Chand
    Chris Chavez
    Joseph Gilmore
    Keri Kirkpatrick
    Andrea Santa Cruz
    Scott Olsen
    Bradley Booth, chief negotiator