See update message below from the ACE Negotiations Team:
Hello ACE Members,
On Friday, April 11th, ACE sent our “sunshine” letter to the district to notify them of our intent to open Articles 9 – Holidays and Vacations, and Article 14 – Worker Expenses and Materials, for the 2025-26 bargaining cycle. As a reminder, Article 8 – Pay and Allowances, and Article 18 – Benefits, are automatically opened and are collectively bargained in joint sessions with the other FHDA bargaining units. Our focus in opening articles 9 and 14 along with 8 and 18, include but are not limited to:
1. Gaining parity with other bargaining units and districts in terms of vacation accrual. 2. Increasing or eliminating altogether the $1,600 cap on travel and conference funds 3. Keeping our employee contribution for benefits as low as possible.
We decided to open these articles based on the results of our negotiations survey as 64% of respondents expressed interest in opening Article 9 – Holidays and Vacation along with the knowledge that our district will soon hit the “revenue plateau” in the next fiscal year, meaning that our revenue from the state will not increase until our enrollments increases by a significant margin.
This is not news to us as the district has been very transparent about this fact and has expressed concerns about what this means for the long-term financial health of the district as costs will continue to go up while our revenue will remain flat for the foreseeable future. Another consequence is that our district will not be eligible for any Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), even if it is included in the approved state budget. As such, we must look to maximize the available means of compensation outside of COLA that is already included in our contract. It is clear you, our membership, knows this as well as we received many comments throughout each section of the survey expressing this same concern.
Last week, the district informed us that along with Articles 8 and 18, they intend to open Article 13: Hours and Overtime – as they stated: “District’s interest is to meet student demand for services and classes in a manner consistent with the law and the Faculty Association agreement.” I expect the district’s interest in this area is to have each campus and their services available during nights and weekends. Both Sunshine letters are attached and were included in the Board of Trustees meeting agenda last night.
We will begin the bargaining process with the district soon, and will keep you updated on any developments. I am hopeful that with an almost entirely new leadership team in our district, our bargaining process will proceed in a timely and efficient manner founded in transparency and mutual respect.
On behalf of the Negotiations Team, thank you to those who took the time to complete our survey and we look forward to advocating for all ACE members at the bargaining table.
President’s Message The number of proposals, pending policy changes, and action items coming out of the federal government which affect our campus community can be overwhelming. Many changes are being challenged in the courts, but we can also participate in challenging them by contacting our elected representatives.
Emails have to be manually read and sorted.
Letters and postcards take time to arrive and get processed.
Faxes have to be digitized and emailed.
By contrast, congressional staffers tally phone calls right away.
5calls.org is a great site to get started and provides guidance for leaving a voicemail on urgent worker issues:
Protect Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives (LINK)
Save Federal Student Loan Programs from Cuts and Chaos (LINK)
Protect Free Speech: Stop Unlawful ICE Detainment of Immigrants (LINK)
Oppose Efforts to Dehumanize Transgender and LGBTQ+ People (LINK)
I have yet to see any executive order that seeks to improve public higher education, worker’s rights, or improve our day-to-day lives. We should change that by speaking up about the issues that matter most to us. Please consider using your free time to make a few calls to promote our interests and support for the community college system.
ACE does not use member dues for political purposes per our policy (LINK) – fortunately phone calls are free.
Weingarten Rights An outbreak of disciplinary meetings has occurred lately, so it’s important we all know our rights in this situation and understand when to bring in a steward. Union members have the right to union representation in a meeting where there is a reasonable expectation that discipline may result. Ask your manager/supervisor, “is this meeting investigatory or will it lead to discipline?”
What may a union representative do during an employee interview?
Union representatives serve as advisors and witnesses during employee interviews. Employers are required to inform union representatives as to the subject matter of the interview and allow time for that representative to meet with the employee prior to questioning.
During the interview, a union representative may ask the employer to clarify questions, give the employee advice on how to answer questions (within limits), and provide additional information to the employer after the questioning. A union representative may also object to questions if they are badgering, intimidating, or offensive.
Contacting a steward or asking questions at a member site meeting can get ahead of the disciplinary process… Is it appropriate for my manager to ask me to do this? Should this be expected of me? Is this allowed under the Agreement? My manager is accusing me of X, what are the potential consequences? How do I document against being disciplined?
Bilingual Pay Pilot MOU Between Fall 2024 and Spring 2025…
How many students did you serve?
How much time did you spend using your bilingual skills?
How would you summarize what the district received in exchange for bilingual pay?
Please email the answers to hr@fhda.edu with the subject: “ACE Bilingual Pay” and cc your manager/supervisor + @Scott Olsen
Unfortunately our MOU with the district (LINK) was developed and implemented during a transition period for human resources management. The answers to the questions above will help inform a future (improved) pilot and/or contribute to making bilingual pay a permanent part of our collective bargaining agreement.
April Dues Forgiveness The ACE Executive board approved that member dues will not be collected at the end of the month and for those paid mid-month in May. We can do this because we have an excellent treasurer and we are an independently member-operated organization in control of our own money. Currently we have a sufficient amount set aside for regular operations, pending litigation, and a strike fund.
Floating Leave Review After talking with members, here is a complied deep dive review:
9.3 Floating Leave Each full-time permanent worker shall be granted up to a maximum of 40 hours of paid leave per year as a floating leave. Permanent part-time workers who work fewer than 40 hours per week are entitled to that proportion of floating leave hours granted full-time workers that is equal to the percent of a full-time contract. Eligibility for floating leave begins on the first of the calendar month following six complete months of employment.
Floating leave may be used for planned absences for which other leaves (sick leave, personal necessity leave) are inappropriate, such as special family obligation (attending a family member’s graduation or marriage ceremony) or celebrating a birthday or special occasion. The worker may, but is not required to, inform the supervisor of the purpose or nature of the request.
Floating leave is not cumulative, will not accrue from year to year, and must be utilized during the college year (July 1 – June 30) or will be lost. Floating leave has no cash-value, and any unused floating leave hours shall not be converted to other leave credits upon separation from service. Floating leave must be scheduled in advance with the supervisor, and must have the approval of the supervisor as evidenced by the supervisor’s signature on the time sheet.
Why was this change made? Our Agreement has always included Personal Necessity Leave (defined by Ed Code) as a subset of Sick Leave, but our separate Personal Leave led to confusion for Human Resources new hires (pre-2024).
What changed? Here’s a table and explanation:
Pre-2024
Post-2024
10.1 Sick Leave (10.1 Personal Necessity Leave)
10.1 Sick Leave (10.10 Personal Necessity Leave)
10.10 Personal Leave
9.3 Floating Leave
Per our Agreement there are two key things to understand about Floating Leave:
It is a catch-all for anything which other leaves may not be appropriate for, and;
You are not required to disclose what you are using it for.
How do I request Floating Leave? The District is working on updating Banner and LiquidOffice, but the expectation is that our existing pool Personal Leave will be renamed to Floating Leave. Until then you can request to use Floating Leave by emailing your manager/supervisor/administrator a message saying, “I would like to use floating leave on [planned day]. Please respond if you approve my request.”
What if they ask what I’m using Floating Leave for? The suggested response would be, “I am not required to provide information regarding the purpose or nature of the request.”
Until Banner and LiquidOffice are updated, how do I show that I used Floating Leave? For now, use the Personal Leave drop down category in LiquidOffice. Add a note where LiquidOffice allows stating that Floating Leave was approved on the days you chose Personal Leave. (Yes, it’s admittedly confusing right now but it will be corrected.)
What if I need to take Personal Necessity Leave? Personal Necessity Leave is available to permanent and probationary workers, and it is drawn from Sick Leave, so you would use the Sick Leave drop down category in LiquidOffice and add a note stating that the Sick Leave was used for circumstances (but not limited to) of personal necessity under 10.10:
10.10.1 Emergencies or obligations related to the worker’s home or family members, including medical or dental appointments for the worker’s family members when the nature of the appointment requires the worker’s presence,
10.10.2 Emergencies or obligations related to the worker, including appointments for the purpose of conducting personal legal affairs or financial transactions, receipt of a court order requiring absence from work, or observation of a major religious holiday of the worker’s faith.
10.10.3 Extending bereavement leave for the employee’s immediate family; or
10.10.4 Appearance in any court or before any administrative tribunal as a litigant, party, or witness under subpoena or any order made with jurisdiction.
What if I have more questions or getting leaves approved? Reach out to a Steward.
Below is a sample image of my LiquidOffice Time Card (LOTR) from October which includes the dropdown of available codes. I’d like to focus on 3 of them:
180 Sick Leave – This is most commonly used for when you are sick and does not require pre-approval.
How to use it: “I’m staying home today, I’m sick” or “I have a medical appointment for preventative treatment or diagnosis”
185 Personal Necessity Leave – This covers unavoidable emergencies and obligations related to your household (does not require pre-approval [unless it can be anticipated/scheduled]).
How to use it: “I have an unavoidable obligation that takes place during work hours. If you have questions, let schedule a conversation.”
On the same page you can sign up for email alerts that will ping you monthly, which is also a good reminder to attend an event or check out a video on your topic of interest:
CalPERS may not be the largest social media influencer, but they are on YouTube if you’d like to subscribe to their channel – https://www.youtube.com/CalPERS
We may be able to answer some questions at upcoming site meetings, but CalPERS is the ultimate source for details about his benefit.
ACE Website WordPress Woes Our website is a valuable resource for union updates, contract information, forms, and information about our organization. Unfortunately, some components are not aging gracefully. This week a plug-in broke access to pages and had to be disabled. This is occurring more frequently, so it’s probably beyond time to redesign the site and remove those old plugins which cause compatibility issues. Despite my technical background and personal Geocities experience, it does become a bit of a challenge and there’s an awareness that it may be unmanageable for others to support in the future.
Want to get involved in the fix? Do you have a WordPress background and desire to provide additional guidance? Contact @Scott Olsen
AB 65 Pregnancy Leave Bill Attached is the CalSTRS analysis for a state bill up for discussion. I’ll highlight the important pieces which would affect us at the district:
Specifically, this bill:
• Requires public school employers and community college districts to provide up to 14 weeks of leave with full pay to certificated and classified employees who experience pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy or recovery from those conditions as determined by the employee and employee’s physician.
• Provides a formula for calculating the amount of leave for part-time employees.
• Permits the paid leave to begin before or continue after childbirth.
• Prohibits a paid leave of absence for any of these reasons from being deducted from other leaves of absence available to the employee.
• Requires employers to maintain group health coverage for an employee who takes this leave for the duration of the leave and at the same level and under the same conditions of coverage they would have been provided had they not taken the leave.
• States that employers have an obligation to continue complying with bargaining agreements that provide greater disability or parental leave rights to employees than those provided by this bill.
• Extends provisions that require, except as provided by the bill, employers to apply policies and practices for disability due to pregnancy or childbirth in the same manner as other temporary disabilities to classified employees.
• Provides that there are no eligibility requirements for this leave, including, but not limited to, minimum hours worked or length of service, except for those laid out in the bill.
This would be a substantial benefit beyond our current collective bargaining agreement to address inequity in the workplace. Sometimes we’re able to negotiate for added contract benefits and sometimes the law can provide those added benefits. Please contact your state representatives to provide your feedback on this proposed bill – https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/
Do you have a topic to contribute to these member email updates? Send them my way! I can credit you or you could be anonymous. Anything that directly affects our work environment is a great subject to raise.
From yesterday’s message, we have a copy of “Secrets of a Successful Organizer” to provide to members who are visually impaired or would like an accessible version.
