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Negotiations Update – Delta Dental, Negotiations 22-23 (COLA, Articles – 9, 13, 8, & 18)

Written by ACE

ACE Members,

In March we sent a survey to better understand the impact of dentist participation, or lack thereof, with Delta Dental, our dental insurance provider. We shared the results at site meetings (see attached), but in a nutshell:

We had a 70% response rate.  Of those that responded, 98% buy into district’s vision and dental coverage.

  • 81% of respondents who use district provided dental insurance said their dental provider was still in network. 
  • 15% of respondents who use district provided dental insurance said their dental provider had moved out of network.  
  • 4% had always used a dental provider out of network.

There has not been a mass exodus of dental providers. In fact, many more providers have been added than those who have left.

Delta Dental – Provider Updates 

Santa Clara County 

Delta Dental has 1,961 providers in Santa Clara County.  Of those 1,961 providers, 1,292 are PPO + Premier providers. 

Of the 1,961 providers, Foothill-De Anza CCD members utilized 641 of the providers in the last 12 months. 

There were 36 providers that termed in the last 12 months as follows: 

  • 25 were voluntary 
  • 9 were through attrition (Provider being deceased, retired or have moved to another location 
  • 2 were involuntary (typically due to license issues)  

There were 141 new providers added in the last 12 months.  Of the new 141 providers added, 14 of the new providers were utilized by Foothill-De Anza members. 

Alameda County 

Delta Dental has 1,694 providers in Alameda County.  Of those 1,694 providers, 1,263 are PPO + Premier providers. 

Of the 1,961 providers, Foothill-De Anza CCD members utilized 105 of the providers in the last 12 months. 

There were 4 providers that termed in the last 12 months as follows: 

  • 3 were voluntary 
  • 1 were through attrition (Provider being deceased, retired or have moved to another location 
  • There were no involuntary (typically due to license issues) terminations 

There were 188 new providers added in the last 12 months.  None of the new providers in Alameda County were utilized by Foothill-De Anza members. 

San Mateo County 

Delta Dental has 732 providers in San Mateo County.  Of those 732 providers, 470 are PPO + Premier providers. 

Of the 732 providers, Foothill-De Anza CCD members utilized 126 of the providers in the last 12 months. 

There were 13 providers that termed in the last 12 months as follows: 

  • 12 were voluntary 
  • 1 were through attrition (Provider being deceased, retired or have moved to another location 
  • There were no involuntary (typically due to license issues) terminations 

There were 53 new providers added in the last 12 months.  Of the new 53 providers added, 2 of the new providers were utilized by Foothill-De Anza members. 

Santa Cruz County 

Delta Dental has 229 providers in Santa Cruz County.  Of those 229 providers, 184 are PPO + Premier providers. 

Of the 229 providers, Foothill-De Anza CCD members utilized 57 of the providers in the last 12 months. 

There were 5 providers that termed in the last 12 months as follows: 

  • 4 were voluntary 
  • 1 were through attrition (Provider being deceased, retired or have moved to another location 
  • There were no involuntary (typically due to license issues) terminations 

There were 21 new providers added in the last 12 months.  None of the new providers in Santa Cruz County were utilized by Foothill-De Anza members

While the impact wasn’t significant on a majority of employees, the Joint Labor Management Council (JLMBC) wanted to see if we could do better and looked into other broker options besides Delta Dental which might bring more dentists into the network. 

Carrier Comparison 

We found the Delta Dental network is more than double the size of competing providers.  If we moved to a different provider, more dentists would fall out of the network, having a significant impact on a large majority of employees.  

In reviewing how other providers would compare to Delta Dental, Delta Dental has provided a claim comparison to several other carriers such as MetLife, Cigna, Blue Shield, SunLife, Anthem, etc.  

As shown below, there would be significant disruption in the other carrier networks.  For example, there were 14,554 services through Delta Dental between October 1, 2021 through November 30, 2022.  Of the total 14, 554 services, only 33% of those services would have been considered in-network for Carrier A, 39% in-network for Carrier B, 35% in-network for Carrier C, 37% in-network for Carrier D and 38% in-network for Carrier E.  

This is separate from asking the question if we should bargain for increased dental benefits.  Changes always come at a cost and IF we were to make any changes, we’d survey the membership.  As I’ve said on more than one occasion, you have to give something to get something. 

Negotiations 2022-23

With COLA already bargained for this year (5.56%, implemented July 1, 2022) along with health benefit premiums for plan year 2023, we have been slow to get to the table on our other negotiated items. Primarily because HR did not have the bandwidth (getting people paid was a priority) nor did they have a representative to bargain with us.  Now that the new Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, Rocio Chavez, has been brought on board, we are starting that process.  We have sent our sunshine letter to open negotiations based on the two articles we identified through the membership survey last June: Article 9 – Vacation and Article 13 – Remote Work. Articles 8 – Pay and Allowances and Article 18 benefits are also open and once we have a better idea of the state budget (usually mid-May) we can address any COLA for 2023-24 .  We are currently addressing benefit rates though the JLMMC.  I am cautiously optimistic the district is now in a position to move forward.  We’ll keep you updated, ask for your input as we progress.

In solidarity

Chris, chair of negotiations

Negotiators:
Sushini Chand
Chris Chavez
Joseph Gilmore
Keri Kirkpatrick
Andrea Santa Cruz
Scott Olsen

Chris White (she/her) | Archive Coordinator
Foothill-De Anza Archives | 650.949.7721
Hours: Mon – Thur 7:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Access by appointment only. 
Foothill-De Anza Association of Classified Employees (ACE) | Chair of Negotiations

ACE News, Negotiations

2023.04.14 Update – Troublemakers School, Layoffs, Human Resources Woes, Article 4 Grievances, Sick Leave vs. Personal Leave

Written by ACE

ACE Members,

This year’s largest Troublemakers School took place this past Saturday (LINK). More than five-hundred people were in attendance at Oakland Technical Highschool, including @Adriana Garcia, @Blaine Agustin, and myself. We’ll describe the event at an upcoming site meeting but general purpose of it was to serve as a forum for rank-and-file workers to get inspired and learn from each other. If you ever get the opportunity to attend I’d highly recommend doing so. Opening speakers provided lessons from recent bay area strikes, which are also described in videos and articles linked:

  • Teamsters potential upcoming strike against UPS  (YouTube) (Article)
  • OEA strike against OUSD (YouTube) (Article)
  • NUHW strike against Kaiser (YouTube) (Article)
  • USW 5 strike against Chevron (YouTube) (Article)
  • “This Year’s Biggest Strike Is By 48,000 Academic Workers at the University of California” (Article)

Labor Notes holds many events online via Zoom and in-person. Review their website (LINK) for one you are interested in attending. Email @Scott Olsen to ask about available funds for reimbursement prior to registering.

Two De Anza students were in attendance on behalf of their unions. The first was a Starbucks worker who spoke as part of a panel describing the benefits of opening up bargaining, necessity for maintaining frequent communication, and the difficulties of negotiating with their corporate employer so far. The second was a UPS worker who was preparing to strike alongside his union siblings and looking to get more involved. Both may speak at an upcoming De Anza event in honor of International Workers Day – more details to come in a separate message.

Layoffs
ACE is currently working with the Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources to place members affected by layoff into vacant positions, per Article 11 of our agreement (LINK). Equivalent vacant positions in which a member holds seniority are always considered the least senior for the purposes of bumping and are the first space offered to an employee who has been laid off. Ed Code regarding this process has changed recently and we are working with new administrators to navigate this process with as little disruption as possible. There is no escaping that this transition period won’t have difficulties, but we can certainly remain understanding that these layoffs are not the fault of the employee and they deserve support in adapting to new departments working within their same classification. Empathy at this time is truly appreciated.

This process is a stark contrast to recently tech company layoffs where many employees in outside industry don’t become aware of layoff until their keycard to enter a building doesn’t work or they can’t login to their email. The purpose of our agreement is to maintain our member’s employment, benefits, and wages in a way that is as fair as possible. ACE has had a track record of success in working with the district to make sure no employee leaves the district unwillingly.

As a reminder, while we are in a layoff period ACE members receive first consideration as internal applicants for all hiring committees. When applying for a position as an internal candidate, respond with your cover letter and resume to transfer/promotion opportunity emails sent by Keisha Sentosa. If you are on a hiring committee and the hiring manager is not following this process, contact @Scott Olsen and human resources will be alerted. External candidates should not be reviewed if it is determined that there is a qualified ACE member in the internal pool.

Human Resources Woes
At the past Board of Trustees meeting I continued to speak up about the issues ACE members collectively face – department reorganizations that were approved long ago have yet to be implemented, approved reclassifications have yet to be implemented, pending reclassifications have yet to be reviewed, claims have not been paid out, grievances regarding compensation have not been paid out, crucial reports are inaccurate, … it’s a tragically long list. We’ve filed appropriate lawsuits, unfair labor practices, and grievances to prompt some sort of resolution but no vision for how this situation gets better has been shared. There’s acknowledgement that human resources is under staffed and much is legitimately blamed on Banner. Despite many issues involving compensation being retroactive, that’s not something we can take to the bank if money is needed now. No one should have to wait four months or more to be paid appropriately for their work.

We deserve a functional human resources department that is able to operate within a respectful amount of time and respond in a dignified way so that we can focus on our jobs. The value we provide to the district should be enough to merit that but we may have to speak up in the future if there is no response for how this improves. Join a future site meeting to talk to your colleagues about how we as a union should speak up for change.

Temporary Employee Usage
ACE continues to monitor the usage of temporary employees per Article 4 of our agreement (LINK). If there’s an employee who is not working on a special project or backfilling a vacancy, let us know. We’ve filed four grievances in the past month and held informal meetings with management to come to an understanding.

Sick Leave vs Personal Leave
At the past site meeting the document attached (see original email) to this message was provided to help clarify the usage of sick leave vs personal leave. As a rule of thumb, sick leave is for you – personal leave is for household emergencies or obligations. Contact a steward if you have any difficulty scheduling personal leave for an obligation such as a family member’s graduation (‘tis the season.)

In Solidarity,

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

ACE News

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

Written by ACE

ACE Members,

Delta Dental Coverage Survey ( 3rd & 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 8th – (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 11th
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 22nd – Webinar: Might Gay Unions! Queer and Trans Labor Histories and Futures (LINK)
April 8th – 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

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