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Summer Work Schedule 2023 📢

Written by ACE

ACE Membership,

Summer work hours for ACE employees officially begin the week of July 3rd and goes through August 25th. 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.

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

2023.04.27 Update – President’s Message, Where Is ACE?, Chancellor Finalist Forums, Upcoming Events

Written by ACE

ACE Members,

President’s Message
Each month there are two days when we can see our employer’s high level actions; (1)the day we receive our paystubs and (2)the day the board of trustees agenda is released. This month I’ve been hearing from members that there has been an effort to properly pay some employees for working within their agreed upon classifications and repay some for unpaid wages due per our agreement – progress is appreciated. If you have submitted a request for accommodation, working out of classification form, reclassification form, claim, grievance, or are due retroactive pay, reach out to and let me know – we keep a running list and check in with human resources management regularly for status updates. I get the sense that there is an effort to resolve everyone’s items prior to the end of the fiscal year and before the June board of trustees meeting.

ACE continues to review legal actions and organizing actions we can undertake to put an end to wage theft (LINK.) Getting out of the business of retroactive payments would be welcomed. ACE understands there are circumstances when it is unavoidable to have a couple months payment due because of business processes and deadlines, but receiving accurate regular pay is crucial for the majority of us. Proof of income is necessary to survive in an area where living costs so much. The lack of those wages impacts food choices, the ability to obtain housing, care for a dependent, maintain a vehicle, take a pet to the vet, and can cause credit problems that can fester for a long time. The less we have to be concerned about sustaining ourselves, the more we can focus our energy on supporting the success of the district.

As of this message we are still waiting for the board of trustees agenda to be published. In an upcoming message we’ll highlight items of importance.

“Where Are you Scott?” 🧐
ACE offices are located at Foothill in building D140 (near the tennis courts) and at De Anza in the Forum building, office 5A (near the main gym.) I split time between both locations depending on need, in addition to sometimes working from home (such as today when my allergies are out of control 🤧.) On days with scheduled site meetings, I’m at that respective location for the entirety of the day to answer questions. In May we hope to start a hybrid site meeting format. ACE board meetings will continue to be accessible via Zoom.

Stewards also have access to these private offices. Best practice is to schedule time in advance if you would like to meet with me or a steward. Not only does the lead time allow us to be in the right place, but we can research a topic prior to meeting with you. Contact information for all ACE representatives is kept up-to-date on our website. We all strive to meet the needs of members and respond as quickly as possible.

Chancellor Candidate Open Forums 🏢
We highly encourage you to read more about each finalist (LINK) and participate in upcoming open forums:

  • May 1st @ 1pm – Lee Lambert Open Forum (Zoom Link)
  • May 2nd @ 1pm – Farouk Dey Open Forum (Zoom Link)
  • May 3rd @ 1pm – Rowena Tomaneng Open Forum (Zoom Link)
  • May 4th @ 1pm – Richard Storti Open Forum (Zoom Link)
    • Open forums also in-person at the district board room in the D700 building.

What are their thoughts on classified professionals?
What kind of culture would they bring to management?
What are their views on labor unions?
What challenges do they see in the student centered funding formula and how can the district potentially respond to them?

Find out by attending the meetings.

Upcoming Events 📅

Worker’s Memorial Day, April 28th

  • Online Remembrance (LINK)

More background – (Wikipedia Link)

International Worker’s Day / May Day, May 1st starting at 3pm

  • Roosevelt Park
    901 E Santa Clara Street, San Jose

@Angelica Esquivel is organizing a group of students from De Anza to attend. If you’re able, employee support means a lot 🫶

Free eWaste Recycling Event, May 6th from 9am-12pm (LINK)

  • The Tech Interactive
    201 South Market StreetSan Jose, CA, 95113

@Andre Meggerson serves on the Trash Punx board 🤘

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

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