Category: Elections

ACE Members,

Election Results
Thank you to @Sharon Garcia-Vega (Recorder) for managing the two concurrent elections for the negotiated Tentative Agreements with the District and for ACE Executive Board Members in the even year cycle. Results from both were relayed to the District.

• New components of our Agreement are in effect following approval by the Board of Trustees. We’ll begin updating documents, websites, and trainings. Per 5.4, “The District will prepare the authoritative text of the Agreement, as may be amended, subject to approval by ACE. The District will place the Agreement on the District website.”
  • Ongoing pay is expected to be implemented in December paychecks.
  • Retroactive pay is expected to be a part of February paychecks.
  • Reminder: Implementation requires the work of many classified professionals in Central Services.
  • This timeline is consistent with the past and we’ll keep you informed of any changes.
• Elected board members begin serving their 2-year terms on January 1^st, 2026.
  • @Scott Olsen (President)
  • @Alan Nguyen (Central Services Vice President)
  • @Marybell Arebalo (De Anza Vice President)
  • @Mazzetta Campbell (Board Member De Anza Seat 1)
  • @Janie Garcia Cordova (Foothill Chief Steward)
  • @Crystal Chen (Board Member Foothill)

Training will be scheduled in January to onboard everyone on our board.

Thank you to @Lisa Ly and @Yasmine Malboubi for their service during their terms as board members for each campus. We’re certain they will continue to remain actively engaged in union work.

Food Assistance
For anyone in need visit the California Association of Food Banks (LINK) to find your local food bank.

Do you have a food resource to share with members in need? Respond to this message.

Financial Relief
Check with your local credit union if they are offering similar relief for members affected by the federal government shutdown (LINK).

Do you have a financial resource to share with members in need? Respond to this message.

Professional Growth Award Forms Updated
The PGA committee has provided updated information for submitting an application which is now available on our website (LINK).

Questions? Reach out to pga@fhda.edu or contact a member of the committee directly. An updated list of committee members is available on our website (LINK).

Staff Development Leave (SDL)
The SDL PowerPoint presentation shown during November site meetings has been uploaded to our website and the form is also available (LINK).

• Feel free to arrange a 30 minute meeting for Q&A about your application.
• The deadline to submit an application is December 15^th.

We’ll send another reminder along with a separate explainer as part of an upcoming member message for those who were unable to attend recent meetings.

T-Shirts Arrived
8 of 9 boxes from our initial order arrived last Thursday and were distributed from the Foothill ACE Office and De Anza ACE Office. Union made clothing was purchased from Sawicki & Son (LINK) and we already need to order more. Feedback so far has been positive. Do you have a vendor that you’ve had success with? Please let a board member know.

The ACE Executive Board will discuss plans to place another order at our upcoming meeting. There is a utility to advertising our union, displaying solidarity with fellow members, and showing pride for being a member.

President’s Jury Duty Next Week (Message)
I’m on call for jury duty next week. As a reminder, 10.6 covers this event for everyone (LINK). This may affect my availability and response time – I’ll keep everyone informed.

10.6 Jury Duty

In order to encourage workers to accept jury duty as a responsibility of citizenship, the District will pay workers at their regular rate of pay while they are performing jury service. When jury duty consumes only a portion of the day, workers are expected either to report to work immediately after jury duty or to have pay canceled for the day. A worker must reimburse the District for the fee received from jury duty by having that amount reduced from their paycheck…

If you have questions, contact a steward.

I also have a meeting this afternoon to discuss member pay discrepancies with the Dianna Rose (Vice Chancellor of Human Resources). Thank you to those who’ve forwarded outstanding items which may have been assigned to either Karen White or Karen Hunter – you’re on my list and I’ll provide individual updates.

In Service,

Scott Olsen (he/him) | ACE President
https://acefhda.org | scott.olsen@acefhda.org 
650-949-7789 | M-F 8:30am-5:00pm

ACE Members,

Nominations Reminder
Please search your inbox for a message from “electionrunner.com” asking to submit nominees for board and negotiator positions open for election. The email will include a unique voter id and voter key. If you have difficulty logging or issues with the process contact @Shawna Santiago.

• You can nominate yourself for a position or encourage someone you trust to serve.
• Nominations are due by tomorrow at 2pm.

Chair of Negotiations and Past-President Chris White wrote a superb article on why you should run for office which is posted on our website (LINK):

“Running for ACE office is a chance to lead, innovate, and drive positive change.  Whether you’re motivated by a desire to amplify voices, address critical issues, or build community, your participation can have a lasting impact.”

Our independent labor organization is member operated by employees like you. None of us are perfect but we do our best to meet the challenges that come before us. We need you to continue to build on our accomplishments (LINK).

If you have questions about the positions or would like to know more about their demands, call or text me.

Dues Forgiveness October
When our organization doesn’t need money for operations and representation we return it to you. The ACE Executive Board approved dues forgiveness for this month. We can do this because we control our money and budget. Cheers to our treasurer Kathy Nguyen for taking advantage of high interest rates on accounts we have set aside in our strike fund, for potential litigation, and operating expenses. Since its inception ACE has regularly forgiven dues twice a year and we review the dues rate regularly. During the COVID-19 pandemic we were also able to forgive dues for an entire year.

COVID-19 & Teleworking
Our MOU (LINK) which allows members to work remotely if you or your child test positive for covid-19 is still in effect. If you are willing, ask your supervisor/manager for a list of projects or outline your own list of tasks which you can complete while working from home. Requests for telecommuting should be made in writing and written denials can be appealed.

Note: Personal cell phones are NOT required for work purposes. Doing District/College business on a personal cell phone subjects your personal device to a public records request, meaning that your entire phone would have to be turned over and searched for substantive information related to a CPRA (California Public Records Act) request. Jabber can be installed on your work computer or the district will provide a phone or stipend for a separate phone if required for your work.

Continue to self-report covid-19 exposures online (HERE).

Agendas & Minutes Repaired
Following a WordPress website plugin crash I was able to rebuild the “Agendas & Minutes” page on our website (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

ACE Members,

ACE Election Results
Huge thank you to @Shawna Santiago for running the election so well 👏 We sincerely appreciate those who accepted their nomination for a position on the ACE executive board and those who participated by voting. In case you missed the results last Friday, the are on our website (LINK.) Newly elected board members will begin their two-year terms on January 1^st, 2023 – Congratulations to Stacey Carrasco, Thomas Marks, Angelica Esquivel, Erika Flores, Phuong Tran, Shawna Santiago, and Kathy Nguyen.

Mask Policy Meet & Confer Results
On Wednesday, November 9^th, ACE and District Human Resources representatives met to bargain the impact of the Chancellor’s abrupt policy change. It was agreed that members can individually post signage or verbally request that masks be worn in their work areas. If you are met with resistance, notify your manager/supervisor/administrator. You do not need to disclose your personal need for a mask to be worn but know that you do have the support of Human Resources in cases such as where a person in you are in close contact with is in a high risk category when contracting covid (immunocompromised, too young to be vaccinated, etc..) If an employee has a medical condition accommodations can be made. Contact an ACE Steward if needed.

FHDA CCD’s current overall policy making masks optional aligns with guidance from Santa Clara County (LINK) and the Center for Disease Control (LINK).

We appreciate the Marietta Harris and Ray Quan working collaboratively with ACE to develop practices that create a safe working environment. This meeting fulfills the requirement by our contract agreement to meet with ACE. As such we will withdraw our unfair labor practice and grievance.

As a reminder, COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave provides covered employees up to 80 hours of COVID-19 related paid leave, with up to 40 of those hours for isolation & quarantine, receiving vaccines, and caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed and up to an additional 40 of those hours available only when an employee, or family member for whom the employee provides care, tests positive for COVID-19. Review the department of industrial relations frequently asked questions for more information (LINK.)

The leave covers Jan 1, 2022 through Dec 31, 2022. COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave is retroactive to January 1, 2022, which means that covered employees who took qualifying leave between January 1, 2022 and February 19, 2022, can request payment for that leave if it was not paid by the employer in the amount that is required under this law.

Free Flu Shots at De Anza Health Services
Today at 10 am until Noon, ACE members Erika Martinez Meraz, Tara Chan, and Rosa-Ann Fragoza will be providing free flu vaccines to students and employees. If you can’t make it today, Wednesday, Dec 7^th is the last drop in event. (LINK) to more details.

Future ACE updates should be much less cold and flu centric🤞

Veteran’s Day Holiday
Contract information has been added to your calendars and time has been blocked off as a reminder of tomorrow’s holiday. What are your thoughts on this? Should we do the same for the rest of the district holiday schedule? Let us know at a site meeting or respond via email.

Thank you to those who’ve served in the military. I encourage members to participate in local events honoring veterans, visit your local veterans memorial, or volunteer your time to show support.

In Solidarity,

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