Category: Uncategorised

  • 2025.03.21 Update – Floating Leave Review, CalPERS Education, ACE Website Woes, AB 65 Pregnancy Leave Bill (14 Weeks Paid), Accessible Secrets

    ACE Members,

    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-2024Post-2024
    10.1 Sick Leave (10.1 Personal Necessity Leave)10.1 Sick Leave (10.10 Personal Necessity Leave)
    10.10 Personal Leave9.3 Floating Leave

    Per our Agreement there are two key things to understand about Floating Leave:

    1. It is a catch-all for anything which other leaves may not be appropriate for, and;
    2. 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”
      • See 10.1 (LINK)
    • 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.”
      • See 10.10 (LINK)
    • 300 Floating Leave – This could be used for anything (requires pre-approval).
      • How to use it: “I would like to use floating leave on Friday. I’m not required to disclose the purpose or nature of this request.”
      • See 9.3 (LINK)

    CalPERS Member Education
    Want to know more about the pension plan? Member education events are available on the CalPERS website – https://www.calpers.ca.gov/education-center/member-education

    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

    Create an account to view, manage, and create retirement estimates at https://mycalpers.ca.gov/ .

    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.

    In Service,

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

  • 2025.02.13 – Board & Negotiator Training, Logo Stickers, T-Shirts [SURVEY], Data Privacy Reminder

    ACE Members,

    Board & Negotiator Training
    Union trainings have taken place to prepare our organization for duties assigned to each position per the ACE Constitution (LINK). Thank you to Anthony Booth for providing Board Member and Negotiator training sessions. We all owe a huge amount of gratitude to our fellow colleagues for doing union work. As an independent labor association, we rely on members stepping into leadership roles to continue to operate successfully. As an icebreaker we spoke about our very first jobs (unofficial and w-2) which told a story of growth, the value of all types of work, and how important household income is for coping with the rising cost of living. We’re all dedicated toward the maintenance and advancement of our wages, working conditions, and benefits here at the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.

    Recorder@Sharon Garcia-VegaTreasurer@Kathy NguyenChair of Negotiations@Chris Chavez
    Foothill VP@Phuong TranFoothill Chief Steward@Janie GarciaFoothill Board Member@Yasmine Malboubi
    Central Services VP@Lindsay WestCentral Services Chief Steward@Thomas MarksCentral Services Board Member@Alan Nguyen
    De Anza VP@Vins ChackoDe Anza Chief Steward@Andre MeggersonDe Anza Board Member Seat 1@Lisa Ly
    Attorney@Anthony Booth (anthony@theboothlg.com)Attorney@Bradley Booth (bradley@theboothlg.com)De Anza Board Member Seat 2@Adriana Garcia
    Negotiator@Andrea Santa CruzNegotiator@Keri KirkpatrickNegotiator@Satinder Kaur
    Negotiator@Alex CollinsNegotiator@Ben JuddPresident@Scott Olsen

    (Special thanks to Alan for being a person who remembers to take group photos.)

    ACE Union Logo Stickers
    Thank you to @Gera Robredo for taking care of the design and logistics on a initial run of logo stickers. We’ve handed out a few amongst the campuses, but they’ll be available at upcoming site meetings and a stack (+ lanyards) are located in the ACE mailbox in the Foothill College mailroom. Can’t find one? Contact a union rep and we’ll get one to you.

    ACE T-Shirt & Sweater Survey
    Our swag “stuff we all get” survey is live via a Google Forms. ACE has a $3,000 annual budget for marketing and increasing union visibility. Stickers are a small step, but we’re also looking to offer T-shirts to those who are interested. In the coming years we may need to advocate for workplace improvements at board meetings, city meetings, county meetings, state meetings, etc. and it helps to show we are united as a group with a request. Often, we are mistaken for faculty members or outside community members, but something as simple as a shirt shows that we’re organized together and willing to show up in numbers to speak to a need/concern.

    I purchased my shirt from the Labor Notes store (LINK) and would love to see similar shirts with ACE logos around campus showing union pride and solidarity. ACE has a massive effect on our workplace, but our visibility does not reflect that. Let us know your thoughts and T-shirt size so that we can create an estimate.

    Thank you to @Janie Garcia Cordova, @Lindsay West, and @Sharon Garcia-Vega for advancing this.

    California Public Records Act (CPRA) Requests & Network Privacy
    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 be 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.

    Union-related communication on the District email server is also accessible by the District. To maintain your privacy ACE has email addresses off the District’s network. Executive Board Members, Negotiators, and Stewards 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.)

    Don’t put anything on your work devices that you don’t want everyone to see.

    In Service,

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

  • 2025.02.05 Update – President’s Message: Path2Papers, AP 3415, Rapid Response Network, Red Cards KYR

    ACE Members,

    President’s Message
    ACE has been following the many executive orders issued by the federal government. We are coordinating with the Booth Law Group and District to understand the effects we as workers may feel. Our Collective Bargaining Agreement, Ed Code, State laws, and status as County employees shield us from many issues, but a major concern is the impact of immigration enforcement on our community.

    ACE and HR have been referring employees to consult with Path2Papers (LINK) to review available options for establishing legal permanent residency. Path2Papers provides a detailed individual assessment which employees can choose to share with ACE and HR for assistance in developing a wraparound solution. Your cost-free meeting with an attorney is confidential. Please include your job classification (LINK) when submitting information.

    • We may not be able to pursue H-1B visas and labor certifications for certain positions due to the general nature of each job description. The process for those applications may also trigger a multi-year bar for unlawful presence depending on your history, so be very wary of any advice that makes this process seem simple – there is no “one-size fits all” approach.
    • We are working with each individual employee to determine viable solutions.

    Our Collective Bargaining Agreement applies to all workers within the district. If you have a workplace concern and/or feel your rights under the agreement have been violated, do not hesitate to come forward. Conversations with Anthony Booth are protected by attorney-client privilege and conversations with union representatives are confidential. We are not immigration attorneys or advisors, which is why we are directing employees to work with Path2Papers.

    Everyone should be aware of policies, procedures, and means to respond in solidarity:

    • If you see Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on campus executing an order, District Administrative Procedure 3415 (LINK) outlines what to do:

    College personnel shall advise all students, faculty, and staff responding to or having contact with an officer engaged in immigration enforcement executing an immigration order to refer the entity or individual to the appropriate President’s Office or the President’s designee, for purposes of verifying the legality of any warrant, court order, or subpoena. Central Services personnel shall notify the Chancellor’s Office or the Chancellor’s designee under such circumstances.

    • If you see ICE activity in Santa Clara County, you may call the Rapid Response Network at (408) 290-1144.
    • Santa Clara County also has printable templates for Red Cards with Know Your Rights (KYR) information in multiple languages (LINK):
    • I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution.
    • I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that you slide under the door.
    • I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights.
    • I choose to exercise my constitutional rights.

    This is a worker issue, a community issue, and a moral issue of humane treatment of people. We can all have a substantial impact by being informed and spreading power.

    In Service,

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