ACE Members,
FY22-23 COLA
November paychecks will have our negotiated 5.56% salary schedule increase. In addition, the retroactive amount due for July through October (4 months) will be included.
Thank you again to our Negotiations Team 👏 As a reminder, the state approved cost of living adjustment is not a passthrough at this district. ACE actively negotiates with the district’s team each year to settle upon the final COLA.
November Dues Forgiveness
ACE has sent a message to Payroll to forgive member dues for the month of November. We can forgive dues because we are an independent association and manage our money responsibly. Our Executive Board approved three months of dues forgiveness during the 22-23 academic year as a part of our budget (LINK.) November will be the second approved month ACE has not charged dues. February 2023 will most likely be the third month we do not charge dues as a part of this budget.
Are we charging an appropriate amount to maintain our business today and for the future?
ACE is looking for representation from members at De Anza to serve on a committee to answer this question. Email olsenscott@fhda.edu or scott.olsen@acefhda.org if you would like to join.
2021-24 Agreement
ACE has been asking for our updated agreement to be made available since January of this year. Unfortunately administrators who are no longer with the district failed to bring it to the Board of Trustees for approval. All negotiated tentative agreements (TAs) have been ratified by past membership votes, but have not been consolidated into our contract. What has changed?
- 9.1 Holidays (2021) From 17 to 18 with the addition of Juneteenth, effective June 19, 2022 onward.
- 23.1 Length of Agreement (2021) This agreement will continue in effect through October 31, 2024…
- 14.7 Travel and Conference (2019) Fund increased from $40,000 to $60,000.
- 14.8 Educational Assistance (2019) Training/Retraining Funds increased from $1200 to $1500 per fiscal year.
- 8.4.5 Longevity (2019) Classified Hourly employees to receive longevity awards on the same timeline as regular classified employees at a prorated amount.
- 18.1 Benefits (2019) Classified Hourly benefits for those who can show they have no other access to medical insurance may enroll in an individual basic Kaiser plan.
The list above is not fully comprehensive, but it illustrates what we negotiate for. It is crucial that the outcomes above are documented in our agreement to create a common understanding of the rules of employment. You can review which contract articles have been opened for negotiations in the past on our website (LINK.)
Union Bug & Website Updates
Spooky season caught up with the ACE website. Links have turned orange for fall, ghosts a few things moved around, and changes were made to improve readability. Thanks to @Jerry Robredo we’ve also got a union bug which draws from elements of our classic logo, which goes along with Article 5.5 (LINK):
Article 5.5 Union “Bug”
Union members shall have the right to include the Union label on all books, reports, brochures, stationery or other documents produced by the District in accordance with customary printing trade’s practices unless the person ordering the printing marks an objection on the appropriate form.
If you use it on any of the items above, send Jerry and I a photo or screenshot.
Elections
All members should have received a message titled “Your Invitation to Vote in the Election: 2023-20234 ACE Elections” from electionrunner.com. Search your inboxes and junk mail for it. If you are a member and have not received this notification contact @Shawna Santiago.
Thank you to those who’ve participated in the process. We are an independent business that relies on active member participation and members taking leadership positions as a representatives to make decisions about the direction of our union.
Upcoming Professional Development Workshops
@Claudia Guzman from the Office of Professional Development at De Anza has provided a list of upcoming workshops (attachment in email.)
California Community Colleges: Vision Resource Center (Overview)
- November 14th 12:00 – 1:00pm
- December 8th 1:00 – 2:00pm
ACE Professional Growth Award / Educational Assistance Reimbursement (Overview)
- November 3rd 1:00-2:00pm
- December 1st 1:00-2:00pm
Staff Development Leave (Overview)
- November 10th 12:00-1:00pm
- November 29th 11:00am-12:00pm
Employees can register for all of the Fall 2022 workshops by visiting this google form (LINK.)
Mask Policy Change Demand to Bargain
To date the district has failed to meet with ACE. Three weeks have passed since we sent our last message and no attempt has been made on behalf of district administrators to meet an confer regarding the impact of the unilateral policy change. ACE is not challenging their ability to make these changes, but management is legally obligated to negotiate the impact with us. No response they have provided has included a legitimate reason not to come to the table.
All district employees received a message on October 18th from the Chancellor regarding a meeting with another bargaining unit (LINK) who had issued the same demand. ACE continues to press for an equal response. Inaction on behalf of management is insulting. A process which should have taken an hour has now consumed a month. It has generated two districtwide “apology” messages, exchanges between our attorneys and district lawyers, and been an unfortunate topic of these update messages. As president I don’t want to write nastygrams, but I will do so in an effort to obtain respect for us in the workplace.
“Scott, you need to be more positive,” sometimes gets said to me and my response has been, “I’m part of a union, we take garbage and process it into positivity all day.”
In Solidarity,
Scott Olsen (he/him) | ACE President
https://acefhda.org | olsenscott@fhda.edu
650-949-7789 | M-F 8:00am-5:00pm