Issue # 37: April 20, 2023
Update from the President
Frankie Cocanour (2022-2024 Term)
Bargaining:
We are still working on Article 3 so we did not send the proposal to the college like we were expecting to do. We did during bargaining agree on Article 5 The only things that were done was moving 5.7 and adding it to 5.5, then getting rid of the pronouns his/her and making them a form of they. We then agreed that we would do that wherever we locate the his or her pronouns. We also agreed that all of the MOAs that are signed by the college and the union since the last full contract was signed would be bargained on with this contract bargaining session, so they will stay in effect until bargaining is finished this year.
FY 24 budget process Concerns:
A letter to the board was signed by the Student union, LCCEA, and LCCEF. Due to a lack of continuity in the budget and finance departments there were issues with planning a budget and the budget plan that was presented at the board was not supported by all of the work that was done in BDS as was represented by the administration to the board. The students on the subcommittee, the faculty on the subcommittee, and the classified professionals on the subcommittee were honestly shocked when we heard the presentation. Please click on the link to read the joint letter that we sent in.
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Announcements and Reminders
DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!
We have a Membership Drive scheduled for the week of May 8-12, 2023. CAT members and myself will be coming to departments for brief chats.
Newsletter Feedback
We want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to give us your feedback on our Weekly Newsletter. Newsletter Feedback Survey Goggle Form
The next two General Membership meetings will be held on Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm. And Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Vice President of Labor Relations
Buck Potter (2022-2023 Term)
Good Afternoon Colleagues, bargaining continues, and we are working through Article 3, and have agreed with The College on Article 5.
I have met with a couple departments on campus with regards to workload issues, and working out of class. We are all feeling this crunch, and know that I also made a push within the Budget Development Subcommittee for the College to commit to filling Classified Professional Budgeted Vacancies.
Dawn Rupp has highlighted it very well this week in the Newsletter that our membership needs to not feel beholden to Lane, and make sure you are taking vacation time for yourself when you need it. You’ve worked to accrue it, and deserve to use it when you need to.
Stand Tall, Stand In Solidarity and Stand for Fairness.
“An Empty Tank Will Take You Nowhere. Take Time To Refuel.”
“Almost Everything Will Work Again If You Unplug It For A Few Minutes, Including You.”
Vice President of Organizing
Colin Vurek (2023-2024 Term)
BARGAINING CONTINUES MAY 2, 2023 AT 11:00AM!
Members are welcomed to observe via Zoom with your microphones and cameras OFF, please. I will be running a Slack Chat to allow observers to chat with me and I can pass ideas to the team at the table. I will actually be at the table also but bouncing into the chat to answer questions you may have. Email me your private email address to: colinlccef@ gmail.com so I can add you to the Slack chat. There is also a link below for anyone to RSVP on a Google form. You will find the link for the bargaining meeting below:
Join Zoom Meeting https://lanecc.zoom.us/j/96183623044
Meeting ID: 961 8362 3044
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Dial by your location
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Feel free to use the image below as your Zoom background.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO RSVP TO BE SURE I GET YOU IN OUR BARGAINING CHAT PLEASE USE THE FORM BELOW:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pnbX7ov68WrXYsvZOoPfq6peq0rF76C7knwiItj7dB8/edit?ts=6418c7e6
We have a Membership Drive scheduled for the week of May 8-12, 2023. CAT members and myself will be coming to departments for brief chats.
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THE NEW T-SHIRTS HAVE ARRIVED. WE HAVE PLENTY OF EVERY SIZE. Please email me at colinlccef@gmail.com to get yours!
I also have window clings and stickers for you to flaunt your support for your union! See below!
DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!
UNION STRONG!
Grievance Officer
Dawn Rupp (2023-2024 Term)
Meeting with a few folks but currently no grievances.
Let us know if you need any support from your EC team.
DID YOU KNOW:
Your classified co-workers can lead your work but they are not your “supervisor” in the sense of discipline or approving/denying leave time or anything that affects your employment. This should come from your manager. No classified person is above/below another classified employee
Get to know your rights and contract.
Vacation is an earned benefit. Use it, don’t lose it. If your manager denies your vacation, reach out for support. https://inside.lanecc.edu/sites/default/files/hr/documents/final_lccef_contract_2016_-_2023.pdf
14.4 Vacation
(For employees hired into budgeted positions of .500 FTE or greater)
14.4.1 Accrued vacation time can be used by an employee after the six (6) month initial trial service period is successfully completed. Employees with less than five (5) years of continuous service shall accrue vacation at the rate of 7.50 hours per full calendar month of service completed. Employees with five (5) or more full years of continuous service accrue vacation at the rate of 15.0 hours per full calendar month of service completed. Employees who work less than full-time on an annual basis (1.00 FTE) accrue vacation monthly on a pro-rated FTE basis.
14.4.2 Vacation computing and accounting shall be on a calendar year basis as provided for in Article 14.5.1 (January 1 – December 31). The roll-over date shall be adjusted to January 1, annually. The maximum number of accrued vacation that employees may carry over shall be no more than two hundred and forty hours. In no case will employees be compensated for vacation not used and subsequently lost. Vacation above the 240-hour limit may carried over to the next calendar year only when a scheduled vacation is canceled by the College and cannot be rescheduled by the College prior to December 31, annually.
14.4.3 Vacation will be taken at a time mutually convenient for the College and the employee and/or work team. If an employee’s request for vacation is denied, the reasons for such denial shall be given in writing to the employee.
14.4.4 Employees in certain part-time positions, such as instructional support and child care positions, who are not allowed to use vacation during the academic year will be paid for their accumulated vacation at the end of the fiscal year. These positions will be designated in advance by the College.
14.4.5 Upon termination, a permanent employee shall be paid for current earned but unused vacation at the employee’s wage rate at the date of separation. Employees will be compensated at a maximum of 240 hours of accrued, but unused vacation leave. In case of death, compensation for accrued vacation leave shall be paid in the same manner that salary due the decedent is paid.
14.4.6 Vacation Sell Back: Each year, during fall term, each member shall be provided an opportunity to “sell back” up to 16 hours of accrued vacation at the member’s rate of pay.
Each year, the College designates ten (10) Fridays in summer for closure with the intention that classified contracted employees (.50-1.0 FTE) use their specially allocated leave on these days. Classified contracted employees are awarded 10 days/80 hours (prorated for less than 1.0 FTE and for new hires) each year for this purpose. Hours are awarded towards the end of June each year.
For Summer 2023, the College will be closed each Friday, June 30-September 1, 2023.
The Friday closure days are:
Friday, June 30
Friday, July 7
Friday, July 14
Friday, July 21
Friday, July 28
Friday, August 4
Friday, August 11
Friday, August 18
Friday, August 25
Friday, September 1
Con’t. General guidelines include the following:
- The “standard” business hours for campus during the ten (10) weeks will be publicized as 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mondays – Thursdays, and “closed” to the public on Fridays. Some departments may be open for business as determined by the College.
All College locations will be treated the same concerning standard business hours including the Downtown Center, Cottage Grove, and Florence.
- All aspects of Article 12 – Working Hours, and Article14.9 – College Closure Days of the LCCEF contract remain in effect. Consistency with the contractual guidelines is required. Your Managers retain scheduling and work assignment authority and rights. Flexibility is encouraged but once the hours are mutually agreed upon, scheduled, or assigned, it should be expected that work hours will remain fixed and consistent for the ten (10) summer weeks and ten (10) closed Fridays. The standard expectation for classified employees is that they will use their allocation of College Closure leave hours to remain in paid status on the College closed Fridays during summer 2023.
- The “standard” work hours will be four (4) x eight (8) hour days (Mondays – Thursdays), and “College closed” day on Fridays during the ten Fridays June 30 – September 1, 2023.
· Note that the use of College Closure leave on the closed Fridays does not count as “actual hours worked” for overtime purposes, but the Friday College closure leave hours do count toward the 40-hour work week so 1.0 FTE classified employees should only work 32 hours Mondays through Thursday during summer 2023 weeks when there is a Friday closure.
· There will be some departments that will be exceptions to these standard work hours during the ten weeks depending upon projects, program needs, grant funding, and contract obligations and/or staffing needs. Managers are responsible for scheduling the alternate College closure days; please connect with Human Resources if you have questions or need guidance.
· There have been some departments that allowed employees to work 3 X 10 hours (30 hours per week) during the summer months. Please note, if this is your department, all employees who work such a schedule MUST claim leave time for those two hours not worked.
- Meal and Work Breaks Cannot be “skipped” or combined to shorten an assigned 8, 9 or 10-hour Work Day. Doing so violates the LCCEF contract and such scheduling schemes also violate BOLI/FLSA guidelines. It is forbidden to skip meal and work breaks, or to “combine” such breaks, to shorten the work day schedule and assigned work time. Such violations may subject the employee and/or their manager to discipline.
- The College closure hours will be awarded and loaded into the College Closure leave bucket of employees towards the end of June 2023. HR must receive classified annual worksheets (CAW) for employees of .50-.99 FTE before those employees leave awards can be calculated and then loaded.
6. It is important that all employees have access to their College Closure leave time. Employees who may not work during the summer, or are needed to work on Fridays during the summer, must be provided an opportunity to use this leave time at another time within the year. Please work with your respective manager to ensure that you have access to this leave throughout the year. Your manager has the discretion and authority to schedule and assign these ten (10) College Closure leave days for their classified employees on days that will work best for the program and services to students. College closure leave does not expire and it is not paid out upon separation.
Please contact your Manager, Benefits, or Payroll if you have any questions about College Closure leave.
For your reference
Article 14.9 reads as follows:
College Closure Days (clarification; this replaced “special vacation days”)
The College shall award ten (10) “college closure days” (or 80 hours of College closure leave) on a recurring basis, to be pro-rated for less-than 1.0 FTE classified employees. These ten (10) “college closure days” shall be awarded all at one time to eligible .50 – 1.0 FTE classified employees and will be awarded annually by or before June 25. The ten (10) days are recurring from one year to the next and these “college closure days” are not subject to being paid out as compensation upon separation from employment. The ten (10) “college closure days” are subject to designation and assignment on the annual academic calendar by the College and responsible managers. Most, but not all the college closure days, will be assigned by the College on Fridays in the summers when the College is closed.
Quote(s) for the week:
“We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘TO DO’ list.” ~ Michelle Obama
“You will find that it is necessary to let things go. Simply for the reason that they are heavy” ~ Author unknown
Treasurer
Linda Reling (2022-2023 Term)
One of our bargaining priorities is ensuring people are able to use their vacation time. You earned it and it is important to your health! We will be creating a survey soon so that you can share your experiences.
Records Officer
Tracy Weimer (2022-2024 Term)
May 1, 2023 is a big day for Labor, learn why…
The bargaining work gives me mad anxiety, I try to zoom in but I struggle to make the sessions and the strategy meetings. I recognize the need but cannot seem to extend myself any further. If you have a passion for advocacy and think you may be interested in getting involved, please do.
In other news – I was today years old when I learned that the PERS Sick Pay number in my Leave Balance is an accounting-only figure, used to calculate retirement, and that the negative number does not in any way lessen my available PTO. Regular sick pay accrues at a rate of 12 hrs per month for FT contracted, prorated to FTE, and the PERS calculation caps at 8 hours/mo.
Communications Officer
Marleena Pearson (2022-2023 Term)
Workload. Vacation. Professional Development. Important topics that are needing to be addressed in some way in every department.
What is happening in your department?
Membership Officer
Skye Nguyen (2022-2023 Term)
We are really starting to make progress in bargaining now and I am learning a lot for the first time. I am mostly managing setting up the virtual side of things like setting up the DTen in the room and such so if you have feedback please let me know! I am hoping within a few weeks I will have the setup down so it is easy for you all to keep up. 🙂
If there are any questions about membership or someone has interest in joining, they can reach out to me (membership@lccef.org) or fill out the online membership form!
Your Benefit Info of the Week
Did you know that members get some really useful benefits? This week we are highlighting free consumer credit counseling, budget advice and discounted debt management services for AFT members. These are 24 hours a day to help members with confidential financial guidance. If you are lost in finances get help in this ever changing financial world with this opportunity! You can learn about this opportunity you can get as a union member by visiting AFT’s website.
Find out what other benefits you are qualified for as union members by going to AFT.org.
Resources you may need!
- How to update your physical address on Expresslane.
- Complete this form for a Membership card or a new membership card! If you are a new member, one may have already been requested, contact the LCCEF Membership Officer for info.
- Submit an Important Life Event for you or another member may have coming up.
Chief Labor Delegate
Mark Jordan (2022-2023 Term)
COPE Officer
Fiora Starchild-Wolf (2022-2023 Term)
Hi Everyone! It’s ELECTION TIME again! I got my Voter’s Pamphlet for the May Special Election in my mailbox over the weekend, so you should probably have yours by now.
If you don’t have your Voter’s Pamphlet yet, you can call Lane County Elections for one, or go into their office at 10th Ave in downtown Eugene
Or here is a link to the online version for your reading pleasure!
This is also the time to make sure you are set to get your ballot so that you can help us elect a Union Friendly Board as we bargain our new contract in difficult financial times.
/Here is the link to the Lane County Elections page on deadlines and information to register to vote, and to be sure you get your ballot
There are 5 seats on the LCC Board that are up for election. Two have the incumbent candidates running, Lisa Fragala’s seat and Mike Eyester’s seat.
Lisa does have a challenger, though I believe she’s still very strong. Lisa has been very supportive of LCCEF in the past, and we definitely benefit from her experience and her perspective on the Board, so I hope all will vote for her, and offer support if you speak with other voters about our Board elections.
The other three seats are open and LCCEF has endorsed candidates in each of the three races. You can find our endorsements and reasoning in our prior newsletters.
As a Political Education officer, I want to ensure that we all can kind of see the things that clue us in on a candidate’s agenda as we look at their statements.
- Look for direct experience with community colleges–preferably as someone who has experience running/working at a community college, as well as having been a student at one.
- Look for statements on unions/labor, and membership/leadership in unions
- Look for commitment to not only the students–which they ALL should have, of course!–but to things like shared governance, the people who actually give those students what it takes to succeed, and managing the college for excellent citizenship in our community.
- Look for specifics, that “flesh out” the obvious platitudes and general statements. “Student Success” is a great term to throw around. What does it mean to that candidate and how exactly do they foresee offering that?
Officer At Large
VACANT
Are you a frustrated 1039 employee that feels like there isn’t much that the union does for you? Well, please join our team and help create a way for the executive council to serve the 1039 employees better. There is a position available for 1039 employees on the council. This is the best way for 1039 employees to assist with what needs to make the contract more equitable. The only way to change the working conditions that you don’t like or feel that are not equitable is to stand up and fight for it. This position was created so that 1039 employees could have a voice. We are asking for this position to be filled because it is important and there are so many 1039 employees who are frustrated with the contract.
Stay connected to LCCEF
Website: https://lccef.org/
Subscribe to Calendar: LCCEF Union Google Calendar
Email address: lccef@lanecc.edu
Resources you may need!
Submit an Important Life Event for you or another member may have coming up.
How to update your physical address on Expresslane.