Issue # 60: September 28, 2023
Update from the President
Frankie Cocanour
Bargaining:
We will be bargaining with the college this Friday from 2:00 pm until 3:30 pm. We are waiting to hear back from Shane Turner as to where the location will be. We will update you when we find out.
Possible Layoffs:
The vote by the board at the end of the night has bought us time to talk to the college about finding solutions for the four positions that are up for a possible layoff. At the end of the night Shane Turner said that there are three positions that they feel they can retrench and one position where the person can bump. We don’t feel that this is a viable solution to funding the reserve or balancing the budget. Bumping can cause a chain effect with our contract and cause other layoffs to happen. We prefer to keep everyone in the position that they are currently working in. We feel that we can come together with the college and find solutions. It’s now working with them to see how willing they are to find solutions.
Let me talk about the layoff culture. When layoffs get announced it causes people to want to protect themselves so that they don’t lose their job and they don’t risk losing their income. It becomes easy to say, “My job is important, I do more vital work and they don’t, so lay them off.” We need to avoid that type of thinking. It ends up becoming a way for the college to divide us. We need to all stand together and fight for everyone that works on this campus! There were several hours of speakers that came together last night and by all of us supporting each other and standing together we MADE something happen! Everyone who spoke MADE that vote happen! Their voices were heard! Let’s keep that energy going and fight for a fair contract with ALL of our jobs intact on this campus! The students need us all!
In a student’s words last night…. DON’T FIRE MY FRIENDS!!!!!!
* We will have a more concise overview coming out in a later update. The meeting didn’t end until 11:00 pm. Many of us who stayed for the whole thing or listened from home are a little tired today. So watch for another update tomorrow.
In Addition:
I want to thank everyone who attended the rally and came to the board meeting. Instead of moving the board meeting to the CML, they had an overflow room. They also raised the blinds so that if we had people outside they would not be seen. What I noticed sitting in the boardroom is that a camera to the overflow room was transmitting to zoom. The board members could see everyone and I am sure that the members who voted to allow the unions time to work with the college did so because so many people attended and so many people provided public comment. Last night was the first night that I saw so many classified professionals make public comments to save their coworkers! Each and every one of you did such a great job! Speaking publicly in front of your bosses the way everyone did is so hard. It was not an easy thing to do. I hope that as we are fighting for our contract we can get more people to speak to the board. I will share that I had a couple board members assure me that they listened to all of the classified professionals and that the comments were appreciated.
Virtual Suggestion Box:
Previously the Virtual Suggestion box was tracking who was putting each suggestion in. A board member asked the college to make it anonymous so that all employees could speak freely with their suggestions. Now is our opportunity to give them suggestions that you might not have wanted to share due to the administration tracking our answers. So please feel free to say what you honestly feel will help the college with the budget.
Board of Education:
The board would still like to hear from you. The board would like to support us. Please feel free to email them. It doesn’t have to be a long email full of numbers and statistics. They just would like to hear how the cuts to benefits and the low COLA will affect you. They would also like to hear about how you feel about the contingency clause in their proposal for steps. That really puts horrible pressure on just a few employees.
There is another board meeting next week. Please be sure to check BoardDocs tomorrow to see if we need to continue to rally for our coworkers.
IEC Appointment:
We still need to appoint one more member to the IEC (member list). Ideally, they are looking for someone who has time to work in a subcommittee to write reports and join monthly meetings. No experience needed. The time commitment is from 2-4 hours / month depending upon their availability.
Please email me if you are interested. cocanourf@admin
“…I have always respected the great work union do, but I have never felt its power to move things when we need support. Last night is the one time that stands out in my life. I felt like I was being pulled out of the ocean by the union while I was drowning.“
Bravo UNION!!!!!
James Aliddeki Walugembe, AAS, BA, MS, QMHA
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Announcements and Reminders
Executive Officer Elections 2023
Elections will be coming up this fall and we hope you will consider running for an Executive Council position or joining our Election Committee. Here’s a look at those positions which are up for election this year:
- Vice President of Labor Relations
- Membership Officer
- Communications Officer
- Treasurer
- Chief Labor Delegate
- Cope Officer
- Elections Committee Position
If you’re interested in learning more, please join us at the upcoming GMM to talk with the current Executive Council as well as Election Committee members to learn more about these roles.
…I have always respected the great work union do, but I have never felt its power to move things when we need support. Last night is the one time that stands out in my life. I felt like I was being pulled out of the ocean by the union while I was drowning.
Bravo UNION!!!!!
James Aliddeki Walugembe, AAS, BA, MS, QMHA
DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!
WE HAVE NEW T-SHIRTS WE HAVE PLENTY OF EVERY SIZE. Please email me at colinlccef@gmail.com to get yours!
BARGAINING CONTINUES
The College has not sent the location of our next session. What I do know is we are now bargaining on Fridays at 2pm. Our next session is tomorrow, September 29, 2023. I’ve put the Zoom link below. I will announce the in-person location once I’ve been given the information.
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 also in the chat and the Slack 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/99168133069
Meeting ID: 999 7579 3662
Dial by your location
+1 253 205 0468 US
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
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:
RSVP for bargaining Slack chat
I buttons and also have window clings for you to flaunt your support for your union!
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Vice President of Labor Relations
Buck Potter (2022-2023 Term)
Good Thursday to my colleagues:
So, quick update: if you wondered why you didn’t see me at the Rally last night, it’s because I’m in the middle of fighting a head cold. While I’m at work, I’ve limited myself to office work, and minimal outings. I believe I’m past the contagious stage, but wanted to give until tomorrow before I meet up in public.
I watched the Board Meeting from home last night, and I want to give a MAJOR KUDOS to all of you who were there last night, supporting your fellow Classified Professionals! There is Power in numbers, and I am so appreciative of everyone who came out.
I had written a letter to the Board of Education members, and I would ask that anyone who has issues with public speaking or is hesitant of being in public, make your voice heard in this way! It still resonates with the Board, as they acknowledged last night at the meeting.
Tomorrow is Bargaining at 2 PM, and let’s bring a full on sea of red shirts and Zoom backgrounds to that Bargaining session! If you can’t make it in person, please join on Zoom, and reminder: you need to have your screen off and your microphone muted while in the Zoom. We will announce the in-person location once we have it.
Vice President of Organizing
Colin Vurek (2023-2024 Term)
Greetings members,
I want to thank all the members who showed up at the rally and board meeting last night! IT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS! The board listened to us and gave us what we asked for. The big ASK was for more time and collaboration between the College and the two unions. They ended up splitting the M&S from the budget package from the personnel cuts. The Board told the President that she needed to communicate with the Union leadership! Guess what? The College called for a meeting today at 10:00am BUT excluded a large portion of who the Board asked the President to meet with. We declined the meeting and forwarded the email to Board members. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. The College is having a hard time doing anything right, right now. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so horrifying. Stay tuned! CAT meets every Wednesday at 12:00pm to 1:00pm. If you’d like to join and help out with actions, membership drives and be part of something big email me at: colinlccef@gmail.com!
DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!
UNION STRONG!
Grievance Officer
Claudia Riumallo (2023-2024 Term)
Know the Contract. Protect your job.
Treasurer
Linda Reling (2022-2023 Term)
Thank you to everyone who attended the board meeting last night. It was very emotional but our voices were heard! I was overwhelmed with the feeling of community. The meeting is posted on YouTube, I would encourage anyone who missed it to watch it when they have a chance.
Now, back to Bargaining!
Records Officer
Tracy Weimer (2022-2024 Term)
Communications Officer
Marleena Pearson (2022-2023 Term)
It’s great to see the energy of this movement build. Too many uninformed decisions are being made behind closed doors. You have to know and understand the data if you are going to use it to make decisions. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it last night, this fight is just beginning!
Membership Officer
Skye Nguyen (2022-2023 Term)
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
This week we have a general plug for all of the benefits! You’d be surprised what benefits our union memberships get you. From travel, buying a house, insurance, and savings on day to day purchases there is a range of benefits to take advantage of. Get on the savings train today and check out what other benefits you are qualified for as a union member 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)
Officer At Large
Katie Neall (2023-2024 Term)
As I told the administration and Board of Education yesterday:
Without the Classified Professionals, LCC will literally have NO class.
We may have bought ourselves a little more time, but we must remain diligent in our efforts.
Our stories, our experiences, our voices ARE important. If you feel comfortable, please take a moment to share your experiences as a Classified Employee at Lane and what that means to you.
If you have or will be negatively affected by the current wage and benefit bargaining, please reach out and tell me your story at: katherine.neall@gmail.com
I want to hear from you!
Stay connected to LCCEF
Website: https://lccef.org/
Subscribe to Calendar: LCCEF Union Google Calendar
Email address: lccef@lanecc.edu