Message from the Chapter President
Happy holidays to all! I’d like to take a minute to reflect on another successful year of operation for our chapter leadership. This was my first year as chapter President, and I want to thank everyone in the unit for your patience as I learn the ins and outs of fulfilling the duties of President of this amazing union. While I often find myself in the position of singularly representing the union at events like board meetings, orientations, and CSEA activities; the reality is that without the capable and dedicated executive board we have working for us, we wouldn’t have much of a union to represent. There’s an old saying with which I’m sure we’re all familiar, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, in this case, “It takes a team to run a union,” and I am truly blessed and thankful for the team who supports us all. The fact that three of our four positions up for election this year were unopposed, and the membership voted in favor of the incumbent in the fourth, is a testament to the members’ trust in this Chapter’s current leadership team and faith we will continue to serve the members’ best interests.
This year has been filled with ups and downs. We negotiated new health care benefits that, for the first time in a very long time, offer every full-time unit member on campus an option with $0 out of pocket. However, we also came face to face with the game-changing “Student-Centered Funding Formula” that will have far-reaching effects in how our college operates, to include how we negotiate for anything with a price tag in the future. We should have news in the coming months about how much of the COLA the state is actually paying to Mt. SAC under the new funding formula. As we close out 2019 and look to 2020, I remain committed to advancing the interests of our union “to improve the lives of our members, students, and community”. I thank you again for your support, and it remains an honor to serve you.
And the Winner Is . . .
Chapter 262 members used online voting for the first time ever to elect Chapter Officers. This year there were four positions up for election — 1stVice President, Secretary, Chief Steward, and Site Representative Coordinator. Three offices had nominees who ran unopposed, so the nominees automatically win the election. The only office up for vote was the 1st Vice President. The members re-elected Rosa Asencio as the 1st Vice President.
Starting January 1, 2020, your new CSEA Chapter 262 Executive Board will be:
President: Robert Stubbe
1st Vice President: Rosa Asencio
2nd Vice President: Marlene Espina
Secretary: Barbara Carrillo
Chief Union Steward: Elizabeth Jauregui
Treasurer: Zak Gallegos
Communications Officer: Mark Fernandez
Site Representative Coordinator: Brandon Gillett
Past President: Sandra Bollier
Welcome to SISC . . .
Whenever there is a transition from one long-time benefits partner to a new partner, there are bound to be growing pains. The transition from CalPERS Health to Self-Insured Schools of California (SISC) is no exception. Many members have reported clerical errors with their new health insurance benefits plans and selection of family doctors on the insurance cards they have received, and our HR team and SISC are helping to track down the source of these errors fix them. Some members are reporting they have not yet received their insurance cards at all.
On 2 December 2019, Human Resources Benefits sent out an e-mail to employees who selected the HMO plans for Blue Shield of California to “review your new Blue Shield medical identification cards for accuracy. Email Human Resources at hrbenefits@mtsac.edu” if there are errors and to call the Blue Shield Concierge phone number to ask for assistance.
If you have already received your card and there are errors, contact Human Resources, but also immediately call Blue Shield to report the errors and fix them. The Blue Shield representatives are very helpful, patient, and knowledgeable, and they will help fix your name, address, even the college name (which is misspelled as Mt. San Antoinio College).
The number to call for Blue Shield Concierge help is (855) 599-2657. When you call, you will get a series of questions and phone menu options. The message will begin by asking for your plan and subscriber ID, so have these ready. After the computer has found your records, hit the “0” button. At each prompt, hit “0” until the computer transfers you to a person. Tell that person there are errors on your insurance card you need to fix. You will be given a person who will help you. When you are done, they will mail a new card out to you in seven to ten work days. Make sure you do this prior to 20 December 2019 or you may not receive your new card until after the second week of January 2020.
If you need to make doctor appointments or renew prescriptions or even need to go to urgent care, you will need to use your OLD CalPERS card until midnight 31 December 2019. After midnight, it will be 1 January 2020 and your CalPERS card will expire and you may be without medical coverage until your new card arrives.
Your Chapter leadership is recommending that you do not wait to receive your cards after Monday, 16 December 2019. If you have not yet received your card by then, call the BS Concierge number, follow the process to get a live person, and explain you have not received your card. Then make sure you tell the person you want to review the information on the card. They will help verify your name and address, your medical plan (HMO v. PPO), and your family doctor. Make any needed corrections. Oh, and make sure they spell the name of the college correctly!
Welcome to Mt. SAC: New Classified Professionals
At the November 13 Board of Trustees meeting, the college welcomed the following new or promoted classified employees:
Permanent New Hires
Vianey Arenas Juarez, Administrative Specialist III (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Raymone Dashiell, Student Services Program Specialist I (Counseling)
Daniel Lee, Telecommunications Technician (Information Technology)
Adriana Martinez, Dispatcher I (Police and Campus Safety)
Annette Monge-Hermosillo, Student Services Outreach Specialist (High School Outreach)
Rachel Moran, Laboratory Technician I — Chemistry (Chemistry)
Naomi Spinella, Financial Aid Specialist (Financial Aid)
Promoted Classified Professionals
Rowena Imes, Lead Information Technology Support Technician (Information Technology)
Gabriela Sesma, Coordinator, Cashier's Office (Cashier's Office)
If you happen to see any of these colleagues during your day, extend a warm welcome, invite them to lunch, show them around, and make them feel welcome. Bring them along to the next Chapter meeting so they can introduce themselves.
CSEA Pre-Retirement Seminars
By Beverley Heasley, CSEA Chapter 262 Pre-Retirement Resource Specialist
Looking for information you need to maximize your pension benefits? CalPERS will be presenting and will provide informational booklets at the upcoming CSEA Pre-Retirement Seminars listed below. Additional information will be provided on Social Security and the CSEA Retiree Unit. All seminars are on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to Noon.
January 25, 2020
California School of the Arts
Performing Arts Center
1401 Highland Avenue
Duarte, CA 91010
Gordon H. Beatty Elementary School Auditorium
8201 Country Club Drive
Buena Park, CA 90621
February 8, 2020
CSEA Regional Training Center
Santa Fe Field Office - 2nd Floor
4600 Sana Anita Avenue
El Monte, CA 91731
March 14, 2020
Upland Jr. High School
Multipurpose Room/Gym
444 E. 11th Street
Upland, CA 91786
A Christmas Story
If you find yourself sometime during the Winter recess with about 90 minutes of free time and want to watch a heartwarming romantic comedy about finding unexpected love with a little help from the Christmas season, click the following link (https://amzn.to/2rIZqOX) and watch Amazon Prime’s newest entry in its plethora of yuletide treats, The Christmas Cabin.
As one Internet Movie DataBase (IMDB) reviewer stated, The Christmas Cabin is “Everything you want in a holiday movie - lovable characters with captivating set design and impressive editing. A unique plot that is still relatable, with an overall heartwarming message about 'the meaning of Christmas’.”
What makes this move particularly special is the writer, associate producer, and actor in this film is Zak Fin. Who is that, you ask? Zak Fin is our very own man-of-many-talents, your Chapter 262 Treasurer Zak Gallegos! That’s right. If you did not already know, Zak is also a burgeoning playwright with four movies under his playbill already! Zak has acted in all four movies, and has written, produced, and directed.
Zak has a short movie released in 2019 as well — Burro, which received three nominations at the Action on Film International Film Festival, including Best Short directed by Zak! Zak’s movie also won the Silver State Film Festival award for best sound design.
So, grab a cup of Egg Nog, stoke that fire, curl up with your bestie, and turn on Amazon Prime for 90 minutes of purely escapist holiday cheer. Who knows? In a few years, Zak could be leaving his footprints at some theater in Hollywood or picking up one of those golden statuettes.
“To improve the lives of our members, students, and community.”
CSEA Chapter 262 • 1100 N. Grand Avenue Walnut, California 91789 • 909.274.6262 • www.csea262.org