From your Chapter 262 Executive Board
Happy St. Patty’s Day!
Health benefit Information Meeting
Your CSEA Chapter 262 Executive Board wants to thank all of you for attending the Health Benefits information meeting last Thursday, March 7. Your representatives on the CSEA 262 Executive Board and negotiations team understand that changing health plan administrators is a complex process and a very personal decision for every unit member. The purpose for the information meeting was to inform you about the process we are undertaking and where we are in that process.
Additional information, including the Powerpoint presentation shown at the meeting, can be found at the Chapter web sitehttp://www.csea262.org/healthcare.
Chapter Members Contribute to Improving Lives
Any organization is only as good as the people who are part of it. When an organization has good people, good things happen.
For example, the Mountie Fresh food pantry was developed by the college’s Homelessness and Basic Resources Committee (HBRC, https://www.mtsac.edu/basicneeds), chaired by Dean of Student Services Koji Uesugi, and is part of a larger state-wide initiative CalFresh, which is committed to ending hunger in California.
Chapter 262 members who contribute time and energy to the program include Barbara Carrillo, Administrative Specialist IV to the Dean of Student Services and your Chapter 262 secretary, Carlos Duarte, Parking Officer for Public Safety, and Gloria Munguia, Fiscal Specialist in Fiscal Services. These Chapter 262 members embody the CSEA mission of “improving lives.” The pantry is also supported by faculty, managers, administrators, the Foundation, and even the Board of Trustees. Trustee Gary Chow is a regular volunteer.
Faculty Demonstrate Union Strength At Board Meeting
More than 200 faculty gathered to protest at last Wednesday’s Board of Trustees meeting about two very sensitive subjects.
At the March 13 Board Meeting, faculty gathered to support a professor who filed a discrimination complaint against the Business Division Dean Jennifer Galbraith and Associate Dean Fawaz Al Malood. The District’s administrative determination found no evidence of illegal discrimination, so the complainant filed an appeal with the Board. Several faculty, personal friends of the complainant, and a former professor spoke to the Board. Ultimately, the Board upheld the District’s finding.
Faculty were also protesting the Board’s rejection of the Faculty’s negotiating team’s tentative agreement regarding health and welfare benefits. Essentially, the Faculty Association claimed the District refused to give them vital information about vendors other than SISC and offered the faculty a financial incentive for leaving CalPERS. Faculty were also concerned about retiree benefits if they leave CalPERS.
Regardless of the issue or details, it is important to understand the impact you can make when we stand strong together as a union. The Faculty Association was able to organize more than 200 members and retirees in less than three days to flood the Board room with members, protest signs, chants, and about 15 speakers who expressed to the Board their fears and concerns about leaving CalPERS. The presence of more than 200 protesting faculty union members made an obvious and impactful impression on the Board of Trustees meeting. The Board delayed the start of the meeting while faculty seated themselves in the chairs, on the floor, and lining the walls surrounding the Board of Trustees as well as filling the lobby in front and into the Founders Hall meeting area. All wore their green Faculty Association t-shirts. While the Board could not comment on the protest or the speeches, the impact was clear and strong.
Your CSEA Chapter 262 has not had a reason to protest against the District, but we still need to demonstrate our unity and strength to the District or the Board of Trustees. Just showing up to Board meetings makes a positive impression. Coming to information meetings and Chapter meetings also demonstrate our union strength. The District and the Board need to be shown we are united, we are strong, and we are committed to improving the lives of our members, students, and community.
Chapter Web Site Update & Social Media
Your CSEA 262 Chapter Web Site has been recently updated! New links to the collective bargaining agreement, your Chapter Constitution, Executive Board officers, union stewards. If you want more information about your Chapter, CSEA, or things related, please visit the Chapter web site at http://www.csea262.org. This month, your Chapter leaders also approved a new web hosting service that will allow for accessible, responsive web design tools. Your Chapter web site is being totally redesigned from the ground up! The new web site will work on desktop computers, tablets and iPads, laptops, and popular smart phone formats (iPhone and Android).
Additionally, the web content is being rewritten to be more informative, more engaging, and (hopefully!) more interesting for members. Redesigning the web site will take some time, so there is no estimate as to when the new site will be launched. However, the goal right now is to soft-launch sometime before the end of this academic year to allow members to review and comment during the Summer intersession. Then the final launch should happen in the Fall 2019 semester.
Don’t forget to visit our Facebook page as well … https://www.facebook.com/groups/CSEA262/.
You can now also follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Our new Twitter and Instagram channels were created to help us contact you quickly and easily about breaking news and information of a timely nature. These channels also give you a way to keep in touch with your Chapter Leadership and each other! Follow your friends and colleagues and make plans, chat, share moments, or just watch and observe. Your Chapter leadership wants to remind you that viewing web sites and social media should be done on your breaks, during lunch, or anytime you are not at work during business hours.
Attend Pre-Retirement Seminars
If you are thinking about retiring anytime within the next five years, you should begin your retirement planning now by attending a CSEA Pre-Retirement Seminar. Learn how CalPERS pays you later. CSEA’s Pre-Retirement Committee has arranged a FREE seminar.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Whittier City School District Office
7211 Whittier Avenue Whittier, CA 90602
Location: Board Room
Registration: 8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Seminar: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
CalPERS presenter will provide booklets. Additional materials, including Social Security and Retiree Unit information, will be distributed by CSEA.
Notes: Attendance at this seminar allows you to request an individual appointment with CalPERS 90 days in advance of your retirement date. Pre-registration is encouraged. Call (800) 632-2128, ext. 1007 Please listen carefully to the message; all you need to do is leave your name to register in advance. If you have any questions, contact your CSEA Pre-Retirement Resource Committee Member:
Melissa Romanek at: meligirlcsea299@gmail.com.