Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the many contributions women have made throughout history. With the world focused on dealing with the coronavirus, we should all embrace finding something to celebrate if not for just a while. As it happens, this year also marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — Women’s Right to Vote.
Women’s History Month began as a celebration when, on August 4 1981, Congress passed Public Law 97-28, a resolution designating March 7 as “Women’s History Week” (click here to read the resolution). For the next five years, Congress continued to pass resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week” until 1987, when the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress to pass Public Law 100-9, which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Since 1988, the entire month of March has been declared “Women’s History Month.”
In CSEA, women are making a difference at every level. Two-thirds of CSEA chapters are led by women presidents. Five members of the Board of Directors are women. All but one of our field offices are run by women, and many of them were CSEA member leaders before they came on staff.
The work of CSEA women has been honored throughout its history, including dozens of Life Members and Honor Roll Members. Just last year, four out of five Member of the Year awards were presented to women.
CSEA has always depended on women to contribute new ideas and energy to its leadership. In fact, a woman was the catalyst for the formation of CSEA itself in 1927. One of CSEA’s founders, William Schwartz, met Mary Coughlin, a former nurse with arthritis who worked for the school system for 35 years but had no pension. Furious with the thought that this woman would receive nothing for all the years she had dedicated to her job, Schwartz worked to bring about change.
“I am proud to recognize the everyday efforts of our union sisters who have a longstanding history of transforming organized labor through their work in CSEA,” said Association President Ben Valdepeña. “Let us never forget the impact that the leaders of the past have made while imparting lessons and fueling inspiration for the next generation of our up-and-coming activists.”
From women working the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts in 1844 and forming the first union of working women in American history to “Rosie the Riveter,” the iconic image from World War II, the progress of working women and contributing to the labor movement has been well documented. By 1945, nearly one out of every four married women worked outside the home.
The CSEA web site has the stories of several women in CSEA and their accomplishments, challenges, and successes. Follow this link to read about CSEA women in the labor movement.
Welcome to Mt. SAC: New Classified Professionals
At the March 11 Board of Trustees meeting, the college welcomed the following new or promoted classified employees:
Permanent New Hires
Colleen Nelson, Administrative Specialist IV, (Natural Sciences)
Felipe Ramos, Grounds and Horticultural Technician — Campus (Grounds)
Nany Tjandra, Fiscal Technician II (Fiscal Services)
Promoted Classified Professionals
Jennifer May Anol, Retirement Specialist (Payroll)
Evelyn Ojeda, Academic Applications Systems Specialist (Information Technology)
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.
SPECIAL EDITION: NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
It’s Been A Long Road, Gettin’ From Here to There
Your Chapter leadership wants to thank you all for your patience and understanding as we navigate through our current health crisis. We also want to give huge kudos and thanks to President Scroggins and the entire Executive Team for working with CSEA during these hectic times. The entire Mt. SAC community is experiencing a campus-wide paradigm shift and transitioning to telecommuting is but one example. This is uncharted waters for us all, so we ask you to continue to be patient and understanding as we implement this plan.
Sunday 22 March 2020 at around 1pm, CSEA 262 and the District signed the Emergency Response and Telecommuting Agreement. Here is critical information with some updates since last Monday.
Effective immediately, all full-time and part-time permanent classified professionals in Unit A are on paid status. As a condition of this, all members are also subject to the Telecommuting Agreement. Work schedules in most cases are Monday through Friday, 8am to 4:30pm if you are full-time. If you are part-time permanent, you may have a nonstandard schedule, in which case your manager should contact you with your schedule and assignment. You will not be expected to work 40 hours a week, but your day to day work hours should be arranged with your manager. Until your manager contacts you with a specific assignment, you just need to be available to work during the hours you agree to work.
If you previously signed the telecommuting agreement issued prior to today, those are null and void. The agreement reached today supersedes that agreement, including signing the form. You should receive an e-mail from your manager asking for your contact information. You should reply to that message and provide your contact information. Keep in mind you are not required to use your cell phone for work, but you will need to provide a contact number. If you only have a cell phone, then you will need to provide that number to your manager. Your response to your manager will be your acceptance of this agreement and understanding of your assignment. If you have any questions or need clarification of the assignment, you should contact your manager.
You are expected to be available for work between 8am and 4:30pm. Typically, the following are possible work arrangements:
You will be telecommuting, available from 8am to 4:30pm, and your manager will be contacting you with assignments or giving you instructions about work you are expected to perform. At any time, you also may be asked to return to campus to perform essential duties.
If your manager does not contact you with specific assignments, continue monitoring your e-mail and voicemail (suggested every 15 minutes) and stay home. You are still expected to be available to work, and you are basically “on call” to perform assignments given to you by your manager. At any time, you also may be asked to return to campus to perform essential duties.
If the District deems you an “essential worker,” you may be called upon to return to campus either full-time or part-time. Your manager will contact you with specific assignment instructions.
If at any time you are called back to campus to perform duties, our current contract language regarding call-back will apply (Article 10.10).
If you need instructions for accessing your voicemail remotely, you can find instructions on the Information Technology Telecom page by following this link. If you would like your voicemail recorded and sent to your e-mail address, you can contact the IT Help Desk via online self-service portal (https://helpdesk.mtsac.edu), via email to helpdesk@mtsac.edu, and by phone at 909.274.4357.
More information and details will be forthcoming in the next few days. Please remember that your health and safety is our number one priority. As always, your Chapter 262 leadership team appreciates your continuing support and good faith in our leadership for all that we do on your behalf.
Keep Your Home Safe from COVID-19
Telecommuting brings new challenges to the entire Mt. SAC community, including students, faculty, classified and confidential professionals, managers and administrators. We are going where no community college has gone before. Amidst all the confusion and disruption, Mt. SAC struggles to ensure the health and safety of all employees, students, and our community while also ensuring the ongoing educational mission. To meet this challenge, we are undertaking the monumental task of transforming instruction, both credit and noncredit, to an online and virtual format. One of the biggest adjustments is the paradigm shift toward telecommuting.
This transition will be challenging, including adjusting to shifting the home into a workspace. Even though we are self-isolating, we still need to go out into the community and buy groceries, gas up the car, order take-out food, or run other daily errands. We risk exposure and contamination, which we then bring home. What can we do to protect ourselves at home and reduce the risk of exposure? Before you go out and rush to buy expensive “special” cleansers or hire a cleaning company, there are some household cleaning agents probably already in you home and some cleaning techniques you can use to disinfect your home and protect your families while you telecommute.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends daily disinfection for frequently touched surfaces around the home. For example, countertops, tables, light switches, doorknobs, handles, bathroom surfaces, the toilet and flush handle, desks, phones, keyboards, faucets and sinks. All of these surfaces should be cleaned at least daily to reduce or kill off germs, bacteria, and viruses. The CDC also recommends washing these surfaces with detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection. If someone in the home is sick, the CDC recommends this routine at least once every 12 to 16 hours.
Most importantly, you need to give your disinfecting cleaning solution time to kill the bugs. After washing and then applying the clearner, do not wioe them off right away. Let the cleaning solution remain in contact with the surface long enough to kill viruses and other pathogens. Also don’t mix cleaning agents as doing that could cause dangerous gases. Never mix bleach with ammonia, for example. That is a potentially deadly combination.
Where to Get Reliable Information
Like cockroaches in the dark of night, hiding in the shadows, difficult to locate and more difficult to eliminate, scammers, fraudsters, thieves, and flim-flammers crawl out of the woodwork whenever they sense the tiniest bit of opportunity to take advantage of trusting, unsuspecting people. The current coronavirus pandemic is no different.
Many of you have probably been bombarded with spam-mail offering “cures” to the coronavirus or “tips” to protect yourself. There is one spam-mail going around that claims a “housewife” spent hours researching ways to cure or prevent the COVID-19 virus, alleging to have found a “home remedy” cure based on “all natural” ingrediants. The ads claim the “housewife” will send you her research for the “low” price of (usually) $49 as a “service” to the community, saving you $20 off the “regular” price. The “cure” is typically a concoction of overpriced, everyday vitamins that will not help one bit. This and other scams feed on fear and leave us asking, where can we get reliable information about the coronavirus?
The answer is the public health agencies. The World Health Organization (WHO) is the global expert on global epidemics, pandemics, and outbreaks of well known and newly encountered diseases, such as the novel coronavirus. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is our national source. In California, the California Department of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Public Health Department are out state and local authorities.
If you want accurate, reliable, truthful information about coronavirus, or any other health-related topic, here are links to reliable resources. The truth is out there.
If you have questions and would like to speak to a person, you can call the Los Angeles County Information line 2-1-1, which is available 24 hours a day.
CSEA Events and Trainings Postponed
In compliance with the Governor’s March 19 Executive Order requiring all Californians to stay at home, CSEA has closed its office buildings. This includes our San Jose Headquarters and all Field Offices around the state. Despite these building closures, all CSEA staff are working remotely and will continue to provide full services to our membership. At this time, current CSEA trainings and events are canceled. Updates on specific events will be provided as they become available.
Your safety is CSEA’s top priority, and we appreciate your understanding as we continue to deal with the impact of this pandemic. Please see our web page for further information regarding COVID-19.
If you have questions regarding a specific event or cancellation, please contact the coordinator for that event.
Your CSEA Chapter 262 Executive Board:
Robert Stubbe, President • Rosa Asencio, 1st Vice President • Marlene Espina, 2nd Vice President
Barbara Carrillo, Secretary • Zak Gallegos, Treasurer
Elizabeth Jauregui, Chief Union Steward • Mark Fernandez, Communications Officer
Brandon Gillett, Site Rep Coordinator • Sandra Bollier, Past President
“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