Biweekly news digest from the California State University Employees Union
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CSUEU AND CSU REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT
MEMBERS SPEAK OUT AT CSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
CSU TRUSTEES CAP NEW PRESIDENTS’ SALARIES AT $325,000
CSU BACKS OFF ON CHARGES AGAINST ASHLEY WARDLE
SLO’S WORKPLACE BULLYING EFFORTS RECOGNIZED
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CSUEU and CSU Reach Tentative Agreement
On January 13, CSUEU and CSU reached a tentative agreement, subject to ratification by each bargaining unit. The agreement is the culmination of many months of negotiations throughout much of 2011.
Key changes include:
- A contract extending from the date of ratification until June 30, 2014.
- Maintenance of health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits, including the continuation of the Rural Health Care Stipend, for the life of the agreement.
- Salary reopeners at the request of either party in 2012/13 and 2013/14. Due to deep cuts to the CSU budget, there will be no general salary increase in FY 2011/12.
- The salary reopener will include negotiations over critical problems with CSU’s salary structure and the lack of movement through the salary ranges.
- Staff parking fees are frozen through July 2012 and cannot be increased in any fiscal year during which there is no general salary increase (GSI). If and when there is a GSI, campuses cannot raise fees higher than monthly student rates, nor can they increase rates more than $3 per month once per fiscal year.
- Campuses may not decrease the number of available non-reserved parking spaces.
- Increased workload and out-of-class work are added as new criteria for granting In-Range Progressions (IRP).
- CSU will review the out-dated administrative support, administrative analyst and IT classification series.
- CSU will grant release time for employees in State Personnel Board hearings.
- Expansion of employees’ eligibility to receive sick or bereavement leave for persons living in their household.
- Expanded protections against displacement caused by contracting out. Specifically, contracting cannot cause CSUEU-employees to be reassigned to a satellite campus.
- Whenever the university cites “operational needs” to deny an employee’s request for leave, telecommuting, or an alternate work schedule, the administrator must provide a written explanation.
- Increased parental leave for parents and guardians of older children.
- New leave for serving as an election precinct officer.
- Employees who are reassigned to a position in the same classification and skill level must be paid the same salary.
- Clarifies that it is CSU policy to fill vacancies with qualified CSUEU-represented employees, except for emergency hires of less than 90 days (Article 9.3).
- CSUEU may appeal any grievances filed on or after July 1, 2011 to arbitration.
Your CSUEU bargaining team recommends ratification. Ballots to ratify the tentative contract agreement will be mailed out shortly to all CSUEU members and fee payers. Fair share fee payers are invited to sign up for membership in order to participate in the vote and make their voices heard.
In coming weeks, bargaining team members will attend meetings sponsored by the chapters to explain and answer questions about the agreement. Following is the tentative schedule of meetings that have been arranged so far (this list is subject to change, so please confirm with your chapter leadership closer to the date):
January 30-East Bay
January 30- Office of the Chancellor
February 1-San Luis Obispo
February 6-Humboldt
February 7-Sacramento
February 8-Northridge
February 8-Bakersfield
February 10-Long Beach
February 14-San Francisco
February 15-Stanislaus.
February 21-Cal Poly Pomona
February 22-Sonoma
Read details about specific articles of the tentative agreement.
CSUEU Members Speak Out at CSU Board of Trustees Meeting
CSUEU was well represented at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach Tuesday and yesterday, starting with comments by CSUEU President Pat Gantt on Tuesday morning praising all sides for arriving at the tentative agreement.
Senior Labor Relations Representative Lois Kugelmass reminded board members that contract negotiations will soon begin for Bargaining Unit 12, which represents Head Start workers administered through San Francisco State University.
Yesterday morning, VP for Member Engagement Joseph Dobzynski, Jr., pointed out inaccuracies in the board’s published summary of events at the November 16 trustees meeting. He called for any of the trustees to make a resolution to extend speaker time beyond the customary 30 minutes, but none complied. Read the full text of his comments.
Following up on a recent letter to the Board of Trustees chair concerning the inaccuracy of the published summary of events at the November 16 meeting, Gantt took the trustees to task for those errors. He expressed concern about the growing use of foundation funds for presidential compensation, noting that the lack of a cap on use of foundation funds is a red flag. He thanked the 65 rank and file members of the Statewide University Police Association (SUPA), pointing out that “they were present to protect all of us.”
Vice President for Representation Russell Kilday-Hicks called for an independent review of November 16 events and challenged trustees to take more responsibility for upholding the Master Plan for Higher Education. Read the full text of his comments.
In a strongly worded statement, Senior Labor Relations Representative Teven Laxer echoed the call for an independent review. Read the full text of his comments.
Finally, Bargaining Unit 2 Council Chair Tessy Reese made an impassioned plea for trustees to avoid silencing the voices of students, who are our future leaders.
CSU Trustees Cap New Presidents’ Salaries at $325,000
As part of its two-day meeting on Tuesday and yesterday, the CSU Board of Trustees yesterday capped salaries of newly hired campus presidents at $325,000, after an outcry over a $400,000 pay package approved for SDSU’s new president last year, when tuition simultaneously shot up 12 percent.
The new policy establishes a salary ceiling of $325,000 or raising of the salary by no more than 10 percent of the pay received by the outgoing president.
It places no restrictions, however, on supplementation of salaries with foundation funds. “Fattening salaries with foundation funds is almost the same as having no salary cap at all,” said CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “We all need to be concerned about CSU’s increasing use of foundations as a way of bypassing laws and policies that are specifically designed to set limits and create transparency.”
The board’s move came after two bills were introduced in the state Senate to limit presidents’ salaries. Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation, SB 967, to prohibit pay raises for top university administrators during bad budget years or when student fees are increased. The bill will also stipulate that incoming executives can receive only 5 percent more than their predecessors.
Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Redondo Beach) sponsored another bill, SB 959, to limit raises, give priority to local candidates and require executive pay decisions to be made in open session. He spoke at yesterday’s meeting and praised the board for its action.
SDSU President Elliot Hirshman’s raise came after a report last year by a board subcommittee showed that CSU presidents are underpaid compared with university leaders across the nation. But a state legislative analyst said the universities chosen for comparison skewed the salary average upward.
Annual compensation packages for CSU presidents range from $258,000 to $400,000, plus housing. Four presidents also earn supplements from campus foundations. Chancellor Charles Reed earns $451,500 plus housing.
CSU Backs Off on Charges Against Student Ashley Wardle
San Diego State administrators have reportedly dropped all charges against Ashley Wardle, a graduate student and UAW union member who was facing a two-year academic suspension in relation to events at the CSU Trustees’ meeting on November 16.
At that meeting, Wardle was part of a protest by CSU students at the Office of the Chancellor Office in Long Beach over tuition increases and related issues. Along with three other students, she was arrested and released the same day, and the district attorney subsequently declined to bring charges against them. Yet, on January 6, CSU executives informed Wardle that she must accept a two-year suspension or face a formal hearing that could result in a longer suspension or even expulsion.
With the involvement of legislators and CSU unions alike, a public protest ensued. As of two days ago, it was reported that Wardle and the administration are now working on an agreement that effectively backs off on various actions that had been proposed.
“Pressure from the public no doubt played a big role in this positive development,” said CSU President Pat Gantt. “Actions taken by public university authorities must not discourage student protest, particularly over important issues like public funding of the state university.”
SLO Chapter’s Workplace Bullying Efforts Recognized
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Chapter 316 has been working across the campus to shed light on workplace bullying issues. Their efforts, including a meeting with campus President Jeffrey Armstrong last September, received campus-wide recognition when they were featured in a January 11 cover story in the school paper, the Mustang Daily.
The in-depth article begins:
Sometimes it’s yelling. Other times it’s an impossible work assignment.
Instances of workplace bullying have increased in the last three years, Cal Poly Staff Union President Joan Kennedy said. Staff reported 10 instances of workplace bullying to the union in the past four months, Kennedy said.
“Here at Cal Poly, there are many staff people that are going through a hostile work environment because of bullying in the workplace,” Kennedy said. “When they come through this door they’re either already in tears, or on the verge of tears.”
The staff union raised the issue with Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong in a meeting last September. The union told Armstrong that bullying is a problem at Cal Poly and it needs to be addressed.
Read the entire article.
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See back issues of CSUEU E-News, distributed every other Thursday.
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