September 24, 2014 Meeting

Agenda

Taft College Faculty Association Agenda

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

 

  1. Welcome and Lunch

 

  1. Approval of Minutes from August meeting

 

  1. Treasurer’s Report
    1. Cash balance
    2. Conference expenditures

 

  1. TCFCBC Update
    1. Sabbaticals
    2. Voluntary Severance Package
    3. Early Notification (retirement) Incentive
    4. GED Stipend
    5. Division Chair Compensation
    6. Retiree Health Benefits for new employees

 

  1. CalSTRS Rate Increases (handout)

 

  1. Other

 

  1. Next Meeting: Wednesday, October 22, 2014, 12:10pm, Location: Cougar Room (Lunch will be provided) (Every 4th Wednesday)

Minutes

Call to Order

President Diane Jones called the meeting to order at 12:11 p.m..

 

Approval of Minutes

Michelle Oja made a motion to approve the minutes with two emendations; Mike Mayfield seconded the motion.

 

Treasurer’s Report

Cash Balance

Treasurer Ruby Payne reported a balance of $8,301.37 before lunch.

CCA Conference (Conference Expenditure)

President Diane Jones provided an update on Ruby Payne’s conference reimbursement: Ruby has received reimbursement from CTA and is awaiting reimbursement from CCA.

 

Taft College Faculty Collective Bargaining Committee (TCFCBC) Update

  1. Sabbatical:

President Diane Jones summarized Dr. Maloney’s email, in which Dr. Maloney cited the budget for not being strong enough to offer sabbaticals for the following academic year. President Diane Jones further clarified that a sabbatical needs to be perceived as mutually beneficial to increase the likelihood of it being offered.

  1. Voluntary Severance Package (VSP):

President Diane Jones reported the TCFCBC reached consensus on not offering the Voluntary Severance Package this academic year since the District cited the relatively strong budget obviated the need to incentivize retirement. Additionally, she mentioned that the Administration expressed an interest in retaining experienced full-time faculty as another reason for not offering VSP; however, she explained that while it was not passed, VSP will remain on the agenda as an annual bargaining item.

  1. Early Notification (Retirement) Incentive:

President Diane Jones reported on Early Notification, a new item linked to VSP, which incentivizes potential retirees with compensation, provided they notify the District early in fall semester about their plans to retire. TCFCBC reached consensus not to offer an early notification incentive for this academic year.

  1. GED Stipend:

President Diane Jones summarized that TCFCBC reached consensus on not offering the stipend after a discussion clarified that the original stipend, which had been paid to a faculty member who has since retired, was originally under instruction, not testing, a separation that must be maintained as per program guidelines. She also reported that while the stipend did not pass, the discussion revealed the need to define other faculty stipends and extra projects along with clarifying the position and associated duties to maintain consistency and equity.

  1. Division Chair Compensation:

President Diane Jones reported that Mark plans to meet with the division chairs and the subcommittee to discuss compensation and duties so that Mark can collect the data for TCFCFC.

 

 

  1. Retiree Health Benefits:

President Diane Jones discussed Dr. Maloney’s interest in exploring Retiree Health Benefits for new employees on the October agenda and mentioned that this interest stemmed from a desire to reduce retirement liability and health benefits.

 

CALSTRS Rate Increases

President Diane Jones clarified that Brock’s concern over the possibility of reduced revenue, which he intimated could negatively impact raises, could be premature since the rate increase positively impacts faculty retirement with the District and employees contributing to the fund.

 

Other

  1. Personal Necessity Leave (PNL):

President Diane Jones explained that as per the contract, each faculty member is given one free day of Personal Necessity Leave (PNL) per academic year. No justification is required to use it. However, this free PNL day cannot be divided into hourly segments, nor can it be accumulated—if one does not use it, one loses it, so if one plans to be absent for a full day, a person should indicate “one free PNL as per contract” on the absence report.

Agenda Items in the TCFCBC Queue:

  • Compensation for Club Advisors
  • Non-credit Loads
  • Division Chair Compensation
  • Retiree Health Benefits
  1. “Acceptable Use” Contract:

A discussion ensued over Dr. Maloney’s interest in implementing a new policy that would require faculty to sign an “acceptable use” contract for equipment and whether the contract language protected faculty from termination. President Diane Jones reported that the CTA Representative whom she consulted explained that no negative precedent has been established in terminating a faculty member’s employment.

  1. New IT Changes (Archiving Emails):

Some expressed concern over the recent Outlook changes, chiefly the fourteen-day archive. It was suggested that IT committee members should represent faculty frustration and confusion over accessing archived items and ask if the archive timeline could be changed to one month.

 

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 12:44 p.m..

 

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