Unit 9 News

Former MPP Charged in SFSU Bribery Case

2013-04-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

A former San Francisco State University (SFSU) manager is facing 128 felony charges in an alleged bribery scheme involving waste management contracts for the campus. Robert Shearer, who was the Director in charge of Environmental Health and Occupational Safety, was arrested April 18.

Shearer allegedly took bribes totaling over $180,000 from 2002 to 2009, in exchange for approving payments and renewing contracts.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Several companies offered to take the contracts for less money, but Shearer told his bosses that Cheung's firm was the only bidder, said District Attorney George Gascón. Cheung collected a total of $4 million from San Francisco State over the years, far more than the university should have paid, prosecutors said.

The charges against Shearer consist of:

59 felony counts of commercial bribery
59 felony counts of accepting a bribe
5 felony counts of making a contract in an official capacity by a financially interested person
5 felony counts of perjury

The perjury charges stem from repeatedly failing to report the income he received from Cheung on his annual Statement of Economic Interests filed with SFSU.

Shearer is in custody on $5,000,000 bail. The District Attorney says he faces more than 100 years in prison.

Management Personnel Plan (MPP) salary lists from 2008 and 2009 show that Shearer was making $8,063 per month ($96,756 annually).

BUC 9 Report for February 17, 2013 Meeting

2013-03-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Bargaining Unit Council 9 (BUC 9) met last month as part of the all-BUC meeting weekend in Sacramento, February 16-17. Here is the report of the Chair, Rich McGee, prepared for this weekend's Board of Directors meeting:

Bargaining Unit Council 9 Meeting
February 17th, 2012
Sacramento

On February 16, 2013, Bargaining Unit Council (BUC) 9 met with BUCs 2, 5, and 7 to begin planning for full contract bargaining, which gets underway early next year. Now is the time to start collecting ideas for our next contract. If you have a comment or suggestion for improvements, please send them to Unit 9 Chair Rich McGee.

BUC 9 met separately on February 17th. We welcomed Matt Kay, the new Bargaining Unit Representative (BUR) 9 at Sacramento State. A request for all BURs: If there is any turnover in chapter officers, please let the BU Chair and headquarters know, so we can update the appropriate contact lists.

Here's what we discussed:

SLRR Support

Teven Laxer, the Senior Labor Relations Representative (SLRR) who was assigned to Unit 9, has retired. He is now a part-time consultant to CSUEU. As a cost-saving measure, his position will remain vacant for now. This means that SLRR Lois Kugelmass has been reassigned to cover all bargaining units. If you have a problem or issue that you believe requires the services of a SLRR, please work through your local Labor Relations Representative (LRR) first, or contact Chair Rich McGee for assistance.

Job Merging

Job merging continues to increase within the CSU, as duties from different classifications get blended into that vague other duties as required portion of the position description. Continue to formally challenge these wherever you find them. Doing so helps create record of the problem even when there is no immediate change.

In-Range Progressions (IRP's)

The 2012-2014 contract includes new language allowing an employee denied an IRP for lack of funds to request that their IRP application be re-evaluated the following fiscal year. Each chapter should educate employees about this, and urge affected employees to request the re-evaluation.

Outsourcing/Contracting Out

Contracting out continues to be one of the largest issues facing Unit 9. For many new IT projects, we're discovering that outside contractors appear to be the CSU's employee of choice — even though study after study has shown that outside contractors can cost far more than performing the work in-house, and usually results in an inferior product. Please notify Chair Rich McGee whenever you become aware of outsourcing, to make sure we know about it and can bargain over it if necessary.

Data Center Initiative & Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC)

CSU's data center initiative, the move to consolidate all CSU data centers into two regional locations, may be fracturing. Unit 9 employees report that some campus administrators are saying We're not going to let our data center be closed, or We're going to become one of the regional centers when no decision has yet been made as to their locations. CSUEU has been assured by the Chancellor's Office that all current employees will be retained despite any data center re-alignment. If you hear any talk of layoffs, please immediately notify your Bargaining Unit Chair directly.

Meet and Confer Updates

There have been a number of Meet and Confer sessions on Unit 9 issues over the past several months. Among them are:

SFSU Health Center: The campus Health Center at San Francisco State is determined to pay more than $10,000 per month for Information Technology (IT) support — to a vendor who is only on-site one day a week. They claim this is cheaper than using a staff member. Yet they also are using a Unit 7 staff member to assemble computer equipment, erase confidential data, and other Unit 9 tasks which are not in that employee's classification.
CSULB Cell Phone Policy: After several months of effort, CSU Long Beach finally has an acceptable cell phone policy in place. If your campus decides to adopt any type of policy regulating the use of cell phones, whether campus-owned or employee-provided, please let the Chair know, since it may require a Meet and Confer.
Note: Whether something requires bargaining is not decided at the chapter/campus, since there may be factors which chapter officers or assigned staff not aware of. Send the information you have to your Chair, and let the bargaining team figure it out.
Data Security: Many campuses are requesting that employees sign and agree to data security policies. There is no centralized CSU data security policy, so each campus appears to be creating their own. Some, such as CSULA, are perfectly fine, and acceptable to the Union, while others appear to go far beyond the provisions of the contract, and a Meet and Confer may be necessary to discuss them.
Distance Learning and Unit 9: The Unit 9 Council has been asked by the CSU Labor Council to monitor and track the CSU's online learning programs CSU Online and CalState Online. If you know or hear of any issues with either of those two programs, please send that information to the Chair.
IT Career Growth and Training: The council had a short discussion regarding IT career paths and training. When asked who in attendance had received training within the past year, the group laughed. In past layoff negotiations, one of the CSU's favorite questions has been What has this employee done to improve their skill set? Every employee should work with their manager on a career development plan, and request whatever specialized training may be necessary. Even if the request is denied, it puts the CSU on record for having denied training. That record can be useful during bargaining.

Classification and Qualification Standards (CQS) Revisions

The final discussion item was an overview of the re-working of the CQS for certain Unit 9 classifications, as requested by the Chancellor's Office. This will be a tremendous amount of work, and is expected to involve all members of the Council, both in participating in the revision of the descriptions as well as finding members who are willing to testify about their spectific job duties and skills.

Respectfully submitted,
Rich McGee
Chair, CSUEU Bargaining Unit Council 9
csueu.unit9@gmail.com

Listen to CSU Board of Trustees Live

2012-11-14T10:02:00.001-08:00

The CSU Board of Trustees is meeting now.

You can listen to the CSU Board of Trustees meeting live via the link on their homepage:
Live CSU Board of Trustees Meeting

Yesterday Governor Brown attended the meeting.
The CSU ended yesterday's meeting early, and withdrew the proposal to increase student fees on top of current levels.

The CSU Board of Trustees agenda page has been changed to list the Joint Meeting of the Committee on Educational Policy and the Committee on Finance, which contained a proposal to further raise student fees, has recently been marked "Not meeting."
[This is a change since last week, after the required public notice.]

Attendees to yesterday's Board of Trustees meetings reported seeing outside catering food being brought in as yesterday's meeting was ending early.

Board of Trustees Meets Next Week, Nov. 13-14

2012-11-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

The CSU Board of Trustees meets next Tuesday and Wednesday, November 13 and 14, 2012. A closed session begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday for unspecified Executive Personnel Matters and collective bargaining issues. The open session begins around 10:00 a.m., starting with the Committee on Collective Bargaining. Meetings continue all day, and resume at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday, with the Plenary session estimated to begin at 10:30.

There is also a Special Committee on Pension Reform meeting listed for 11:30 a.m., after the Board of Trustees adjourns. No agenda seems to be published for it, but it is not listed as a closed meeting.

Selected Agenda Items

Salary and benefits for the incoming Chancellor, Timothy P. White:
- Salary of $421,500
- An annual salary supplement of $30,000 from the CSU Board of Governors Foundation
- A house: the official university residence for the chancellor
- Vehicle allowance of $1,000 per month
- Reimbursement for travel and relocation expenses
- Unspecified "executive classification" benefits, which at this writing are not listed with other employees' benefits
- Eligibility to hold the academic rank of full professor with tenure at CSU Long Beach.
White's official starting date will be December 31, 2012, meaning he will not be affected by the change in how pensions work beginning January 1, 2013. The Chancellor's Office is closed on December 31.
Title 5 amendment requiring managers and executives to disclose outside employment for the identification of and to preclude any conflict of commitment. This is in response to a 2007 audit of CSU compensation practices by the Bureau of State Audits (BSA). For this meeting, it is an information item, with proposed language to be voted on at the January 2013 meeting.
- That's not a typo. Next year, the CSU may do something to address a problem identified in an audit 5 years ago.
- The title of the 2007 audit was California State University: It Needs to Strengthen Its Oversight and Establish Stricter Policies for Compensating Current and Former Employees
Report on legislation of interest to the CSU. A few highlights:
- AB 1434 adds CSU employees to the list of mandated reporters of child abuse or neglect occurring on campuses.
- AB 1723 requires public meetings of the Trustees to be available by live video stream over the internet. CSU took no position on this, and it was signed into law.
- There were a number of attempts to reign in CSU's extravagant approach to executive and manager salaries. The CSU opposed all of them. None succeeded.
  - AB 1561 would have prohibited the CSU from raising administrator salaries when state funding is reduced or tuition fees increased.
  - AB 1787 would have frozen CSU salaries until June 2015 for employees making over $100,000.
  - SB 952 would have prohibited raises for CSU employees making over $200,000 from General Fund sources through June 2014.
  - SB 967 would have prohibited salary augmentation for executive officers within 2 years of a mandatory systemwide fee increase.
  - SB 1368 would have prevented unelected state employees from earning more than the governor or $174,000.
- SB 1515 would have reduced the number of governor appointees to the Board of Trustees from 16 to 14, and required that the appointments include 1 faculty, 1 represented staff, and 4 students. The CSU opposed this bill, and it failed.
CSU Seismic Safety Program's annual report. Some highlights:
- Warren Hall at CSU East Bay, described as long our most pressing seismic concern, is mostly vacated and is scheduled to be demolished in July 2013. Still in the building are the campus telephone switch in the basement, servers on the third floor, and telecom antennas on the roof, all of which sometimes require in-person staff visits.
- CLA building at Cal Poly Pomona is a priority List 1 concern, but no funds have been budgeted.
Update on current audits and follow-up on past audits including IT Disaster Recovery, ADA Compliance, and Sensitive Data Security.
Current year audits include:
- Data Center Operations (Chico, Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Long Beach, Northridge, and Pomona)
- Identity Management and Common Systems Access (Humboldt, Monterey Bay, San Diego, and San Marcos)
- Information Systems
Ratification of a new contract with Academic Professionals of California (APC). APC represents Unit 4, composed of about 3,000 academic support professionals such as Credential Analysts and Student Services Professionals. CSU and APC reached a tentative agreement in July, and APC members voted overwhelmingly to ratify the contract. Most portions of this contract maintain the status quo.
Additional fees for students doing things like earning lots of units before graduating, taking a higher course load, and repeating classes.

About Trustees Meetings

For the most part, the discussion happens in the Committee meetings, and then the full Board meets in plenary session and approves whatever is before it.

Meetings are open to the public. Anyone can attend. Anyone can address the Board of Trustees in person, or write to them. See the main agenda for specific instructions.

Minutes of the previous meeting(s) — not yet approved, sometimes containing mistakes — are in the various agendas for the current meetings.

Links

November 2012 Board of Trustees agendas
- Agenda — This is a mainly a rough schedule of sub-meetings, with action and information items listed. See the individual Committee agendas, and the separate Plenary Session agenda, for actual meeting content and drafts of the minutes from previous meetings. Page 5 of the PDF has information on addressing the Trustees.
- Committee on University and Faculty Personnel agenda [PDF] — The action item for the incoming chancellor's salary begins on page 5 of the PDF. The information item on proposed outside employment disclosure requirements for CSU executives begins on page 7 of the PDF.
- Committee on Governmental Relations agenda [PDF] — The report on legislation begins on page 9 of the PDF.
- (PDF) Committee on Campus Planning, Buildings and Grounds agenda — The Seismic Safety Program report begins on page 15 of the PDF.
- Committee on Audit agenda [PDF]
- Joint Meeting of the Committee on Educational Policy and the Committee on Finance [PDF] — The increased student fees begin on page 4 of the PDF.
Legislation
- AB 1434 — CSU employees become mandated reporters
- AB 1723 — Live streaming of public Trustees meetings
- SB 1515 — Change Board of Trustees composition (did not pass)
CSU Executive Compensation Summary [PDF] — only includes salary, housing provided or housing allowance, and supplements. Does not include other benefits such as car allowances and executive health care packages.
November 6, 2007 report from the Bureau of State Audits: California State University: It Needs to Strengthen Its Oversight and Establish Stricter Policies for Compensating Current and Former Employees
- Fact Sheet [PDF]
- Highlights
- Summary
- Full Report [PDF]
CSU-related audits from the Bureau of State Audits

Ballot Measure Results Align With CSUEU Recommendations

2012-11-07T07:11:00.000-08:00

Ballot counting continues, but with nearly all counties having reported their final election night update to California's Secretary of State, the outcome is evident for statewide ballot measures. Huzzah!

Ballot Proposition	CSUEU's Position	Election Result
30 Temporary Taxes to Fund Education	Yes	Yes
31 State Budget, State and Local Government	No	No
32 Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction	No	No
38 Tax for Education. Early Childhood Programs	No	No
39 Business Tax for Energy Funding	Yes	Yes
40 Redistricting State Senate	Yes	Yes

CSUEU recommends: Yes on 30, No on 32 and 38

2012-11-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

CSUEU has taken positions on several statewide initiatives and candidates. Here are three to remember as you vote tomorrow:

Yes on 30:: Temporary taxes to support education and safety. Helps stabilize California's budget, prevents deeper cuts to education including the CSU. If this fails, or passes with fewer votes than 38, the CSU faces $250 million in budget cuts for the 2012-13 budget year.
No on 32:: The "Special Exemptions Act" pretends to be aimed at keeping special interests out of politics, but really it's aimed at weakening union members' voices while leaving corporate political funding essentially untouched.
No on 38:: Raises taxes for most Californians to fund K-12, preschool, child care programs, and to make debt payments. Higher education and other services are left out. Trigger cuts would take effect. If this passes with more votes than 30, the CSU faces $250 million in budget cuts for the 2012-13 budget year.

Handy Voting Information

2012-11-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

A few bits of handy information for folks who didn't already vote:

Voting In Person

Check your polling location if you don't have your sample ballot handy. Polling locations change, so "I always go to X" might not cut it.

Problem? Cast A Provisional Ballot

If the poll workers can't find you on their list, you can cast a provisional ballot anyway.

If your vote-by-mail ballot never arrived, you can cast a provisional ballot at your polling place.

Your provisional ballot will be counted after local elections officials verifies your registration and that you didn't already vote.

Did the Machine Record Your Vote Accurately? Check It.

Voting machines are required to display your ballot choices on a printed paper record, before you finalize your ballot. Check that carefully.

You can review your county's voting machine instructions online before you go to the polls, so that you aren't trying to learn unfamiliar machinery while voting.

Voter ID: Not Required, Rarely Requested

Most people won't be asked to show identification at the polls.

You may be asked for identification if you are voting for the first time after registering by mail and did not provide your driver license number, California identification number or the last four digits of your social security number on your registration form.

You have the right to cast a provisional ballot even if you don't have your identification.

Time Off to Vote

The good news: If you can't vote otherwise, the contract provides for up to 2 hours paid time to vote.
The bad news: You needed to request that 2 working days in advance. But if you're stuck and won't be able to vote if you work your regular hours, it can't hurt to ask your manager anyway.

15.22 An employee who would otherwise be unable to vote outside of his/her regular working hours may be granted up to two (2) hours of work time without loss of pay to vote at a general, direct primary, special, or presidential primary election.
An employee shall be required to request such leave time in writing from the appropriate administrator at least two (2) working days prior to the election.

Voting By Mail

It's a bit late to count on the mail, so turn in your vote-by-mail ballot directly to elections officials:

Today, you can return it in person to your county elections office.
On Election Day you can take the sealed envelope to any polling place in your county (it doesn't have to be your own precinct), or to your county elections office, between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

If you can't return it yourself, the California Secretary of State's office says:

If, because of illness or physical disability, you are unable to return the ballot yourself, you may designate a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or a person residing in the same household to return the ballot to the elections official or the precinct board at any polling place within the jurisdiction.

If you requested a vote-by-mail ballot, and haven't returned it for any reason (never got it, lost track of it, the dog chewed it up), you can cast a provisional ballot at your local polling place.

Links

Voting

Election Information (California Secretary of State)
- California Voter Bill of Rights [PDF]
- Find your polling place
- Frequently Asked Questions — Elections and Voter Information
- County Elections Offices
- Check your ballot status — Check on your vote-by-mail ballot (did it get there?) or your provisional ballot (was it counted?)
- New Voter Guide — for people new to voting in California
- Vote by mail information
- Voting Assistance Hotlines
- 2012 General Election Voter Information Guide — This is the statewide information and will not include local candidates and measures
Time off to vote
- Contract Article 15: Leaves of Absence With Pay [Web page] (CSUEU)
- Contract Article 15: Leaves of Absence With Pay [PDF] (CSU)

Issues

Ballot Measures Information (California Secretary of State)
Propositions 30 and 38 — clashing visions for state funding and priorities
- Comparison of Propositions 30 and 38 [PDF] (California Budget Project)
- Proposition 30: Governor Brown's Revenues Initiative (CSUEU)
Proposition 32 (a.k.a. "The Special Exemptions Act") — targets unions
- No on 32 — The California Teachers Association's informative web site about Proposition 32
- No on 32: Stop Special Exemptions
CSUEU 2012 Elections page
- CSUEU Ballot Initiative Recommendations
Video
- Proposition 30 Would Stabilize the State Budget While Boosting School Funding (California Budget Project)
- Alisandra Brewer addresses a Get Out the Vote rally at Sonoma State University — Focus on Propositions 30, 32, and 38
- CSUEU's YouTube channel

Agenda for Unit 9 BUC, October 7th 2012

2012-09-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Unit 9 BUC Agenda
October 7, 2012

Welcome

1. Introductions - Everyone

2. Chair’s remarks – Rich McGee

3. Vice-Chair’s remarks – Susan Smith

4. Staff assigned/ Officer assigned remarks – Teven Laxer and CSUEU Executive Officer

5. Overview and purpose of the Unit 9 Council – Rich McGee

Topics for Discussion

6. What is a meet and confer, and when are they necessary?

7. The CSU Data Center Initiative

8. E-Mail and network monitoring

9. Outsourcing

10. Consolidated HR – What do we know?

11. Cell Phones

12. Uniforms for IT

13. Managers and student assistants performing our work

14. Classification and CQS Issues

15. Proposition 30 and Layoff Discussion

16. New Business – Group

Adjourn

AB-340 Signed into Law

2012-09-12T15:18:00.001-07:00

Governor Jerry Brown has signed AB-340, also known as the Public Employee Pension Reform act of 2012. What follows is a summary of how this law will affect current and future CSU employees.

TO: All CSU Employees

FROM: Gail Brooks, Vice Chancellor, Human Resources

RE: Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2012

The Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2012 was signed by the governor today and will become law on January 1, 2013. As you can imagine, there are many complexities to this legislation and we are diligently working with CalPERS on the interpretation of the bill (AB 340) as it pertains to CSU employees. We understand there are many questions regarding the impact of this bill and will provide you with information as quickly as possible. Listed below are some highlights of AB 340.

Impact to existing and new (hired on or after 1-1-13) employees:

· Airtime - prohibits purchases of nonqualified service; however, applications received by CalPERS prior to 1-1-13 would still be eligible.
· Post-retirement employment- requires a 180-day “sit-out” period before a retiree could return to work unless the appointment is:

o Necessary to fill a critically needed position and has been approved by a governing body in a public meeting

o Retiree is eligible to participate in the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP)

· Forfeit pension benefits--felony conviction committed within the scope of official duties
· Retroactive pension increases--prohibit retroactive pension benefit changes that apply to service performed prior to the enhancement

Impact to employees newly hired on or after 1-1-13:

· Retirement contribution–employee will be responsible for contributing 50% of the pension contribution rate calculated by CalPERS that is used to fund the employee’s retirement benefit. The employer will pay the remaining 50%.

· New cap on compensation that can be applied to benefit formula--limits amount of compensation used to calculate the retirement benefit equal to the Social Security wage index limit ($110, 000 for 2012). This amount is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Defined Benefit Retirement Formulas

Retirement Plans	Hired prior to 1-15-11	Hired on or after 1-15-11	Hired on or after 1-1-13
State Misc. Tier 1 (all eligible employees except public safety)	2% at 55 (one year highest compensation)	2% at 60 (36 month average compensation)	2% at 62 (consecutive 36 month subject to cap)
Public Safety
Retirement Plans	Hired prior to 1-15-11	Hired on or after 1-15-11	Hired on or after 1-1-13
PO/FF (MPP Public Safety)	3% at 50 (one year highest compensation)	2.5% at 55 (36 month average compensation)	2.5% at 57 (consecutive 36 month subject to cap)
State Safety (limited to Intermittent Peace Officer)	2.5% at 55 (one year of highest compensation	2% at 55 (36 month average compensation	2% at 57 (consecutive 36 month subject to cap)
	Hired prior to 7-1-11	Hired on or after 7-1-11	Hired on or after 1-1-13
PO/FF (Unit 8)	3% @ 50 (one year highest compensation)	2.5% at 55 (36 month average compensation)	2.5% at 57 (consecutive 36 month subject to cap)

Please note: Employees who became members of CalPERS on or after July 1, 1996 are subject to the IRC 401(a)(17) limit, which restricts the amount of compensation that can be used to calculate the CalPERS retirement benefit. For 2012, the limit is $250,000.

There is other language in the bill that may impact the CSU. We are working to identify those provisions and will provide you with periodic updates. In addition, we will be establishing a Pension Reform FAQ that will be available soon. In the meantime, you can forward your questions to BenefitsInsider@calstate.edu.

You can track the Pension Reform Plan on the governor’s website or on the CalPERS website.

CFA and CSU Reach Agreement

2012-07-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

The California Faculty Association (CFA), which represents CSU Bargaining Unit 3, described as instructional faculty, coaches, librarians, and counselors in the CSU, has announced a contract agreement with the CSU.

If ratified by both CFA members and the CSU Board of Trustees, the contract will be in effect through June 30, 2014.

Live Streaming Now: San Bernardino Budget Meeting

2012-07-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

CSU San Bernardino is about to start its live WebCast of its University Budget Advisory Council:
http://acm.csusb.edu/videoproduction/livevideo_special.html

Outgoing CSUSB President Albert K. Karnig is expected to head this last budget discussion before retiring and being replaced by someone the CSU Board of Trustees evidently decided was 10% more valuable.

Trustees Meeting News Coverage Roundup

2012-07-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's decision by the CSU Board of Trustees to raise campus presidents' pay — while simultaneously contemplating tuition increases, enrollment cuts, staff and faculty pay cuts, and layoffs — garnered plenty of media attention. Here's a roundup of some of the coverage we found.

A Few Excerpts

(Read these if you've time for nothing else.)

From KQED:

Pushing against the limits they set a few months ago, California State University trustees have given the maximum allowable salaries to two new campus presidents, and nearly the maximum for one more.
Big salaries offered to presidents have drawn criticism at a time when the university system has cut back on course offerings and hiked tuition. So in May, the trustees approved a policy limiting the salaries of new presidents to 10 percent more than their predecessors' salaries. The extra 10 percent has to come from private foundations.
On Tuesday, the trustees immediately zoomed to that maximum.

From LA Weekly:

…And that's just base pay. To get a better idea of their total salary package, all benefits included, consider this: IRS records showed that the CSU Los Angeles president, who had a university-reported salary of $325,000 last year, actually made $515,612.

From the Associated Press via the Monterey County Herald:

[Assistant Vice Chancellor Robert] Turnage outlined a series of options to close the deficits, including tuition increases, layoffs, enrollment cuts and employee pay reductions.

The President of CSUEU's Fresno Chapter captured a key problem with the Trustees' actions for KGPE, CBS 47 Fresno:

Nancy Kobata, president of the staff union at Fresno State said, "Staff have been cut, we've had layoffs, we've had two rounds of layoffs here in Fresno and we're down to the bone."
Kobata says the raises send mixed messages to voters who will vote in November on a proposed tax hike critical to Governor Brown's plan for state funding. "It really sends the wrong message to the public in general that we have all this extra money lying around that we can pay these people these kinds of salaries," said Kobata.

From the San Jose Mercury News, quoting one of yesterday's most devastating student speakers:

"I held onto that dream that college would get me out of poverty," said Cal State Northridge student Raiza Arias, who said she picks grapes to afford school. "It's a false dream you're giving us. I'm essentially homeless, living out of a sleeping bag."

From the Los Angeles Times:

…Nakia Brazier, who will be a graduate student in sociology at Cal State Los Angeles in the fall, wasn't swayed and called on the presidents to reject the extra compensation.
"If you believe in the promise of public higher education, do not take the pay raises," she said, as several campus presidents and trustees looked on.

Links mentioned above:

Cal State Sets High Salaries for New Presidents (KQUED)
Awkward: CSU Presidents Receive Pay Raises at Apocalyptic Meeting on Budget Cuts (LA Weekly)
- Cited: Mystery math: How much do CSU bigwigs make?
Cal State mulls fiscal woes, but OKs president pay hikes (Associated Press via Monterey County Herald)
Heated reaction to news of CSU raises (KGPE, CBS 47 Fresno)
California State University budget looks grim (San Jose Mercury News)
Cal State students, faculty decry pay hikes for campus presidents (Los Angeles Times)

Even more links:

While potential budget cuts loom CSU board OKs presidents' raises (Whittier Daily News)
CSU presidents get pay raises (San Francisco Chronicle)
Some CSU Presidents to Get Higher Salaries (Cerritos-Artesia Patch)
CSU weighs 5 percent tuition increase (Orange County Register)
Cal State trustees OK 10% pay hikes for 2 leaders (Modesto Bee)
CSU trustees boost new presidents' pay (Oroville Mercury-Register)
Chico State University President Zingg backs executive-pay policy (Chico Enterprise-Record)
CSU trustees approve executive pay raises (The Bay Citizen)
CSU must choose tuition hike or enrollment cut (Associated Press via CBS News)
New Cal State San Bernardino president could make 10 percent more than Al Karnig (San Bernardino Sun)
Cal State trustees OK pay hikes for 2 leaders (Associated Press via KTVN, CBS 2, Reno)
CSU looks to limit enrollment or increase cost to bridge potential budget gaps (San Francisco Examiner)
California State University Considers Budget Alternatives (CSU press release)

Accounting Classifications Bargaining Today and Tomorrow

2012-07-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today and tomorrow, CSUEU is at the Chancellor's Office to continue bargaining over much-needed updates to the accounting classifications. Accounting classifications occur in both Units 7 and 9: the Accountant series is in Unit 9, and the Accounting Technician series and Accounting Clerk classifications are in Unit 7.

Yesterday John Orr, Chair of Bargaining Unit 7, addressed the Board of Trustees regarding the impact of the outdated Accounting Clerk classification. As he described it:

It's a classification that exists from the time we used cash registers, and that financial transactions were done on paper. Today that's not the way things are done.

He pointed out there are only 14 Accounting Clerks in the entire CSU system, clustered at just 6 campuses plus the Chancellor's Office. As he put it:

The reason they only exist on those campuses is not because the other campuses don't have that work. It's that at the other campuses, that work's being done by Account Tech I, which is a higher classification.

Addressing the presidents of those 6 campuses directly, he implored them to talk to their HR departments and reclassify the few staff still in Accounting Clerk positions so as to eliminate the classification.

Trustees Raise President Pay While Contemplating Employee Pay Cuts, Layoffs

2012-07-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

The CSU Board of Trustees met yesterday, approving more pay raises for campus presidents while contemplating tuition increases, employee pay cuts, and eliminating more staff and faculty.

Presidential Pay Increases

Trustees approved higher pay for three campus presidents. In addition to high base salaries and various augementations, campus presidents all receive either free housing or $50,000-60,000 annual housing supplements, $12,000 annual car allowances, and "executive" health care.

In an interview with CBS 5 (San Francisco), San Francisco State University Vice President Robert Nava called the incoming campus president's $26,251 augmentation (to a $298,749 base salary) a very small amount.

Speakers addressing the Board repeatedly urged them to stop raising already-high executive salaries, stating this gives the impression the CSU must have plenty of money and undermines the governor's November ballot initiative.

CSU Finances

After praising and approving the latest round of presidential pay raises, Trustees heard a presentation about various budget scenarios and options for handling them, including tuition increases, layoffs, enrollment cuts and employee pay reductions.

CSUEU Unit 9 Chair Rich McGee addressed the Board, relating the very real harm to employees from past pay cuts during furloughs. He described getting phone calls asking Rich, what do I do when I can't afford to pay my bills this month? (This is the context of the partial quote in the San Francisco Chronicle article.)

Two CSUEU speakers addressing the Trustees were shown in ABC7's evening news video, CSU board approves pay hikes despite protest. Rich McGee appears at 2:15 in the clip, describing the hardships faced by employees under previous pay cuts, including some who lost their homes. Mike Chavez, Chair of Bargaining Unit 5, also appears at 0:43, pointing out "We're all taking a hit."

Faculty Protest

Faculty protested outside the meeting, and urged transparency and prioritization of education during the public comment period.

Endorsement of Governor's Funding Initiative

The Board voted to support Governor Brown's Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012, which will appear on the November ballot. The failure of this initiative would trigger another $250 million cut to the CSU.

Some speakers addressing the board asked what specifically the CSU would do to support the initiative and get the word out about its importance, expressing their readiness to pound the pavement and work with the CSU to get the initiative passed. Their query was not answered.

Plenary Session Outtakes

Chancellor Reed, stating This is maybe dangerous but I want to do this, called critics of extravagent executive pay totally wrong and again mentioned that presidents raise money as part of the job.

Board of Trustees Chair Linscheid took time out to share a sports report about CSU Chico. As CSUEU Vice President for Representation Alisandra Brewer put it, Rome burns but at least his team won.

Linscheid also introduced and welcomed the two new Trustees attending their first meeting. Lupe Garcia stated she was taking everything in and looked forward to serving. Hugo Morales taught in the 70's in La Raza Studies at CSU Fresno and cited his history of working with campus president Welty.

Trustees Plenary Session Starts Early at 3

2012-07-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

The Plenary session of today's Board of Trustees meeting was set to begin at 4:00 p.m., according to the published agenda. The Board has concluded its various committee meetings and will begin the Plenary session early at 3:00 p.m.

Listen to the live audio here:
http://www.calstate.edu/bot/opensessions/captioning.shtml

Listen to the Board of Trustees Now

2012-07-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

As a reminder, the CSU Board of Trustees is meeting today. The meeting continues, and you can listen to live audio here:
http://www.calstate.edu/bot/opensessions/captioning.shtml

The current emphasis is on the fiscal situation and related continency planning. This is worth listening to, and the relevant documents are worth reviewing.

CSEA Member Benefits Meeting Agenda

2012-07-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

The CSEA Member Benefits Committee meets today. Here is the agenda:

Second 2012 Member Benfits Committee Meeting

Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza
300 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 446-0100

July 7, 2012

[Hotel room and parking rates, and airport shuttle information deleted for this post]

Call to Order at 9 a.m. by Chair Rosmaire M. Duffy.
Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call:
- Rosmaire M. Duffy, Chair, Chapter 503
- Caryl Cole, Chapter 12
- Marie K. Harder, DLC 762
- Richard McGee, Chapter 320
- Peggy O'Neil-Rosales, Chapter 315
- Pamela Robison, Chapter 503
- Barbara A. Wilson, Chapter 2
- Officer Assigned: Donna Snodgrass
- Staff Assigned: Kay Thomas, Director of Member Benefits
  Lisa Fong, Program Specialist
Introductions
Approval of First 2012 Member Benefits Committee Meeting Minutes
Remarks of Chair
Remarks of Officer Assigned
Remarks of Staff Assigned
Annual Review of CSEA Sponsored or Endorsed Insurance Plans:
1. Group Term Life Insurance Plan — Anthem Life Insurance Company
2. Group Ordinary Life Insurance Plan — Anthem Life Insurance Company
3. Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance Plan — New York Life Insurance Company
4. Disability Income Insurance Plans (Short Term and Long Term) — New York Life Insurance Company
5. Cancer Insurance Plans — Monumental Life Insurance Company
6. Family Life Insurance Plan — American United Life Insurance Company
7. Legal Plan — Legal Club of America
8. Auto and Homeowners Insurance Pland — Unitrin Direct preferred insurance
9. Emergency Assistance Plus Plan (EA+) — OnCall International
10. 24PetWatch Pet Insurance Plan — Pethealth Incorporated
11. Comprehensive Accident Plan (CAP) — Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company
12. Travel Accident Insurance Plan — New York Like Insurance Company
  [Editor's note: we suspect this is really New York Life Insurance Company, but "Like" is what our copy said.]

Old Business:
1. Affirmation of the Auto Insurance Plan — Request for Proposal (RFP)
2. Final Expense Life Insurance Plan (Burial Insurance)

New Business:
1. Hearing Aid Benefit

Information Items:
1. Discount Programs and Travel Programs
2. Direct Ticket Sales
3. Purchasing Power Report
4. Marketing and Electronic Communications Annual Report

Unscheduled Items
Adjournment

Notes

CSUEU members are eligible for CSEA Member Benefits, because CSUEU is an affiliate of CSEA. Member Benefits is funded by the programs offered, not member dues. Rich McGee (Chapter 320, San Bernardino) and Peggy O'Neil-Rosales (Chapter 315, Long Beach) serve as CSUEU's representatives on the CSEA Member Benefits Committee.

Parking

There is a city parking garage next to the hotel (this is what the hotel uses for "self park"). The easiest way is to pull into the hotel parking lot from 3rd Street, then turn right across a tiny bridge to the city garage (the Downtown Plaza West Garage).
Parking rates:

$1.25 each half hour for first two hours
$1.50 each additional half hour
$15.00 daily maximum charge

BUC 9 Election Results

2012-07-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

A new Bargaining Unit Council (BUC) 9 was elected this afternoon:

Position	Elected	Campus
Chair	Rich McGee	San Bernardino
Vice Chair	Susan Smith	Fullerton
At-large member	Matthew Black	Long Beach
At-large member	Ken Jones	Fresno
At-large member	Gus Leonard	Monterey Bay
At-large member	Ricardo Uc	San Luis Obispo
At-large member	Christina Valero	San Francisco
At-large member	Rocky Waters	Humboldt

Welcome to all the new BUC 9 members!

Note: this does point to at least one error in the list of chapter Bargaining Unit Representatives (BURs) posted to Unit 9 News on June 27. That list was received from the CSUEU officer in charge of the elections, and posted as received. We will check, and post an updated list later this week.

Statewide Officer Election Results (Unofficial)

2012-07-01T10:39:00.001-07:00

Here are the unofficial election results from this morning's elections for statewide officers:

Office	Winning candidate
President	Pat Gantt
Vice President for Organizing	Michael Geck
Vice President for Finance	Loretta Seva'aetasi
Vice President for Representation	Alisandra Brewer

A one-hour protest period is in effect. If there are no protests during that time, the election results will become final.

Bargaining Unit Council (BUC) elections then begin.

Update

The protest period has ended, and there were no protests filed.

BUC elections are now scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

New Unit 9 Campus Reps

2012-06-27T13:11:00.001-07:00

The following list are the official results for the Bargaining Unit 9 representative at each chapter. From this list, a Chair and Vice-Chair will be elected, followed by six at-large representatives. Together, these eight positions will be CSUEU's Bargaining Unit 9 Council for the next three years.

Chapter 301 - Humboldt - Rocky Waters

Chapter 302 - Chico - Scott Dickerson

Chapter 303 - Sacramento - Tamara Dunn

Chapter 304 - Sonoma - Alisandra Brewer

Chapter 305 - San Francisco - Christina Valero

Chapter 306 - East Bay - Peter Greeff

Chapter 307 - San Jose - Dennis Fox

Chapter 308 - Stanislaus - Rita Long Glynn

Chapter 309 - Fresno - Ken Jones

Chapter 310 - Bakersfield - [Vacant]

Chapter 311 - Los Angeles - Teresa Metcalf-Yzaguirree

Chapter 312 - Northridge - [In Progress]

Chapter 313 - Chancellor Office - Julie Alonso

Chapter 314 - Dominguez Hills - Tracey Haney

Chatper 315 - Long Beach - Matthew Black

Chapter 316 - San Luis Obispo - Ricardo Uc

Chapter 317 - Fullerton - Clara Bowman

Chapter 318 - San Diego - Carol Redding

Chapter 319 - Pomona - [Vacant]

Chapter 320 - San Bernardino - Rich McGee

Chapter 321 - San Marcos - Steven Weiner

Chapter 322 - Monterey Bay - Gus Leonard

Chapter 323 - Maritime Academy - Randy Thomas

Chapter 324 - Channel Islands - Michelle Willinsky

July 2012 Agenda

2012-06-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Unit 9 Bargaining Council Agenda

Burlingame - SFO

July, 2012

Introduction of attendees - Group

Chair’s Remarks – Rich McGee

Vice-Chair’s Remarks – Alisandra Brewer

Update on Meet and Confer sessions over changes to CSU and campus policies – Rich McGee

Bargaining Update – Alisandra Brewer and Teven Laxer

MPP’s performing our work – Alisandra Brewer

Synergy, CENIC and Cloud Computing – Rich and Alisandra

Brief discussion of state budget crisis (10 minutes, maximum) – Group

What does running for a BU 9 council member really mean? – Alisandra

Quick overview and questions regarding tomorrow’s election process – Rich McGee

Questions/Open Forum – As time permits - Group

Chancellor Reed Announces Retirement

2012-05-24T12:38:00.002-07:00

May 24, 2012

TO: CSU Employees

FROM: Chancellor Charles B. Reed

RE: A Personal Message

Today I am writing to let you know that I have announced my retirement as chancellor of the California State University system. I gave this news to the CSU’s Board of Trustees and to our campus presidents this morning.

From the very beginning, I was drawn to the California State University system because of my great respect and admiration for its mission. Fourteen years later, I am proud to have served at this great institution through such a dynamic period in its history. The CSU has emerged as a national leader in providing access and support to students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds. Our campuses have continued to flourish even in the face of budgetary challenges and tremendous growth. Throughout my time here, the CSU has grown by more than 100,000 students, and I have been honored to sign more than a million diplomas.

Out of all of the many experiences I have had, what I have enjoyed the most about my time in California is working with so many bright and talented individuals. Some of my favorite moments as chancellor were those I spent learning about the leading-edge research and teaching innovations of our faculty members; the incredible dedication of our staff; and the against-all-odds success stories of our students. I have also had the honor of collaborating with many alumni, community, and business groups across California who have contributed to our universities’ success. Many of you have become close personal friends, and I treasure those connections and relationships.

Combined with the time I spent as chancellor at the State University System of Florida, I have served as chancellor for more than 27 years. I am now looking forward to retirement as a chance to spend more time with my wife, children, and five grandsons; and to pursue more of the higher education related projects that are my passion.

I have told the board that I will stay on until a replacement is named. In the meantime, I want you to know how grateful I am for all that you do for the CSU and for its students. It has truly been an honor to work alongside you in serving California and its students through this magnificent university system.

The Return of CTO

2012-04-05T14:57:00.002-07:00

Now that the CSUEU contract has been ratified, non-exempt employees in Bargaining Units 2, 5, 7 and 9 can once again bank their CTO.

The Chancellor's Office message states: Compensatory Time Off can now be put on the books effective 03/20/12. Any overtime earned prior to 03/20/12 must still be paid in cash to the affected employees.

Contract Ratified!

2012-03-26T10:04:00.002-07:00

With very little discussion, the CSU's Board of Trustees voted to ratify the CSU/CSUSU contract, thus ending almost two years of negotiations between both sides.

This means that the new contract, which expires on June 30th, 2013, is now in full effect. Grievances have been made retroactive to June 30th, 2011, which means that cases filed since that contract expired can go on to arbitration.

Per the CSUEU Policy File, all stewards will be required to be trained and re-certified about the terms and conditions of the new contract. Expect an announcement about that training, which is still being developed, to be announced within the next several months.

Contract Ratified by Membership

2012-03-19T15:12:00.001-07:00

CSU Employees Union members have overwhelmingly voted in favor of the tentative agreement for a new contract with the CSU.

The CSU votes on the agreement at its next Board of Trustees meeting this Tuesday, March 20. The agreement does not go into effect until after the trustees ratify it.

The three-year contract is retroactive to July, 2011, and extends through June, 2014. Ratification ballots were sent to all members in late February and were due to CSUEU’s Sacramento headquarters last week. Ballots were counted last Friday.

“The bargaining team worked hard to reach this agreement with the CSU,” said CSUEU VP for Representation Russell Kilday-Hicks. “They couldn’t have done it without the support of members. Now we need to continue pushing for further improvements in reopeners and indeed during the life of the contract.”

Source: CSUEU.ORG

Unit 9 News

Former MPP Charged in SFSU Bribery Case

Links

BUC 9 Report for February 17, 2013 Meeting

Bargaining Unit Council 9 MeetingFebruary 17th, 2012Sacramento

SLRR Support

Job Merging

In-Range Progressions (IRP's)

Outsourcing/Contracting Out

Data Center Initiative & Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC)

Meet and Confer Updates

Classification and Qualification Standards (CQS) Revisions

Listen to CSU Board of Trustees Live

Links

Board of Trustees Meets Next Week, Nov. 13-14

Selected Agenda Items

About Trustees Meetings

Links

Ballot Measure Results Align With CSUEU Recommendations

Links

CSUEU recommends: Yes on 30, No on 32 and 38

Links

Handy Voting Information

Voting In Person

Problem? Cast A Provisional Ballot

Did the Machine Record Your Vote Accurately? Check It.

Voter ID: Not Required, Rarely Requested

Time Off to Vote

Voting By Mail

Links

Voting

Issues

Agenda for Unit 9 BUC, October 7th 2012

AB-340 Signed into Law

CFA and CSU Reach Agreement

Links

Live Streaming Now: San Bernardino Budget Meeting

Links

Trustees Meeting News Coverage Roundup

A Few Excerpts

Links mentioned above:

Even more links:

Accounting Classifications Bargaining Today and Tomorrow

Links

Trustees Raise President Pay While Contemplating Employee Pay Cuts, Layoffs

Presidential Pay Increases

CSU Finances

Faculty Protest

Endorsement of Governor's Funding Initiative

Plenary Session Outtakes

Links:

Trustees Plenary Session Starts Early at 3

Links:

Listen to the Board of Trustees Now

Links:

CSEA Member Benefits Meeting Agenda

Second 2012 Member Benfits Committee Meeting

Notes

Parking

Links

BUC 9 Election Results

Statewide Officer Election Results (Unofficial)

Update

New Unit 9 Campus Reps

July 2012 Agenda

Chancellor Reed Announces Retirement

The Return of CTO

Contract Ratified!

Contract Ratified by Membership

Bargaining Unit Council 9 Meeting
February 17th, 2012
Sacramento