Executive Board Minutes
5/11/10 (unapproved minutes)
5/18/10 (approved minutes)
6/23/10 (unapproved minutes)
6/25/10 (unapproved minutes)
8/17/10 (unapproved minutes)
UNAPPROVED Minutes of the AFT2121 Executive Board Meeting of 5/11/10
ATTENDANCE: Ron Bixler, Rosemary Brinson, Allan Fisher, Gus Goldstein, Steve Goldston, Chris Hanzo, Jim McKinney, Alisa Messer, Ed Murray, Pablo Rodriguez, Rodger Scott, Kovak Williamson. Guests: Demece Garapis (Bookkeeper)
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order as a closed session at 3:05 p.m. at the AFT2121 offices.
MINUTES: Due to time constraints, approval of the minutes was postponed.
Motion: We should pursue CFT involvement in the matter of the possible misuse of funds. Seconded. Due to time constraints, we decided to postpone discussion and vote on the motion at a special meeting on May 18.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Goldston, Secretary
APPROVED Minutes of the AFT2121 Executive Board Special Meeting of 5/18/10
ATTENDANCE: Ron Bixler, Rosemary Brinson, Allan Fisher, Gus Goldstein, Steve Goldston, Chris Hanzo (Executive Director), Jim McKinney, Alisa Messer, Ed Murray, Pablo Rodriguez, Rodger Scott, Kovak Williamson.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. at the AFT2121 offices.
President Gus Goldstein was not present at the beginning of the meeting; and after she arrived Vice President Ed Murray continued to chair the meeting at Gus's request.
MINUTES: The minutes of 4/13/10 were approved with the following changes: Under “Attendance,” add Ed Murray. Under “AFT2121 Resource,” replace the first sentence with “An intranet web-based resource accessible to office staff and officers with databases on payroll information, grievances, and membership documents has been developed. It will modernize and streamline our file system and be a better tool than the previous, mainly paper-based file system.“ Under “Budget Report,” strike the figures for the estimated cost of implementing the salary steps. The minutes of 5/11/10 were approved.
Motion: We should allow for the Treasurer and the Political Director not to leave the room during discussion of the matter at hand. Yes: 4. No: 5. Motion failed.
Motion: We should employ the services of AFT2121's regular CPA Michael Killian to conduct an investigation into what has transpired. Seconded. Yes: 3 (Pablo, Rodger, Jim). No: 7 (Gus, Kovak, Allan, Rosemary, Ron, Steve, Alisa). Motion failed.
Motion: We should accept the offer of CFT's accounting and legal departments to conduct an investigation into what has transpired. Seconded. Yes: 6 (Gus, Allan, Rosemary, Ron, Steve, Alisa). No: 4 (Kovak, Pablo, Rodger, Jim). Motion passed.
Motion: We should put Pablo Rodriguez on leave of his duties as Political Director during the investigation. Seconded. Yes: 3 (Gus, Ron, Steve). No: 6 (Kovak, Pablo, Allan, Rodger, Jim, Alisa). Abstain: 1 (Rosemary). Motion failed.
Motion: We should put Kovak Williamson on leave of his duties as Treasurer during the investigation. Seconded. Yes: 0. No: 6. (Kovak, Pablo, Allan, Rodger, Jim, Alisa) Abstain: 4 (Gus, Rosemary, Ron, Steve). Motion failed. Ed requested to be put on record as being in favor of this motion although he could not vote as chair of the meeting.
OTHER BUSINESS: Gus proposed a special meeting at 2 p.m. on May 28 to take care of other business.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Goldston, Secretary
UNAPPROVED Minutes of the AFT2121 special Executive Board meeting of 6/23/10
ATTENDANCE: Ron Bixler, Rosemary Brinson, Allan Fisher, Gus Goldstein, Steve Goldston, Chris Hanzo, Jim McKinney, Alisa Messer, Rodger Scott, Diana Verdugo, Kovak Williamson. Guest: Marc Kitchel (Budget Analyst)
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:15 a.m. at the AFT2121 offices.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Alisa Messer reported that Kovak Williamson and Pablo Rodriguez cannot attend the AFT convention so we will ask the next two elected delegates if they can attend. Patty Chong-Delon will research further on retirement plans and revise her resolution passed at the May Delegate Assembly. Alisa announced that Peace and Justice Caucus will be held at the convention. We welcomed Diana Verdugo to the Executive Board. Alisa proposed changing our website from .com to .org as it is more appropriate than a .com website.
Motion: We should change our website address to aft2121.org. Seconded and passed.
Alisa met with Assemblymembers Tom Ammiano and Fiona Ma with other reps from CCSF constituencies. She also attended a SF Labor Council breakfast with Phil Ting. Unfortunately, the state legislative analyst office has put raising student fees are back on the table. The cost could go up to $40 per credit. A letter-writing campaign against students’ fees is being discussed. Another concern is SB1143, which would put forward a different way to fund credit classes according to the class census at the beginning and end of a semester. Also, we need to track completion of noncredit classes. Diana noted that it would be better to focus on individual goals rather than group goals. She reported that our student population has changed and enter with a higher educational level than previously. Rodger Scott reported that discussion is taking place regarding rewarding noncredit students for their completion of courses or levels.
LABOR COUNCIL REPORT: Allan Fisher urged us to attend a forum on progressive taxation on Monday at the SFLC.
VICE PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Gus Goldstein commended Alisa for taking over as the new President while she was out of town.
PARCEL TAX: We reviewed a document by a consulting firm hired by the District. The CCSF trustees are unsure and concerned about a parcel tax. They advocate a small amount of money for a short amount of time ($49 for four years), which would translate into close to 10 million in revenue for four years. A consulting firm was hired by the district. A proposal exists for a more progressive split-role tax, but it is believed that it contains complex wording that would confuse voters. A hotel tax has also been proposed to increase revenue. So far, the Board of Trustees has not endorsed the parcel tax. An all-education parcel tax has also been proposed, but it would mean less money for CCSF. Gus Goldstein noted that we may not be able to join in an inclusive tax proposal as we must have a “uniform tax” according to legal counsel. Furthermore, Godby Associates does not think a progressive square foot tax could win. Alisa noted that one reason the tax could fail is that no per square foot evaluation of property currently exists. Rodger Scott pointed out that we would need full support of the SF Labor Council and the participation of the District. Pablo Rodriguez recommended that we work with legislators toward progressive taxation. Gus Goldstein will bring the parcel tax issue to the Executive Board of the Labor Council. It would be difficult to get the SFLC on board with a controversial tax. Jim McKinney recommended that we look into the windfall publicized in today's paper. Leslie Smith is looking into other possibilities for obtaining revenue.
NATIONAL AFT STUDY AND EVALUATION of AFT2121: We allowed time to read the report. We discussed the recommendations in the report.
Motion: We should put the AFT Report online. Seconded and passed. We agreed that a voucher authorizing a certain check is a good idea; however, the treasurer noted this would not be practical for monthly utility bills. Using Quickbooks is a possibility, but in some instances we may need a check right away and need two people to write it. Many expense reports that had been misplaced were found. Money is not being properly tracked, double checked, and documented. We must work as a team to implement the recommendations in the report. Alisa recommended a retreat to help reach that goal by getting at the critical issues together and settling them. We agreed that the membership must have our acknowledgement of what has happened. We brainstormed issues to be tackled.
Motion: We should review and implement the internal control recommendations with further discussion on how to implement the items. Seconded and passed.
Consensus existed for putting an overview of our implementations on aft2121.org. Concern was voiced by Ron Bixler regarding the amount of release time and the need for the office of Political Director. Several members voiced the need for a Political Director.
Motion: We should suspend the office of Political Director pending further decisions regarding the value of that office. Yes: 3 (Ron, Rosemary, Steve). No: 5 (Allan, Jim, Kovak, Rodger, Pablo). Abstain: 2 (Diana, Gus). Motion fails.
NEGOTIATIONS: A Tentative Agreement has been reached. Our proposal (Plan F) for health insurance coverage was accepted by the District. We can look at non-intstructional assignments to save money. Some classes have only one student and we should look at cutting those. We may have to take a deduction of about 1.07% for one year to meet the budget during the fiscal crisis. We agreed that student services should not be cut. Diana suggested that we revisit and discuss the differences in the types of students we have to better serve their needs. For example, we have more students who have a high level of education. AFT2121's goal is to keep all faculty by improving course offerings. Counselors and instructors must work together to stay apprised of student goals. The hold-harmless agreement for health insurance for part-timers will continue through the year.
Motion: We should accept and recommend the proposed contract agreement. Yes: 9. No: 1. Motion passed.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 2:06 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Goldston, Secretary
UNAPPROVED Minutes of the AFT2121 special Executive Board meeting of 6/25/10
ATTENDANCE: Ron Bixler, Rosemary Brinson, Allan Fisher, Gus Goldstein, Steve Goldston, Chris Hanzo, Jim McKinney, Alisa Messer, Rodger Scott, Kovak Williamson
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m. at the AFT2121 offices.
MINUTES: The minutes of 5/18/10 were approved with the following change: In the first motion, “decided to remain...” should read “decided not to leave the room during the course of the discussion.”
PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Alisa Messer announced that the Majority Budget Initiative received enough signatures and will be on the November ballot. CFT and other unions will put a lot of resources into its campaign. CTA has also endorsed the initiative.
POLITICAL ACTION REPORT: Jim Araby of CFT and Pablo Rodriguez met with Alisa. Jim stressed the importance of increasing our COPE membership. We should make sure all faculty are registered to vote. We should set up meetings with the CCSF trustee candidates and the Executive Board and the general faculty. We still have faculty who are not union members. We must discuss ways to engage people in the union. We will need two people at 50% release time for organizing the political campaign and increasing COPE membership. Also, major locals are looking at ways to contribute to the campaign for the majority budget initiative.
RELEASE TIME: Ron Bixler announced that he will not need release time and will return to the classroom. Gus Goldstein volunteered to pick up grievance work. We will need another 10% for a new PT negotiator. Allan Fisher wrote a job description for Political Director and we discussed possible candidates for the post. We agreed to 60% release time, to be reviewed after the fall semester.
Motion: We should arrange with the District for 365% release time. Yes: 7. No: 1. Abstain: 1. Motion passed. This represents an 11% reduction in total release time for the next academic year.
Motion: We should create an AFT2121 family task force. Seconded and passed.
Motion: We should provide lunch at up to $1500 total for the flex-day retirement workshop. Seconded and passed.
Motion: We should require a $10 refundable fee for the flex-day retirement workshop. Yes: 3. No: 4. Abstain: 2. Motion failed.
Motion: We should open up the position of Political Director. Yes: 6 (Gus, Allan, Jim, Rosemary, Ron, Steve). No: 3 (Pablo, Kovak, Rodger). Motion passed.
Motion: We should advertise the positions of Political Director and Field Organizer (50% CFT funded released time and based on Jim Araby's description) and open up other nonelected AFT2121 positions. Seconded and passed.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 11:10 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Goldston, Secretary
UNAPPROVED Minutes of the AFT2121 Executive Board meeting of 8/17/10
ATTENDANCE: Rosemary Brinson, Allan Fisher, Gus Goldstein, Steve Goldston, Chris Hanzo, Jim McKinney, Alisa Messer, Rodger Scott, Diana Verdugo, Kovak Williamson
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 3:02 p.m. at AFT2121 offices.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Motion: We should approve the agenda. Seconded and passed. Alisa Messer reported that we have candidates for all three AFT2121 positions: Part-Time Negotiator, Political Director, and Field Organizer.
Motion: Emily Wilson should continue as Publications Director. Seconded and passed.
Alisa reported that the Board of Trustees did not go forward with the parcel tax . Next year might be more politically viable for approval of a parcel tax. The AFT2121 retirement workshop, held on flex day, was highly successful with 150 attendees. We approved $1,500 for lunch for attendees but spent only $1,200. Alisa commended Cliff Liehe. Although it was unlikely that non-faculty was in attendance, we agreed to check the attendance list against the membership list.
Informative events not only are important in providing information to faculty but also have the potential to increase membership. We need a database with members' interests, such as the current part-timer's list-serve, and need to track them to send e-mails around issues. Retirement is also an issue with a potential for mobilizing. In addition to the simple majority vote on the budget campaign, we must get on the “No on Adachi” campaign, as it could affect our health care. Resolution ACR138 would help part-timers in other locals achieve the progress that our local has achieved. Consensus existed for holding a financial training session for the Executive Board on a Tuesday afternoon.
AFT2121 RETREAT: We agreed that we need a whole day. Mission Campus is available. We will try to arrange for a Saturday before the election.
AFT CONVENTION: Ten members attended the convention in Seattle. Many, including several AFT2121 delegates, prostested having Bill Gates as the keynote speaker for his tying pay to testing and promoting charter schools. The Chicago teachers' local is challenging charter schools and tying test success to funding. There is talk of charter community colleges. Kovak Williamson noted that the education debate is going on in most states. Public money is being reneged on. We must fight back against privatization, anti-union, and anti-teacher propaganda. We need to work around privatization, and one way is to do fundraising at CCSF.
VICE PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Gus Goldstein was shocked that the parcel tax was not on the Board of Trustees' agenda despite her and others' efforts. As discussed last semester, a parcel tax connected with UESF would be to our disadvantage.
MINUTES: The minutes of 6/23/10 and 6/25/10 were approved.
AFT2121 BUDGET UPDATE: Kovak distributed and reviewed our business service account statements. We have had an account with USB for the past six years and our account balance is primarily liquid in order to pay our bills. Because our account is not risky, the financial crisis hasn't had a significant impact on it. We discussed switching the business account to the United Labor Bank, which we use for the COPE account. The ULD is closer to our philosophy and Kovak favors switching our current account. He asked that we think about a switch and make a decision at the next meeting. We should put changing banks on our agenda for our meeting with Dennis Smith. Rodger suggested that we also look into the SF credit union. The figure of a $75k budget deficit for the last fiscal year might not stand. It could be as high as $100k and as low as $50k. We might need a small dues increase in addition to a pass-through increase to offset an increase in per caps (the dues we must pay to AFT and CFT for each member). Although we have been prudent in our finances, the political fights for funding have been costly.
LABOR COUNCIL REPORT: Allan Fisher reported that the leadership is focused on the upcoming election. Oct. 2 will be an important day. A mobilization is in progress for a national jobs rally led by the NAACP, joined by labor groups, and promoted by the SEIU and AFLCIO. Oct. 7 is a student-led demonstration for jobs.
Motion: We should endorse the Oct. 2 mobilization. Seconded and passed.
Motion: We should support the Oct. 7 nationwide actions and student-led demonstrations. Seconded and passed.
AFT REPORT ON AFT2121 ACCOUNTING: A study was done by an AFT accountant on our employee expense reimbursement system. We discussed and approved the letter, with necessary revisions, presented by the President to accompany the AFT report. The report and accompanying letter will be available online.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S CONTRACT: We are behind in payments to his retirement account and must put the owed money in an escrow account. We want to make sure his salary is in parity to full-timers. We will discuss a salary cut of 1%. We must move the contract forward and will make every effort to prepare it for the September meeting.
NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE: Chris Hanzo reported that we are in discussion with the District on how to deduct the approximate 1% salary decrease in a feasible way. The giveback will appear on the paycheck stub. We must stress that this is not a permanent increase and that the 1% is not on the salary schedule. Faculty may see more deducted for the period from July 1. We agreed that the information on the decrease should be included in the phone answering system. We will have site meetings with faculty before the Sept.7-10 ratification vote week.
NEW BUSINESS: Motion: We should endorse the Nurse's Association's 90th anniversary demonstration and celebration of the 19th amendment on Aug. 26 in Sacramento. Seconded and passed.
Motion: We should allow funding for ten members to attend the 2010 California Labor Federation Campaign School at the Oakland Airport Hilton on Aug. 20 and 21. Seconded and passed.
We should also have a campaign training for our local with a facilitator from CFT.
Motion: We should endorse the Close the Loophole (closetheloophole.com) campaign and contribute $130 to the campaign fund. Seconded and passed.
The campaign is for a split property tax to compensate for the loophole left by Prop 13. We should start educating people about the tax.
Motion: We should endorse and educate people on the Campaign for New Priorities. Yes: 7. Abstain: 1. Motion passed.
The New Priorities Campaign's goal is to end wars and get senators and congressmembers to vote against war, and also to get other government officials to work against war. Participants include moveon.org, American Friends, as well as labor and religious leaders.
Motion: We should buy a table at $750 for the Sept. 3 Labor Council Breakfast. Seconded and passed.
Motion: We should contribute $150 toward the 75th anniversary fundraiser of the CCSF football team. Yes: 5. Abstain: 2. Motion passed.
COPE: We opened a COPE meeting by consensus. We must have more clarity in making COPE contributions and have further discussions on the issue of candidates speaking to the membership before asking for contributions. Kovak called for more feduciary responsibility.
Motion: We should donate $100 to Tom Ammiano's campaign for assembly in the 13th district and readdress the issue of an additional contribution at the next Delegate Assembly. Seconded and passed.
Motion: We should contribute $100 to Rafael Mandelman's campaign for supervisor of district 8. Yes: 7. Abstain: 1. Motion passed.
Consensus existed for readdressing the issue of a contribution to the CORO foundation.
We must address the issue of staff being asked to limit copies and punch in their IDs before making them at Ocean Campus. A related issue is the open access of student IDs and birthdates on CCSF's Web 4. This includes faculty who are also students.
Allan urged us to attend the Peace and Justice Committee.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Goldston, Secretary