June 2007
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MINUTES OF THE YC-AFT LOCAL 4952 EXECUTIVE BOARD,
June 9, 2007
I. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting of the executive board of Yuba College-American Federation of Teachers, Local 4952 was called to order by President Doug Harris at 12:02 pm in Yuba City, CA. Also present were Lynda Peters, Dwayne Peters, Jay Batchelder, Heidi Walker, Dan Salamone, Dave Althausen, Jim Kitchens, and CFT rep. Jeff Freitas.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Minutes of the YCAFT meeting held April 28, 2007 were approved by unanimous vote.
III. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Dan presented the following items:
A. State AB 1343 (Mendoza—the FACE initiative) has been placed in the suspense file until 2008, because it is too costly for the state at this time. This bill, supported by AFT and CFT, has provisions for equity pay for adjuncts and some health care. AFT and CFT will likely ask for our local’s support of this bill in the future.
B. CFT has provided us with copies of their “new member booklet” for distribution at our next membership meeting in August.
IV. FINANCIAL REPORT: Lynda Peters presented our current financial report. Jeff and Heidi had some clarifying questions, which Lynda and Dwayne answered, before the report was accepted.
V. GRIEVANCE UPDATES:
A. Jim reported that Elaine Robinson of Lake does have return rights IF there are additional units available after the full-time instructor has her assignment. YC-AFT has no grounds for further involvement in this case.
B. Jim reported that Patty Messenger of Marysville and Beale has a potential grievance against the Dean of Mathematics. YC-AFT is waiting to determine if inappropriate treatment has taken place before we make a recommendation. *It was noted that our negotiators may want to bargain for a stipulation in the contract requiring management to notify members of their right to have union representation present at meetings with their dean under certain circumstances. It was also noted that we would like to pursue “more meaningful language” related to seniority or return rights in the contract.
C. Dave reported that Kathy Stevens in Woodland will be going forward with a hearing of the District Board. No action from YC-AFT seems warranted at this time, as there appears to be no grounds for a charge of unfair labor practices.
D. Dave reported that Jerry Fishman has filed a grievance over what he perceives as a freedom of speech issue. No action from YC-AFT seems warranted at this time.
VI. NEWSLETTER: Jodi was absent, and is considering resigning, as she expects her employment situation to change soon. The Board agreed to discuss further creating a contracted position for newsletter editor and offering it to Jodi, should her situation change.
VII. OLD BUSINESS:
A. Treasurer/Bookkeeping Contractor: Rate of salary for the previously proposed contract job of bookkeeping for YC-AFT was discussed. The current stipend is $2700 per semester for the Treasurer. It was tentatively agreed that that amount was satisfactory for a contracted bookkeeping service, pending ratification of the revisions to the Constitution and By-laws. The issue of combining the office of Treasurer with that of Secretary was discussed further. It was agreed that the stipend for the new position, if ratified, would be $200.00 more than that of the previous position of Secretary. Lynda also reminded us that signatures on YC-AFT bank accounts will still need to be changed to reflect the new Board position holders, along with changing accounts to require two signatures.
B. Constitution/By-laws Revisions: Dave corrected some typos in the proposed revisions. Doug directed, with suggestions from those present, and the Board approved some new revisions to the duties of the President and the proposed Secretary/Treasurer. Dave made a motion that this draft, dated June 9, 2007, of the Constitution and By-laws of the Yuba College American Federation of Teachers be accepted by the Board, replacing the draft from April 28, 2007, and that it be presented to the membership for ratification at our next general meeting in August 2007. Jim seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously, with no further discussion.
At that point, Doug suggested a mailing of the ratification ballot, and discussion of the ballot at the general meeting (August orientation), with a vote deadline to follow shortly thereafter.
C. Website Update: Discussion included more proposed changes and additions to the site, including the length and content of the President’s welcome message, links to District sites, posting our meeting schedule, Constitution and By-laws, the newsletter, and photographs of campuses. Doug said he would invite Sai to our next meeting to further discuss the site.
D. Membership Update: Jeff reported that our membership database is now on CFT’s Membership Suite software. We will continue to update our rolls each semester. Jeff would like to come to our general meetings on various campuses to talk with potential members and possibly do other recruiting on campuses. It was agreed that more should be done to encourage potential members to sign up.
E. ULI Attendance: Dan informed Heidi and Jay of a stipend available for attending ULI. Attendee packets have been sent by mail to the three attendees.
VIII. NEW BUSINESS:
A. Meeting Schedule for 2007: The following dates and places were set for the Fall:
August 11, Yuba City
(August 15 and 16, General Membership meetings on various campuses)
September 8, Williams
October 13, Woodland
November 17, Yuba City
December 8, Woodland
B. Membership Meeting Agenda: Some items to include at the Membership Meetings were suggested, including potential negotiation items, such as “more meaningful language” regarding seniority or return rights, representing Work Experience instructors, health care, and parking, especially in Woodland. Jeff gave us a flyer about AFT’s Custom Health Benefits package to discuss with our members as well.
IX. MEMBERS’ INPUT, CONCERNS, QUESTIONS: Jim will sign checks while Lynda is on vacation from June 11 to July 25. Board members need to submit requests for expense reimbursements, etc. in the next few days to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
X. NEXT MEETING to be held August 11, 2007, at Marcello’s in Yuba City, 12 noon.
XI. MEETING ADJOURNED at 2:27 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jay Batchelder, Secretary