Why I'm not going to tomorrow's staff breakfast

If you are really interested, the reason is here on my union blog.

Labor Media Skills Workshop

I am at day two of the Media Skills Workshop at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. Former SF Chronicle reporter Rob Collier just finished a talk about how to work with the news media. This is a great workshop and I am very happy to be here. Andrea Buffa, to the left of Rob is one of the facilitators of the seminar.

SJSU staff union layoff negotiations update

According to a bargaining report on the California State University Employees Union Web site, "The CSUEU bargaining team met with CSU representatives at San Jose State University on May 19 and 20. Both parties exchanged proposals. CSUEU initially proposed that all SJSU layoffs be rescinded, but management rejected that proposal." The report also said:

The union countered with a proposal for a 90-day extension of layoffs. CSUEU is proposing to move the effective date of layoffs from July 1 to October 1. The 90-day extension would allow more time for SJSU HR to solicit as many voluntary time-base reductions as possible, which in turn may mitigate the layoffs of many of those employees who have already been noticed. [Read More]

Negotiations continue Thursday May 27, 2010 at SJSU.

Layoff Bargaining is starting at SJSU

Click on photo to enlarge.

We are getting ready for negotiations with management over layoffs. I am on the union's negotiation team. Before the negotiation we held a lunch time rally. We are starting bargaining now.

Rally and bargaining today!

Click on photo to enlarge.

At noon today there where be a rally starting at tower hall to support our union's effort to save staff jobs at SJSU. We are in negotiations today and tomorrow! Please come to support our union. It is important that we show solidarity at this time.

Meanwhile over on my union blog

Many of you know I am a union steward and a long-time union activist. Covering union activity is not the mission of the tech blog you are reading here. But, since we live in unprecedented times and many of the readers of this blog work at SJSU, I just thought I would mention, my union blog is here!

Recent topics on my union blog include:

• Student Reports on SJSU Layoff
• Today is the day
• Rally on Thursday info!
• Beware of Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD)
• Reasons for concern over Google
• Union’s table by SJSU Student Union
• How to file a discrimination complaint
• About the layoff procedure…

NOTE –> These are my own personal opinions, views, information and perspectives regarding the labor movement in general and our local union, Chapter 307 of CSUEU, the California State University Employees Union at SJSU, San Jose State University, San Jose, California. This in NOT meant to represent the official union position on this matter.

Layoff procedure for staff

Commentary:
Some faculty have expressed disagreement with the California State University and our staff union's seniority based layoff process for staff university employees. Some folks in the campus community have said bad things about our staff employee's union regarding it. I wrote about this here on my union blog [Read More]

NOTE --> These are my own personal opinions, views, information and perspectives regarding the labor movement in general and our local union, Chapter 307 of CSUEU, the California State University Emplyees Union at SJSU, San Jose State University, San Jose, California. This is NOT meat to represent the official union position on this matter.

Layoffs coming to SJSU

This morning in an e-mail to all SJSU employees President Whitmore said:

As we approach the end of the fiscal year, I want to update you on where we are today with the budget and what our immediate future looks like.

In fiscal year 2010-2011, we expect to face the same difficult circumstances that have proven so challenging over the last year. As we have been discussing throughout the year, we had to close a $44 million budget gap in FY 2009-2010. By making budget reductions across all areas of the university, including eliminating many vacant positions, reducing operating budgets, implementing employee furloughs, and raising student fees, we have largely (although not entirely) avoided layoffs of employees up to this point.

This year, we absorbed $19 million of our budget reduction through furloughs. However, we have recognized from the beginning that employees on furlough would not be a permanent solution to our situation. The unpleasant fact is that we must adjust our operations permanently, reducing both our student body and our staffing to fit our shrinking resources.

As I first mentioned in my fall 2009 address, layoffs are a part of our planning for next fiscal year. And while the overall number of layoffs is expected to be limited, we all will most certainly feel the impact. On a practical level, having fewer employees to share the campus workload will present real challenges.

Emotionally, having to see colleagues depart will be difficult for each and every one of us. Logistically, the impacts of layoffs will require flexibility, cooperation, and patience, as staff resources are redistributed according to the provisions of the respective union contracts. And most important, of course, is the difficulty ahead for individuals who will be directly impacted by the layoffs.

The decisions about positions this action will affect and when any action will take place have not been finalized. Once a plan has been developed, it must be approved by the Chancellor’s Office and then reviewed by our union groups. I am sharing this information with you now because I am committed to being as open and transparent about the situation as possible – and I promise to continue to update you as new information becomes available.

In the meantime, I want to reiterate my thanks and appreciation for the passion, commitment, and patience with which you do your work in these challenging times.

Jon Whitmore, President

In short, we have been given notice that layoffs are coming.

Union Meeting Photos

Last weekend I went to the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) Board of Director's Meeting in Sacramento. It was a huge even and I took many photographs. Here is just a small subset of those photos:

[Event Photos on Flickr]

SJSU Chief Union steward's advice on University Furlogh Days

On August 6, 2009 the following was sent to union employees from Dennis Fox, the chief union steward for the California State University Employees Union, at SJSU:

The first furlough day for most SJSU employees is coming up on Monday, 10 August 2009. Unfortunately, President Whitmore has not declared the furlough days to coincide with campus closure days so there is going to be a lot of confusion at the outset of this experiment. It is very important for all of us to have a clear understanding of what happens or does not happen on a furlough day. First and foremost, you don't do any work on a furlough day. Don't check your email or your voice mail or work on a project at home.

Since a number of people will still be at work on our furlough day, there are going to be a number of you who will receive calls from those at work who need to know something that only you know. I strongly encourage you to NOT ANSWER that call. Only a manager/supervisor has the authority to call you back to work. Any call to you from work, even if it is just a question, constitutes a "call back". In the academic areas there is a lot of confusion about who is a manager/supervisor. Many employees do not realize that only the Dean and, in the larger colleges, one of the Associate Deans are manager/supervisors. Department chairs, directors, confidential employees, and CSUEU represented employees are not manager/supervisors and are not authorized to call you back to work. I want to hear from anyone who gets a work-related call on a furlough day -- even if you don't answer it. I will forward the information to HR in an attempt to get the problem resolved. If it is a legitimate "call back" from a manager we need to be sure you get full credit as outlined in the contract.

The furlough transition is going to be especially confusing for exempt employees. Hopefully, all exempt employees know by now that, during a week that includes a furlough day, they are non-exempt. If you have any questions that have not been answered in the FAQs that have been distributed let me know. If necessary, perhaps we will have a Q&A meeting over the lunch period to address some of these issues.

Heading away for awhile

From Steve:
I am headed out of the area. I will not have my iPhone when I am gone because AT&T wants to charge me an extra $200 a month for an international data plan. So, no phone or text messaging!

I will have my iPod Touch and so will have e-mail and I will be trying to stay on top of the furlough situation and will continue posting union stuff mostly on my union Twitter Feed.

Please follow that here:

http://twitter.com/my_union

For other (more fun) stuff, I will be posting mostly on my personal Twitter Feed.

Please follow that here:

http://twitter.com/ssloansjca

CFA responds on furloughs

According to a post in the State Worker, a Sacramento Bee blog, "CSU faculty union rejects management 'pig in a poke' furlough plan." According to the Bee blog, the California Faculty Association (CFA) said:

"Would you buy a "pig in a poke" -- in this case, a pay cut deal composed of vague promises about what is inside the paper bag? CFA won't. [Read More]

CFA represents 23,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches who teach in the California State University system. Just about everyone I have spoken to says if CFA does not agree to furloughs they will not happen and instead we will be facing massively massive layoffs, as opposed to less massive layoffs with furloughs.

Here is a link to a PDF formatted letter dated July 1 from CFA union leadership to faculty in the CSU system.

I have a Twitter feed I try to keep up to date about this issue on a real-time basis. Please feel free to check it out and/or subscribe here:
http://twitter.com/my_union

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

CSU (SJSU) budget related Tweets

These links off Twitter this morning are very interesting:

• Here's the Chancellor's message on CFA/furloughs...
  http://bit.ly/gVWCT
• CSU Urges Faculty Union to Bring Furlough Option to Members for Vote
  http://bit.ly/a53SD
• CSU Trustees to Hold Special Meeting on July 7th
  http://bit.ly/BZk2C
  Budget to be discussed...
• Future worker supply at risk as cuts squeeze higher education - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:
  http://bit.ly/6KeRR

For more updates please check out my union Twitter feed.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Staff union vote favors furloughs

The CSU Employees Union (CSUEU) represents over 16,000 employees on 23 CSU campuses and in the office of the chancellor. Its bargaining units comprise the majority of non-academic (classified) employees in the state university system. Recently the CSUEU announced the results of a survey of its members. According to the union, the union members voted overwhelmingly to support furloughs as opposed to layoffs:

In a series of advisory votes over the last week, CSUEU members have clearly indicated their support for the concept of two furlough days per month, as proposed earlier this month by the Chancellor’s Office.

The results of the votes taken at the chapter level are reflected in the chart below. An online survey and a scientific poll came to the same result: CSUEU-represented employees support the concept of furloughs at the rate of approximately 82 percent in favor. [Read More]

This does not mean there will not be layoffs at SJSU or in the CSU system, this still has to be negotiated at the bargaining table and is subject to the state budget outcome.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Staff union and CSU extend contract two years

The California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) represents the lions share of staff (classified) employees in the California State University System. The collective bargaining agreement between the union and the CSU system was set to expire on June 30 this year. According to the CSUEU Blog:

CSUEU and CSU agreed to extend the contract, which was scheduled to expire June 30, 2009, to instead expire on June 20, 2011. The terms of the contract remain unchanged. The parties also agreed to form a Labor-Management Committee to discuss compensation strategies, and to end the FY 2008/2009 salary reopener.

This should mean there will not be tense contract negotiations for staff during this tight budget year.

My opinion:
I am relieved as this, in my opinion, would have been a bad time to be in contract negotiations. CSU and CSUEU should be working together, as much as possible, to save funding for higher education and being in confrontational negotiations could be a big distraction from that process.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

It is balmy in Clark Hall while others freeze

There is a story in today's Spartan Daily about the cold temperatures in some campus buildings. No problem in Clark Hall where it is in the 70's in my office (CH134.) In fact the warmest room at 76 degrees is our server closet, a room that is supposed to be cool. (I call that room the server sauna.)

What can faculty do about cold temperatures. Well, if they are unable to get the matter fixed by reporting it to Facilities Development and Operations, they can file a grievance with their union! Article 37.1 of the CFA/CSU collective bargaining agreement says:

"The CSU recognizes the importance of procedures for the protection of health and safety of faculty unit employees. The CSU shall endeavor to maintain conditions which are conducive to the health and safety of the employees. The CSU shall endeavor to ensure that faculty unit employees will not be required (a) to work in unsafe conditions or (b) to perform tasks that endanger their health or safety."

Meanwhile, I am in shirt sleeves in Clark Hall.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

No strike for CSU student employees, not yet

Yesterday SJSU President Jon Whitmore sent an e-mail to the campus community that said, "should the United Auto Workers Local 4123 representing the teaching associates, graduate assistants and undergraduate instructional student assistants initiate or become involved in a job action on the San Jose State campus. This campus will remain open during any such job action. Student instruction and other student services will continue during this activity.The university is obligated as a public institution to provide these student services."

According to a United Auto Workers (UAW) press release this does not seem to be an immediate threat:

(CALIFORNIA) – California Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg will sit down with UAW Local 4123 and the California State University in an effort to reach resolution on their contract dispute. The dispute is centered around a fee waiver benefit for academic student employees. UAW Local 4123 has agreed to postpone its strike, originally scheduled to begin at 7 AM, December 10, pending these meetings with the University and Senate President Pro Tempore Steinberg.

Whitmore said non-UAW represented employees are expected to work, and cross picket lines in the event of a job action. Whitmore said, "You are expected to continue to come to work and to perform your job duties. You are to report to work each scheduled workday at the start of your regular work shift."

Technorati Tags: sjsu, San Jose State University, Unions, ssloansjca

Staff Employees Union Seeks to Block Governor

According to the Sacramento Bee:

The largest state employees' union (SEIU) filed a motion this morning in Sacramento County Superior Court attempting to stop Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's executive order laying off thousands of temporary employees and reducing pay for 200,000 workers to the federal minimum wage.

[Read More Here]

The California State University Employees Union, which represents staff employees in the California State University system, is Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2579

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

University staff getting punch clocks

Editorial

It has been brought to my attention that SJSU is looking at requiring staff in the Student Services Center to punch time clocks. In my opinion, this symptomatic "solution" signals a failure of the university to manage this unit effectively. Going to this step is like saying, "we give up, we cannot control the unit, we cannot deal with issues that might be causing productivity loss in the unit, so we are going to put the employees who work there on a leash and tie them to their desks." It shows a loss of respect by the employer for the employees. How can employees respect bosses who do not respect them?

Have you ever worked for a company that has required employees to punch a time clock? I have. Generally the employees at such places resist the attempt by their bosses to treat them like children. The employees often, in my experience, resist attempts at parent-like control in all kinds of passive aggressive ways. People find ways to resist that cannot be controlled by mechanical devices like punch clocks. Work in these places is a combat zone. The best employees do not stay. The result of this, in my opinion, will be lower not higher productivity. Our students will suffer the most, being caught in the middle of this drama.

Rather than trying to deal with problems symptomatically using mechanical devices; I think the university would be better served trying to find the real human issues in that unit. Motivated employees who feel valued by their managers, respected as human beings and feel like they are doing valuable work do not need punch clocks.

People, by nature I think, want to do a good job, be appreciated, respected and treated like members of a team doing valuable work. People, by nature I think, tend to return respect with respect and disrespect with disrespect.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca

Staff Layoffs at San Jose State?

Notice of Layoff

I have received information from a reliable source that a notice of layoff has been issued at SJSU. I do not yet know if this is a singular incident or whom is affected by it.

Technorati Tags: San Jose State University, California State University, San Jose, ssloansjca