FACULTY COUNCIL MEETING
Call to Order: F. van Hartesveldt called the meeting to
order at
Present: Nickie Alexander, Rick Barnhart, Jennifer
Batten, C. Lee Brown, Marie Burns, Lyttron Burris, Mike Campo, Jim Chesla, Frank
Conner, Anita Cook, Larry Crossman, Katie Danko, Mike DeVivo (for Carolyn
Grin); John Doane, Beth Foster, Fred Garbowitz, Dick Godfrey, Jim Hayes, Dan
Hearn, Stacey Heisler, Tim Hoving, Brian Keelean, Amy Kerkstra, Robert Long, Bernie
Manker, Bob Monaldo, Jeff Neumann, Wayne Rodgers, Jonathon Russell, Mark Saur, Fred
van Hartesveldt, George Zeeff, Fred Zomer (for Kathleen Owens)
Absent: Brian Morris, Jeff Spoelman, Joel Swets, Doug
Wabeke
Agenda: Today’s agenda was approved.
Approval of Minutes: Minutes
of the
1. Add Terry Dunn to the list of fall 2005 retirees.
2. In the Discussion and Action section, the last statement identifying problems related to “fewer sections” should state “Students enroll in inappropriate classes to fill schedules.”
Faculty Presentations
from the Floor.
· Jeff Spoelman’s wife is scheduled for surgery this morning.
Negotiations
Report. N. Alexander said JCC met
two weeks ago and that most administrators were present. The major topic was the $40,000 release time
disbursement, which remained unresolved when the meeting ended. The accretion sub-team met following that
meeting for the start of discussions on the accreted lab coordinator
group. The approach will be to
incorporate the lab coordinators as much as possible into the faculty contact
and then to write separate articles for items specific to that group.
F. van Hartesveldt, in J. Spoelman’s absence, noted that the administration response to the Association’s request/demand to negotiate the affect of start/end times on working conditions was that the Association’s concerns can be resolved through PeopleSoft.
N. Alexander will again prepare and distribute electronically this semester’s faculty pay calculation worksheet along with the pay dates schedule.
President’s Report. F. van Hartesveldt’s report covered the
following items:
·
Court of
Appeals Case—Employee Qualifications.
A recent Court of Appeals case supported an employer’s termination of an
employee who refused to use the corporate e-mail system because he preferred
face-to-face communication. The court
ruled that the employee’s refusal to use e‑mail rendered the employee
unqualified for the position. This
ruling is significant for GRCC faculty who refuse to use GRCC e-mail system.
·
Board of
Trustees. At its last meeting, the
Board resurrected the Future Funding Committee, which several years ago made recommendations
for GRCC finances. The Board will ask the
committee to consider a mileage. In the
event of a mileage, President Olivarez will request faculty support.
· Executive Administration News. F. van Hartesveldt is passing along to administrators and trustees the message that the college open door policy is often a closed door reality for those students who find that all of their required classes are closed or who make poor choices from the open classes to meet required course loads. Faculty are encouraged to lobby for increased sections through their Senate reps.
·
Accretion
of Lab Technicians. A hearing is
pending before the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) for the lab
technician position. MERC is awaiting
position summaries from the Association and the administration before setting a
hearing date.
DISCUSSION AND
ACTION
Committee Memberships
and Reports.
1. Nominating Committee—After citing the Association bylaws requirement to form a Nominating Committee in election years, F. van Hartesveldt announced that Kathleen Owens and Joe Hesse have agreed to serve on that committee. This committee is accepting nominations for Association president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary in preparation for April elections.
2. Conference Attendance—Conference attendance has been approved for one Association leader to attend the Law and Higher Education conference, for which F. Garbowitz has submitted a leave request. Approval has also been given for The Labor Law and Labor Arbitration Conference, which F. van Hartesveldt will attend. A third conference has been approved, but interest in attending has yet to be announced.
3. Scholarship Committee—The Scholarship Committee has yet to meet.
4. Policy Writing—In December the Association lobbied for financial support for a faculty person to help the college write policy. The response from the administration has been negative.
5. Faculty Voice Committee—F. Conner and B. Manker commented on discussions of the committee’s last meeting, January 9, and indicated that an external consultant has been contracted to help identify needs and an effective process.
Payroll Advices. An Association member in January was unable to access 2005 year-end payroll information and has asked the Council to address the concern. Council discussed the extent of the problem and suggested several immediate approaches for resolution:
1. Ask HR to announce deadline for displaying YTD amounts for the closing year on pay advices.
2. Make inquiry with PeopleSoft directly about retaining YTD information.
3. Contact Bob Engmark to inquire about retaining YTD amounts.
4. Ask HR to mail pay stubs to employee homes for permanent documentation.
F. van Hartesveldt will pursue the suggested resolutions.
Copyright Notices. An Association member has questioned the need for the posted copyright notices at copy machines throughout campus. Council discussed the extent of the concern and copyright implications.
Retirement
Coordinating Council (RCC). B.
Foster indicated that the next RCC meeting is next Monday and that RCC is still
addressing state legislation that will change retirement and health
contributions. She noted that bills did
not expire at the end of last year, but that they expire in even-numbered years
only. She also noted that Legislator Day
is coming up on which reps can meet with their state legislators. Faculty may register their legislative
concerns with B. Foster or Alice Donahue, who will relay them to legislators.
Grievance
Report. F. Garbowitz reported
the following:
· Level 1—Adjunct lost pay for jury duty. Resolved in favor of Association. Adjunct has received pay.
F. van Hartesveldt cited a recent labor issue in which a dean told a faculty member that a wellness class did not qualify for longevity training, which is not true. The dean reversed his position.
New Business. Items for the February 10 Faculty Council meeting should be submitted to F. van Hartesveldt as soon as possible.
Next
Meeting.
Adjournment. Motion to adjourn, J. Hayes; second, B.
Foster. Adjournment at
Submitted by C. Lee Brown,
Secretary