TOPICS DISCUSSED
To access the minutes via the web page, go to the CWU home page; click on Administration, then on VP Business and Financial Affairs, then on meeting minutes. From here you will see a list, click on Employee Council. (Past and present minutes are listed.)
APPRECIATION AWARDS CEREMONY
The annual service award program for classified staff
will be held May 24, 1:30-4:30 p.m., in the Lombard Room. At this ceremony,
classified staff are given awards for completing 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30
years of service. There will be seventy-two employees honored this year.
Lynn Hutchins, Training & Development, distributed the "list" for donations
of door prizes. If you have something you would like to contribute or if
you know of a business that would like to participate, please call her
(2288). Each year volunteers also bring bevies of floral bouquets as well
as home baked cookies that really help make our honorees feel special.
If someone in your department will be getting an award, it might be a good
time to step forward and volunteer.
30 Years: LaVelle Clerf, Cindy Wilber, Ann K Young, Laura Wilson.
25 Years: Daniel Young, Carole Griffin, Shirley Speer, Karen Varichak, Mickle Hull, Terry Scott.
20 Years: Rebecca Huss, Sharon Parker, Norma (Jean) Debusschere, Nada Lee (Dusty) Brady, Marcia Eckert, Sandy Arbuckle, Mari Hubbard, Maria Clerf, Mark Walker, Wendell Covert, Roger Powell, Eleanor Trujillo, Susan VanDeVenter, Carla Freeman, Janet Noyes.
15 Years: Janice Farrell, Peter Siller, Ladell (Cookie) Ringe, Marilyn Thompson, Jennie Patten, Doreen Pike, Catherine Bonjorni, Dale Wood, Waletta Schwartz, Cheri Bader, Larry Allphin, Paula Moffatt, Charlene Watterson, Diane Moorman, Dana Shawn Fagalde.
10 Years: Sharon Hull, Geraldine Blackmore, Alice Fulleton, Jerry Cummings, Tina Clark, Shelly Voshall, Ardath (Lathrop) Morfield, Beata Miller, Rolanda Miller, Debbie Hunt, Karen Rowe, Edwin Littlefield, Becky Baker, Betty Meilander, Linda Mahaney, Kim Black, Tami Hamilton, Nellie Rumburg, Doug Keith, George Marrs, Sheri Heger, Thomas Stoffle, Debbie Boddy, Deloris Moore, Loran Allen, Marlene Wilber, Mark Winterer, Thomas Hoover, Valerie Farrell, Teresa Bangs, Carlene Heirsche, Herbert Bentz.
If you were employed 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 years ago, and your name is not on this list, please call Colleen Rose in Human Resources (1205) right away so she can check your status.
Do note, however, that the 10 year list is composed of those hired between July 1, 1989, and June 30, 1990; the 15 year list: July 1, 1984, and June 30, 1985; the 20 year list: July 1, 1979, and June 30, 1980; the 25 year list: July 1, 1974, and June 30, 1975; and the 30 year list: July 1, 1969, and June 30, 1970.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
Barbara Hinchliff from Central Services was selected
as Employee of the Month for February. She was nominated because "Barbara
is always concerned about her employees. Her door is always open for advice
or a shoulder to lean on. She always seems to be positive and encouraging
about the job and working environment. Barbara has made a big difference
in how the Central Services unit operates on this campus." Congratulations
to Barbara!
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
There will be one more monthly selection before the annual
ballots for Employee of the Year are distributed. The form for nominating
a coworker as Employee of The Month is available at www.cwu.edu/~hr
Scroll down to "other forms" and click on the icon.
The last paragraph of the nomination form will be changed to read "Award recipients will receive a $100 cash award and will have their name and reason for selection published in the Campus Bulletin and Employee Council Newsletter." We will continue to provide the information to the Daily Record and the Observer, but the change is necessary because they have not consistently printed the information.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH/WEB PAGE
Colleen Rose reported that she has contacted all past
Employee of the Month winners regarding having their photos on the web
page. Responses returned have been split between yes and no. It was decided
that employees would have the option of using an alternate photo (which
they would supply) if they did not want to use the "candid publicity shot"
taken at the time of presentation. For those employees who do not want
a picture on the web, a generic graphic will be inserted with their names.
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR HONOR WALL
Employee of the Year recipients will have their portrait
on the "Honor Wall" on the third floor of Barge Hall. Becky Baker, Employee
Benefits Representative, Human Resources, and Keith Jones, Computer Maintenance
Lead, Computer Support Services, are past winners.
CONGRATULATIONS JERI PORTER,
ELECTRICIAN!
Jeri Porter, the only woman to be hired permanently as
a trades person at CWU, has been selected by the Washington Women in Trades
as the "Eastern Washington Tradeswoman of the Year." Jeri works for Facilities
Management as a high voltage electrician. She will receive a plaque and
a check for $250 on Saturday, April 1, 2000 (noonish) at the Flag Pavilion
at the Seattle Center. Everyone is invited to attend the ceremony. Dorothy
Tenney states, "We are very proud of her at Facilities Management, and
even prouder of her as a friend. Jeri is a city councilwoman for the city
of Roslyn, is a delegate from Facilities Management to the CWU Employee
Council, and is an active member of WFSE Local 330." This is a positive
reflection on Jeri, her department, and CWU. Congratulations, Jeri!
10% BUDGET ALLOCATION EXERCISE
There was discussion about the budget exercise that is
currently underway. The expanded CWU Budget Advisory Committee has met
several times and will continue to meet until the exercise is complete.
Each unit in the university has been asked to cut their budget by 10% (without
affecting service to students) and then consider ways to enhance service
if additional funding was available. Myrna Antonich, Administrative Assistant
to the Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities, expressed her concern
that while there are at least 11 members of the committee who represent
exempt positions (6 Deans and 5 Vice Presidents) and 11 (including the
Provost/VP for Academic Affairs, the 6 Deans, 3 faculty members and the
Special Assistant to the President) who represent faculty concerns, and
1 representing students, there is no one who represents classified staff
concerns. Discussion followed regarding how much input classified staff
have had within their units during this budget exercise. Did you have opportunity
for input? If not, let your department head know of your concerns now!
Kari Taylor, Employee Council chair, attended the Budget Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 14. She observed that most of the units presenting budgets included a cut to staff (non-faculty) positions. She expressed her opposition to the possibility of classified staff positions being eliminated or reduced as a result of this exercise. While there is a need for increasing faculty salaries in order to be competitive, this should not come from classified staff losing their jobs.
The Council reviewed letters that both Myrna and Kari had written to President Norton and the Budget Advisory Committee expressing their concerns. Copies of these letters have circulated through email. If you missed them and are interested, contact Kari (1218), taylork@cwu.edu, and/or Myrna (1845) Myrna.Antonich@cwu.edu.
While it seems too late to incorporate staff representation on the committee, we are all encouraged to write or email the President and/or Board of Trustee members sharing our concerns. Their names and addresses are on the CWU homepage. Circumstances such as this budget exercise impact all aspects of the university, not just administration, faculty and students. The classified staff should be entitled to a say in issues that affect them. Speak up.
MEETING WITH NEW PRESIDENT McINTRYE
Employee Council Chair, Kari Taylor, met briefly with
President Jerilyn McIntyre on Saturday, February 26. The meeting included
four people: Dale Hubbard from the WFSE union, Rob Chrisler from the Exempt
Employee Association, Dr. McIntyre, and Kari. The meeting lasted about
45 minutes. Issues discussed included campus climate, contracting out,
morale, the budget exercise, and how staff interacts with administration.
President McIntrye said she had "no agenda coming in" about the contracting
out issue, and was interested in reading a copy of the campus climate report
done in 1996. She will officially start at the university in July.
PERS 3 BILL
Ona Youmans informed us that ESSB 6530 establishing a
PERS Plan 3 passed the legislature. There has been some opposition to the
bill and the Governor has been asked to veto it. If he does sign it into
law, all current PERS 2 members will have a six-month window period, beginning
March 2002, to decide whether to stay in Plan 2 or transfer to Plan 3.
Information from the Department of Retirement Systems regarding this choice
will be available several months prior to the six-month enrollment period.
The new plan is expected to allow for earlier retirement and to have a
self-directed investment portion. For now, just be aware that in two years
we will have a choice, and there will be massive publicity information
available prior to that time.
PEOPLE FOR PEOPLE COMMUNITY JOBS
Community Jobs is a program that provides individuals
with a nine-month work experience with a non-profit agency. In order for
a person to be eligible to participate, he/she must be a TANF (Temporary
Aid to Needy Families) recipient. While enrolled in the Community Jobs
program, the individual receives a variety of experiences that will prepare
him/her with skills necessary to gain unsubsidized employment, which is
the primary goal of the program.
Each Community Jobs participant will work 20 hours per week and will receive a bi-monthly paycheck at the rate of $6.50 per hour. For the duration of the Community Jobs placement, qualified individuals will receive a partial TANF grant in addition to their actual working wages. However, there will be a substantial reduction in food stamps allocation. The individual is also eligible to receive supportive services (clothing, transportation, etc.) and is eligible to receive benefits from the Working Childcare Connection program, which will provide daycare for a sliding scale co-pay, usually around $10.00 per month. The only cost for the work site is the time involved in training the individuals with job specific skills.
The primary goal of unsubsidized employment may occur anytime in the nine-month work experience. If at any time during the Community Jobs placement the participant receives unsubsidized employment, the Community Job is discontinued and the participant becomes a success story. If you are interested in such a placement, please write Carole Rhodes, Welfare to Work/Community Jobs Case Manager, People For People, 401 E. Mt. View, Suite B, P.O. Box 519, Ellensburg, Washington 98926 or call her at (509) 925-5311.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
If you haven’t taken advantage of the computer training
workshops and demonstrations presented by Nancy Taft, professional computer
trainer, now is the time! You may remember seeing a hot pink flyer earlier
this month in your office with information on training available. It’s
possible still to get into some of the training sessions on "Word," "Windows,"
and "Access," on various topics and at different skill levels.
Also, don’t forget about GroupWise! Did you know that when you are going to be out of the office for several days, that you can set an "away" message in GroupWise to let people know? Learn that and more in "GroupWise Rules!" on April 6. Do you have a large group of people that you like to email regularly? For example: a classroom of students, or everyone in your department? Did you know that you can save that group of people so that you don’t have to type in that long list over and over each time you send them a new email? Learn about that and other valuable GroupWise features in "GroupWise: Address Books" on April 18. For those who prefer hands-on training and have been using GroupWise for a while, there will be "GroupWise: Beyond the Basics" on April 26.
For information on workshops and demonstrations available from the Training Office, please take a look at our web site at http://www.cwu.edu/~training, or call Lynn at 963-2288.
TRAINING LIBRARY REVIEW
"Developing Resilience" by Peter Quarry. 13 min Video
How flexible are you? What is your bounce-back level? How deep do you dig or involve yourself in things that stress you out? This interview-style video will show you how to: practice tactics for building resilience, use the "once a day" behavior modification technique, recognize the "invisible wisdom" of the body, become less rigid and expand your adaptability.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
NEXT MEETING
The next meeting is scheduled for April 20, in SUB 209.
All representatives need to attend; alternates are always welcome.
Present:
Karol Barker, Dining Services
Marilyn Thompson, Housing & Residential Services
Kariann Taylor, Instructional Support: Unit A, Employee
Council Chair
Gene Wilson, Instructional Support: Unit A
Leona Johnson, Library Services, Employee Council Secretary
& Newsletter Editor
Dorothy Tenney, Plant & Facilities
Jeri Francisco-Porter, Plant & Facilities
Ginger Linnell, Enrollment Management & Marketing
Carola Alden, Student Services & SUB
Absent:
Kim Thomas, Business & Admin Support: Unit A
Elaine Long, Business & Admin Support: Unit A
Paula Moffatt, Business & Admin Support: Unit B
Mike Posada, Business & Admin Support: Unit B
Karen Simmons, Instructional Support: Unit B
Debbie Nethery, Instructional Support: Unit B
Also Present:
Myrna Antonich
Lynn Hutchins
Ona Youmans
Colleen Rose