Employee Assembly
November 19, 1997
Day Hall Board Room
12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 12:19 p.m. by M.Overstrom.

II. Open Forum

a. Computer Kiosks -

L.Clougherty said she has looked at the model for this idea. She noted that there is a need for these kiosks. She intends to speak to Kathy Barbieri, Coordinator for Training and Integration P2K, about this idea.

b. Networking at Noon -

M.Overstrom stated that on Tuesday, March 10, another Networking at Noon Brown Bag Luncheon is to be held.

c. Hockey -

G.Brandt informed the Assembly that the hockey teams have been formed. A logo has been designed for the jerseys. This event occurs on the same day as Employee Day, and there will be some overlap of the two.

III. Minutes

The minutes were amended as follows: Jaden was changed to Tjaden and “athletic” fields was changed to “softball” field, under Business of the Day.

IV. Announcements and Reports

a. Opperman/Rogers Meeting -

C.Gardner will inform EA members of the next meeting.

b. Assembly Leadership Meeting -

M.Overstrom stated that questions are due for this meeting on November 21. A sheet was passed around for questions.

V. Business of the Day

a. New Member Nominations -

M.Purvis stated that she has two names for nominations: Tom Hoebbel and C.J. Lance-Duboscq. G.Brandt stated that he invited Al Ganner to attend this meeting. Each nominee was asked to address the Assembly.

T.Hoebbel stated that he is very interested in the EA, but he is currently trying to understand how the EA operates. He is familiar with site-based councils in the school district and decision-making. He believes that it is important to ensure that employee voices are heard in the decision-making process.

In response to questions, T.Hoebbel explained that he is from University Photography. He has been working at Cornell for three years, and in his current position for the last three months.

C.J.Lance-Duboscq stated that she became interested in campus government about a year ago. She has been a member of the Communication Committee for over a year, and joined the Education Committee more recently. She is interested in joining the EA in order to make sure that employees voices are heard.

In response to questions, C.J.Lance-Duboscq stated that she has been at Cornell for the last five years. Previously, she had worked for three years at New York University, and was a member of the Administrative Management Council. She is concerned with the issues of education and change.

A.Ganner stated that he has not decided on whether or not he wants to run for a seat on the Assembly. He said that G.Brandt invited him to the meeting in order to see how the EA works.

G.Brandt remarked that he was not aware that the vote was to take place at this meeting. Since other members also did not know this, the vote on filling the EA vacancies will be taken at the December 3 meeting.

VI. Old Business

a. Frontline Feedback -

D.Stein stated that there was a meeting of this group last week. Many ideas were discussed on how M.Opperman can communicate with office professionals. There were no decisions made. Currently, there are 1546 office professionals on campus. These are all non-exempt employees. The group wants to find out whether there are exempt employees who should be included in this project. P.Tufford suggested that office professionals at the extension offices be included in this project.

b. Employee Assembly Open Forum -

L.Clougherty said that there was a meeting earlier this week to discuss the logistics of the forum. The title of the forum is still not decided, and the committee is open to suggestions. M.Overstrom said the mailbox will be the one M.Purvis set up last year. The forum will also be in the same format as the one last year. M.Overstrom stressed that the EA is hosting this event and that it is not focused on P2K. This forum will cover issues on the broad university-wide level and currently is set to be at Bailey Hall on February 3. The committee plans to meet with F.Rogers and M.Opperman to discuss the name and the possibility of another forum that would focus on the specific departmental issues.

VII. Committee Reports

a. UBC -

G.Brandt said that the percentage employees pay for PHP is increasing at a faster rate than the actual premium, and he would like to know why this is happening.

P.Tufford stated that this occurs because this is a plan used by employees across the state and that the state covers the other portion of this insurance plan.

L.Caswell noted that there has been no information distributed on PHP increasing its rates, even though open enrollment is currently taking place. She asked why this information is not passed on to employees during open enrollment.

P.Tufford noted that the open enrollment period is extended into the latter part of the year as much as possible since notification of rate increases often occurs late in the process. Thus, this lack of information is because Albany does not give it to Cornell. Open enrollment cannot be legally moved to January since signing up for select benefits must occur in December. Open enrollment can be opened up again only if major modifications occur; premium increases are not considered to be a major change.

C.Gardner suggested that the EA start a letter drive to the responsible people in Albany, requesting that this information be made available sooner. Employees at other institutions in the state also suffer because of this.

M.Overstrom suggested that John Lambert attend the next EA meeting so the EA can ask him questions on this topic.

b. SA -

The SA is currently discussing the student activity fee. The athletics fee may be reduced from $12 to $8 per capita. C.Gardner noted that if the graduate students agree to pay $7 per capita, then the SA has agreed to a fee of $10.

c. UA -

M.Esposito stated that there will be a meeting at 4:30 p.m. today. The Committee on Committees is being revived in order to improve the current committees, including eliminating committees that are redundant. There will be a special meeting for the Transportation Advisory Committee, concerning TCAT, on December 1 at 12:00 in Loft I of WSH.

d.Communications Committee -

The first round of voting for the Dedicated Service Award (DSA) will occur on November 20. The DSA has taken a major portion of the committee’s time for the last year, but the committee does have a list of other goals. The committee plans to help with the new employee handbook. They will not write the text of the handbook; instead, they will have input as to what is included.

Members expressed concern that there needs to be better communication between this committee and the EA. Also, a separate committee for the DSA may be formed, so that the Communications Committee has the time to address other identified goals and projects.

VIII. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 p.m.