Employee Assembly Minutes
Wednesday, January 6, 1999
Day Hall Boardroom
12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

I. Call to Order and Introductions

C.J. Lance-Duboscq called the meeting to order at 12:18 p.m.

Present: C.J. Lance-Duboscq, M. Esposito, T. Hoebbel, T. Calvert, L. Russell, L. Clougherty, C. Hayes, A. Vail, J. DeMarco, G. Brandt, J. Worden, C. Gardner, D. Stein.

II. Open Forum

Larry Russell announced that effective February 1, 1999 he will assume a new position as Director of Operations at Boyce Thompson Institute. He will be happy to remain on the EA, but is unsure whether this is allowed since BTI is separate but affiliated with Cornell. BTI is physically on the Cornell campus, but he will not officially be a Cornell employee. C. Gardner will interpret the charter for translation on this issue.

Joe DeMarco announced that the DSA reception for the official announcement of the name change to The George Peter Award for Dedicated Service will take place on Friday, January 15, 1999 in the ILR Faculty Lounge at 2 p.m. All winners of the Dedicated Service Award since 1980 have been invited. All EA members should attend. Joe has a biography on George and a proclamation to officially change the name of the award.

Charla Hayes announced that Meg Overstrom gave birth to Hannah Hardie Overstrom on January 2, 1999, weighing in at 10 lbs. 4 oz.! Both Mother and daughter are doing fine. She has therefore been excused from “Active EA Duty” until some time in March or April.

Dennis Stein handed out the January through August, 1999 PawPrint schedule and brought up the issue of EA special inserts. This item will be addressed under “Old Business”, Section IV.

Gary Brandt announced that Mayor Cohen and Dean Cooke will serve as hockey coaches for this year’s tournament.

III. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of December 16, 1998, were approved with the following corrections:

Linda Clougherty wishes to change the description of the motion she made under Announcements and Reports regarding a committee to support diversity and inclusion to “Linda Clougherty proposed a motion that the EA support the development of a committee, comprised of members of the UA, EA, SA, GPSA and the Faculty Senate, for the purpose of developing forums to address diversity concerns of the university community and providing a foundation from which the Assemblies and the Faculty Senate can encourage the administration to join them in promoting diversity in the university community.

• The 6th paragraph second sentence under Announcements and Reports regarding discussions with Dean Cooke on diversity has been changed to, “C.J. Lance-Duboscq and T. Hoebbel both agreed there is strong support from the SA for of improving the community concerning this issue from SA and they would jump in when they returned.
• Under the Announcements and Reports section, Task Forces bullet, the 3rd paragraph (starting “When L. Clougherty asked to involve�.”) the 2nd sentence has been changed to read, “She says it sounds to her as if administration is developing/formulating all these policies rather than involving employee representatives.
• Under the Transportation/TAC bullet, 6th paragraph, starting with “M. Esposito recommended looking�”, the UA has been changed to EA.

IV. Old Business

A. PawPrint

Insert Critique; Plan for next issue All members felt that the last EA special insert was wonderful, but took a lot of work to put together. We had originally scheduled the next insert for February 11 (prior to EA elections), but feel that it may be too soon and that we won’t have enough material. A question was raised regarding how much space we get in the normal PawPrint. Dennis noted that we would have room for a photo and biography of candidates, general information regarding the elections, ballots, etc. and an occasional short article.

C.J. Lance-Duboscq asked how many seats are open for election this time. C. Gardner responded that there are 6 seats up for election this year. The following members’ terms are up this year: Joe DeMarco, Charla Hayes, Gary Brandt, Meg Overstrom, Tom Hoebbel and Linda Clougherty. The question of who will run again this year produced the following answers: Joe — yes; Charla — no; Gary — unsure; Meg — (no answer — on maternity leave); Tom — yes; Linda — unsure.

C.J. Lance-Duboscq felt that we have many other things to focus on and that we don’t have enough fresh material for a new insert at this time. We might be able to use information from the next Open Forum, for which a date has not yet been set. Dennis Stein noted that we would not be able to highlight candidates if we wait.

M. Esposito inquired whether members who were already on the assembly would have to go through the entire election procedure again; and C. Gardner stated yes, everyone has to go through all facets of the election if they are interested in holding a seat on the 1999–2000 Employee Assembly.

It was agreed to hold off on the PawPrint insert.

L. Russell suggested we get started on the new insert immediately, since so much goes into it and the last one took many meetings to hammer out.

B. Referendum ideas for next election

Approval of Spring 99 Election Rules and Procedures — C. Gardner handed out the election schedule. Basic requirements are the same. Petitions available in January, due in mid-February, ballots mailed the week of March 8, and due prior to Spring Break (March 19th). Only changes to procedures are the statement on the compliance with the University e-mail policy and that statements can be submitted via the web. Employee-elected trustee will be up for election next year. This is a 4-year term. M. Esposito asked whether the university events suggested in Part III.A.4.b. are required (attending information sessions, etc.); and C. Gardner responded saying that while attendance is not required, it is strongly encouraged.

C.Gardner asked whether we wanted to increase the number of EA members representing us on the UA from 2 to 3; and did we want to change UA membership from appointment of the EA, as recommended by the IOC, to a direct election on the ballot. She felt that with 6 (possibly 7) seats up for election, then 3 required for UA may be too much. She needs to know soon because they are in the process of producing the ballots.

‘ ’ ‘A vote was taken and it was approved with one abstention that EA would continue to appoint five members to the University Assembly and not hold a direct election for any of the designated employee seats.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the Spring 1999 Election Rules and Procedures. The motion was unanimously approved.′ ’

C.J. Lance-Duboscq inquired whether we had any other referenda that we wanted to add to the ballot. G. Brandt mentioned the emergency fund, and how we would get the funds from employees. Discussion ensued regarding whether we could deduct from paychecks with employee approval; what the fund would actually be for; and possible problems with distribution and accountability of the funds. T. Calvert mentioned that it would be best to have payroll deduction, because although folks are willing to contribute, they just don’t get around to actually doing it. G. Brandt felt we should add this referenda to the ballot. The fund would be an emergency fund for employees who have suffered some sort of hardship. Those in need would have to apply for the funds. He questioned what we would do if we ran out of funds and still had employees in need? Would this be fair? D. Stein suggested that we team up with CRC to gather donations for an activity fund. It was further clarified that this would not be the case, that it would be a fund for employee emergencies only and would be very specific. M. Esposito felt that we would be putting ourselves in a very awkward position to be making decisions regarding who would get the funds and who wouldn’t. He pointed out that it is hard to be impartial. C.J. Lance-Duboscq stated that we would have to form a committee to make these decisions. We would set up specific criteria using existing models (Student Assembly). At this time we are just “taking the temperature” of the employees to find out their feelings on this issue and feel that we should act on the heels of the successful Arecibo fund drive.

D. Stein suggested that we put on the referenda the issue of Cornell employees getting discounts at area merchants by showing an I.D. Would employees be interested? The EA liked the idea, but doesn’t feel it’s our place to take on such an issue. C.J. Lance-Duboscq doesn’t feel that it’s an appropriate referenda idea. The group felt that it’s a good town/gown issue, but would be better served by a specific committee of employees independent of the EA.

V. Business of the Day

A. Discussion/Approval of the Proclamation Honoring George Peter:

J. DeMarco moved to approve the proclamation as written. Discussion ensued regarding typos and inconsistencies. The proclamation was approved with the following changes:

• 2nd Whereas: George — lover of life
• 1st Whereas: George Peter — last name remains here; all others changed to read just “George”, except in the 4th paragraph where it will be “George’s”.
  • Be it Finally Proclaimed that (last paragraph): first sentence, “�in honor of this very special man�”.

The Proclamation Honoring George Peter was approved as amended and reads

A Proclamation Honoring George Peter,
A Leader Who Leads
WHEREAS George Peter has been a leader of employees at Cornell University for over four decades, and;

WHEREAS George�lover of life, liberty, the pursuit of employee empowerment, and his wife of 54 years Gloria Ann Barnell � has given his time and his love in immeasurable ways to all employees at Cornell University, and;

WHEREAS George initiated and continues to be the advocate for and staunch supporter of many activities at Cornell including the Employee Assembly, PawPrint, Cornell Recreation Connection and the Cornell Retiree’s Association and;

WHEREAS George’s role as the Employee-elected Trustee, Trustee Fellow and Trustee Emeritus has been to lead by example, understanding that Cornell’s greatest asset is its people and;

WHEREAS George is an inspiration to all for his tireless leadership which always includes a hearty blend of optimism and enthusiasm, and

WHEREAS George has taught us by example that the recipe for success in life comes from deep within� a pinch of passion, a cup of commitment, a pound of love stirred briskly with enthusiasm�and at least a ton of caring!

BE IT HEREBY PROCLAIMED THAT The Employee Assembly, on behalf of all employees at Cornell University, wishes to thank George Peter for his dedication to making Cornell a better place for all Cornell employees and for doing so much for so many, and;

BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED THAT The Employee Assembly extends its heartfelt appreciation to George for being the eternal and tireless, dedicated employee advocate, and;

BE IT FINALLY PROCLAIMED THAT The Employee Assembly declares that from this point forward the Employee Dedicated Service Award, in honor of this very special man who is the epitome of the Leader who Leads, be named the ‘ ’ ‘GEORGE PETER AWARD FOR DEDICATED SERVICE. As unanimously passed by the Employee Assembly on January 6, 1999′ ’ :

C.J. Lance-Duboscq announced she will be requesting extra funding from Mary Opperman and Fred Rogers for this special function. It was noted that in the event this additional funding isn’t approved, the EA has unused funds in the current budget that could be used to cover these expenses.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Charla M. Hayes Secretary/Treasurer Employee Assembly