Employee Assembly Meeting
December 1, 2004
12:15–1:30PM
Boardroom Day Hall

Attendance

Present: Joseph DeMarco, Pamela Dusseau, Donna Goss, Meredith Graham, Hazel Hall, Patricia Mahoney, Janice Miles, Seth Peacock, Cindy Williams, William Bryant Excused: Beth Burlew

Unexcused: Nathaniel Guest, Mary Smallwood Churchill

Others present: D. Stein, D. Lieb, D. Mitarotonda, H. Mandeville

I. Call to order:

P. Dusseau, Chair, called the meeting to order at 12:15 p.m.

II. Call for late Additions:

There were no late additions to the agenda.

III. Approval of minutes:

Motion made to accept minutes after changes. Motion seconded. Minutes approved.

IV. Transportation and Mail Services and UA

D. Lieb from Transportation and Mail Services and D. Mitarotonda from the University Assembly Executive Board and liaison for the UA on transportation issues provided a presentation to the EA. They discussed how the UA and TMS are working together, and suggested that the EA could become involved in this effort.

D. Mitarotonda commented that he communicates with D. Lieb in an effort to get more community input in decision-making and a greater awareness of changes or available open forms. Questions and/or concerns could be sent to him and in turn, he would be able to communicate this information to D. Lieb.

P. Dusseau asked D. Lieb if he could share some information on TAC and the purpose it has served transportation, and the direction it might be going.

D. Lieb replied that this is being investigated by the committee themselves. TAC is a committee of the UA consisting of five presidential appointees and eight other members, two each from undergraduate, faculty, graduate, and staff sections. D. Mitarotonda added that there are questions regarding the roles of the UA and TAC, such as what the functions should be and how to involve the community since all decisions affect us. Members can voice their needs to TAC since this group contains professionals capable of resolving issues.

D. Goss asked is if it was possible to get a list of who is on TAC. D. Lieb replied this list is available in Hope Mandeville’s office.

P. Dusseau commented that one of the primary goals of the presentation today was to put faces with names, and be able to understand the process on how concerns are addressed. The concept is that all constituent assemblies could funnel all their information/concerns/thoughts to the UA to avoid duplication of effort.

D. Mitarotonda commented that ultimately the goal is to have a transportation “hotline” where all the information can be directed to a focused point.

S. Peacock questioned the basis for doubling the fines for parking. He suggested that it may be a budgetary issue.

D. Lieb commented that these fine increases are for specific violations. For a reserved space, the fine was $25, as with other spaces. However, he suggested that reserved spaces deserve a higher amount of protection. The higher fine would provide an additional disincentive for parking in those spots. Another change was for individuals who parked in the 10-minute spot. These individuals previously only received one ticket — whether they parked in the spot for 10 minutes or a full day. Now they may receive multiple tickets for the violation. In addition, TMS does not profit from fines — in fact, the unit is subsidized.

D. Stein commented that knowing where the changes were coming from takes the sting off when receiving a fine and makes them more understandable. How the message is framed and delivered is important.

D.Goss asked if transportation has ever created any forms or workshops to educate staff.

D. Lieb replied that there was a university mandated one that was not well attended.

H. Mandeville suggested that an effective way to get out the word may be having an information session or a “did you know” section in the PawPrint. P. Dusseau added that the PawPrint could be used to start the dialog and lead into the information sessions.

V. Report from the Chair

P. Dusseau reported that she met with Tommy Bruce and the new director of the Office of Web Communications for the university. This office manages the university main site and will be looking at other sites under the Cornell University domain. Staff opinion about the website was discussed along with the ways to receive feedback on what people want to see on them. P. Dusseau also met with Wellness to discuss the ways the EA and Wellness can partner together. These meetings are in the hopes to create connections/partnerships with others by playing a liaison for the EA.

P. Dusseau also reported that she spoke with Kathy Okun from the President’s Office, who is potentially interested in helping on one of the forums, either as the draw or just in helping organize it. Her issues and initiatives in the past have been involved in education, families, and community welfare. In addition, Chet Warzynski from Organizational Development has a program where social networks can be visualized through web ties. The EA has access to a huge group of constituents, and an idea would be to work with Chet to make this web a reality. If people feel that there are connections and that the EA is reaching out, then the EA can address concerns more effectively.

VI. New Business

A. Spring Forum Series
Forum Ideas/Partners:
i. Career Planning: with D. Billups of the Recruitment and Employment Center or D. Stein (“Positioning Yourself for the Future”)

ii. “When you and your boss disagree” with D. Walter of Facilities Administration, C. Warzynski of ODS, or S. Snell of Industrial and Labor Relations

iii. Wellness and stress management with K. Kerfoot

iv. Life Balances: topics such as vacations, workload, wellness, classes, family, juggling your schedule and attend meetings

v. Generational Differences with Student Assembly and Grad and Professional Student Assembly or the ILR School

vi. Maximizing your Cornell experience: with Debra Cox or Michael Esposito (educational/benefit/cultural aspects)

Theme: Life Balances (eventually to be re-titled)

Goals:
i. Reach out to staff: Marketing EA as a positive force
ii. Inform/Involve
iii. Positives in the work place
iv. Impact morale positively
v. Connect with larger Cornell community and develop partnerships

Each resource team can work on these forum titles.

VII. Open Forum

There were no items.

VIII. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 1:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Kervin Pillot
Office of the Assemblies