Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
B16 Day Hall
Minutes

I. Call to Order

President J. Seymour could not be present for the Employee Assembly meeting. D. Brooks called the meeting to order at 12:20 p.m.

D. Brooks then called the roll. Present- D. Brooks, P. Dongtoe, T. Grove, L. Croll Howell, N. LaCelle, A. Mittman, L. Morris, T. Ostrander, C. Phillips, G. Stewart, Absent- B. McKinney, L. Lawrence, G. Osborne, J. Seymour Also attending- GPSA liaison B. Heavner, A. O’Donnell, A. Epstein, K. Dessources, Guest speaker M. Opperman

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

There were no late additions to the existing agenda.

III. Business of the Day

a) Open Discussion with Mary Opperman

D. Brooks opened the discussion with VP Mary George Opperman. He said she had been given a few questions in advance about layoffs and the budget situation. M. Opperman explained that she is still uncertain. She believes that Cornell is currently down 700 positions (7%); the majority of these reductions have been through attrition and SRI, only 200 of the 700 were layoffs. M. Opperman explained that Cornell does not plan on downsizing everything in a short period of time. Rather, it will be a gradual process.

M. Opperman explained that regular attrition is going to be optimized; when jobs become vacant, they will not be filled. For example, in HR, there has not been a job filled in a long time. M. Opperman explained this is how HR was able to meet their target. People within the department have moved around and adjusted to other jobs. She noted HR has reduced eleven positions without any lay offs.

D. Brooks asked M. Opperman if there is any consideration of qualified staff taking higher positions so those who get laid off can fill in the vacancies. M. Opperman explained Cornell’s commitment to looking inside before looking outside when filling vacant positions. However, she said it seems like people “inside” are staying where they are, and aren’t applying for open positions. D. Brooks then inquired about the degree program, and how it affects employees who are laid off. M. Opperman explained laid-off employees have 12-months where all benefits continue, except pay, so enrollment in the degree program would continue.

Next, D. Brooks asked if HR reps are assisting university leaders in delivering messages concerning layoffs. M. Opperman explained HR is assisting with the process and no layoff can occur before HR has approved it. When a department proposes a reorganization that is going to affect a job, there is a formal process. Such reorganization must be reviewed and approved by the Board of Trustees. The Board looks at each potential layoff, and analyze why these individuals were chosen. The HR director for that unit then decides how the change will be communicated.

D. Brooks asked it there are formalized procedures on how these messages are relayed? M. Opperman explained there are procedures and scripts, but while some relay the message well, others do not. M. Opperman explained it is very hard to let someone go from their job well. She commented it is difficult to give such a message in the best of circumstances and these are not the best of circumstances.

D. Brooks asked M. Opperman if there is going to be another retirement package. M. Opperman said no; the price tag of the last retirement package was a value-driven decision, but it greatly added to the budget deficit.

P. Dongtoe asked M. Opperman how long the job freeze will continue? M. Opperman clarified there isn’t a job freeze in place, job openings are still being released. The university is not hiring much, but they are hiring. They have filled 150 job positions since July. In the absence of the budget crisis, they would have filled 1000.

C. Phillips asked M. Opperman to better clarify the “spans and layers” organizational set up, and how it affects the layoff process. M. Opperman explained that the fewer layers an organization has (or the flatter the organization is), the more efficient the organization is going to be. The diagnostic suggests that efficiency increases if you have fewer managers between the people who do the work.

M. Opperman closed by explaining the university must keep productive with faculty and research. The future is uncertain, but M. Opperman assured the members that until goals are clearer, the university will not take one more person from their job.

After M. Opperman left, the members briefly reflected on the discussion. D. Brooks mentioned the availability of psychiatric counseling for employees during times of difficulty and anxiety. B. Heavner expressed that this was the first time he was assured that a big round of layoffs is not on the horizon. Both T. Grove and G. Stewart commented on the slowness of the layoff process. T. Grove explained the most difficult part is that announcements are coming very quickly, but end results are coming very slowly. This greatly contributes to the anxiety on campus.

IV. Report from Employee Elected Trustee

B. McKinney was not present. There was no report from the Employee Elected Trustee.

V. Report from UA Representative

L. Lawrence was not present. There was no report from the UA Representative.

VI. Report from GPSA representative

B. Heavner explained the recent Town Hall forum went well. There was a good turnout with several key university administrators present. The GPSA will follow up on how to blend this with their bigger strategic plans.

G. Stewart took a moment to thank B. Heavner for remaining committed and being present for all of the EA meetings.

VII. Report from Faculty Senate Liaison

There were no new updates from the Faculty Senate Liaison.

VIII. EA Finance update

There were no new EA finance updates.

IX. Report from the Chair

There was no report from the chair. J. Seymour was absent due to an IT emergency.

X. Approval of Minutes-

a) February 17, 2010

B. Heavner motioned for a small change in the minutes. L. Morris made a motion to approve the minutes with the change. T. Grove seconded. The minutes were voted on, and approved.

XI. Committee Reports

a) Executive Committee

There was no executive committee meeting last week due to the snowstorm.

b) Staff Recognition & Awards

T. Grove explained the George Peter award ceremony is going to be held on April 5th. She encouraged EA attendance at this event. She also explained there is a new email address to send in employee Kudos’. She is hopeful people will begin to actively write in.

c) Communication

D. Brooks explained that guidelines for the up-and-coming elections are needed. If the EA wants a 33-seat membership, they must recruit candidates to run for the open positions.

d) Personnel Policy

A. Mittman explained a possibility of employees seeing changes in work policy. Specifically, he explained the focus is trying to expend flexibility in the years that lead to retirement. He questioned the possibility of a part-time workweek. A. Mittman explained the committee is going to meet again next week. They will be sharing the current policy statement, and working on coming up with an idea as to what an ideal policy statement should look like.

e) Internal Operations

T. Grove gave an update on the approaching elections. She explained there are six seats to fill for next year. She presented both election rules and an election calendar. T. Grove noted that signed petitions are no longer needed. The assembly considered the possibility of having an open forum before the election.

f) University Benefits

There were no updates on the University Benefits committee.

g) Employee Education

C. Phillips explained she will be meeting with people from the Human Resources department who specialize in education benefits. T. Grove asked if C. Phillips would ask about the employee degree program that the assembly previously spoke about. C. Phillips agreed.

h) Cornell in Transition update

The presentation from M. Opperman served as the Cornell in Transition update for this week.

XII.Old Business

No old business was discussed.

XIII. New Business

a) Employee Transportation

D. Brooks addressed the issue of Cornell staff getting to the A-lot parking area after work. He explained buses often come early, and are often full. He also commented many drivers are unfriendly. D. Brooks said he will refer this comment to TAC or to TAC representatives.

b) EA Newsletter

D. Brooks thanked G. Stewart for getting the EA newsletter out. P. Dongtoe asked if the newsletter could be distributed in hardcopy once a year. G. Stewart said he thought that was a good idea, and something that could be looked into.

XIV. Open Forum

There were no issues discussed in open forum.

XV. Adjournment

D. Brooks made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 1:33 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,
Kalisha Dessources