MINUTES
Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, October 19, 201
12:15 −1:30 pm
316 Day Hall

I. Call to Order

T. Grove called the meeting to order at 12:16 pm.

Present: J. Boodley Buchanan, D. Brooks, B. Cristelli, L. Croll Howell, B. Esty, K. Fahey, C. Ferguson, T. Grove, M. Kitchen, L. Meyerhoff, L. Morris, G. Osborne, L. Sayam, B. Schaffner, G. Stewart

Absent: J. Seymour

Also present: N. Doolittle, A. Epstein, M. Opperman, A. O’Donnell

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

There was one late addition to the agenda added by Ann Marie Morris regarding transportation.

III. Business of the Day

a) Means Restriction Update (15min.) — Gilbert Delgado and Tim Marchell

A. Magre explained G. Delgado could not attend the meeting so he would be covering for him. He thanked the EA for having him and T. Marchell at the meeting and he began his presentation by informing the EA since the last presentation there have been several refinements to the designs of the restriction. The current idea is mesh netting underneath all of the bridges except the suspension bridge, which would have mesh surrounding the entire structure. The group in charge of the means restriction at Cornell visited Switzerland to study the net systems they have implemented. A. Magre stated the group learned the nets did not collect debris, had no effects on birds and wildlife, were low maintenance, minimally visible, and generally accepted by the communities. He then presented the designs for the bridges on the Cornell Campus and in the Ithaca Community. The pictures of the new restriction nets are available online and everyone is encouraged to view them. There are a total of seven bridges, four of which are located on Cornell campus. For the three bridges not on campus, the means restriction has to be approved by the City Common Council. T. Marchell stated six of the ten members have to approve the plans and currently there are only three members who are fully on board. If the council does not approve the process then Cornell will still continue and implement the means restriction on the bridges located on campus.

The floor was opened for discussion. B. Esty asked whether in Switzerland they had instances of thrill seekers jumping for fun? A. Magre said there were no instances of that. B. Esty questioned how the mesh nets prevent people who are attempting suicide from getting off them anyway? T. Marchell continued by saying the mesh is a bit difficult to get out of and the presence of the nets also has a psychological effect of deterring people. L. Meyerhoff asked if the Common Council does not approve the bridge designs will Cornell move on? T. Marchell answered yes Cornell would continue but the temporary fences will have to be removed from all bridges.

The current goal is have all of the mesh nets installed by the end of the summer of 2012. It was questioned as to why the restrictions would not be installed sooner. A. Magre explained they do not want to obstruct vehicular traffic by working on all the bridges simultaneously. Therefore, the bridges will be worked on at different times and each one should take about six weeks to install the nets. The goal is to install the nets on the most dangerous bridges first. Finally, G. Stewart asked T. Marchell and A. Magre what the Employee Assembly could do to help the process? T. Marchell said any method to share information, and to express and cultivate support is helpful.

b) HR VP - Mary Opperman

After receiving an e-mail from the EA with question they would like her to address, M. Opperman began by discussing the Employee Engagement Survey. She stated that she has not seen the survey but that she will be sending out a letter on October 20, 2011 to the DDD letting employees know that they can complete the survey during work and the dates that the survey will be running. She mentioned the overall outcomes will be complied in the IRP report which the EA will be receiving. The colleges and units will be receiving this information as well. As for the follow up, she stated it will be difficult to know what should happen regarding the results. If there are actionable things than those can be followed up on. M. Opperman stated some of the actions will fall on President Skorton whereas other responsibilities, such as more campus wide issues, should be addressed by the EA but this will not be decided until the results are complied. T. Grove stated the most important thing for the EA is to take action with the results of the survey so people who filled out the survey do not feel as though they wasted their time. B. Schaffner asked why M. Opperman had no input on the survey? M. Opperman answered that IR only agreed to create the survey within the timeline if they did not have to get approval on all questions. Therefore, she was able to see the general areas the survey would be focusing on but in order to have the survey on time she was not able to give input on specific questions in the survey.

The second issue M. Opperman addressed was healthcare. She said people should expect a six percent increase, which is about a third less than the national average. T. Grove asked if there will be a SIP program. M. Opperman said yes. L. Morris asked what the reason was for increasing the dependence to 26 years? M. Opperman stated the age range of 21–26 yrs were the most uninsured people. Since they have no healthcare they use emergency rooms, which are extremely expensive. By changing the dependents are covered for it is cheaper for the person, but more expensive for the employers who now have to pay for the additional dependents.

The final topic M. Opperman discussed was the NYC Tech Campus. M. Opperman stated that it would be good to have a presentation at an EA meeting on this. She stated that the program is coming from Mayor Bloomberg. It would involve 100 million dollars and land for a campus in New York City with the stipulation that whoever wins the campus will have to employee a certain percent of their staff from the city unemployment list. Currently, the major competition for the NYC Tech Campus is Stanford University. M. Opperman stated winning this campus would be very exciting for Cornell to have and that with the land grant mission Cornell has, this tech campus would fit perfectly in perfectly. She also stated that the money to create the campus, would be raised through fundraising for the first ten years and none of it would come from Cornell’s endowment.

T. Grove asked if there were any remaining questions for M. Opperman. A. Epstein asked if she would highlight the HR efforts. There are three main things HR is dealing with currently. The first is the new On-Boarding Center, which has all new employees and faculty receive the same experience upon entering Cornell. Secondly, HR is working to consolidate to one location. The last issue HR is dealing with is Work Day. There is no release date yet since they do not want to put something out that will be hard for people to use and may have major issues. She stated currently the technology, Cornell systems, and the campus are not ready for Work Day. In the meantime, Kronos will replace Colts and then once that is running properly Work Day will be matriculated in.

IV. Approval of Minutes from last meeting

L. Morris made a motion to approve the minutes. L. Meyerhoff seconded. The members voted unanimously to approve the minutes from October 5, 2011.

V. Report from the Chair

a) Leadership Breakfast

T. Grove stated at the leadership breakfast there was an update of the NYC Tech Campus. If Cornell gets the campus it will be graduate studies and will focus on three hubs: connective media, healthier life, and building environment. The campus would look at connecting with a K-12 school in the area as part of Cornell’s Land Grant Mission. The campus will be a completely green campus and the first building to be created will supply all of its own energy.

VI. Committee Reports

a)Update on Committee Chairs- Bridget Cristelli

B. Cristelli updated the EA on the new chairs for some of the committees. L. Sayam will chair the Education Committee, L. Morris will chair the Communications Committee, T. Grove will chair the Recognition and Awards Committee, and J. Boodley Buchanan will chair the Personnel Policy Committee.

b) Update from the Faculty Senate — Leslie Meyerhoff

L. Meyerhoff explained at the last meeting they passed a resolution revising a previous resolution, which had stated faculty members could not get a CU degree. The new resolution allows faculty to get a degree, but with stipulations.

She said they discussed the NYC Tech Campus, and there is a lot of concern the fundraising for the NYC Tech Campus will take away from the fundraising for the Ithaca campus. However, most people are enthusiastic and supportive of the NYC Tech Campus.

c) United Way Update — Leslie Meyerhoff

L. Meyerhoff said there is a women’s hockey game on November 12, 2011, which is a fundraiser for United Way. For each ticket sale, $1 will be given to United Way. She also said pledge cards are out and can be used to make donations as well. Finally, she announced this is the 90th Anniversary of the United Way.

VII. Old Business

a)Care Fund Auction update — Gemma Osborne

G. Osborne said as of October 19, 2011 at 4:00 pm the online auction ended. She thanked the members of the EA who signed up to volunteer at the auction. Currently, the online auction has raised $4,000.

b) Pres Address to Staff - set location

The current options for the Presidents Address to Staff are Schwartz Center or Annabel Taylor Hall. If anyone has any other ideas they should come prepared to discuss it at the next meeting.

c) Pres Award submissions

This was tabled until the next meeting.

d) January Retreat - set date and time

This was tabled until the next meeting.

VIII. New Business

a.) Ann Marie Morris

A. Morris stated she is looking for solutions to the problem of the TCAT bus route 52 stopping their services across county lines. A. Morris explained another company used to service across the county line; however, it was taken over by TCAT a few years ago. TCAT has announced they are planning to drop service as of the end of the year. There were a couple of questions regarding whether TCAT should be able to stop servicing this route since many people who ride it are Cornell employees and Cornell helps fund TCAT. Currently, the group has met with a TCAT representative who said they are looking into changing a couple of routes or they may be able to give the commuters a couple buses in the morning and afternoon. She is hoping the EA can help find another solution. K. Fahey stated TCAT issues were discussed at the Infrastructure Committee and she will take this specific issue to the committee for the next meeting. A. Morris asked the EA to help formulate a resolution to prevent TCAT from removing this route.

IX. Open Forum

There was no open forum for this meeting.

X. Adjournment

B. Schaffner made a motion to adjourn the meeting. L. Sayam seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 1:36 p.m.