MINUTES
Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday August 21st, 2013
12:15 - 1:30pm
401 Physical Science

“Being an active Voice for Cornell Staff”

I. Call to Order

B. Schaffner called the meeting to order at 12:18PM.

Members Present: D. Brooks, L. Howell, C. Ferguson, T. Grove, E. Lee, G. Mezey, J. Rogan, L. Sayam, B. Schaffner, M. Seymour, P. Thompson.

Members Absent: J. Ambrosetti, N. Bell, A. Capogrossi, B. Cristelli, B. Esty, L. Morris.

Also Present: N. Doolittle, L. Falkson, A. Kleinberger, A. Mittman, A. O’Donnell, M. Powers, B.J. Siasoco.

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

None presented.

III. Approval of Minutes from June 19, 2013

B. Schaffner motioned to approve the minutes, T. Grove seconded the motion. Minutes were approved by unanimous consent.

IV. Business of the Day

a) Office of the University Ombudsman

Linda Falkson, Associate Ombudsman, and Adam Kleinberger, Assistant Ombudsman, were present to explain what the University Ombudsman’s office does and to ask for assistance in finding employees to assist other employees in grievance situations. An employee who files a grievance may have a fellow employee act as representation, and the Ombudsman is looking for employees to help fill that role.

V. Report from the Chair

a) Geneva Trip

B. Schaffner said seven members attended the off-site trip to the Geneva Agricultural Experiment Station. Research presentation topics included: new pesticides, farm worker hygiene, odor analyzer machine, and genetically modified strawberry tastes. Concerns that were voiced included: available of wellness equipment, nearby food options. T. Grove said that next year a trip to the Veterinary College instead of the Geneva trip would be beneficial.

b) Employee Survey

B. Schaffner asked to move this item to the end of the meeting.

c) Membership Announcements

B. Schaffner welcomed B.J. Siasoco, Assistant Director of Cornell Tradition, to the meeting and said that he is considering membership. B. Schaffner said that Bob Blanco will be leaving the university and his seat is now open. B. Schaffner welcomed M. Powers, Assistant Director of the Office of the Assemblies, to the meeting.

d) President’s Address to the Staff

B. Schaffner said the tentative date for the President’s Address to the Staff is October 1st, at Bailey Hall. Employee Survey is a potential talking point.

VI. Old Business

a) Transportation

Several routes leading out of Tompkins County into Tioga and Cortland Counties have been discontinued. L. Howell said she would request more information and ridership data.

b) Committee Appointments

P. Thompson gave an update on membership and noted that many employees are concerned about being able to leave work for committee meetings. C. Ferguson asked about the Personnel Policy Committee and L. Howell said last year it handled the Bereavement Policy. T. Grove suggested that the Personnel Policy Committee review a policy on participation in activities like committees. A. Mittman noted that there are two types of participation: travel participation for something like disaster relief or local community service participation.

c) Budget Update

No update.

d) Awards Committee

The recorder was stopped in order to retain confidentiality of the winners.

VII. New Business

a) Health and Personal Leave

The membership had an offline discussion of the new policy. A. Mittman clarified the changes provide more flexibility for employees on what time they can use in a given situation. T. Grove expressed concern that employees might be asked to offer a justification for person time that the employee is not willing to share. There is a need for more communication to the employees about the policy changes. N. Doolittle recommended using the PawPrint to get out this information.

VIII. Adjournment

B. Schaffner adjourned the meeting at 1:42PM.