Employee Assembly Minutes
Wednesday, February 3, 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 12:20 p.m.

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

II. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of January 20, 1999, were passed by acclamation.

III. Open Forum

L.Clougherty noted that on the website, the new members of the EA needed to be added to the list. She also thanked the Office of Assemblies for their dedicated and quick work.

D.Stein praised L.Clougherty for her article in PawPrint, stating that it was very creative and excellent writing.

T.Hoebbel mentioned that he spoke to D.DiBene regarding the Campus Climate Committee, and he was comfortable being the alternate; he also let the group know he and CJ would be at the next meeting and would report back to the assembly.

L.Russell commended C.Hayes for stepping in and taking over planning for the DSA.

M.Esposito asked if the EA was on the agenda for the spring Trustee meeting, and asked that if not, if someone from the EA was working on it. In addition, he brought up a concern voiced by a Communications Committee member who was upset that he had not known about the surprise event for George Peter; apparently, many people on the committee felt the DSA was their event, and were distressed they didn’t know about the planned honor. T.Calvert responded that the event had been planned quickly and kept quiet because it was a secret, and as a result, the committee didn’t meet to discuss the event. C.J. Lance-Duboscq noted that she and T.Hoebbel should meet with the committee chairs to maintain communication between the different groups.

T.Calvert commended G.Brandt for a wonderful Hockey Tournament.

IV. Announcements and Reports

A. Annual Presidential Address to Employees

C.J.Lance-Duboscq reported last Wednesday the IOC decided to do an annual President’s Report, sometime this March when students would be off campus. C.Gardner pointed out that the President’s calendar fills fast, so the group should be sure to get on his schedule quickly.

B. Opperman/Rogers Luncheon

C.J.Lance-Duboscq asked that all assembly members let her know whether or not they would be attending the meeting, and that people write down items for the luncheon’s agenda. The next luncheon meeting is scheduled for February 15.

C. Assembly Leadership Meeting

T.Hoebbel reported that the next breakfast meeting is on Feb. 9th. On the 23rd, the Assemblies’ Leadership will be meeting with the administration.

D. EA January Retreat

C.J.Lance-Duboscq reminded the EA that they had considered having a January retreat last fall, and asked if people were still interested in having one. C.Gardner said she’d be happy to host it again, but asked if it would be formal or informal, or have elements of both? J.Worden inquired as to what the format had been last time. C.J.Lance-Duboscq recalled during the last retreat Gerry Thomas moderated/facilitated the meeting at C.Gardner’s house, and she felt the retreat was less goal oriented than she would have liked. There was an open format, and the group worked on goals and ideas. She mentioned the other retreat the assembly had which was formal and moderated by Jill Haselman, where the EA worked on team building activities.

T.Hoebbel expressed the idea that perhaps stating specific goals for the retreat would allow the EA to determine the success for the retreat, and provide a basis for evaluation. C.J.Lance-Duboscq called an informal vote among the group, counting four in favor of a retreat, and asked if those four would come up with some specific topics that could be brought to the group. M.Esposito said that he felt an important purpose of a retreat was to get to know people, and since EA members were already pretty far into their terms, and new members would be joining the group soon, he thought that perhaps the EA should wait to have a retreat. T.Calvert noted that she enjoyed the Has1elman retreat, and would support another one like that. C.J.Lance-Duboscq suggested perhaps the EA should hold off on a professional retreat until summertime, but might like to have a social gathering. Interested members to speak to C.Gardner.

E. Tony Fraboni’s Reception

C.J.Lance-Duboscq noted that a reception for T.Fraboni, who is retiring this year, is being held today at 3 PM in the Memorial Room of Willard Straight Hall.

F. TAC

C.J.Lance-Duboscq strongly encouraged all EA members to go to the TAC meeting on Monday, Feb. 8, to show solidarity for employee requests. T.Calvert added that the group serves free lunch on Monday’s, so if members are planning to attend they should inform a TAC member.

V. Business of the Day

C.J.Lance-Duboscq pointed out that the EA had attempted to change the EA Charter several times, with no success. She proposed that the group go over some proposed changes in an informal matter, not using Robert’s Rules. L.Clougherty asked whether or not the stipulation in Article 9 of the Charter - which states that some changes can only be made through referenda to employees - would still hold with the proposed changes. C.Gardner replied that since the charter was being changed to accurately reflect the name of a campus organization, and not in terms of policy or procedure, Articles 2, 3, and 9 could be done without referenda to employees, but would require the approval of the President.

L.Clougherty then referred to the portion of the changes regarding revising the officer positions in the charter. C.J.Lance-Duboscq noted that the last time the group discussed changing the EA’s executive structure, M.Esposito voiced certain concerns. M.Esposito replied he felt the structure was fine as it stood - with more officers, a full 1/3 of the EA would have executive positions, putting too much power in the hands of too few people. He also expressed a concern that the new position proposed did not have a specific enough description.

T.Hoebbel asked why M.Esposito felt that expanding leadership positions would put too much power in the hands of too few? M.Esposito replied that the group should delegate power, not appoint a new officer; if being a Vice Chair and a committee chair was too much responsibility, then duties should be distributed among other EA members.

C.J.Lance-Duboscq suggested that perhaps the description of the Vice Chair’s job could be modified to exclude chairmanship of the Communications Committee. C.Hayes inquired who would chair the committee then? C.J.Lance-Duboscq responded any EA member could chair the committee. C.Hayes asked if the group would elect a new chair each year? C.J.Lance-Duboscq reasoned if someone was serving a two year term, they could chair the committee for two years. T.Calvert suggested that the Communications Committee choose their own chair out of their membership. C.Gardner explained the reason for having an EA member as chair of the committee was so there was a good deal of communication between the EA proper and its committees. C.J.Lance-Duboscq proposed, then, that at least the chair of the committee be an EA member.

C.J.Lance-Duboscq also pointed out that while always chaired by a member of the EA, the committee has been severely underutilized, and has been given no new jobs to do in the past few years. T.Calvert agreed, remembering a new brochure for the EA that was never revised. C.J.Lance-Duboscq explained that T.Hoebbel, as both Vice-chair and Chair of the Communications Committee, had a lot of work to do and needed to spend time on EA things other than the committee. M.Esposito suggested that the EA solicit suggestions from the Communications Committee as to what they would like to do about the chairpersonship.

T.Hoebbel recognized the importance of the Communications Committee and said that they needed a chair, but suggested perhaps the Vice Chair could be an automatic member of the committee, or could even CO-chair the committee with another member, so that when his duties got to be too complex, the co chair could step in.

At this time, questions about changing officers positions, as well as further Charter changes, were referred to the IOC committee.

VI. Committee Reports

Advisory Committee on Work and Family Services - L.Russell stated that he hadn’t been able to make recent meetings; he promised to report as soon as he attended the next meeting.

University Benefits Committee - L.Clougherty reported there had been a meeting last week when Paul Bursic discussed endowed health insurance providers. She said statutory employees were upset because they weren’t getting timely information about health plans. Endowed employees pointed out troubles that Aetna was having returning claims to people.

Student Assembly and GPSA - C.J.Lance-Duboscq shared her hard work with both the SA and the GPSA, explaining that she felt the power of each assembly was maximized when the groups worked in tandem. T.Hoebbel cited specifically the joint passing of the campus climate resolutions. C.J.Lance-Duboscq reported that she had worked on the last clause of the resolution and would report on it during IOC reports.

University Assembly - M.Esposito explained that the leadership of the UA was currently involved in the search for a new JA, and that he, along with other EA members were currently drafting a resolution regarding increased psychological services for the campus community. L.Clougherty asked if perhaps the UA could request program documents earlier, and M.Esposito replied that he would request just that. C.J.Lance-Duboscq requested an update on the alcohol policy, and M.Esposito reported it had been passed.

Communications Committee - T.Hoebbel explained that the committee was deciding who the next DSA winner would be within the next week, and would hold a reception for them soon. He also mentioned that the reception for people who had been nominated but hadn’t won needed to be planned soon. Members of the EA suggested that a reception be held in June, six months (roughly) from the last one. It was suggested that former DSA winner’s names be placed on a plaque. The lobby of Day Hall will be considered as a home for the plaque.

The Employee Assembly decided to add a referenda question to the ballot that will read:

• “Would you make a contribution toward a fund to help Cornell employees in crisis situations such as fellow Arecibo employees experienced during Hurricane George?”

C.J.Lance-Duboscq announced that the language for the “Be it therefore resolved…” clause for the campus climate resolution was finalized; she will send it out on email and take into consideration any suggestions before she sends it to President Rawlings.

T.Calvert let the EA know that TAC had discussed pro-rating temporary employee parking permits, and decided it would not be a cost-effective plan.

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

Respectfully Submitted,

Julia Gordon Office of Assemblies