MINUTES
Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
316 Day Hall

I. Call to Order

T. Grove called the meeting to order at 12:18 p.m.

Present - D. Brooks, T. Denesevich, P. Dongtoe, C. Ferguson, T. Grove, L. Howell, L. Meyerhoff, L. Morris, G. Osborne, J. Seymour, G. Stewart

Absent- K. Coldren, C. Philips

Also Attending- A. Epstein, B. McKinney, A. O’Donnell

II. Call for Late Additions

One late addition was added to New Business by C. Ferguson.

III. Business of the Day

a) Board of Trustees Breakfast on 03–10–2011

T. Grove thanked all those who were planning to attend the Board of Trustees breakfast next week. She said there was no set agenda for the event but the EA should have some ideas about topics to discuss. B. McKinney noted that five trustees along with Mary Opperman would be attending the breakfast. T. Grove will be sending an email to M. Opperman and the board about topics that might be discussed at the meeting. In addition, B. McKinney suggested the EA become familiar with the trustees biographies and G. Stewart suggested the EA should give the trustees biographies of all EA members in return.

The floor was then open for discussion about ideal topics for the breakfast. The topic of EA expansion and the resolution on staff engagement in the work place were noted. G. Stewart mentioned the trustees should be asked if they have any sense of the value of Cornell staff and what the staff does? He mentioned the accomplishments of the staff should be explained to the trustees and suggested that a one-page report about staff accomplishments should be giving to the trustees before the breakfast. C. Ferguson asked if this breakfast could become an annual event especially with the EA expansion that will be occurring.

L. Howell suggested it be brought up to the trustees that the staff at Cornell is unique and very different from the corporate staff the trustees employ because the Cornell staff tends to have a much longer tenure. C. Ferguson mentioned the kudos website should be mentioned to the trustees as well. B. McKinney stated that starting the meeting off with this topic could also make a nice segue to the morale issues facing the staff. Based off of this point, C. Ferguson said that although the tenure might be high for certain staff members, the retention rate of staff of color is horrible.

Another topic raised was the budget cuts and its effects on the cost of living. The EA should mention that more staff members are living farther from Ithaca due to the expenses but that driving into work is becoming expensive as well. T. Grove said the trustees and the university should look into four-day work in the office week and a one-day work at home for some staff. C. Ferguson stated that possibly the best way to implement this is to push the survey.

Any data, biographies, or other information should be sent to T. Grove by the end of the day on Friday March 4, 2011.

b) Responding to Staff Concerns about Stress, Job reductions, etc

T. Grove said the article in the Daily Sun painted a rosy picture about how the staff is handling the lay-offs, which is definitely an incorrect representation. B. McKinney has received feedback about these issues and reported that some of the staff are very stressed. It was mentioned that the EA could become a conduit for the staff to voice concerns. T. Grove suggested creating an e-mail address where staff could send anonymous emails about their concerns and workplace problems.

One of the main issues facing some employees is the lack of a job description and no regular performance reviews. There was no solution to this problem at the current time except for the members of the EA to encourage employees to continue to ask their supervisors for revised job descriptions. G. Osborne reported the deans of the colleges are becoming concerned and they are attempting to increase staff morale through planned activities. C. Ferguson mentioned the staff should be allowed stress breaks similar to students. T. Grove agreed this idea would boost morale however some supervisors may frown upon employees who leave to have a stress break. C. Ferguson suggested having the deans and the EA meet to discuss the Staff Engagement Survey.

G. Stewart introduced the issue of the managers not being well-prepared and lacking proper training. Many current managers were promoted because they were very good at what they were doing but they do not have skills in managing people. Members suggested that more training should be given to managers; however, nothing definitive was decided. L. Meyerhoff suggested a forum or focus group sponsored by the EA for the staff to discuss similar problems they might be having. The conversation was tabled by T. Grove with the consideration that it would be discussed in later meetings.

IV. Report from the Chair

T. Grove received an email from Transportation Hearing Appeals Board in which they requested the EA appoint staff members. T. Grove will be putting out a call for people on the EA or other staff who might be interested in serving. She noted there have been no recent meetings with Mary Opperman.

V.Approval of Minutes

a) February 2, 2011

T. Grove made a motion to approval the minutes. L. Morris seconded the motion. The members voted and the February 2, 2011 minutes were approved.

b) February 16, 2011

Some minor changes were added to the language of the minutes. T. Grove made a motion to approve the minutes. L. Howell seconded the motion. The members voted and the minutes for February 16, 2011 were approved.

VI. Committee Reports

a) Transportation Advisory Committee - D. Brooks

D. Brooks said he attended a meeting where the members discussed trying to simplify the parking permits system. The free lot, A-lot, will still remain free for staff members. The committee is discussing the parking for time clock workers, which currently does not offer enough space and has a time constraint meaning so consequently many employees have been receiving tickets when parked there to clock in/out for their shifts.

It was also noted the rates for motorcycle permits were increased from $60 for the life of your motorcycle to $100 per year. T. Grove said she would like to know how many people this affects and its affect on sustainability? D. Brooks will be collecting more information on this subject and the number it will affect. The EA members discussed asking the committee to create an updated list of stops for the staff members to use as a reference.

b) Finance - G. Osborne

G. Osborne gave an overview of the budget. The EA has low spending and discussed different avenues to put the money towards in the future. T. Denesevich suggested the EA sponsor a lottery, which could boost staff morale. Different prizes and legality issues will be discussed in later meetings. G. Osborne will be sending an outline of the budget to the EA members to be discussed at the March 16, 2011 meeting.

VII.Old Business

There was no old business to discuss at this meeting.

VIII.New Business

a)Cornell Connection - C. Ferguson

C. Ferguson mentioned the Cornell Connection is a monthly networking system to help employees. More information will be gathered on this topic and will be discussed at the next meeting.

IX. Open Forum

There was no open forum.

X. Adjournment

T. Grove made a motion to adjourn the employee assembly meeting. C. Ferguson seconded the motion. The EA meeting was adjourned at 1:32 p.m.