MINUTES
Employee Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
12:15 — 1:30pm
Physical Sciences 401

“Being an active Voice for Cornell Staff”

I. Call to Order

B. Schaffner called the meeting to order at 12:15PM.

Members Present: J. Ambrosetti, N. Bell, L. Croll Howell, B. Etsy, C. Ferguson, T. Grove, E. Lee, G. Mezey, L. Morris, J. Rogan, L. Sayam, B. Schaffner, BJ Siasoco, M. Stefanski Seymour, P. Thompson

Members Absent: B. Brooks, B. Cristelli, G. Osborne

Also Present: A. Mittman, N. Doolittle, A. O’Donnell, B. Murphy

II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

B. Schaffner added the following items to the agenda:

• Representation for Academic Non-Professorial Employees
• Volunteers for Employee Celebration Day

III. Approval of Minutes from September 18, 2013

L. Morris motioned to approve the minutes. G. Mezey seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

VI. Business of the Day

a) President’s Address to the Staff

B. Schaffner noted the address was held October 1st in Bailey Hall. General recommendations from the room were 1) microphones should be easier to access and 2) comments should all take place at the beginning and none the end. In-person attendance was estimated at 400 people, but no one has heard about online viewership yet.

There were several questions that were not covered during the President’s Address.

• Concern regarding the maintenance and upkeep of fitness and wellness facilities across campus. B. Schaffner passed the question along to the President’s office and the EA will bring the issue up at the next UA meeting.
• Concern regarding the college scholarship for employees’ children and it does not help the family’s estimated contribution, just replaces federal aid instead. The room agreed this was an issue resulting from other institutions’ policy on financial aid, not as a result of the scholarship.

B. Schaffner also noted the President sent out the full response to the Employee Survey Response Team. (https://hr.cornell.edu/about/employeesurvey/es_response.pdf)

b) Polling Attendees at the President’s Address

Informal polling done at the President’s address shows most people heard about the event through Pawprint or Email. For many, this was either their first time attending or greater than their fifth time attending. There was a noticeable drop of people who have attended for 2–4 consecutive years. N. Doolittle will distribute the link to the video in Pawprint. J. Ambrosetti thought the President’s email was effective, but each of the Deans or Unit heads should email their respective constituents to encourage greater attendance. P. Thompson said attendance by at least one executive representative from each unit would help further the feeling of community.

T. Grove suggested the address be moved to a different location next year to reach a new audience. G. Mezey suggested it always be in a central location for easy accessibility. B. Schaffner said the EA should remain open to considering a change in venue. A few possible locations were discussed.

J. Ambrosetti asked if the President’s Address could be a semesterly event. T. Grove suggested a spring semester event with Mary Opperman, Vice President of Human Resources, be held instead of two with the president.

V. Report from the Chair

a) Employee Survey Response Team Update

B. Schaffner said the ESRT is disbanding soon. They are moving to a quarterly meeting schedule and are meeting with Mary Opperman to discuss the target date for the next staff survey.

VI. Old Business

a) Committee Updates

B. Schaffner said the EA needs one more member, a non-exempt person. P. Thompson said she has a Lecturer interested in possibly joining. G. Mezey suggested the EA invite Joe Burns, Dean of Faculty, to discuss the issue of representation for non-professorial academic employees.

b) Budget Update

J. Ambrosetti said the EA would need to increase their budget by about $2500 to hold another event. B. Schaffner will talk to the Office of the Assemblies about amending the current budget. The members discussed having a spring event later in the day with a less expensive food option.

c) CARE Fund

The President announced that funds will be replenished for the CARE fund. J. Ambrosetti is concerned about the long-term sustainability of the fund, as it needs about $25,000 a year to be efficient, which is not possible with current fundraising. T. Grove asked how much money is needed to endow the fund. J. Ambrosetti said it would be about $500,000 based on his rough calculations, but it has to be coordinated with the Development office. T. Grove noted the EA must have a worked-out plan before approaching anyone. G. Mezey said he thinks the funds replenishment should not all be spent in the Fiscal Year, as long-term management of the funds is important. BJ Siasoco said he thought the fund should be used if needed, not purposely rolled over.

B. Schaffner said the President did a good job reminding the Staff about the purpose of the fund: employees helping employees. She would like to push the payroll deduction form and noted that $1 from 5000 employees would lead to more than enough funds to endow the CARE fund. T. Grove said another idea is to ask Departments to payout donated vacation days to the CARE fund.

d) Vacation Time Cash-Out

B. Schaffner asked about the vacation time cash-out option when working under extreme work volume. A. Mittman confirmed this is a option according to current policy. G. Mezey reaffirmed the “extreme” vacation circumstances, and not every denied request means the cash-out option is available.

VII. New Business

a) EA News

B. Schaffner said she would like to have a profile of all members in the Pawprint. E. Lee will own this item and coordinate with N. Doolittle.

b) Employee Representative in Ombudsman’s Office

B. Scaffner is still seeking employees who might be interested in being grievance representatives through the Ombudsman’s office.

c) Employee Celebration Day

The Employee Celebration Day is still looking for volunteers for October 12, 2013. Anyone interested should contact B. Schaffner.

VIII. Adjournment

B. Schaffner adjourned the meeting at 1:28PM.