Minutes for September 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302

Members Present: Denise Berry, Ben Bond, Steve Brahm, Lewis Bowen, Patrick Buckner, Anthony Bumpass, Nellie Cano, James Cooper, Jackie Dana, Lara Eakins, Suzanne Ewing, Danielle Fournier, Melva Harbin, Martha Harrison, Phillip Hebert, Janice Hejl, Bobby Hemby, Keith Hill, Troy Johnson, Charles King, Dianne Kline, Vicki Kullberg, Janet Larsen, Sarah Lind, David Macha, Gary Martt, Jimmy Moore, Rita Moreno, Louise Nelson, Amy Olson, Linda Overton, Pamela Owen, Eric Patkowski, Cynthia Podolnick, Cindy Posey, Janet Reed, Jo Ann Richmond, Ben Rodriguez, Tracy Saenger, Chris Scherer, Candace Shye, Mark Smyth, Peter Telck, Mindy Thompson, Heather Vacek, Robert Walker, James Wawak, Ashley Williams, Blake Willms, Sunni Zuniga    

Members Absent with Notification: Craig Blaha, John Goutier, Joe Gregory, Chrissi Guerrero, Lori Hamilton, Sarah Kitten, Jennifer McAndrew, Tina Radke, Martha Ramey, Brandy Whitten, Brittany Wilson

Members Absent: Jose Barroso, Mary Campbell, Stephanie Cardenas, Alma Craig, Richard Lee, Shelton Lewis, Jennifer McClain, Robert Meyer, Janell Ross, Madison Searle, Rachel Sidopulos, Meredith Taylor, Evan Turner, Barbara Welch, Luis Zamora

Call to Order

With a quorum present, Chair Mark Smyth called the meeting to order at 2:00pm.

Announcements

Next month's meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 from 2:00-3:30pm in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302.

President Powers’ State of the University address will be presented today at 4pm, in the Winship Drama Building.  Staff Council members are encouraged to attend if possible.

Officer Reports

Chair

Chair Mark Smyth announced the first guest speaker, Student Government President Keshav Rajagopalan. 

Mr. Rajagopalan addressed the Council to share information about an initiative to create a safety web site.  Student Government is partnering with the Office of Campus & Employee Services and the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs to create the web site, which will be a culmination of all campus safety information, including videos.  The web site is schedule for launch in January 2009 though the URL is yet to be confirmed.

Student Government meets weekly on Tuesdays at 7pm in the Glen Maloney Room in the Student Services Building, and all are welcome to attend.  Students, staff and faculty are encouraged to submit feedback regarding the web site to Mr. Rajagopalan at keshavr@austin.utexas.edu.  Mr. Rajagopalan thanked the Council for their time and allowing him to speak with them today.

Following Mr. Rajagopalan’s presentation, Chair Mark Smyth announced the second guest
speaker, Garrett Groves, who is a member of a student organization called Grindstone.  The student group, which is comprised of graduate students, has been involved in community initiatives in Austin, including studying the gap between cost of living and salaries of UT Austin employees.  The group has learned much about the Staff Council initiative for a staff Ombudsman, and wanted to offer support to the Council by researching this initiative and providing information to advance the issue to the University administration.  Mr. Groves shared that students are engaged to help staff and want to do what they can.

Eric Patkowski (District 291):  Is this a class project or an individually motivated initiative for the Grindstone group?

Mr. Groves:  This is not a class project; it is one that the group of about 10 students undertook on their own in an effort to do what we can to help staff in any way we can.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  Last year’s leadership met with faculty Ombudsman Stan Roux and student Ombudsman Lauren Bloom to get insight into how to move forward with this issue.  The main difference is that an Ombudsman doesn't keep records; there have been some concerns about this particular aspect of the Dispute Resolution Office, which is already in place for staff to use.  Staff Council voted to form an ad hoc committee to review and discuss the Ombudsman initiative with the Grindstone group, which wants to do whatever they can to help Staff Council with this.

Lauren Bloom:  Since 2005, I have been employed as the Ombudsman for students on campus, which requires extensive training.  The primary difference between an Ombudsman and any other grievance process is that the Ombudsman is independent and unbiased.  The office utilizes best practices and independent resources throughout interactions with others, and it is a more informal process than many others, not requiring individuals to file a grievance.  The office also does not adjudicate situations but rather is there to advise of options and try to mediate options for various situations.  The contact number for the office is 471-3285.

Chris Scherer (District 511):  I think the basic point of contention is that Staff Council wants an Ombudsman yet Human Resources tells us we don’t need one because there is a grievance and dispute resolution process already in place; but both of those processes are routed through Human Resources, and a lot of people are uncomfortable with that.

Cindy Posey (District 522):  I think it is only fair to allow representatives from Human Resource Services and Employee Management Services to speak on their own behalf regarding the dispute resolution and grievance processes.

Mr. Groves shared that the Grindstone group is in early stages of discussion on this issue and they would like to continue to support the staff and Council in any way possible.  He thanked the Council for their time and allowing him to speak with them today.

Following the guest speaker presentations, Chair Mark Smyth shared that the Executive Committee is currently working on formulating a Communication Plan to implement in order that processes are documented, thereby making annual transitions between Council and committee leadership much more smooth.

Mr. Smyth also thanked Nominations & Elections Chair Joe Gregory and the committee
members for their diligence in identifying suitable candidates to fill many of the district representative vacancies.

Mr. Smyth reminded representatives to continue tracking the time they use to handle Staff Council business matters.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  Should this calculation include representatives’ own personal time spent on Council business?

Mr. Smyth:  Yes.

Vice Chair

Ben Rodriguez announced that he has decided to step down as Vice Chair.  Due to an increase of work commitments, Mr. Rodriguez advised that he no longer has the availability of time needed to devote to fulfilling the responsibilities of the Vice Chair position.  Mr. Rodriguez will remain a Staff Council representative for district 130.2.  As a result, a special election will be scheduled at next month’s meeting to elect an interim Vice Chair. 

Mr. Rodriguez advised that nominations for Vice Chair will be accepted from this time until the October meeting.  The following nominations were submitted:

Steve Brahm
Gary Martt
Linda Overton (declined nomination due to other work/time commitments)

All of these representatives have done a great job for the Staff Council and we congratulate them on their nominations.

Mr. Rodriguez reported that he will remain as Vice Chair and handle associated responsibilities through to the October meeting when an interim Vice Chair will be elected.

Chris Scherer (District 511):  Can a nomination be submitted if the person being nominated isn’t present today to accept or decline the nomination?

Mark Smyth (District 451):  The nominations period will remain open through to the start of the
October 22 meeting.  This will give everyone time to consider who they would like to nominate, and the nominees time to consider if they would like to accept or decline.

Recorder/Secretary

Approval of Minutes
Recorder/Secretary Janice Hejl announced that, due to fiscal year work commitments, she was unable to complete the August meeting minutes. She advised that the August and September minutes would be ready for approval at the October 22, 2008 meeting.

Ms. Hejl asked Council members to check the attendance sheet before leaving to ensure they signed in for today’s meeting.

Committee Reports

Bylaws Committee

Committee Chair Eric Patkowski announced that the committee has no report to present at this time.

Benefits Committee

Committee Chair Danielle Fournier reported that the committee met on September 5, 2008. 

Committee member Brandy Whitten is reviewing outstanding issues to combine similar issues and present one recommendation for action.  Some of the older issues have resolved themselves over time with the implementation of University policies and guidelines.  Some issues have met resolutions though not the originally intended outcome.  Committee member Stephanie Cardenas is looking into the issue of childcare.

Ms. Fournier shared that the committee is focusing on consolidating efforts with other campus committees that may be addressing the same or similar issues.

The University Handbook of Operating Procedures is currently being rewritten so now is a good time to provide input on issues.

The issue of the staff Ombudsman needs its own ad hoc committee.  Ms. Fournier asked that the Council take a vote today on forming that ad hoc committee:

Motion 1:  Mark Smyth – that an ad hoc committee be formed to review and research the staff Ombudsman issue.

Second:  Joe Gregory
There are no objections; the motion passes.

Ms. Fournier offered to solicit interest from individuals who would like to chair the ad hoc committee.  She will send out an email to request volunteers to serve on the committee and cc Committee on Committees Chair Blake Willms to ask that the ad hoc committee be added to the list of Staff Council committees.

Ms. Fournier advised that she will check with the Issues Chair to update the list of outstanding issues.

Ms. Fournier advised that the System Wide Insurance Advisory Committee (SWIAC) will meet in October.  She serves as Staff Council representative and will report back to the organization following next month’s meeting.  She will also try and get copies of the Group Benefits booklet for all Staff Council representatives, including a version for retired employees.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  There is an outstanding issue regarding having a staff member serve on the committee in Human Resources that makes decisions regarding sick leave pool approvals.  Can someone tell us where that issue currently is?

Rachel Sidopulos (District 402):  That is with our committee, Workplace Environment.

Committee on Committees

Committee Chair Blake Willms announced that the committee has no report to present at this time.

Communications Committee

Committee Chair Ashley Williams reported that committee members are currently working on Staff Council web site updates and compiling a survey to distribute to representatives for feedback. The updates will include changes that will make the web site more welcoming for all staff, and will implement two portals – one for general staff and another for Staff Council representatives.  District representatives and their constituents are encouraged to provide input, which can be submitted via email to Ashley Williams.

Chris Scherer (District 511):  I’d like to suggest that we implement an automatic photo update with each new Staff Council annually.

Ashley Williams (District 220.1):  We decided that it will be easier to make necessary updates without a photo on the web site, so we’ll likely remove the photo that’s there now, which is very outdated.

Infrastructure & Parking Committee

Committee Chair David Macha reported that the committee is scheduled to meet next week to review outstanding issues.

Issues Committee

Committee Chair Ben Bond began his report with a review of the purpose of the committee:

• Help UT staff submit concise issue proposals to the Council for consideration.
• Make a preliminary assessment of individual proposals, and then recommend appropriate action.
• Report to the Council on each and every issue submitted.
• Provide committees the relevant paperwork on referred issues.
• Maintain a current master record of all proposals and track the status of pending issues.

Mr. Bond also reviewed the flow of issues after they are submitted for consideration.  He advised that the “Email to the Issues Committee” link in the Issues Proposals section of the web site does route to him.  Issues can also be submitted via email to him at issues_chair@utsc.utexas.edu.  Issues Proposal forms can also be faxed to him though he asked that individuals phone him first to alert him that a fax is forthcoming.

Cindy Posey (District 522):  Can we redesign the Issues Proposal form as part of the web site redesign?

Ashley Williams (District 220.1):  Yes.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  Can we post issues on the web site, along with their status etc?

Mark Smyth (District 451):  Yes, we can do that.

Erin Waneck:  What do you do to communicate the resolution of issues to the submitters?

Ben Bond (District 160.1):  We respond to the submitter, cc’ing the representative, to communicate that we’ve received the issue.  After presenting the issue to the Council and referral to appropriate committee, we get back to the submitter to communicate the status.

Erin Waneck:  All issues must be reviewed and resolved regardless of whether or not the submitter is employed at the University at the time of review and resolution.

Linda Overton (District 190.2):  What is the estimated turnaround for an issue from the time that it is submitted to when a submitter can expect to get an initial response on the issue?

Ben Bond:  Usually within one month, which gives the committee time to convene and review the issues submitted.

Mr. Bond presented the following issues that have been submitted for consideration:

Issue 2008-01: Improved Shuttle Service on East Campus
This issue focuses on expanding shuttle services on campus between semesters when services are
typically reduced as a result of students not being on campus at those times.  A suggestion is made that Staff Council partner with Graduate Student Assembly on this issue.

Chris Scherer submits that there may be resistance to funding the expanded services since the shuttle services are paid for by student fees.

Motion 2: Janice Hejl – to send the issue to Infrastructure and Parking Committee
Second: Chris Scherer
There are no objections; the motion passes.

Issue 2008-02:  Tunnel System
This issue focuses on implementing a “buddy system” for staff that work in underground tunnels campus-wide to improve safety of personnel.

Motion 3:  Chris Scherer – to send the issue to Workplace Environment Committee
Second:  Joe Gregory
There are no objections; the motion passes.

Mr. Bond reported that the committee is currently researching several other issues at this time.

Danielle Fournier (District 210.1):  Did you get all of the issues documentation and the past issues spreadsheet from the previous Issues Chair?

Ben Bond:  Yes. We have various documents that have different information so we will need to verify status of each issue, which will take some time.

Nominations & Elections Committee

Committee Chair Joe Gregory was unable to attend today’s meeting due to illness.  In his absence, Vice Chair Rachel Sidopulos presented the committee report.  Ms. Sidopulos shared that the committee has been working to fill current vacancies, exhausting all means to notify districts of any vacancies.  Joe Gregory now has full access to directly email all districts when needed.

Ms. Sidopulos announced new district representatives:
130.1 – Cynthia Podolnick
311 – Madison Searle
411 – Suzanne Ewing-Brethe
422 – Mary Campbell
462 – Lewis Bowen
550.1 – James Wawak
641 – Amy Olson

With these districts filled, there are still currently five district vacancies.  The committee continues to focus on filling these districts with viable candidates.  Ms. Sidopulos encouraged all representatives to help promote the Staff Council and solicit volunteers for filling those vacancies wherever possible.

Resources Committee

Committee Chair Gary Martt reported that there has been an historical problem with the group email system not working properly and representatives and staff not receiving emails via that method.  In September 2007, the issue was linked to employee annual appointments in September and approvals not being completely finalized.

Mr. Martt advised that he brought a sign-in sheet to today’s meeting, and asked anyone who does not have access to the Staff Council virtual handbook on-line to sign the sheet before leaving the meeting. 

The committee is working on creating email lists for all Staff Council committees, and advised that the committee chairs will all be co-owners for the lists.  The committee is also working on a template for committees to document procedures.

New Business

With the 2008 election season in full swing, District 210.1 representative Danielle Fournier shared guidelines for political activities from Associate Vice President for Human Resource Services Julien Carter.  Ms. Fournier advised that the best practice, when promoting one’s own political beliefs, is to err on the side of caution.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  I’ve heard that some employees have been getting grief from their supervisors about taking time off to vote.

Cindy Posey (District 522):  Employees must clear their time off with their supervisors, but they are allowed time off to vote.

Joe Gregory (District 470.2):  Can Human Resource Services send a directive out to all employees about this?

Cindy Posey:  A memo is coming out soon since we are approaching the start of election season.

Questions For The Council

District 999 representative Dee Dee Berry asked Chair Mark Smyth to clarify the process through which a guest speaker request should be submitted for consideration.  She reported that there seemed to be some confusion regarding a guest speaker with whom she has been working to place on today’s agenda.  

Chair Mark Smyth advised that all guest speaker requests must be submitted to the Executive Committee for consideration before being placed on the agenda to speak to the Staff Council general assembly.  Following Executive Committee review, the Chair will notify the guest speaker and the associated representative of the Executive Committee’s decision to approve or deny the request.  Upon approval, the guest speaker is placed on the agenda for the following month’s general assembly meeting.

Adjournment

Motion 4: Chris Scherer – that the Council adjourn its meeting.
Second: Joe Gregory
There are no objections; the motion passes.

The Staff Council general assembly meeting adjourned at approximately 3:30p.m.

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