Draft Minutes

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

10:00am – 12:00 noon

Audio bridge # 866-339-5580, pin *1622936*

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

Members Present:

Lisa Sporleder, Chair; President, Statewide Administration Assembly

Jeri Cary, President, UAS Staff Council

Jana Ring, Vice President, UAS Staff Council

Bob Kizer, President,UAA APT Council

Josh Steadman, 2004-2005 President, UAF Staff Council

Kimberly Stanford, President, UAA Classified Council

Others present:

Pat Ivey, Executive Officer, System Governance

Jim Johnsen, Vice President, Faculty and Staff Relations

Pat Pitney, Associate Vice President, Budget and Institutional Research

Pete Kelly, State Relations Director

Jeannine Senechal, Director, Compensation

2. Adopt Agenda

MOTION: Moved by Dupee, seconded by Cary, passed without objection

“The University of Alaska Staff Alliance moves to adopt the agenda for the June 14, 2005 meeting. This action is effective June 14, 2005.”

3. Approve May 10, 2005 minutes

http://gov.alaska.edu/Staff/minutes/2005/05-10.html

MOTION: Moved by Dupee, seconded by Cary, passed without objection

“The University of Alaska Staff Alliance moves to approve the minutes of the May 10, 2005 meeting. This action is effective June 14, 2005.”

4. Employee Communications

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/2005-06-10EmployeeCommSpecialist.pdf

Kate Ripley was unable to attend so Pat Ivey explained that the final draft of the employee communications specialist vacancy announcement would be posted next week.

5 Chair’s report

Lisa Sporleder said that her report today is a smattering of several issues:

1. The legislature finally adjourned, and we are left to figure out what it all means. Basically, what I spoke of last month, that defined contribution plans are coming, has come to pass. The new tiers will take effect in a year, and the University has the authority to revamp the Optional Retirement Plan, which it has already started to do with the existing Retirement Committee here at the University of Alaska. Governance needs to keep watch to make sure that we get a seat at the table to define any new plan that might be offered to existing PERS employees.

2. Now that classes are done for the summer, John Anderson’s project to review training needs and options at UA should be getting underway. I’m not sure where this is going to take us on our quest for supervisory training, but we’ve got to start someplace. I would have liked to have gotten more done on that issue this year, but at least we’ve agreed to take the project on and are getting the preliminaries organized. It’s evident that before further staff training be developed that this study be done, but we do need to be watchful that supervisor training and staff training don’t get all lumped in together, or I fear the supervisor training will get lost in the shuffle. I’m not sure if I look at the topic as two separate issues, supervisor training and staff training, or one issue, training, with two major components, supervisor and staff. Maybe it doesn’t matter as long as both are considered.

3. I know local governance groups have an outreach component. Staff Alliance doesn’t, or at least it hasn’t in a long time. It is before us to decide on whether to take up the issue of tuition waivers for senior citizens. We’ve got some background information in our packets, and hopefully you have all talked to your chancellors to find out their take on the issue. Perhaps this is something to be worked on by various groups and spearheaded through System Governance Council like we did last year with the Governance Regulation. Whatever, we need to decide if we want to get involved in something that doesn’t technically affect current staff, though it could affect us when we retire.

4. One of our major accomplishments last year was to get the Board of Regents to agree that an annual cost of living increase is a reasonable and good thing to do for staff. Basically, instead of the Board having to vote in a salary increase, they now have to vote to keep it from happening. Of course, everything is predicated on funding, and this is going to be a tricky funding year in light of increasing retirement and health care costs. I’ve been hearing from Jim Johnsen that the 2% grid increase is still going forward, but as I told SAA last week, it sure wouldn’t hurt if folks make public testimony to the Board of Regents advocating that our first cost of living raise under this new system go forward as planned. HR issues are going to get a lot of time at next week’s Board meeting in Fairbanks. I encourage you all to attend as best you can, either in person or via videoconference.

5. As we wrap up the 2004-05 academic year, we need to keep in mind our progress. We got a Governance Regulation passed this year. We got an annual cost of living raise approved this year. We are getting started on new projects like supervisor training, staff training, and a mediation process available to university staff. More than that, we have maintained good working relationships with University management. You can’t buy goodwill with these folks, you have to earn it. And we have. Staff Alliance has shown itself to be receptive, reasonable, and still push our agenda forward to maintain and improve conditions for staff employees here at the University of Alaska. Bring on the next year!

6. Public Comments

There were no public comments

7. Staff Governance Reports - SW, UAS, UAA, UAF

Leaders of the member staff governance groups gave their reports on local activities.

8. Employee Relations

8.1 Retirement Update

Jim Johnsen reported that the legislature passed a bill allowing the university to establish its own retirement system. A steering committee which includes Lisa Sporleder and Pat Ivey will be working on a long-term solution. As a first step, administration will be looking at extending an invitation to voluntarily participate in the university’s current Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) to all permanent employees. Currently, only executives and faculty are eligible. There may also be changes to the supplemental pension plan but nothing has been decided yet.

8.2 Salary Grid Adjustments

The university will go ahead with the salary grid adjustments as soon as the Board of Regents approves it.

8.3 Audits

Nothing has been officially received in the way of audit results from either the Department of Labor or Legislative Audit.

8.4 Staff/supervisor training recommendations

Earlina Bowden has now received word back from University general counsel on the forms she intends to use. This will continue to be a standing agenda item for the Staff Alliance.

8.5 Tuition Waivers for Seniors

University administration continues to advocate for the elimination of tuition waivers for seniors despite public opinion to the contrary. Sporleder thought that a better way to go would be a request to retain tuition waivers for retirees. This will continue to be a standing agenda item until resolved.

8.6 Other Employee Relations Items

Jeannine Senechal spoke to the need to send the Staff Alliance some human resource regulation changes that reflect current practice. This item was placed on the Staff Alliance agenda for consideration at the July meeting.

9. Advocacy

9.1 Legislative Wrap-up

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/FY06DraftOperatingCapitalBudgets.pdf

Pete Kelly reported that the House Finance Subcommittee on the University intended to add in the University PERS/TRS contribution but it inadvertently was not included. The Subcommittee intended to fix it in full Finance Committee but that didn’t happen; then Finance intended to amend it on the floor but that didn’t happen. As the operating budget moved along, it got harder and harder to put the PERS/TRS money back in and in the end, in the special session, the gavel banged down without the PERS/TRS money.

Kelly suggested that constituents of the members of the House Finance Subcommittee need to be contacted so this doesn’t happen again.

9.2 FY2006 Budget Outlook

http://gov.alaska.edu/staff/FY06DraftOperatingCapitalBudgets.pdf

Pat Pitney reported that the university is about $2.5 million below what the university required and about $2.9 million below what the university requested in the general fund operating budget. There are some non-general fund shortfalls that will compound that for a total of about $5 million or a one percent reduction. The situation will be tight but manageable. However, getting another $17 million on FY07 and FY08 will be problematic. In FY07 alone, the university is facing compensation increases of $40 million, of which from a salary standpoint an employee would only see about 4 percent including step increases and grid adjustment. The increase would come from employee health care cost increases and the 5 percent increase to the retirement employer contribution rate.

9.3 Other advocacy items

Jeri Cary suggested that the university reward staff for cost savings ideas that actually save money.

10. Adopt 2005-2006 Calendar

MOTION: passed without objection, subject to possible change in the August date which occurs during President Hamilton’s retreat with staff leaders.

“The University of Alaska Staff Alliance moves to adopt the meeting calendar for 2005-2006 as follows:

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 by audio conference
Tuesday & Wednesday, August 8-9, 2005 *
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Fairbanks

Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Tuesday, November 8, 2005
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Tuesday & Wednesday, April 4-5, 2006 **
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006

This action is effective June 14, 2005.”

11. Board of Regents Meeting June 21-22, 2005

http://www.alaska.edu/bor/agendas/agendas.xml

http://gov.alaska.edu/news/govreps/GRVol9No5.pdf

The Staff Alliance reviewed the Board of Regents agenda and Lisa Sporleder’s report to the Board.

12. Agenda items for next meeting, Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Agenda items may include but may not be limited to new human resource regulations, wellness update, retirement update and items of interest.

13. Other items of interest

There were no other items of interest.

14. Comments

There were no additional comments.

15. Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 12:07pm.