Email/Announcements/Communication

ACE Fall 2007

ACE Bylaws

Bylaws pdf were approved by the ACE Council Dec., 2007.

WVC ACE Council Rep position
12/08/07

(As noted in email:) the vote to elect/fill the vacancy for full-time WVC ACE Council Representative will take place at the beginning of the Spring 2008 semester. A paper ballot with envelope method will be used for voting. Further election details will be provided at the beginning of the spring semester.

Please be sure to vote!
Susanna Pancella
ACE Secretary

Result of ACE Constitution Vote
11/21/07

The result of the ACE Constitution vote is as follows:

102 votes to ACCEPT the changes
22 votes to REJECT the changes
The changes to the ACE Constitution have been ACCEPTED.

Thank you for taking the time to vote.

We hope all of you have a happy and enjoyable Thanksgiving!
The ACE Council:
Ed Kleppinger
Roberta Berlani
Susanna Pancella
Donna Frankel
Rob Leadbeater
LeAnn McGinley
Rod Pavao
Ron Smebye
Marge Throndson

ACE Constitution Forums and Vote
11/06/07

TO ALL ACE MEMBERSHIP:

For the past 18 months the ACE Council has worked, with input from faculty at large, to review and revise the ACE Constitution. Now you, the WVMCCD faculty, are being asked to vote on the proposed revisions, which include changes to most of the articles.

On the ACE webpage you can review the present Constitution and the proposed changes.

When viewing the document you will see three columns. The first column indicates the article and section; the second column indicates the current Constitution text with the text to be changed struck through; the third column has the new text indicated in bold, underline and red.

NOTE: There will be forums held at each college to review the proposed Constitution changes. A forum will be held at Mission College on Tuesday, Nov. 6 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm in Room E1-603 and one at West Valley College on Thursday, Nov. 8 from 3:00pm to 5:00pm in Room AAS10. If you are unable to attend or have missed the forums please feel free to contact any ACE representative if you have a question about the Constitution.

VOTING: A ballot will be placed in your mailbox before the end of this week. Indicate if you accept or reject the proposed Constitutional changes; print and sign your name and then separate the ballot into two parts and return by noon Tuesday, November 20, 2007!

You may return your ballot in ONE of the following ways: -Place it in the ballot box in the Part-time Center at Mission College -OR in the ACE/Academic Senate ballot boxes in the division offices at West Valley College
-OR send or deliver it to Susanna Pancella, ACE Secretary, Mission College, MS#21

If you have any questions or problems voting, please contact ACE Secretary Susanna Pancella at 408-855-5362 or via email at(susanna_pancella@wvm.edu).

Thank you for taking the time to vote.

The ACE Council:
Ed Kleppinger
Roberta Berlani
Susanna Pancella
Donna Frankel
Rob Leadbeater
LeAnn McGinley
Rod Pavao
Ron Smebye
Marge Throndson

ACE Update 11/5/07

By a faculty vote of almost 5 to 1 in favor and by unanimous yea vote of the Board of Trustees, the Tentative Agreements have been ratified. There are still four articles that are being negotiated. We should have the last ratification vote for the 2005-2008 Contract in late November or early December.

There will be forums on the revisions to the ACE Constitution. The forums will be held at Mission College on Tuesday, 11/6 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm in room: E1-603 and at West Valley College on Thursday, 11/8 from 3pm to 5pm in room: AAS10. Please consult the ACE web site (www.wvmccd.cc.ca.us/ace) for those revisions. They are the revisions which had last year been discussed at several forums. The Council wants to have a vote on the Constitution soon because the Council needs to begin to develop the priorities and strategies for the next contract negotiations that will begin in February. The Council will begin by polling the members regarding issues and organizing a negotiation team.

The Health Benefits Committee, a committee composed of all collective bargaining units, management, confidential employees, and the Board, will be hosting a Benefits Fair on November 14th & 15th. Please look for the announcement and plan to attend. This would be an ideal opportunity to ask questions about your health benefits from vendors.

The Grievance Officer for West Valley College is Mr. Richard Greco. He is an associate faculty member and is, in fact, a lawyer. Richard will facilitate all grievances (regular or associate) for WVC. Until Richard has a District email address, an individual, regular or associate faculty member, who has a concern over conditions of employment, should contact me (x-5526) or one of the WVC representatives (Le Ann McGinley, x-2402), Robbie Berlani, x-2563, Marge Throndson, x-2448 or Donna Frankel).

Ed Kleppinger
President, ACE.

Forums on ACE Constitution changes
November 4, 2007

There will be forums on the ACE Constitution changes to be voted on by the faculty.

The Forums will be as follows:
Mission College: Tuesday, 11/6 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm in room: E1-603
West Valley College: Thursday, 11/8 from 3pm to 5pm in room: AAS10

If you cannot attend a forum and you have questions please either contact me or any ACE representative. Ballots to vote on the changes will be in your mailbox later in the week.

Susanna Pancella
ACE Secretary

Note: See the proposed Constitution changes. The document has three columns of information. The first column indicates the article and section; the second column indicates the current Constitution text with the text to be changed struck through; the third column has the new text indicated in bold, underline and red.

Board Action on Contract Articles
November 3, 2007

At the Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, Nov. 1, the Board approved the package of the tentatively agreed to articles for the 2005-2008 ACE Contract.

Susanna Pancella, ACE Secretary

Results of the Faculty Vote
October 18, 2007

Results of the faculty vote which ended on Wednesday, October 17 at noon, on the tentatively agreed to articles for the 2005-2008 contract are as follows:
213 votes to ACCEPT
45 votes to REJECT
258 total votes cast.

The faculty has voted to accept the 2005-2008 ACE-WVMCCD Tentative Agreements.

Susanna Pancella, ACE Secretary

ACE Update 10/1/07: Tentative Agreements (TA) for the 2005-8 Contract

Fellow WVMCCD Faculty Members,

I hope that the Fall 07 semester is going well for you!

The ACE Council will be holding forums at MC on Oct 9th (E1-601) and at WV on the 11th (AAS10) for discussion of the Tentative Agreements (TA) for the 2005-8 Contract. READ THE FULL TEXT HERE.

You will be receiving in your mail box a ballot for accepting or rejecting the Tentative Agreements by the end of the week. The ballots must be submitted by NOON on Oct 17th.

ACE and the District are still in negotiations. There may be a second TA ballot at the end of the semester.

The Council would also like to remind the members that there will be regular meetings of the Council on Oct 4th and 18. Both meetings will be at Mission College. The next meeting of the Council at West Valley will be November 1st.

Ed Kleppinger President, ACE

Message from ACE
9/12/2007

We recognize the intensity of personal feelings regarding the Council's actions over the last month. The ACE Council has a contract with the WVMCCD faculty to represent all faculty members on all matters within the scope of bargaining. The Union is bound by its constitution and by-laws, which protect the integrity of the association. The integrity of the association allows us to work together to improve working conditions, compensation and benefits - but we have been diverted from that goal by a few. One Council member repeatedly disclosed confidential information in spite of the fact that confidentiality on matters of grievance and negotiations is required of all Council members. When asked to refrain from sending out sensitive information, this member vowed to ignore the petition and continue disclosing confidential information from closed sessions. Faculty has the right to confidentiality under the grievance process. Confidentiality is also critical during negotiations on such important matters as salaries and benefits. The Council does represent both West Valley and Mission. The Council’s goals are plain – higher salaries for faculty, medical benefits with no-cap, and advocating for you in the workplace. But to accomplish these goals the Council needs to work together and with all of you. We encourage you to attend our open Council meetings, participate in surveys, read the newsletters, send any of us an email, make a phone call, or visit us in person and be assured that your conversation will be treated with respect and not disclosed outside the Council. We believe there is so much more that unites us than divides us. The ACE Council will continue to be an organization whose purpose is to represent, without prejudice, all faculty members in management-labor disputes.

ACE Council:
Ed Kleppinger
Roberta Berlani
Susanna Pancella
Donna Frankel
Rob Leadbeater
LeAnn McGinley
Rod Pavao
Ron Smebye
Marge Throndson

REMINDER:
9/10/07

ACE is holding forums to present tentatively agreed to 2005-2008 contract articles.

The Forums will be as follows:
Mission College: Tuesday, 9/11 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm room: E1-603
West Valley College: Thursday, 9/13 from 3pm to 5pm room: AAS10

Susanna Pancella
ACE Secretary

PRESIDENT'S REPORT
9/04/07

Website Editor's note: To read the rest of the ACE Update newsletter, go to newsletters.

WELCOME BACK!!

I hope you had an enjoyable summer break. The 2007-8 academic year will be an exciting and busy one.

Just a brief update:

Your base salary has been increased by 3.83%. A 0.7% of COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) was put into the Faculty Healthy Benefits Account. Due to the late start and census day associate faculty will see the first of four checks by Sept 10th.

You may now get a second parking decal for your second vehicle. Please contact your campus police office for details and the necessary form

The ACE Council will be scheduling forums in September to discuss the 30-odd tentatively agreed-upon articles still unratified for the 2005-2008 contract. Negotiations will continue until late in the semester and there might be a second round of forums and a vote. A ratification vote is expected later this semester. Spring 2008 semester will include forums, surveys and input for the 2008-11 contract negotiations.

In order to allow for increased input by the union members, the Council has revised the meeting format that has existed since the concept of the union. We will follow the mode of meeting that the Board of Trustees follows: Closed meeting, 2:30pm-3:30pm; open meeting on agenda (faculty invited), 3:30pm-4:30pm; open meeting for faculty communication/questions, 4:30pm -5:00pm.

Much has taken place since May concerning Hours By Arrangement (HBA). In an effort to facilitate the process, ACE negotiated with the State Chancellor's office a usable and equitable verification form. The form has been accepted by the District. However, the District has declined to sign a hold-harmless agreement. Without that signed document, the ACE Council can not urge it's members to sign the verification forms.

The District did meet its 2006-2007 WSCH goals. That was done by using both the 2006 and 2007 summer sessions in the 2006-2007 academic year. Although the District enters the 2007-2008 year with a small amount of WSCH from the 2007 summer session, enrollment management will be critical. Departments should evaluate low-enrolled classes and see if that FTEF can not be used to open other classes to meet student demand.

Wishing you a great and successful semester!

Ed Kleppinger, President, ACE

 

Ian Walton is Honored

8/26/07

It is my pleasure to inform the WVMCCD community that our own Ian Walton, Mission College Mathematics instructor has been chosen by the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges Board of Governors to receive the John Vasconcellos Advocate of the Year Award. This award was developed to recognize and honor full-time faculty who advocate on behalf of faculty statewide.

Ian was recognized for his dedication to faculty, students and the educational system that was evident through his two-term service as the State Academic Senate President. His tireless effort and work with so many leaders has accomplished much for faculty and students statewide.

He will be honored at the FACC EI conference in Pasadena on October 19-20 at the Hilton Pasadena Hotel.

CONGRATULATIONS, Ian!!

Ed Kleppinger
President, ACE

Results of ACE Constitution Survey
8/22/07

Click here to view the results of the survey concerning the ACE Constitution. This was the survey administered at the end of the spring semester. The ACE Council thanks you for taking the time to do this.
Susanna Pancella
ACE Secretary

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT
from the ACE Council
8/22/07

Faculty members are needed for the following:

Committees:
Sabbatical Leave Committee (two members from Mission College)
PGD
Calendar Committee
NOTE: any faculty member (full-time or part-time) may apply for any of these positions.

ACE Council:
West Valley Full-time Representative (3 year term) (the formal detailed announcement will be sent separately) Note: there is no vacancy as of 8-30-07.

Several faculty members have indicated interest in the PGD Committee positions and in the West Valley Grievance Officer position. Each faculty member will be contacted to see if they are still interested and once this is determined then the process will continue.

The following appointments have been made:
Sabbatical Leave Committee: representatives from West Valley College are LeAnn McGinley and Max Crumley.

Budget Analyst: Randy Castello

These are all positions of great responsibility. You will be expected to work for the good of the colleges and the welfare of your fellow faculty members. All ACE Council members, officers and appointees must abide by the Contract signed with the District.

Contact Susanna Pancella susanna_pancella@wvmccd.cc.ca.us if you have questions or would like to apply for a position.