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members
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MAY 2006
WPEA Bargaining Unit Supports
Faculty’s
Vote of No Confidence in College President
Recent difficulties in working with Clark
College President, Dr. Branch, led the faculty unit
(represented by another union) to a “vote of no confidence.”
WPEA came out in support of faculty’s decision at the May 22
Board of Trustees Meeting.
WPEA member Eugene Carroll, stood up and
said, “I think Dr. Branch has done some wonderful things for
the college. I also think that people have been stepped on,
and used and abused, in doing those things.”
Though WPEA’s bargaining unit members have
not sought a “no confidence” vote in Dr. Branch’s abilities,
we have had our own difficulties in establishing a
collaborative working relationship with him.
Dr. Branch has chosen not to participate in
our Labor Management Communication Committee meetings. We
have actively implored him on several occasions to be
present and participate in these meetings. This would give
him the opportunity to facilitate better communication and
to demonstrate his desire to work with and resolve issues of
concern in regard to classified staff. His refusal to
participate is indicative of the management philosophy he
has chosen to implement administratively.
We currently are working on two important
issues at Clark which deal with leave for family and medical
issues, and limiting the amount of leave an employee can
donate.
If you are talked to about taking leave for a medical reason
for either yourself or your family and/or are being
disciplined, PLEASE NOTIFY WPEA RIGHT AWAY. If the union is
not notified within 30 days of the violation, we cannot
grieve it.
Also, anyone being told they are limited to
their donation of shared leave needs to talk to WPEA Staff
Rep Lisa Rolfs right away. The college has implemented it’s
own policy which goes against our contract in limiting the
aggregate total donation of shared leave to 40 hours.
JANUARY 2006
RCW
Grants Employee Recognition Awards
Clark College bargaining unit
member, Jennifer Wheeler, wanted to
find a way to recognize bargaining unit
members for their years of dedicated
service.
“I wanted a way to help
increase staff morale since we hadn’t had
any COLA’s and medical co-pays continued to
rise,” said Wheeler.
She did research and
discovered RCW 41.60.150 - Employee
Recognition Awards. Wheeler was surprised
that it had been in effect since 1985, but
no college had implemented this RCW. She
contacted the originator of the RCW for more
information and the union for their support
with this matter.
Wheeler met with Dr.
Branch, who was also looking for ways to
increase staff morale, and he was very
receptive to the idea of implementing the
statute. A task force was formed to research
different kinds of employee recognition
awards and develop the criteria for giving
cash awards to staff.
The task force members were:
Juliet Amos, Jennifer Dean,
Billie Garner, Heather King,
Vicki Presley, Scott Root, and
Gracie Vian with guidance from
Katrina Golder.
A survey was sent out to all
employees asking for their input about the
award. The committee worked on putting two
awards in place. The Longevity Award was
introduced at the College’s Fall 2005
Orientation. This award presents the
employee with monetary recognition for their
years of service with the college.
Below is the list that shows
the amount of the award and the years of
service required for each award level.
5
years = $50
10 years = $100
15 years = $150
20 years = $200
25 years = $200
30 years = $200
35 years = $200
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