The Word from CSEA
Columbus State Education Association Newsletter of October 25, 2011
CSEA MEMBERS MEETING
There will be a brief CSEA members meeting on Thursday, October 27, from 3:00 - 4:30 in NH 013. The agenda will include voting on a proposed amendment to the CSEA Constitution (as presented at the last meeting), an opportunity for nominations from the floor for the day's election, the drawing of the 1/2-annual dues paid membership incentive for this year, and the commencement of voting on officers (Vice-President and Parliamentarian), delegates to the Representative Assembly, and Association Representatives.
This meeting is open to any full-time faculty member (tenure-track faculty or Annually Contracted Faculty) who has joined CSEA. Refreshments will be served, and door prizes awarded.
SEARCH COMMITTEE PROCESS FOR FULL-TIME FACULTY (TENURE TRACK AND ACF)
Article 39 in the new contract addresses the full-time faculty search committee process for tenure-track faculty, and Article 22 addresses the ACF search committee process. It is important to note that both processes are similar in that the selection of the departmental faculty who serve on these search committees are done by the full-time faculty -- they are not appointed to the search committee by the department chairperson.
For tenure-track positions, the contract stipulates that the search committee will include "three to five tenured faculty members (if available) from the department with the vacancy. In the rare case that the only faculty with proper expertise in a content area are non-tenured, the departmental faculty may choose to select a non-tenured faculty member. The process for selecting these faculty members will be established and implemented by the department's full-time faculty" (emphasis added).
Furthermore, the committee may select up to three candidates per vacancy (no longer being required to forward exactly three names per vacancy). Thus, if a committee feels strongly that two of the finalists should be recommended, but that they are uncomfortable forwarding a third name, they no longer have to.
For ACF positions, the contract stipulates that the search committee will consist "of the department chairperson and 2-3 tenured faculty members from the department. The process for selecting the faculty committee members will be established and implemented by the department's full-time tenure-track faculty" (emphasis added again).
If your department would like assistance in the selection process for search committees (e.g., someone to conduct, or help conduct, a secret ballot), you should contact your Association Representative for assistance.
WELLNESS INITIATIVES
This fiscal year, all employees are expected to participate in the wellness initiatives in order for the College to continue to pay 80% of their health insurance premium next fiscal year. Those employees who do not participate in the wellness initiatives this fiscal year will only have 70% of their health insurance premiums paid by the college during the next fiscal year. The following fiscal year, employee spouses will also be expected to participate to maintain the college's 80% portion being paid. We encourage all faculty who use the College's health insurance plan to complete the required wellness steps early, and not wait next April/May to scramble to get these done by the May 15 deadline. Those steps include (eight points, of eleven possible points, required):
- Schedule an annual visit with your physician. When scheduling your annual visit, let your physician know that the visit should include a biometric screening, cholesterol test with Full Lipid Panel and hemoglobin A1c test, a blood pressure check, and a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation. If your physician does not calculate the BMI, this can be done online at myuhc.com. [3 points]
- Have a dental cleaning. Your regular 6-month dental cleaning will be documented automatically when your dentist submits the insurance claim. [2 points]
- Complete a health risk assessment. This is done online at myuhc.com, and takes a few minutes to answer a series of questions intended to identify any behaviors that may present a health risk and suggest possible interventions to deter such risks. [2 points]
- Complete age-appropriate preventative care. This may include having a mammography, cervical cancer screening, colon cancer screening, prostate cancer screening, etc. [1 point]
- Complete online coaching program. This may be done if age-appropriate preventative care is not necessary. [1 point]
- Condition management. This could include enrolling in a disease management program (asthma, diabetes, coronary artery disease, etc.). [2 points]
The deadline for completing these wellness activities is May 15, 2012. There are two exceptions to this timeline, which representatives from Human Resources have confirmed will be allowed: 1) because your insurance may only cover one physical examination per year, if you had an annual physical during July or August of 2011 (prior to when the wellness initiatives were rolled out by the college), you may use that visit for this year; 2) if you had an annual physical between May 16, 2011 - June 30, 2011, you will be able to schedule a physical between May 16 - June 30, 2012 (past the May 15, 2012 deadline) and have that count for this year as well. Contact Deborah Robinson in Human Resources (drobins5@cscc.edu or x2177) to coordinate these exceptions to the timeline.
MORE DECEPTION ABOUT ISSUE 2 FROM THE PRO-SB 5 FOLKS...
You have likely heard Governor Kasich or others who are advocating for passage of Issue 2 discussing the "pension pick-up" issue that is addressed in SB 5. SB 5 would require public employees to pay their entire portion of their pension contributions (10% for STRS), and disallow employers from picking up any of the employee's portion. If you listen to the way some have presented it, you might come away thinking that most public employees don't pay anything toward their pensions.
However, as we all know, that is far from the truth. In fact, according to the five public pension systems, roughly 93.4% of employees already pay their entire portion. The other 6.6% have some (not necessarily all) of their portion paid for by the employer. Ironically, the pension pick-up that does exist for those 6.6% was typically something that was proposed by the employer, as a cost-saving measure. Rather than offering raises, the employer would offer to pick-up a portion of the employee's pension -- which not only saved the employer money on salaries those years, but also saved the employer money on payroll taxes that year and every year since, because the employer does not have to pay payroll taxes on the pension pick-up like they would on salary increases. SB 5 would not allow employers to utilize this cost-saving measure in the future. Please remember to vote NO on Issue 2 to repeal SB 5. Please also consider volunteering in the final two weeks to help defeat Issue 2 - canvassing your neighborhood, working phone banks, and other opportunities are available. Contact Kevin James at kjames1@cscc.edukjames1@cscc.edu to volunteer.
CSEA FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARD
The CSEA Faculty Excellence Award was created to recognize CSEA members who demonstrate distinction in an area of service, teaching or leadership. Each year, two faculty will be selected to receive a $500.00 cash award, as well as a plaque. A recipient of the award will not be eligible to win the award in two consecutive years.
The nomination form is available on the CSEA website: https://www.cseafaculty.org. Once elections have been completed, a panel of Association Representatives will begin accepting nominations, through December 10, 2011..
Please consider nominating a colleague for this recognition!
The Word is produced by the Communications Committee of the Columbus State Education Association. We welcome your comments, news, and insights.
Darrell Minor, President/ x5310
Kevin James, Vice-President / x5008
Judy Anderson, Secretary / x5453
Phil MacLean, Treasurer / x5308
Ingrid Emch, Parliamentarian-elect / x5824
Gil Feiertag, Senior Association Representative, Career & Technical / x5861
Health, Dental and Veterinary Technology
Allied Health
Steve Abbott, Senior Association Representative, Arts & Sciences / x5096
Business
T.J. Duda / x5309
Construction Science
Automotive
Engineering Technology
Gilberto Serrano / x3863
Mathematics
Beth Barnett / x2593
Hospitality, Massage Therapy and Sports & Exercise Studies
Bill Cook / x5364
Communications
Mort Javadi / x5635
Physical Sciences
Jackie Miller / x2601
Nursing & Related Services
Mark Mitchell / x3612
Justice & Safety
Keith Sanders/ x5288
Humanities
Mike Schumacher / 5482
Social Sciences
Psychology
Cindy Evans / x2435
Human Services
Dr. Antoinette Perkins / x5754
Marketing & Graphic Communication
Computer Information Technology
Eric Neubauer / x5698
English
Amy Brubaker / x5068
Developmental Education
Modern Languages
Dr. Sue Longenbaker / x2430
Biological Sciences