Many members have expressed concern over the board agenda item Resolution Reserving the Right to Make 2009-2010 Employee Compensation Reductions, Agenda Item 27 for Monday, June 22.

Chapter 224 President Ronda Walen has investigated this item and was told by the Orange Field Office that this item gives them no additional right they didn’t already have under the laws governing collective bargaining. This resolution does not allow CUSD to take anything from any employee without going through the collective bargaining process.

Now is a scary time to be a classified school worker. While more than 60 layoff notices have already been handed out, the effects of these notices will touch many, many more people. Has your seniority been properly counted? Will you be “bumped?” Do you have bumping rights yourself? How does the classification study affect your situation?

Your Chapter executive board and our local labor relations teams are working hard with each individual for the best possible outcome for each employee. We recognize how stressful this time is everyone, and we’re asking for your patience as we work to resolve outstanding issues.

Here are some guidelines regarding the dispute process:

On Wednesday, June 10, CSEA Chapter 224 will hold a special event to promote the importance of classified employees and to engage the parents in CUSD.

Why should you attend? We’ve already lost 63 employees to layoff this year, and more are expected in the coming months as California’s budget crisis gets worse. NO ONE is safe from potential layoff heading into 2009-2010! Our best option is to educate the public and to ask them to write and call their elected representatives.

In celebration of Classified School Employees Week in California, CSEA is running an ad on TV and in local movie theatres all week.

You can view it for yourself online by clicking here.

Our CUSD Classified Employee of the Year for Campus Support Services is….

Michelle Eppler
Michelle has served in CUSD for the past 8 years at 3 of our campuses. She is described as being a wonderful asset to the staff, working primarily with the most difficult students on campus. She works tirelessly to motivate students to improve their academic standing and citizenship while being a compassionate role model. Michelle truly takes interest in each student as an individual and has, in turn, gained their respect. She is reliable, humorous, passionate, and irreplaceable. We are fortunate to benefit from her professionalism. She truly makes a difference in the lives of CUSD students. Congratulations Michelle and thank you for a job well done.

The 2009 extension to our 2006-2008 contract with CUSD has been posted. You can download it to your computer by going to Documents... Contracts or by clicking here.

The May newsletter, featuring articles on layoffs, swine flu prevention and retirement issues, is now available.

For the past four months, Chapter 224 executive board members have expressed concern that school board members continue to present negotiable items in a public forum. We have repeatedly asked Trustees to adhere to the requirements under California law, and those requests have been largely ignored.

We're pleased to announce that the tentative contract agreement for 2008-2009 was approved by our membership in yesterday's vote.

97% of those who cast a ballot approved the TA, with 3% dissenting.

The next phase in bargaining will be for the chapter to "sunshine" its contact proposals for 2009-2010 at the next school board meeting.

Capistrano Unified School District faces up to $34 million in additional cuts in the coming two fiscal years. More than 80% of the District's costs are personnel-related, so deep staffing cuts (RIFs) are expected. Cuts that deep would require drastic reductions in programs and services.

Here are some "lowlights" of proposals from a CUSD budget presentation given February 25:

• Lay off employees, including more than 250 teachers
• Class-size reduction would be eliminated

After a record standoff, the Legislature finally passed a budget. The agreement contains draconian cuts to education funding and other social services programs. It also gives corporations billions in tax credits while asking working families to pay more in taxes.

The legislature passed the budget just after dawn on Feb. 19, after being on lock down for nearly three days. The budget package was one vote short and Senator Abel Maldonado provided the final Republican vote needed to pass the agreement. In return for his vote, Senator Maldonado wanted the budget package to include 3 constitutional amendments and elimination of the gas tax increase.

by Ronda Walen, Chapter President
Although we've been through all this before, this is not a drill. Hiding under your desk or anywhere else for that matter isn't going to help.

I can assure you that CSEA is working very hard to avert disaster. Your leaders have been putting in long hours of planning and strategizing. We are heading to the bargaining table ready to give our best effort to try and save jobs and wages.

With many working families in financial distress as a result of the sharp downturn in the U.S. economy, Union Plus is launching a program of new and enhanced benefits to assist eligible union members facing hardships.

Union SAFE—which stands for “security, assistance and financial education”—is a new collection of benefits designed to meet the urgent needs of CSEA and other union members facing economic hardship. The $1 million assistance program includes:

☞ Credit counseling services, budgeting advice and no-fee debt management and bankruptcy counseling benefits.

☞ Save My Home Hotline to help avoid mortgage foreclosure.

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February. The $789 billion stimulus package promises to save or create approximately 3.5 million jobs nationwide, with California’s share being about 396,000.

The stimulus package also promises major investments in education. It provides funding to expand Head Start and Early Head Start programs; it will give a higher education tax cut to nearly 4 million students nationwide; it increases funding for special education, Title I and education technology.

While it may be a difficult time to be a school or community college employee, it's never been a more important time to be a member of CSEA. Your union is working at all levels to help its members survive this budget crisis. Learn more about what CSEA is doing and what action you can take. CSEA's Web site gives you budget news updates, school finance information, helpful resources and ways for you to get involved. Go to: www.csea.com/budget

This past year, Chapter 224 became more active as members from around the district joined in monthly Chapter meetings, attended special job-alike focus groups with union leaders and participated in CSEA-sponsored professional development events such as the Para-educator conference.

In April 2008, when it was learned that Gov. Schwarzenegger would be attending a re-election campaign fundraiser at San Juan's El Adobe restaurant, Chapter 224 worked with the CSEA Orange Field Office to organize a rally in support of public education.

This past month has been one of changes, not just for our state and nation, but within our Chapter.

Marsha Vagi who has worked behind the scenes as our Chapter Secretary for many years is retiring this month. She has been an invaluable member of the Executive Board and we will miss her sense of humor. She provided 22 years of service to CUSD and has spent the last 16 years at Aliso Niguel High School. She is quite happy to have extra time now that she is a new grandmother. Thanks for all your hard work Marsha!

At our February Chapter Meeting, members elected Nancy Geiger, Office Manager at Canyon Vista, to serve out the remainder of Marsha's term on the board.

Emergency legislation authored by California Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) and endorsed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell would provide critical funding assistance to the state’s school meal programs. School districts statewide are owed $7 million in free and reduced meal reimbursements by the state. During the 2007-2008 school year, California schools served 770.6 million meals – 28 million more than the year before.

AB 95 states that if the 2008-2009 state budget does not provide school districts enough funds to fully reimburse them for free and reduced meal costs, $19.5 million would be set aside for the necessary reimbursements.

You may be able to receive your prescription medications on an ongoing basis for free, with incomes up to $80,000.

If you do not have insurance or a government program that pays for your outpatient prescription medicines, if the high cost of your medicine causes you a financial hardship, then you may qualify to enroll in a privately sponsored program which provides your medecines for free!

Free Medicine Foundation's staff and volunteers facilitate access to programs that have been available for the last 50 years helping people to save or eliminate their prescription medicine costs. And it's not just poor people who qualify for assistance. With each medication, the income criteria varies from below the poverty level up to $80,000 for a family of four.

(888) 294-1500 or at www.unionplus.org/healthclubs
According to the office of the U.S. Surgeon General, we all need at least 30 minutes of daily exercise to maintain cardiovascular health and control weight. If you’ve been thinking about getting started with a fitness program or already belong to a gym, you should consider the Union Plus Health Club discounts program.