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Essential Services Personnel
Are you one?
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the importance of understanding what it means to be Essential Services Personnel has come to the forefront. Despite numerous attempts to obtain a list of Essential Services Personnel, AFT Local 1904 has yet to receive one.
While the University is not obligated to follow the State of New Jersey Civil Service Commission's regulations with regards to AFT members, as we are not Civil Service employees, chapter VI, Leaves, Hours of Work and Employee Development, Section 4A:6-2.5 offers some clarity on the procedures that entities of the State of New Jersey are supposed to follow with regards to Essential Service Personnel. The key points taken from 4A:6-2.5 are:
1. "Essential Employee Attendance Plan" shall mean that portion of a department or agency's procedures for operating during a period of inclement weather or other adverse situation that explains the responsibilities, requirements and expectations of essential attendance employees in the event that the Governor determines that a period of inclement weather or other adverse situation requires the curtailment of State operations or services.
2. Each State department and agency shall annually review its criteria for the designation of essential attendance employees and, based on these criteria, update its roster of such employees. Employees so designated shall be notified no later than October 31 of each year of this designation and shall at that time be provided with a copy of the department or agency's Essential Employee Attendance Plan. The Plan shall include the responsibilities, requirements and expectations of such employees in the event that a period of inclement weather or other adverse situation requires the curtailment of State operations or services.
3. Each State department and agency shall provide the Department of Personnel and affected union representatives with its updated roster of essential attendance employees no later than November 15 of each year. The Department of Personnel shall make this information available to the Office of Emergency Management.
4. An essential attendance employee who is required to work in accordance with an Essential Employee Attendance Plan shall be compensated at the regular rate of pay for such work.
One might expect, since the University does employ Civil Service personnel, that this procedure would be followed for all employees. Based on the handling of Super Storm Sandy, they do not. The Local will continue to press the University for a list of Essential Services Personnel in our unit and to push the Administration to provide clear procedures with regards to who is to report for work when a State of Emergency is declared by the Governor of New Jersey.
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office has issued a definition related to travel bans during State of Emergencies that might also be helpful to many of you.
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Sabbatical Leave Program Update
Spring 2013 and Academic Year 2013-14
The Local and the administration was successful in coming to an agreement on sabbaticals for the Spring 2013 semester and an application date for the 2013-2014 regular sabbatical program.
Spring 2013 Sabbaticals: Applications are due November 12th for applications for 2013 Spring semester sabbaticals. The process mirrors our regular sabbatical process but with a significantly shortened schedule. Applications go to department chairs with reviews by DPACs, Chairs, Deans, the University Sabbatical Committee, the Provost and the President. The calendar was created to ensure that the entire process will be completed so the Board of Trustees can approve them at its December 13th meeting. The Spring program limits the number of sabbaticals campus-wide to 10 unlike the regular program which will award sabbaticals to all "deserving" applicants.
2013-2014 Regular Sabbatical Program: The Provost has announced that applications for the 2013-2014 regular sabbatical program will be due February 15th with the calendar of actions included in that announcement. We have agreed to delay submissions until the Spring to allow applicants that may have been unsuccessful with a Spring 2012 application to apply for a Fall 2013, Spring 2014 or AY 2013-2014 sabbatical.
Despite our best efforts during negotiations, the new contract does not have a suggested number of sabbaticals that the University will make available. Rather, the contract provides that applications deemed deserving at all levels of the process will be approved barring any institutional needs that would prevent an individual from being granted a sabbatical. Based upon President Cole's public statements in support of sabbaticals we expect that the 2013-2014 program will yield sabbaticals in the same numbers as in the past.
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Homecoming 2012
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AFT Local 1904 was at Homecoming again this year, minus the snow. We gave out bottles of water, anti-bullying wrist bands, pens, notepads, AFT key chains and many other goodies to the Alumni, students and their families. Many of the Alumni and parents, who are teachers, were very grateful for the anti-bullying bands because they are currently doing units in their classes about bullying. We had enough for them to take back to their students and what teacher doesn't need free supplies?
Our banner at the table was also timely. In case you missed it, the issue of affordability of higher education was in the news this weekend. College tuition in New Jersey is rising faster than the rate of inflation. Read more about it in The Star-Ledger.  | | Greeting the crowds |
We also spent time letting the campus community know about our efforts to support our students through the BKMUW Scholarship. The students who stopped by our table were excited to learn more about the scholarships that the Local awards.
Many thanks to our member and student volunteers who spent 5+ hours on a sunny, but chilly afternoon greeting the Homecoming attendees. A good time was had by all.
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Care Packages for Students
AFT Local 1904 collecting care packages
We are asking for your help with assembling care packages and hosting a pizza party for students who live on campus during the winter break. At this time we estimate we will need 200 care packages. The care packages will be distributed to students during the first week of January at a pizza party the Local will be sponsoring and hosting.
Care Packages should consist of a plastic shoe box (which can be gotten at most Dollar Stores) that contain one of each of the following: Small Travel Games Playing Cards Gloves Gift Cards to Starbucks Cough Drops Travel Packets of Tissues Cocoa Ramen Noodles/Cup of Soup Granola Bars and other snacks AFT give-aways such as post-it notes, pencils, etc. The drop off location will be at Charity Dacey's Office Suite 1160 University Hall.
Questions? Contact the Local's office at ext. 4453.
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Comp Time and LSPA
What you need to know
Professional Staff and Librarians are considered to be exempt employees, which means we do not get paid overtime. However, Section 13.13 of the LSPA does provide for compensatory time for work beyond the usual hours. Compensatory time should approximate the number of hours worked but is not necessarily an hour for hour compensation.
There is a process outlined in this section for requesting, approval/denial, appeals for requests denied, and usage of compensatory time. The details can be found on pages 70 and 71 of the Local Selected Procedures Agreement (LSPA).
If you have any difficulties related to working consistently beyond the usual work hours without compensatory time, please contact Kathleen Hughes, AVP for Personnel, at [email protected]. If you want to learn more, come to the Local's Workshop on Comp Time on Tuesday, November 20th at 2 p.m. in SC 419. To reserve your seat, RSVP to [email protected].
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Current Events
Links to Recent Articles of Interest
- Help Hurricane Sandy victims by donating to the American Red Cross or by donating to AFT's Disaster Relief Fund.
- Student debt increases in NJ because tuition at NJ's public colleges are the third highest in the country. Read more about it in The Record.
- Did you know the average debt for for NJ college students is $33,000. Find out why by clicking here.
- Newark Teachers Union, an AFT affiliate, receives criticism from members regarding the tentative agreement signed. To learn more, read about it in The Star-Ledger.
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Member News and Notes
A number of faculty members received awards over the summer. Congratulations to:
- Aihua Li was awarded $10,788 from the National Security Agency for the "Garden State Undergraduate Mathematics Conference 2013-2014."
- Robert McCormick and the Center for Child Advocacy in CHSS received a $980,049 subaward from Rutgers University for the "New Jersey Child Welfare Training Program."
- Jing Peng received a subaward of $9,000 from the Research Foundation of SUNY, Albany, for his project, Kullback-Leibler Divergence Based Data Fusion for Target Tracking."
- Edina Renfro-Michel was awarded $118,837 of a $650,000 grant by the National Science Foundation for "Collaborative Project: Integrating Learning Resources for Information Security Research and Education," in concert with a team from NJIT and CUNY - Long Island.
- Alina Reznitskaya received $169,636 for the first year of a subaward from the US Department of Education/University of Ohio, for "Dialogic Teaching: Professional Development in Classroom Discussion to Improve Students' Argument Literacy."
- Stephanie Silvera recieved $137,6118 from the National Institutes of Heatlh for the first year of her project, "Exploring Sociodemographic and Behavioral Factors Underlying Racist/Ethnic Disparities in Cancer Prevention Behaviors in New Jersey."
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 | Richard Wolfson, President
AFT Local 1904 |
President's Corner
The last two weeks have been quite something. First, the punch of Hurricane Sandy and the resulting destruction and disruption. I had power out for 5 days and know how debilitating that can be, but I am acutely aware that many of you endured much more and many will continue to do so for quite a while. Know that we are here for you if you need us. Our website has information regarding disaster relief through FEMA and other agencies. If there is any way we can help, please contact us. AFT National is also accepting donations that will be used to help members in need.
Then the longest election cycle in recent memory came to a close. But that doesn't mean we can stop thinking about politics even for a day. We now must turn our sights on next November's gubernatorial election that will effect us greatly. As well as Gov. Christie did in the aftermath of Sandy, he is simply not a friend to Labor or New Jersey public employees. There will be Democratic primaries, decisions to be made and hard work ahead. We need to have a governor in Trenton who understands what we do and how important we are to New Jersey's future and well being.
Lastly, on top of all this, a Nor'easter hit us last Wednesday evening stressing us even further. I do hope that is behind us as well.
This Wednesday's General Union Meeting (GUM) will be particularly important. We'll be able to answer questions on the Winter Closing and the Friday after Thanksgiving. We will be able to detail the 2013 Spring as well as the 2013-2014 regular sabbatical programs. The GUM is a place where information is exchanged. We will fill you in on progress on all fronts. Please come and let us know what is happening in your areas and what we have to pay attention to. I hope to see you there.
In solidarity,
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Upcoming Events
General Union Meeting:
When: Nov. 14, 2012
Time: 2:30-4:00 p.m.
Where: SC 419
Comp Time Workshop:
When: Tues., Nov. 20
Time: 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Where: SC 419
Prof. Staff Luncheon:
When: Wed., Dec. 19
Time: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Where: SC Ballroom A
Solidarity Walks Continue:
When: Every Wednesday
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Where: Meet @ Cafe Diem
Join us in solidarity as we take a lunchtime stroll around campus.
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November 1st and 2nd
AFT Local 1904 wants to determine how many members reported for duty on November 1 and/or 2. If you came to work one or both of those days, please email Kathleen Hughes at
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University Closures
Veterans' Day is Monday, November 12th. While it is a State and Federal holiday, the University is open. If you work on Monday, don't forget to record that you did on your timesheet in the notes section so Payroll has a record of it and it can be counted toward the University's closures on the Friday after Thanksgiving and the Winter Closure.
We are still negotiating an agreement. Unfortunately, Super Storm Sandy got in the way of completing negotiations. So, we are encouraging members to plan accordingly in anticipation of these closures.
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Help School Children in Moonachie
AFT Local 1904 will be passing the hat for cash donations at its November 14th General Union Meeting to help buy school supplies for the children of Moonachie, NJ, who lost their school due to the flooding as a result of Super Storm Sandy. The Local will be matching donations dollar for dollar.
If you cannot attend the November 14th GUM, please drop off your donation at the Local's office in College Hall 314A by 12 noon on November 15th.
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MSU Family In Need
AFT Local 1904 recently learned that MSU Grant Accountant, Bill Jones, and his family are in need of our help. Eleven months ago their youngest son, Colin, was suffered brain damage because he lost oxegen when his mother's uterus ruptured during delivery. As a result, the family is now facing large and long term medical bills for Colin's care.
If you are interested helping the Bill Jones and his family out, visit:
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Disaster Recovery Info
AFT Local 1904 has posted on its website helpful numbers and links for diaster recovery assistance.
Assistance for MSU Students:
If any of your students find themselves in a seriously difficult situation that may be impeding their ability to continue their studies to contact Office of the Dean of Students at 973-655-4118 or [email protected]. Assistance for MSU Employees: Any employee who is experiencing serious difficulties related to the storm should be in contact with his or her supervisor, dean, vice president, or with Associate Vice President Gilbert Rivera in Human Resources. He can be reached at ext. 5317 or via email at [email protected].
FEMA:
If you know anyone that may need the assistance of FEMA, the phone number is:
800-621-FEMA (800-621-3362).
To file a claim online go to:
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