Bargaining committee

Our bargaining team will consist of 17 classified staff members. Our mission is to have fair representation from areas across the college.

The goal of the bargaining team will be to help negotiate a fair contract to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions for all classified staff.

Bargaining Team Responsibilities
The primary responsibility of the bargaining team is to negotiate our first contract. The bargaining team will help negotiate the best possible contract for almost 600 members of the bargaining unit by:

• Collaborating with all fellow members of the bargaining team and our AFSCME staff representative Matthew Lange.

• Managing and compiling information from our CODSU Bargaining Survey.

• Developing initial bargaining goals using the CODSU Bargaining Survey results, listening sessions, and other relevant forms of membership feedback.

• Presenting proposals at the bargaining table.

• Attending negotiating sessions and meetings.

• Assessing, analyzing, and responding to COD admin’s bargaining proposals and developing CODSU’s counterproposals.

• Coordinating with the Member Action Team (MAT) to keep members informed and educated about the negotiations process through communication and outreach.

• Presenting and discussing the tentatively agreed-upon contract with union members prior to the ratification vote, and making recommendations for approval.

Training
Bargaining team members will be trained by AFSCME Council 31’s education department and our lead negotiator, staff representative Matthew Lange, who will join and assist the team in negotiations. Because of the learning curve involved, these training sessions are mandatory. This training can take at least three hours. Dates and times for these training sessions will be established to accommodate the members after the committee has been elected.

Time Commitment
The bargaining schedule is subject to negotiation with the administration’s legal team, but bargaining team members should plan for a significant time commitment (at least several hours per week). The goal is to have all bargaining sessions fall within work time and will generally be held in person.

Meetings and bargaining sessions can range from weekly to biweekly, sometimes with several meetings in the same week. The team will be expected to meet outside of formal bargaining in order to prepare for the sessions. Team meetings can vary between Zoom and in-person.

Structure
The bargaining committee will include approximately 1 representative per 40 COD employees. We will elect 1, 2, or 3 committee members from each of 10 “zones” (groupings derived from our divisions), as follows:

Zone A: 3 reps Admission & Outreach Athletics Career Services Counseling, Advising, Transfer Ctr for Access/Accom. Enrollment Management International Student Services Registration Services Student Affairs Student Financial Aid Student Life Student Records Student Services Veterans Services

Zone B: 3 reps Academic Affairs Academic Outreach Adjunct Support Assessment AVP Academic Affairs Curriculum-Central Scheduling Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment/Field Studies/Study Abroad Learning Technologies Performing Arts (MAC) Project Hire Ed Regional Centers Testing Center Tutoring & Academic Support Ctr

Zone C: 1 rep Arts, Communications & Hosp

Zone D: 1 rep Business & Applied Tech. Nursing and Health Sciences STEM Liberal Arts

Zone E: 1 rep Social/Behavioral Sc & Library

Zone F: 1 rep Business Development Center Career/Professional Training Cont Ed/Extended Learning ESL/ABE/ASE Homeland Security Public Services Suburban Law Enforcement

Zone G: 1 rep Business Services Conference & Events Services Mail Services Print Services Procurement Services Support Services Warehouse Services Facilities

Zone H: 1 rep Accounts Receivable Cash Disbursements/Payroll Central Accounting Financial Affairs & Controller Fixed Assets

Zone I: 1 rep Information Systems Information Technology Srvcs Network Services Office & Classroom Technology Operations Support Security Office Telecommunications

Zone J: 2 reps Budget Office Community Engagement Employee Development Ctr Environmental Health & Safety Human Resources Advancement Intercultural Student Initiatives Marketing & Creative Services Multimedia Services Planning, Perform & Tech Police Dept Public Relations & Comm. Research & Analytics WDCB Radio

Two additional seats will be filled by part-timers from any department.

How to make nominations
The form provides space to nominate as many people as there are representative positions in each zone (e.g. where a zone is allotted 3 reps, you may nominate up to 3 members). You don’t have to nominate someone in every zone!

To nominate:

• You must first be a card-signing member of our union!

• Think about who among our Classified Staff colleagues is dedicated to improving COD through our union, and who will represent the interests of all colleagues across campus.

• Find where they fall in the zone breakdown (Zones A through J, listed above).

• Type their name into the Google Form.

• If you’re wondering, yes, you may nominate yourself!