In attendance: Zhian Kamvar, Chris Mihiar, Thomas Morrill, Vance Almquist, Stephanie Parreira; guest member Drew Hatlen; Ashley Bromley, Angela McClendon
Meeting called to order at 5:35 PM
Minutes from 9-8-2015 Meeting – Approved
Email Decisions – (1) Approved social calendar for fall term. (2) Approved Rob transitioning the CGE website from being hosted on our own domain to being hosted on wordpress.com.
Debit Card Policy – Chris went to the bank last week to get our debit account redisconnected from our checking account, so that overdraft will not be allowed. The officers sign the policy.
The PHD Movie 2 – Drew is here to talk about CGE and the Grad School collaborating on a hosting of the second PHD Comics movie. We’d like to host the double feature, at a time that has not yet been determined. The EC agrees that we’d like to contribute $400 toward purchasing the screening licenses [$180 for movie 1, $500 for movie 2], as well as contributing our turnout skills.
Bargaining Update – We continue to sputter along in our impact bargaining over paid sick leave. Unfortunately, we had to cancel yesterday’s session due to not having quorum on the CGE team. The admin team sent us some language and the CGE team returned a counter-proposal. The admin team seems really inflexible on the issue of “self-substitution.” The CGE team is trying to come up with language that will work for both sides. The next session will be next Tuesday the 22nd at 3 PM. We’re going to push really hard for bargaining to get wrapped up next week.
AGEL Call Debrief – Chris and Stephanie participated in this call last Thursday. Chris talked up CGE’s proposals for workshop sessions and logistics. There was conversation about extending the conference forward to Thursday. This does not work for CGE logistically; Yonna will take care of organizing anyone who wants to arrive on Wednesday for Thursday work in Portland. Chris and Ashley will meet tomorrow to get a “Save the date!” email ready to send out over the AGEL list.
Organizer Training Debrief – This training session happened this last Thursday evening. Vance made some really good dinner (folks were excited about taking leftovers home). We had about 25 stewards in attendance and it went pretty well. There was a lot to talk about! Chris got positive feedback from some people; in particular, he thinks the roleplaying portion went well. Vance feels like the session could be improved in the future by having a stricter adherence to an organizer training agenda; sometimes it felt like people wanted to digress to other Steward Council topics. Chris suggests we could also try to incorporate organizer training into regular SC meetings.
Orientations – Grad School orientation tabling: Thomas, Ashley, Kris, and Heather were there. They talked to quite a lot of people and got 28 new cards. Grad School panel: Stephanie, Zhian, and Thomas talked about why people should be members! There were about 20 people who came to the CGE panel, which actually went rather longer than scheduled, but those in attendance stayed connected to the conversation, and they got 7 new cards.
Brew-Off Liability Insurance – In previous years, our general liability insurance has agreed to provide a certificate for the Odd Fellows to cover the Brew-Off. This year, Liberty Mutual declined to cover the Brew-Off. Our broker provided an event-day quote from a different insurer, which contained some exclusion language that we feel is problematic (it wouldn’t directly affect us with the Brew-Off, but it’s tinged with racism or at least profiling that we felt uncomfortable about). The EC would like Ashley to ask the broker for quotes from one or more of the other providers who don’t have that exclusion, and then we’ll decide who to go with when we have more information.
Electronic Membership Cards – Ashley asked Rodolfo about the validity of electronic membership cards. Rodolfo advised Ashley that CGE should create an online sign-up option if it’s vital to CGE’s continued organizing success. (For example, the TAA in Wisconsin already has online membership/dues sign-up that’s been really important for them since they lost payroll deductions.) The EC agrees that the current benefits (eg, gaining members among grads who work on satellite campuses) and potential future benefits (eg, if we lost payroll deductions) outweigh the potential future risks. We’d like to begin working on the online sign-up option (through Knack, where Ashley has already started testing the cool digital signature feature), although we’d want to only use it sparingly, not publish it widely at this time.
AFT-Oregon Treasurer – Steve from GTFF recently had to resign as AFT-OR treasurer. Because Thomas had run for treasurer at Convention back in the spring, we considered whether he should try to step in. However, an EC member from another local is starting grad school at OSU, and with Kris already on the EC, that means CGE would have 2 people on the EC, the maximum allowed in the AFT-OR constitution. So Thomas will not pursue the treasurer position.
Temporary Tattoos – Ashley has investigated these and sent some sizing/pricing options. In the smallest size (1.5”x1.5”) we could get 1,000 for $122. Zhian will use the pencil fist graphic Ashley sends him to put together some color options. Ashley will ensure the temporary tattoos would be sticky.
Fall Meetings – We need to schedule EC meetings soon! Officers should send schedules to Ashley.
Sexual Harassment Training, Etc – Ashley recently had a conversation with a member about where on campus a grad employee can go to talk about issues such as sexual harassment, especially when it’s a bit tricky since grad assistants are both students and employees. Ashley remembered that OSU’s Office of Equity and Inclusion offers training workshops related to recognizing and responding to harassment or discrimination. The EC agrees that this is a worthwhile endeavor for CGE to work on. Ashley will collect and pass along information about this.
Welcome BBQ – This will be on Saturday, September 26! Publicity: Stephanie will send all-member emails tomorrow (9/18) and next Friday (9/25); she will specifically include a call for grilling helpers. Ashley will send the fb invitations since she knows the most people in the CGE group. Menu: Zhian requests advice. Many of the usual suspects will already be occupied or out of town that day, so we’ll want to make something easy. We’ll plan on grilling burgers and hotdogs, with some sides that aren’t too labor intensive. Ashley will put together a shopping list, and then Zhian, Vance, and Ashley will do shopping on Thursday. There will be prepping Friday and moving stuff on Saturday. Kris won’t be here so Chris will pick up the kegs. Music: Meatbomb and Jocko Homomorphism would like to play. There’s also someone named Jeremy Hoffman who was interested in the spring but became unavailable; Ashley will invite him to play this time. Face-painting: The EC is excited about inviting Beulah back for 2 hours because her face-painting was really popular at the EOY BBQ. Ashley will ask if she’s available.
Oregon AFL-CIO Convention – We’re allotted 5 delegates to the OR AFL-CIO convention, happening October 23 – 25 in Seaside, OR. Unfortunately, the timing is perfectly terrible for us, as we’ll be busy with office visits, GMM, AGEL, and the Brew-Off those weeks and we’ll need all hands on deck. We will not try to send anyone this year.
Meeting adjourned at 6:50 PM. Next meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet.