June Meeting Minutes
June 10, 2015 10:00am – 12:00pm
UC 326
Welcome & Call to Order
President Linder called the meeting to order at 10:00am.
Roll Call
Attendees:
Luke Alford, Andi Armstrong, David Crowley, Kristine Csorosz, Daphne Felker, Molly Fishburn-Matthew, Geri
Fox, Mark Fritch, Chuck Harris, Grace Harris, Rozlyn Haley, Jefferson Heath, Rochelle Krahn, Maggie Linder,
Becky Maier, Carlie Magill, Maria Mangold, Denise May, Shaunagh McGoldrick, Candy Patrick, Gloria Phillip,
Chelsey Porter, Kathy Reeves, Caitlin Sager, Edi Stan, Brandie Terpe, Renee Valley, Sara Wade, Angela
Weisenburger, Kellyn Younggren, Jennifer Zellmer-Cuaresma and Judy Wellert (Administrative Associate).
Quorum present at time of roll call.
Excused: Maryann Dunbar, Cindy Ferguson
Public Comment
UM Minute – Maggie explained UM Minutes to new Staff Senators. Each Senator introduced themselves and
shared a UM minute.
Minutes of April Meeting
Since the May meeting did not have quorum present, the April and May meeting minutes and financial reports
need to be reviewed/approved.
April meeting minutes were approved.
May meeting minutes – Gloria Phillip’s name was incorrect, but it was corrected by Judy. Judy made edits which
were posted and shared with Senators.
The revised May meeting minutes were approved.
Financial Report
April Financial Statements received no questions so will be filed for audit.
Regarding the May Financial Statements – The funds raised from the Tamarack Brewery Pint Night fundraiser
have been deposited into the Visibility Fund. MUSSA travel and purchase of items for future raffles/fundraising
events are still pending. The May financial statements will be filed for audit.
University Committee Reports
(Full report distributed prior to meeting; this info was discussed at the meeting)
Two UM Committee Reports were received and posted for review. There were no questions or comments.
Staff Senate Committee Reports
Fundraising
Pint night will be held August 25 at Flathead Brewing, 6pm-8pm. $1 of every pint will go to the Scholarship
Fund.
CVC
Sen. Fox reminded us the bead workshop will take place today at noon. 19 staff members have registered for the
event.
Nominations and Elections
Staff Senate election of executive officers will follow Staff Senate committee reports.
Bylaws
Sen. Phillip shared that the committee will meet on June 22 at 2pm, location TBD.
New Business
Elections
Sen. May explained the election process and opened up nominations for executive officers to the floor. No
nominations were brought to the floor.
The following nominations were submitted previous to the meeting:
President, Chair – Sen. Chelsey Porter
Vice-President, Chair-Elect – Sen. Jennifer Zellmer-Cuaresma
Secretary – Sen. Maria Mangold
Financial Officer – Sen. Maggie Linder and Sen. Rochelle Krahn
Public Relations Officer - Sen. Angela Weisenburger
Fundraising – no nominations were submitted
Fundraising Chair will remain open for recruitment. Sen. Mangold said that her former experience as Fundraising
Chair was beneficial and recommends it for those interested in non-profit work, budgeting, and/or businessrelated professional development. Sen. Valley will provide guidance to the Fundraising Chair, as she was a former
co-Chair.
Sen. May, Sen. Valley, and Sen. Phillip left the floor to tally the ballots.
Guest Speaker Announcement
Sen. Linder mentioned that Sara Drake, UM’s HRS Associate Director - Employee Labors Relations Associate,
will be providing information to Staff Senate at 11:30. Sara manages negotiations with Unions and she will
discuss the bargaining
Sen. Krahn asks if pay plan is tied to tuition freeze. Sen. Linder said BOR will keep the tuition freeze if
legislature passes the pay raises/benefit, infrastructure, and one other bill. Pay raises still in negotiation and the
infrastructure bill did not pass.
2014-2015 End of Year Staff Senate Report
Sen. Linder distributes the 2014-2015 staff senate report handout which will be presented to administration next
week. Floor opens up for revisions/questions/comments:
Judy suggested adding buttons and Kudo recipients. Sen. Krahn suggested listing all of the Fundraising events
and staff appreciation event. Sen. Armstrong suggested adding all CVC events; especially, Can the Cats as it
involved collaboration of many campus departments. Sen. Mangold suggested shared governance. Sen.
Weisenburger noticed that scholarships were listed under fundraising and outreach.
Sen. Linder will make revisions by the end of this week and will share with senators so that it can be distributed.
Sen. Magill shared that the Moodle link that was sent to senators did not work. Sen. Linder will look into it.
Ideal Staff Traits Survey Results/Handout
Sen. Krahn suggested Sen. Linder share the ideal staff member handout that was presented to the cabinet (first
draft) in May and reviewed by Staff Senate during the May meeting. Sen. Linder reviewed that a survey was
taken by staff and administrators to discover the characteristics of ideal staff members. Staff Senators suggested
edits in the May meeting and Sen. Linder will share the finalized version. The Cabinet requested Sen. Linder
share the document with them via email when finalized. Sen. Haley shared staffers listed flexibility but
administrators did not, and interesting contrast.
This was the first year staff senator Executive Officers attended Cabinet meetings and it was extremely beneficial
and productive. The feedback from the Cabinet regarding the survey results/handout was very positive and
enthusiastic. Judy clarified that Staff Senate EO’s meet with cabinet once a month during the academic year over
breakfast at 7:30am.
Election Results
Sen. May, Sen. Valley, and Sen. Phillip return to the floor and share the election results to Sen. Linder. Sen.
Linder thanks Sen. May, Sen. Valley and Sen. Phillip for their assistance with this process. Sen. Linder
announced the following election results:
Sen. Porter will be President
Sen. Zellmer-Cuaresma will be Vice President
Sen. Mangold will be Secretary
Sen. Linder will be Finance Officer
Sen. Weisenburger will be Public Relations Officer
Two names were written in for Fundraising Chair, Sen. May will contact the person written on ballot
MUSSA Conference Report
Sen. Linder reviewed the Montana University System Staff Association conference that she, Sen. Mangold and
Judy attended last month. Professional development, funding, and advising were discussed at the conference. Judy
will post notes from meeting on the SS website. Sen. Mangold presented on advising. An advising conference will
be held at UM on Sept. 18. If interested in attending, a discretionary budget managed by the Board of Regents
(BOR) can be utilized by participants to cover the conference fees.
Sen. Linder reviewed the material she presented to MUSSA, which covering diversity of staff within the Montana
University System and staff representation per campus. The presentation was well received and requested to be
shared at next BOR meeting.
In terms of professional development, MUS campuses have collaborated in order to provide professional
development opportunities to smaller campuses that do not have a Professional Development Coordinator (UM
has Cindy Bois and MSU has Betsy Webb). Betsy Webb provided professional development to Havre and
Billings campuses. Sen. Mangold mentions limited funding prompted collaboration for professional development
between MUS campuses. Sen. Valley thanked Staff Senate EO’s for their work regarding this meeting.
Judy mentioned the requirement of staff senators to participate in at least one staff senate committee. During the
July meeting senators will be asked to sign up for committees. Sen. Linder prompted senators to contact Chelsey
and Judy before the July meeting if they are interested in chairing committees. Sen. Zellmer-Cuaresma
encouraged participation and emphasized that staff senate is a team effort and participation is vital. Information
on each committee is listed in the bylaws (pages 8-9) and senators are encouraged to contact current committee
members with questions. Sen. Haley shared information on the professional development committee’s current and
future projects and mentions Lean-In groups.
Sen. Felker asked if past committee reports are archived. Judy shared that she posts committee reports in UM box
and works in progress in Moodle.
Dean Bartlett contacted Sen. Linder to begin IT mentor program. Sen. Fishburn-Matthew mentions women in IT
group may also be formed.
Sen. Armstrong spoke about CVC and Kudos award program.
Guest Speaker
Sen. Linder welcomed Sara Drake, UM’s HRS Associate Director, Employee Labors Relations Associate.
Sara reviewed the collective bargaining process. Most UM staff are part of a union. The Montana Board of
Regents (BOR) tasks the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE) with representing collective
bargaining from the MUS perspective. Bargaining typically occurs after each legislative session every other year.
House bills are presented regarding allocation of MUS funds. Unions contact OCHE to request to bargain.
Bargaining teams are established by unions and by the OCHE. OCHE bargaining teams are usually made up of
MUS campuses HRS representatives. Usually tentative agreements are made in the summer/fall. All union
members should anticipate ballots regarding a vote on tentative agreements around this time. If the vote is passed
by union members, the final ratification is forwarded to BOR. If ratified by BOR a new collective bargaining
agreement is in place.
Currently, collective bargaining is taking place. Contact your union for specific information.
Sen. Haley asked how negotiations affect non-union members. Sara shared OCHE determines how non-union
members are impacted…usually MPEA agreements are followed but not always.
Judy asked for more clarification on how HRS is involved. Sara explained that HRS represents MUS campus
management and participates on the OCHE bargaining team.
Sen. Linder asked if unions come together to bargain. Sara explained that each union has its own Collective
Bargaining Agreement and that they bargain separately from each other.
Sen. Linder asked when timelines are established. Sara explained that the tentative agreements include timelines
for any agreed-upon across-the-board increase. However, previous agreements have had the effective date in
October.
Judy asks if .50 pay raise for State of Montana workers is applicable to UM. Sara explained, “No, it is not” and
that each union has to bargain independently from the state.
Sen. Crowley and Sen. Alford mentioned that pay raises are based on how campus administration allocates funds.
BOR gives each campus a lump sum and campus administration determines how the lump sum is distributed
among campus units.
Sen. Weisenburger asked if benefits are part of negotiations. Sara said that yes, benefits are negotiated as well.
Sen. Linder asked how UM, having multiple unions on campus, impacts this process. Sara explained that
negotiations are conducted with each campus union.
Sen. Zellmer-Cuaresma asked about the process of UM administration’s allocation of funds. Sara does not know
determining factors of the administration when it comes to allocating funds. She suggested Staff Senate contact
Mike Reid for details. She explained that some collective bargaining agreements cover all campuses for union
members as one entity. In turn, HRS/OCHE assesses the interest of each campus.
Staff Senate thanked Sara for visiting.
Sen. Linder thanked outgoing Senators: Sen. Molly Fishburn-Matthew, Sen. Chuck Harris, Sen. Becky Maier,
Sen. Kathy Reeves, Sen. Maryann Dunbar and Sen. Brandie Terpe.
Next meeting: July 8, 2015, 10:00am – 12:00pm, UC 330/331