Please join us and meet your

entire Board of Directors.

Board of Directors Meeting

Saturday, October 17th

9:00 a.m.

Lakeside

(More information to follow)

You are cordially invited to

attend the CSEA Board of

Directors meeting to be held

on Saturday, October 17,

2015, starting at 9:00 a.m. in

Lakeside.

All meetings of the Board of

Directors are open for atten-

dance by the general CSEA

membership. Members are

encouraged to attend to com-

ment and provide input on

agenda items being considered

by the Board in which they

have an interest or concern.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015

Inside this issue:

Board of Directors

Meeting in Lakeside 1

No ALEC Zone!

March & Rally 2

2015 ACE Program:

Brawley Chapter 335 3

Spotlight: Pat Murray,

Grossmont Cuyamaca 4

Area K Awards &

Recognition Recipients 5

CSEA Participates in the

APALA Convention 6

Calendars and

Important Dates 7

Member Benefits:

Member Student Loan 8

Our mission: To improve the lives of our members, students and community.

CSEA San Diego Field Office | 6341 Nancy Ridge Drive, San Diego, CA 92121

Special points of interest:

CSEA Board of Directors

Meeting on October 17th

in Lakeside. Join Us!

Congratulations to Sandy

Dabney, Troy Johnson,

and Lance Wren

Save the Date: Holiday Cheer

on December 15, 2015

Celebrate Labor Day!

www.csea.com

CSEA Board of Directors Meeting in Lakeside

The CSEA Board of Directors

consists of five Constitutional

Officers, which are President,

First Vice President, Second

vice President, Secretary, and

Past President, and 10 Area

Directors, each of whom is

democratically elected by

CSEA members. All Board

members are volunteers who

work regular classified jobs.

Only the Association Presi-

dent is granted full release

time from his/her classified

job.

Michael Bilbrey

Association President

Ben Valdepeña

1st Vice President

Delores Rodriguez-Burke

2nd Vice President

Kerry Woods

Secretary

Allan D. Clark

Past President

Dale Sorenson

Area F Director

John Nieto

Area G Director

Bill Hagar

Area H Director

Don Snyder

Area I Director

Jim King

Area K Director

Rameldia Mark

Area D Director

Marcos Gonzalez

Area C Director

Martha Penry

Area A Director

Sylvia Diaz

Area E Director

Frank Rodriguez

Area B Director

PAGE 2 SAN DIEGO FIELD OFFICE NEWSFLASH

CSEA Participates in No ALEC Zone! March & Rally

CSEA members, supporters, and staff

joined thousands of other workers,

community groups, and faith leaders

to send a loud message to the mem-

bers of ALEC, ―California is a No

ALEC Zone! Not here, not ever.

The American

Legislative

Exchange

Council

(ALEC) is the

most powerful,

well-funded

corporate special interest front group

in America. ALEC works to pass laws

that slash wages, cut retirement,

weaken health and safety, harm the

environment, and destroy the middle

class.

On Wednesday, July 22, CSEA partici-

pated in a mass protest and rally at the

Embarcadero Marina Park North in

San Diego, followed by a march in

front of the Manchester Grand Hyatt

Hotel, where ALEC members gath-

ered for their conference.

A special thank you to the following

members, supporters, and staff for

taking time away from their day to

support this action:

Cajon Valley 179—Maggie Buck,

Lynn Johnston, and Kathy Winger

Coronado 386—John Bonnet, and

Frank Preciado

Ramona 733—AD Jim King

San Diego OSS 724—John Allen,

Temika Cook, Lenny Frausto,

Ethel Larkins, and Lance Wren

San Diego OTBS 788—Jo-Ellen

Archer, and Tatiana Popescu

San Diego Paraeducators 759—

Miguel Arellano, Jane Bausa, Erika

Culley, Mary Lou Finley, and

Sabrina Hahnlein

Southwestern College 524—

Elizabeth Valdez

Retiree 900—Larry Isom

San Diego Field Office staff

Members and staff from our

neighboring offices, Costa y Valles

Field Office, Orange Field Office,

and Santa Fe Field Office.

Thank

you to

everyone

who at-

tended!

Appreciating Classified Employees—Brawley Chapter 335 *

tions. The event reinforces our shared

goals in public schools and exemplifies

that the education of California‘s stu-

dents is a team effort.

―Every year, the ACE Program gives

district administrators and school trus-

tees a first-hand look at the frantic

pace of an average day for a classified

school employee,‖ Association Presi-

dent Michael Bilbrey said. ―Our con-

tributions to public education are sig-

nificant, wide-reaching and cannot be

adequately captured in a job descrip-

tion or title. I applaud our chapters

and the school districts that partici-

pated in the ACE Program this year

and took the time to share experiences

and learn more about how our com-

bined efforts educate and nurture the

leaders of tomorrow.‖

Brawley 335 was the chapter from

Area K that participated in this year‘s

ACE Program. Chapters are selected

to participate after a lengthy nomina-

tion and evaluation process. One

chapter in every CSEA Area is se-

lected to participate. Interested chap-

ters should contact their labor rela-

tions representatives (LRR) about the

nomination process.

The ACE program started during

Classified School Employee Week in

May 2007 as a way to recognize the

work of classified employees and pro-

mote understanding between district

staff and administration.

Thank you to all the CSEA members

from Brawley 335 and to district rep-

resentatives from the Brawley Ele-

mentary School District for making

this program such a success.

* Information and excerpts from CSEA’s

Focus Magazine, July/August 2015, also

on the CSEA website at www.csea.com.

Superintendents, school board mem-

bers, managers, supervisors and com-

munity members got a taste of what

it‘s like to be a classified school em-

ployee during the ninth annual Appre-

ciating Classified Employees (ACE)

Program, held in May during Classi-

fied School Employee Week (CSEW).

The ACE Program is a job shadowing

program that pairs district administra-

tors and managers, and elected offi-

cials with classified employees to show

the importance of classified services to

students and public education as a

whole. Even after only a couple of

hours shadowing, managers and trus-

tees quickly learn that classified contri-

butions reach far beyond job descrip-

Photo by Kevin Walsh

Ron Garcia, Superintendent (left) and Norman Camacho, Gardener (right)

Photo by Kevin Walsh

Elba Gallegos, School Secretary (left)

and Cynthia Dickinson, Director of Fiscal

Services (right)

ACE Program showcases

classified contributions Ten chapters statewide participate in

annual job shadowing program

Photo by Kevin Walsh

Mark Kahler, Information Technology

Manager (left) and Juan Otero, Mechanic

PAGE 3 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3

Spotlight: Pat Murray, Grossmont Cuyamaca CCD Chapter 707*

being made. Everyone would cheer

and a photo would be taken to com-

memorate the occasion. Often we

would try to coordinate with the

nominator so that they could be there

as well. The photos would surface

during the annual awards program in

May and everyone loved to see the

surprise faces.

As the leadership changed, the awards

program moved under the College

Recognition and Awards program. It

is not affiliated with one employee

type or employee union or senate. The

nomination process was updated to

limit duplicates and were accepted

during the month of March and deliv-

ered during the month of April. Deliv-

ering the candy and certificate was not

only limited to the president anymore,

but all of the leaders in the president‘s

office.

The vice presidents and even some of

the deans have been designated to

deliver Kudos nominations, which are

collected by a simple online submis-

sion form. The employees that the

presidential staff were visiting were

people they didn‘t necessarily know, in

fact often were not a part of their divi-

sion. They tell me it is so refreshing

to go and deliver good news instead of

bad news, and to learn all about the

fantastic employees in our college

community – the awards program

raises awareness, and teamwork and

morale. It is inexpensive – the cost of

a box of candy bars and some printed

certificates and a little time from the

campus leaders. I help coordinate all

of the deliveries; we visit faculty teach-

ing in the classroom and have inter-

rupted budget meetings to thank each

other and show appreciation – we

always try to do it quick so that we

don‘t interrupt instruction or business

for more than a minute or two. Here

is a link of some of our KUDOS visits

this year at Grossmont College.

When I am not in the lab…

Grossmont College started a 'Wellness

Program' that included cycling in Janu-

ary of 2012. Beleaguered by her dis-

cussions, I decided to borrow my

brother's bike and give cycling and the

newly inaugurated wellness program a

try. My college riding buddies were

very helpful as they watched me strug-

gle to turn and look over my shoulder

and learn how to handle a bicycle. I

kind of liked it. I lost a few pounds,

too. The Dean of English and Social/

Behavioral Sciences, Agustin Albarrán,

was our leader and we would go out

for lunch break rides – about 3 of us.

I decided I wanted to ride my bike for

the May "Bike to Work" event. It was

20 miles from my house to work and

it was hilly. I tried to do lunch rides

and I even did a practice ride - and I

did the 40 mile round trip May 19th of

2012. I didn‘t think much more about

cycling until June of 2013 when I

learned about Gordy Shields who was

a retired GC counselor and cycling

advocate that made a huge impact on

me (click here for SD-UT article).

What an inspiration – he started

LATE in life, like me. I met his daugh-

ter and she told me that her father‘s

only regret would be that he didn‘t get

to race in the age 95 category this year.

I was moved, and I told her since he

couldn‘t race, I would race for him

and boy did I!! When I am not at

work, I am usually on a bicycle!

* Article and information provided by Pat

Murray, member of Grossmont Cuyamaca

CCD Chapter 707

Pat Murray

Grossmont Cuyamaca CCD 707

The original ―kudos candy bar‖ pro-

gram at our college was the brain child

of our professional development fac-

ulty. The KUDOS Award is designed

to help employees thank and recog-

nize a member of the college commu-

nity who represents teamwork and

service. Nominations were filled out

on white stock cards and then the card

and candy was delivered to the mail-

boxes of the staff – not unkind to a

candy gram. The program was about

to be cut when a classified staff mem-

ber spoke out at a governing board

meeting. The

trustees asked

the college

president to see

if he could save

the program.

Ted Martinez, Jr. did resurrect the

program and more. He introduced the

idea that the candy would be hand

delivered to the office of the nominee

and he would be the one to shake the

employees hands. He also wanted to

award a certificate. The more staff saw

the president delivering the kudos

bars, the more nominations we would

get. Finally a couple years later, not

being able to keep up with all the

nominations, the Kudos award was

restricted to 2.5 months of the year in

order to handle the office visits. The

element of having an office visit with

the president was a huge part of the

new program. Not only would he per-

sonally deliver the candy, but he

would often summarize for all the

staff in the vicinity why the award was

PAGE 4 SAN DIEGO FIELD OFFICE NEWSFLASH

We would also like to congratulate

Lance Wren, Chapter President of

San Diego Chapter 724, the Opera-

tions Support Services (OSS), blue

collar unit of San Diego Unified

School District.

Lance was recognized as the 2015

CSEA/AFA Advocate of the Year.

This is a joint recognition from CSEA

and American Fidelity Assurance

Company for outstanding work on

behalf of the members.

Congratulations to Lance Wren, San Diego OSS 724

CSEA‘s Honor Roll is the 2nd highest

honor bestowed by our great organiza-

tion. Hortensia Benner, Sandy Dabney

and Nancy McCall all became the

newest members of the Honor Roll.

Dabney‘s contributions to our associa-

tion have spanned many years, and she

currently serves as the Retiree Unit

District K Director. Dabney was the

chair of the Pre-Retirement Resource

Committee for many years, helping to

develop critical training materials.

Dabney thanked delegates for the

award, adding that it was her pleasure

to serve CSEA.

―I cannot begin to express how deeply

honored and humbled I am,‖ Dabney said.

Sandy is a retired member from the

Classified of Encinitas Chapter 493.

She received the award at CSEA‘s

89th Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

* Information and excerpts from the

CSEA website at www.csea.com.

Congratulations to Sandy Dabney, New Honor Roll Member *

Sandy Dabney receiving the award from

Association President Michael Bilbrey

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 PAGE 5

We would like to congratulate Troy

Johnson, from Sweetwater Union High

Chapter 471, for receiving the CSEA

Award of Distinction—Best Column/

Editorial for his print work on ―The 251

-Day Issue‖.

Communications Committee Chair

Beth Saldana presented Troy Johnson

with the award at their chapter meet-

ing held at the Sweetwater Union

High School District Board Room on

Tuesday, August 11, 2015.

―It is always a pleasure to give an

award for the Communications Com-

mittee. It means that the membership

is getting the information, and keeping

the communication flowing,‖ ex-

pressed Beth and continued to share

how proud and happy she was for

Troy and the chapter.

―This issue (261 days) is an example that

the Power of US is stronger than just

one person acting alone. This issue was

raised by one of our members who tried

to do the right thing on his own by

talking to ‗the powers that be.‘ It was

when he came to the Union that we

were able to research it and start cor-

recting the wrong. This article was the

impetus to communicate to our mem-

bers that a disservice was imposed on

them and we were committed to correct

this wrong and never allow it to happen

again. Our advocacy on this issue has

remained strong and we have been able

to serve as a resource to many chapters

up and down the State. To receive this

award at the same time that we are set-

tling this issue, just shows what can

happen when a group gets energized

and committed behind an issue. I am

excited that we have been able to make

things right and at the same time bring

an alternative to the district that allows

the district to be fiscally healthy while

doing the right thing by our members.‖

said Troy after receiving this award.

* Information from CSEA Communications

Bulletin No. 5-15 (July 17, 2015)

Congratulations to Troy Johnson, Sweetwater High 471 *

Troy Johnson receiving the award from

Communications Committee Chair Beth Saldana

PAGE 6 SAN DIEGO FIELD OFFICE NEWSFLASH

CSEA participated

in the Asian Pacific

American Labor

Alliance (APALA)

13th Biennial Con-

vention, Organizing

in Solidarity, Building One Vision Forward,

at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside

Hotel on August 14th & 15th.

APALA is the first and only national

organization of Asian Pacific Ameri-

can (APA) union members. Since its

founding, APALA has played a unique

role in addressing the workplace issues

of 660,000 APA union members. It

serves as the bridge between the

broader labor movement and the APA

community.

Backed with

strong support of

the AFL-CIO,

APALA has 18

chapters and pre-

chapters and a

national office in

Washington, D.C.

Members and staff volunteers helped

at the CSEA exhibit table throughout

the convention by talking to attendees

about CSEA and the work we do in

our schools. We had a opportunity to

share who classified employees are

and the impact we have in our public

schools, colleges and county offices of

education all over California. People

who approached the CSEA table and

talked to our volunteers walked away

with booklets and flyers which con-

tained important information about

the value of classified employees in

education.

A very special thank you to…

Jane Bausa, SD Paraeducators 759

Temika Cook, San Diego (OSS) 724

Beverly Durcan, SD Paraeducators 759

Lisa Hoffman, Vista 389

Marie Hoveln, Vista 389

Troy Johnson, Sweetwater High 471

Mona Ribada, National 206

Lance Wren, San Diego (OSS) 724

Wendy Lamb, LRR, CSEA Staff

Gustavo Padilla, LRR, CSEA Staff

Paul Valen, LRR, CSEA Staff

Daniel Zummo, LRR, CSEA Staff

SAVE THE DATE: Holiday Cheer at SDFO

Please mark your calen-

dars and plan on joining

members, staff, and

special guests at the

CSEA San Diego Field

Office for a little...

Holiday Cheer!

EVENT: Holiday Cheer!

DATE: Tuesday, December 15, 2014

TIME: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

PLACE: San Diego Field Office,

6341 Nancy Ridge Drive

San Diego, CA 92121

Hot Chocolate

Apple Cider

Cookies & Pastries

CSEA Participates in the 2015 APALA Biennial Convention

PAGE 7 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3

Calendars & Important Dates

SEPTEMBER

September 5—Union Steward Training- Level 3, Chula Vista

September 7—Labor Day (Holiday),

CSEA Offices Closed

September 7—Labor Day @ Petco Park

September 9—Union Steward Training- Level 4/Discipline, San Diego Field Office

September 11—Patriot Day

September 15—Victory Club Training, CUHSD Warehouse, El Centro

September 17—Victory Club Training, CSEA San Diego Field Office

September 19—CSEA Board of Directors Meeting, San Jose (Headquarters)

September 23—Autumn begins

September 30—Know Your Rights Training, North San Diego County

September 2015September 2015September 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

OCTOBER

October 10—Union Steward Training- Level 2, San Diego, TBD

October 12—Columbus Day

October 12-16—National School Lunch Week

October 16—National Boss‘ Day

October 17—CSEA Board of Directors Meeting, Lakeside (Area K)

October 19-23—National School Bus Safety Week

October 24—Introduction to Bargaining, Escondido High School District Office

October 24—Introduction to Bargaining, Southwest High School, El Centro

October 24—Pre-Retirement Seminar, Cuyamaca College, El Cajon

October 24—United Nations Day

October 28—Know Your Rights Training, South San Diego County, TBD

October 31—Halloween

October 2015October 2015October 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Columbus Day

PAGE 8 SAN DIEGO FIELD OFFICE NEWSFLASH

San Diego Field Office

NEWSFLASH

NEWSFLASH is a newsletter

published bimonthly by the

CSEA San Diego Field Office to

share information and communi-

cate with all of our members in

Area F and Area K.

If your chapter is having an

event or celebration, has a special

story to share, and/or would like

to contribute to the newsletter,

please get in contact with:

Gustavo Padilla, LRR/Organizer

Phone: 858-202-2618

Email: gpadilla@csea.com

The CSEA San Diego Field

Office represents nearly 25,000

members in San Diego, Imperial,

and Riverside Counties.

Title

Member Benefits: Member Student Loan Reducer *

are fighting to preserve the rights of all

workers. Labor Day is a day to be proud

to be a union member and to celebrate

our victories as part of the labor move-

ment.

* Information and excerpts from the

CSEA website at www.csea.com.

Labor Day, the first Monday in Septem-

ber, is a creation of the labor movement

and is dedicated to the social and economic

achievements of American workers.

The holiday constitutes a yearly national

tribute to the contributions workers

have made to the strength, prosperity,

and well-being of our country. During

Labor Day, CSEA members should re-

member how they contribute to the well

being of the nation by helping educate

students. We should also remember that

as union members, we are the ones who

CSEA recognizes that student loan

debt is a major burden for many

Americans, including many CSEA

members. To assist members with

their debt, CSEA and the AFL-CIO‘s

Union Plus program offer Student

Loan Reducer Grants to CSEA

members.

CSEA Member Student Loan

Reducer Grant (www.csea.com)

Applications are now being accepted

for CSEA‘s Member Student Loan

Reducer Program. This program has

twenty grants in the amount of $500

each available due to the generous

sponsorship of our valued benefit

provider, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit

Union. Log on to www.csea.com/

edservices to view eligibility require-

ments, and to download an applica-

tion.

Union Plus Student Loan

Reducer Grant (www.unionplus.org)

Through CSEA‘s affiliation with the

AFL-CIO, CSEA Members may also

qualify for a Union Plus Student Loan

Reducer Grant. For complete eligibil-

ity requirements and to apply, go to

www.unionplus.org and go to the

Education and Financing link under

the Education and Legal tab.

Please call CSEA Member Benefits at

(866) 487-2732 if you have questions

or need more information.

* Information from the Monthly CSEA

Member Benefits Topic for Site Reps email

blast, Monday, August 24, 2015.

In addition, you will find more infor-

mation on the CSEA General Infor-

mation Bulletin No. 40-15, Member

Student Loan Reducer Programs

(August 21, 2015).

Labor Day—September 7, 2015