UIC UNITED: A Chapter of SUAA Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting June 26, 2008

Members Present: Judy Curry, Merrill Gassman, Richard Johnson, Rose Kirk, Irving Miller, Leonard Ramirez, Susan Sindelar, Charles Stanislao, and William Troyer

Members Absent: Marsha Borders, Carol Humble, Carole Koch, John McCrosky, Lawrence Poston, and Frank Tachau

The meeting was called to order by President Irving Miller at 10:35am.

1. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the May 8, 2008 meeting were approved. The approval of the minutes of the April 7 meeting was postponed until the next Board meeting, to be scheduled in late August. There was discussion of whether or not the UIC UNITED Historian should attend Board meetings. It was later determined that he is not obligated to attend.

2. Treasurer's Report (Chuck Stanislao): Total net assets as of June 25, 2008: $42,818.17

The CD will roll over on June 30 for one year at a 3% interest rate. The certificate yields about $1,200 - $1,300 per year in interest. The Treasurer asked for approval of the appointment of a 2007-2008 audit committee consisting of Wayne Wolf and Ralph Westfall. The President approved the request.

There was further discussion of the difficulty of reconciling the amount of money coming into the Chapter with the list of those who are members. It was suggested, and SUAA Executive Director Linda Brookhart agreed, to send copies of the checks (and other correspondence) from those who renew or join the Chapter. Linda will confirm this agreement via email. This paperwork will be used to verify the Chapter totals, and Chuck will share this information with Sue Sindelar. There is a database of members that we have access to, but there is nothing to use as a comparison because it's the only list. Dues are collected in different ways (by check or payroll deduction) and for different amounts because Chapter members contribute, for instance, as individuals, as couples, or as life members. Because of this, the amount due varies. Again, the idea of renewing all annual memberships on the same date was rejected by SUAA.

The State organization plans to have a full-fledged audit this year. The President suggested that the auditors let us know exactly what needs to be done at our Chapter. There is no consistency in the way SUAA chapters perform their audits. Some chapters have no official audit. Chuck expects to have the Chapter audit completed by mid-July. He spoke about the possibility of having a meeting with all SUAA treasurers, perhaps via videoconference.

Part of the cost of attending SUAA meetings may have to be paid by chapters or by individuals because of the drain on the State organization's budget.

3. SUAACTION (Richard Johnson): Dick distributed a 3-year report on SUAA contributions by institution. The University of Illinois campuses, and our campus in particular, are the most generous contributors. As of this date, our Chapter has exceeded its goal of $18,000. Dick suggested that, if anyone still wants to contribute and has not yet done so, the contribution may be made in the new fiscal year. There are people who contribute to SUAACTION who don't identify with any particular chapter. It was noted that the acknowledgements to SUAACTION contributors took some time.

There was considerable discussion about the attendance of SUAA members at fundraisers. A list of upcoming fund-raising events was distributed to Board members. SUAA will provide a payment by check for members who attend fundraisers. Checks can be sent to the member in a timely manner with sufficient advance notice. There is currently no complete list of people that SUAA wants to support; however, a partial list was distributed, as noted above.

It was suggested that any members, not just Board members, attend events for candidates in their districts and identify themselves as members of SUAA. The Board made several points regarding this participation, including providing a letter of introduction and information to candidates at events and/or sending a follow-up letter afterwards. This letter could include a statement of purpose, a list of issues important to SUAA, and the number of people represented -- to help identify our group and to let the candidates know of our support. SUAA wants to increase the visibility of the organization and to make known the support it can provide. It was also suggested that attendance at a fundraiser be determined by the position of the candidate. Some thought members should go to as many events as possible to advertise the organization's name; attendance is a good way to make connections, educate the candidates, and create a presence for SUAA.

Dick Johnson suggested the following statement of purpose: "SUAA advocates for the well-being of all faculty and staff members (or employees) --- past, present, and future --- and their survivors."

Dick asked the Board members to let him know if anyone learns of a fundraiser by a legislator in his/her district and wishes to attend. He reiterated that Linda Brookhart's office will handle the paperwork and provide payment ahead of time for those who attend fundraisers.

Dick asked that a new chair for SUAACTION be appointed to take his place, since he is now the president of SUAA. It was suggested that the SUAACTION committee elect a new chair. Dick asked members to send him any ideas they might have.

4. Report from the Annual meeting - June 17-18 (Irving Miller): Irv reported that the meeting was very well organized and presented. He sent a "thank you" to Linda Brookhart, which was graciously acknowledged. Five of our Board members attended. Among other things, Irv reported that Dick Johnson took office as the new president. Other issues:

a) There would be a minimum of two state-wide meetings instead of three;
b) New criteria for Members-at-Large were proposed,
c) the Executive Committee Members-at-Large now total 9, instead of 7.

Dick Johnson mentioned that 34 of 50 chapters were represented at the meeting; he would like to see better representation. Combining smaller chapters is being considered.

There is a plan to use district members to contact local candidates. An important goal is to make SUAA a better advocate for its members. SUAA is going to press very hard on regionalism.

5. Membership Report (Sue Sindelar): Irv and Sue plan to meet with the campus trade unions. Flyers will be sent to the union groups by mid-July. Mark Donovan, Executive Director of Facilities Management and Capital Programs, will attend the proposed meeting. There was brief discussion of the possibility of recruiting a union member for the Board.

Our relationship with SEIU was discussed. Neither Irv Miller nor Sue Sindelar has had much response from them. SEIU is considering the offer of dual membership to its members. If this is agreeable to us and to them, UIC UNITED should probably have a dual membership card. Sue will work on that. The proposal is that their members would be our members, and they would be billed accordingly. This would increase the numbers represented by UIC UNITED and SUAA.

Leonard Ramirez proposed that Irv and Sue contact people on the various chancellor's committees. Sue has met with some employee groups but not with these committees. Leonard will make sure that Sue and/or Irv are invited to a future meeting or meetings. It would helpful if a brochure on the Chapter was available.

6. Program Report (Dick Johnson & Rose Kirk): Rose reported that Dick Simpson has agreed to give a presentation on the election at a post-election Brown Bag on Thursday, November 13.

Dick has contacted three of the four people he is trying to get for the Constitutional Convention panel currently scheduled for September 16, 5-7pm. They are: Pat Quinn and John Fritchey (for), Dawn Clark Netsch and Christine Boardman (against). The date and time is still to be confirmed for all four potential panel members. The Board suggested that there be a press conference prior to the September 16 event and/or a mass mailing to the campus community.

Several large rooms were suggested for this and other future UIC UNITED speaking events: The Student Services Building on Harrison and Racine, 250 BSB, and a room on the first floor of the Hospital (1130-1135). Rose and Carol will see if any of these rooms are available for UIC UNITED events.

SUAA does not have an official stand on the Con-Con although it was discussed at the annual meeting. A straw poll taken among the delegates was overwhelmingly negative on the issue.

7. Newsletter ( Judy Curry): Judy reported that there was an agreement to have three newsletters per year. She reviewed a list of possible topics, including: the President's message; statements on current political issues, including the Con-Con; a membership pitch; SUAACTION contributions; and the announcement of a new Chancellor. Judy reported that Publications is moving to Student Center West.

8. Election of new Second Vice President: John McCrosky has resigned his position as 2nd Vice President of the Board. The ad hoc Nominating committee recommended William Troyer to fill that post, whose responsibility is legislative affairs. So voted. It was suggested that the Board try to recruit a union member for the Director-at-Large position vacated by Bill Troyer.

9. Old Business: None

10. New Business: Chuck proposed a two-tiered dues structure for SUAA members: those whose annual pension falls below $30,000/year would pay dues at the current rate, and those whose pension is above that amount would pay an additional $10 per year. It is difficult to say what impact this increase would have on membership. Membership was not affected by the last increase, which went into effect a few years ago. This proposal would be a good topic for discussion. The average pension is around $2600/month. There is an ongoing effort to urge all SUAA members to have dues deducted from pension checks.

11. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 12:10pm. The next meeting will be scheduled for late August.

Respectfully submitted by Rose Kirk, Social Chair and Acting Secretary

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