The UIC Chapter of SUAA Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting July 22, 2009

Members Present: Marsha Borders, Charles Brown, Judy Curry, Merrill Gassman, Michael Harms, Carol Humble, Richard Johnson, Irving Miller, Lawrence Poston, Sue Sindelar, Charles Stanislao, and William Troyer

Members Absent: James Jones, Rose Kirk, and Leonard Ramirez

The meeting was called to order by President Merrill Gassman at 10:30am in Room 1152 MBRB, 901 S. Marshfield.

1. Approval of Minutes: The Minutes of the June 16, 2009 Board meeting were approved.

2. President's Report (Merrill Gassman):

• At the annual SUAA meeting, it was suggested that a presentation of the SUAA long term care insurance program be made to the Chapter. T.K. Partners and Associates are the brokers for this program. The UIC Spring retirement planning conference typically has presentations of this type. Bill Troyer suggested that a presentation also be made to annuitants. The consensus was that the program be presented at both a UIC UNITED brown bag event and the retirement planning conference. It will be included in a future newsletter as an information item.
• The SUAA central office is requesting the purchase of IT equipment costing $11,000. The SUAA office has obtained a grant of $6,000 from the SUAA Foundation for this purpose. SUAA hopes to raise the remaining balance from the local chapters. Merrill noted that UIC UNITED represents about 10% of the total SUAA membership and, therefore, suggested that UIC UNITED donate 10% of the needed balance: $500. Dick Johnson said that, if approved, he will notify the other chapter presidents, indicating the UIC UNITED support. Chuck Stanislao believed that the $11,000 for equipment was included in the SUAA annual budget. He questioned the need to provide additional funds if the item is already budgeted. An annual dues increase for the SUAA central office has also been requested for the coming year. Dick Johnson clarified that the purpose of the dues increase is to provide funding for professional staff. Additional staff will allow the central office to be more active on legislative initiatives affecting pensions and related issues. Merrill also clarified that the $11,000 for equipment was not included in the budget, with the assumption that the money would be provided by the SUAA Foundation.
• Personal information has been requested from each Board member for the directory. If you have not already done so, each Board member should forward the requested information to Merrill.
  

3. Treasurer's Report (Chuck Stanislao): Chuck reported a total balance of $34,344, including checking of $755, UIC Org account of $287, savings of $8,295, and a CD of $25,097. He distributed and reviewed a spreadsheet showing cash receipts and expenditures for FY 05 through FY 09 and an estimate for FY 10. Irv Miller asked if the expenditure pattern is sustainable, given that the FY 10 estimate is for expenses of $39,200 against annual income of $19,200. A discussion ensued regarding meeting expenses, cost of different venues, and ways to reduce expenditures. Merrill again raised the issue of providing $500 to SUAA central office for equipment purchases. A motion to provide the $500 was approved unanimously.

4. SUAA Annual Meeting Report: Judy Curry reported that about 300 people attended. Presentations were made by a Springfield newspaper editor and State senator John Cullerton. Some attendees complained about poor communications to the SUAA membership. Breakout sessions were held on a number of different issues, including membership. Merrill said that much time was devoted to the treasurer's report and the request for a $4 per year dues increase to support the SUAA central office. If approved, the annual dues of UIC UNITED members would go from $30 to $34. Irv Miller suggested that an additional $1 or $2 be added to support UIC UNITED, bringing the total increase to $5 or $6. He moved that, assuming the SUAA annual dues are increased by $4, UIC UNITED dues be increased by $2, from $9 to $11, to a total of $36 for UIC UNITED membership. The motion carried unanimously. At the meeting, a $25 memorial contribution from local chapters to the SUAA Foundation in honor of deceased members was discussed. In general, the Board thought this was not a good idea.

5. Legislation/SUAACTION Report (Bill Troyer and Richard Johnson): Bill Troyer asked the Board to let him know if they have legislative contacts. No increase in SUAACTION donations was reported.

Dick Johnson attended the last meeting of the pension task force at the Thompson Center in Chicago. Presentations were made by four subcommittees: Benefits, Investments, Funding, and Collective Bargaining. Rep. Kevin McCarthy chaired the morning session devoted to benefits and investments. Unions were represented, and their representatives were active participants in the discussions. SUAA does not have a representative on the task force. The final report of the task force is due in November. An outline of task force activities is available on the Governor's website.

6. Membership (Sue Sindelar): Sue reported UIC Chapter membership of 1615. The UIC Chapter has the highest number of non-renewals (241) and the highest number of unknown addresses. She has reviewed the list of current retirees and has identified those who are not yet SUAA members. She asked the Board to assist in locating people who have not been reached. She will personally contact people if she has an address. She would like to contact different UIC employee groups to explain UIC UNITED. Larry Poston suggested meeting with relevant UIC Senate committees. Sue would like to go forward with a brochure but noted that total cost could be as much as $5,000. The Board consensus was that she should proceed with planning a brochure and determining a final budget. Irv Miller suggested that campus publications be asked to give us a proposal for a brochure.

7. Program Report (Carol Humble):

• A brown bag event is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17, in 713 Student Center East. The room is booked from 10:30 am.
• The membership meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Oct.7. State senator Kwame Raoul will speak at noon followed by lunch. Advertising will be needed to attract an audience for this important presentation. Dick Johnson suggested that the UIC senate and related senate committees be notified. An attempt will be made to utilize the MBRB facilities for this meeting.
• Carol requested topic suggestions for the Fall Forum to be held in November. Dick Johnson suggested either Illinois fiscal reform or the culture of corruption in Illinois politics. Andy Shaw would be a possible speaker for the second topic. Sue will check on the possibility of co-sponsoring the event with the Alumni Association. David Hoffman and Patrick Collins were also suggested speakers. Carol is looking at a mid-November date for the forum and will again check on availability of MBRB facilities.
  

8. Publicity: Judy believes that we should develop relationships with UI and UIC Human Resources on a variety of programs aimed at employees nearing retirement. The retirement planning conference is a good example. Other campus offices related to faculty and employee affairs would be logical contacts.

9. Newsletter Report (Larry Poston and Judy Curry): The last newsletter was more of a political document discussing pension issues. Judy said that the next issue will have more emphasis on membership issues. It will also be shorter and possibly include information about fall programs. Larry Poston said that a recap of the activities of the pension task force should also be included.

10. Old Business: In response to the request to allow UIC UNITED dues deduction from current employee paychecks, the Chancellor responded that it was too expensive to add additional payroll deductions. Merrill has sent an email to Mary Beastall, UIUC Chapter President, to get her reaction. Irv suggested that we find out how much payroll deduction would cost and possibly offer to defray the cost.

11. New Business: Merrill suggested that we invite the UIC members of the SURS member advisory committee to attend a future board meeting to report on SURSMAC activities and how the UIC UNITED board could assist. Warren Chapman, UIC Vice Chancellor for External Affairs, could be invited to see how we might complement his activities.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:30pm.

Respectfully submitted by Michael Harms, Secretary

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