CSEA Annual Conference Continues
The 93rd Annual CSEA Conference continued Tuesday morning with a report from Rob Feckner, past CSEA Association President and member of the CalPERS Board. Feckner reported on the upcoming CalPERS election for the retiree seat (only retirees vote), the health of the CalPERS fund (this is the retirement fund (not the health insurance), COLA, and key issues.
The most significant point of the address was that CalPERS currently has $360 billion in assets, and the retirement system is about 72% funded, up from 64% last year. The CalPERS goal is to reach 100% funding (which they had achieved prior to the economic recession in the mid-2000s), although that may take several years.
CSEA also celebrated the Member of the Year awards, going out to members who have done outstanding work for CSEA, the union movement, and their communities. This year two community college classified employees received this prestigious award.
The bulk of the day was taken up with debate on resolutions. This year nine resolution were brought before the delegates (an atypically light agenda this year). Two resolutions were withdrawn by their submitting chapters, so delegates debated, discussed, and voted on the remaining seven resolutions. Your Chapter 262 delegates are happy to report that the recommendations we presented to you on each of the resolutions were spot-on. The resolutions that passed were 1, 5, 7, and 8 (details of the resolutions will be available on the chapter web site).
Association Past President Allen Clark also reported to delegates that the Annual Conference for 2020 and 2021 will be held in Las Vegas. However, due to increased (an unwarranted) cost increases, CSEA went to bid out for future conferences. CSEA Policy requires conference to be held at a union hotel, which eliminates many hotels, including California. The Paris Hotel is an excellent union hotel, but the cost of meals has risen dramatically. One example cited is that a gallon of coffee next year go up to $164 — for ONE gallon, which serves about 20 people. That is a little more than $8 per cup! Clark announced to the delegates that the winning bid would be at a union hotel in the “Biggest Little City in the West,” Reno, Nevada starting in 2023 (during an election year in California, Annual Conference will be held in Sacramento, as always).
Every year at conference, each session begins with a “Credentials Report,” which is a report of the numbers attending conference. The report for Mondays session is as follows:
751 Chapters eligible for conference, 428 Chapters attending conference
1,604 voting delegates attending, including all Association Officers and member leaders
1,890 total attendees, including delegates, retirees, CSEA staff, and guests
The “Credentials Report” for Tuesday’s session is:
751 Chapters eligible for conference, 432 Chapters attending conference
1,626 voting delegates attending, including all Association Officers and member leaders
1,914 total attendees, including delegates, retirees, CSEA staff, and guests
Pictures of your delegates are available on the Chapters Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
“To improve the lives of our members, students, and community.”
CSEA Chapter 262 • 1100 N. Grand Avenue Walnut, California 91789 • 909.274.6262 • www.csea262.org