Coming Soon: Back to the Campus Part I!
This is the first in a series of articles discussing the return to campus in an effort to be transparent and as forthcoming with information as possible. This is your definitive, official source for Back to Campus information, and the CSEA 262 Leadership strongly urges caution in listening to or spreading rumors.
On March 19, 2020, the State of California and the County of Los Angeles effected a “Stay at Home” order due to COVID-19, which ended January 25, 2021, but was replaced by an LA County Public Health regional “Stay at Home” order.
Since March 20, 2020, the Mt. SAC campus has been closed to the public, and all classified professionals have been telecommuting. For nearly a year now, most of us have been telecommuting in paid status, a few of us have driven by the campus on our way to run an errand, and fewer still have stepped foot on campus to perform essential duties.
But now it’s time to start thinking about returning . . .
On Monday, March 15, LA County is set to move into the Red Tier, which will allow the reopening of many businesses and schools, including community colleges. Public Health guidelines allow limited classroom sizes with some distancing and other health restrictions.
Following the next couple of months, through April and May, health officials believe we will be able to move into the “Yellow Tier,” which will allow more openings, far fewer restrictions, larger gatherings, and a “herd immunity” that will probably permit an end to face masks and social distancing. All the indications show that we are on track for this.
On March 10, the District and CSEA 262 reached an agreement for a gradual return to campus, starting May 1 to a complete return of all classified employees by July 1, 2021, which will allow for time to prepare offices and work areas, classrooms, administrative and student services, and the totality of instructional and administrative support provided by classified professionals.
Returning back to the campus will not be an overnight event. It will not happen in a day or a week or even a month. The return will be planned, organized, and executed during the entire second quarter of the calendar year (April, May, and June), with the plan of a complete return of all classified professionals by the third quarter of the year (July 1, 2021).
The return back to the campus as outlined in the Return to Campus Agreement will be a three-part process, and your CSEA Chapter Leadership Team will keep you fully informed as the details for each part of the process is developed. You will be fully informed, and, if it is necessary, your Chapter Leadership Team will reach out for opinions, concerns, and suggestions as is always the case.
Chapter leaders have heard concerns from some members about a lack of information. The fact is there has been no facts or concrete information about returning to campus to disseminate. Until March 10, there has only been a campus planning task force (with CSEA 262 representation) for bringing back very limited on-campus classroom instruction during the Summer and Spring semesters, but this did not impact the telecommuting agreement for classified professionals.
There is much work still to do to prepare for the return back to the campus. There will be more negotiations as the details of plans are worked out. Understand that the Return to Campus Agreement is not a detailed, step-by-step process that covers every aspect of the return — it is an outline. A starting point, and there will be much, much more to come.
And you will be informed every step of the way. All your Chapter Leadership Team asks is that you be patient, bestow your continuing support and trust in your Chapter leaders and Negotiating Team to represent your best interests, and your understanding that you, as CSEA Chapter 262 members, are not just silent observers of this process.
This is your union. We are all in this together. Your voice is heard. There will be more information . . . Coming Soon! Welcome BACK to Mt. San Antonio College.
Welcome to Mt. SAC: New Classified Professionals
At the January Board of Trustees meeting, the college welcomed these new or promoted classified employees:
NEWLY HIRED:
Jana Crawford, Administrative Specialist III (EOPS/CARE)
Mauricio Goncalves, Tutorial Specialist (Writing Center)
Bruce Smith, Horse Barn Technician (Agricultural Sciences)
During our current telecommuting period, send an e-mail and welcome them to Mt. SAC. Extend a warm welcome, invite them to a Zoom lunch or to lunch when we all return, and, if they work in your area or near you, make them feel welcome. Invite them to and encourage them to attend the next “virtual” Chapter meeting so they can introduce themselves.
Vaccination Doses for Education Employees
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reserved an allocation of COVID-19 vaccination doses for the education sector.
The county-run Mega-PODS will have vaccine appointments for Institutes of Higher Education staff and faculty on Friday, March 19, 2021. Appointments can be accessed on the My Turn website at: https://myturn.ca.gov/.
Appointments will be released Monday, March 15. No access code is needed to sign up for your appointment.
Due to limited supply, Institutes for Higher Education appointments are expected to fill up rapidly. If full, all staff who live or work in Los Angeles County also have access to vaccination appointments through community vaccination sites across the county and through their health care providers. Please visit VaccinateLaCounty.com and click on “How to Make an Appointment” for more information.
It is important to remember that while educators are now eligible to receive the vaccine, LA County is still dealing with vaccine scarcity and limited supply. More information as it becomes available will be found on the VaccinateLaCounty.com web site.
Note the nearest MEGA-Pod site for Mt. SAC employees is available at LA County Fairground in Pomona. They provide the Pfizer vaccine.
Vaccination Resources and Information
Centralized My Turn Website
The state has launched a centralized website called My Turn (myturn.ca.gov) that checks for an individual’s eligibility and allows eligible individuals to make an appointment, if slots are available.
Appointments are made available at varying times, so eligible individuals are encouraged to check the My Turn website at different times each day, including the morning, afternoon and evening. These vaccination locations include public health, Kaiser and FEMA locations, such as Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona Fairplex, Cal State Los Angeles, and Disneyland.
Visit My Turn website (myturn.ca.gov)
Answer the questions
When choosing business/industry, all Mt. SAC employees qualify under education and childcare
Under Accessibility Code, leave the area blank unless you’ve been provided one
Enter your city or zip code to find locations available to you
Select a location to see availability
If appointments are available, choose an appointment time
Fill out the information for the appointment. Insurance information is normally requested.
Local Pharmacies
Local pharmacies also have a supply of vaccines, though demand outpaces supply for these appointments as well. In addition, most pharmacies continue to use stricter eligibility guidelines, limiting vaccinations to people 65 years and older, and health care workers. Follow these pharmacy links to make an appointment, if they are available:
Albertsons Pharmacies (Vons/Safeway/Pavilion etc.)
Walgreens Pharmacies (also in My Turn website)
Learn About the COVID-19 Vaccines
Employees are encouraged to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines by visiting the California Public Health COVID-19 Vaccines website and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration COVID-19 vaccines website.
Janssen (a Johnson & Johnson company) has recently received emergency use FDA approval for its one-dose COVID-19 vaccine. This new vaccine is 85% effective in protecting against severe disease and in trials 100% effective in preventing deaths. The Pfizer and Modernavaccines require two doses and are 94-95% effective in keeping a person from becoming ill with COVID-19 and spreading it to others. After receiving the vaccine, some people may have a sore arm, aches, fatigue or fever, but public health officials emphasize these are not harmful. Learn more about the differences on the FDA website.
Public health officials caution that vaccinated individuals may still spread COVID-19, so please note, vaccinated individuals still need to wear masks, social distance, and practice healthy habits.
Are You Turning 65 Soon? Attend this Webinar: Planning for Medicare
Medicare plans change every year. Are you curious about Medicare? Has your plan been reviewed lately? Are you 55, 60 or 65 years old? It's never too early or too late to learn about Medicare for you and your family.
CSEA is bringing union members an informational webinar session to help begin the process of understanding what decisions you will have to make concerning Medicare. This is a planning session. Union members have access to CSEA's NO-COST Medicare Health Plan Counseling Service offered by our approved benefit provider, United Insurance Partners (UIP). These advocates are available to union members their family and friends you refer. Advocates can compare and explain plans and then enroll members. Medicare can be complicated, but UIP makes it easy for you to understand.
Please join us online Monday, March 22, 2021 from 5:00 to 6:45 p.m.
Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Click here to reserve your space.
Get these questions answered and more:
Will my medications be covered next year? And if so, what will I pay?
Are there any new benefits for next year?
Are there any new plans in my area?
Medicare covers 80% of your healthcare costs. This free service helps you understand what to do about the other 20%!
A Message from Your CSEA President
Ben Valdepena, President California School Employees Association
Hello fellow brothers and sisters,
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the health and safety of all CSEA members has been our primary concern. As schools prepare to bring students back to in-person learning, vaccines are a critical part of the path to a safe return to school campuses for both our students and staff.
We have worked diligently to advocate for vaccines for all our members, so we are pleased that the Governor announced last week that beginning this Monday, March 1, 2021, California would set aside 10% of its weekly allotment of vaccine doses for school staff.
This means a minimum of 75,000 vaccines will be made available each week for school staff, including CSEA members, and that number will increase as the state’s allotment increases. County Offices of Education will be issuing registration codes to school districts and distributing them to staff as they become available.
You may have heard or read about a pilot vaccine program highlighted in the media this week that reported many problems with the unintended misuse of vaccine access codes. CSEA was not involved with this program and the new plan will not be implemented in this manner.
CSEA welcomes this development which CSEA has been advocating on your behalf for quite some time. The 10% allocation plan supported by CSEA will be an effective way to ensure California’s school employees are protected when their students return. As distribution gears up, we will monitor the plan’s rollout and fight to ensure it is fair and equitable.
However, please continue to practice the safety protocols that keep you, your colleagues, and your family safe until your turn comes. Rest assured, we will continue to push for additional vaccines as they become available, doing everything we can to make sure all members have the opportunity to be vaccinated.