Happy holidays to all! I’d like to take a minute to reflect on another successful year of operation for our chapter leadership. This was my first year as chapter President, and I want thank everyone in the unit for your patience as I learn the ins and outs of fulfilling the duties of President of this amazing union.
While I often find myself in the position of singularly representing the union at events like board meetings, orientations, and CSEA activities; the reality is that without the capable and dedicated executive board we have working for us we wouldn’t have much of a union to represent. There’s an old saying with which I’m sure we’re all familiar, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, in this case, “It takes a team to run a union” and I am truly blessed and thankful for the team who supports us all. The fact that three of our four positions up for election this year were unopposed, and the membership voted in favor of the incumbent in the fourth is a testament to the members’ trust in this Chapter’s current leadership team and faith we will continue to serve the members’ best interests.
This year has been filled with ups and downs. We negotiated new health care benefits that, for the first time in a very long time, offer every full-time unit member on campus an option with $0 out of pocket. However, we also came face to face with the game-changing “Student-Centered Funding Formula” that will have far-reaching effects in how our college operates, to include how we negotiate for anything with a price tag in the future. We should have news in the coming months about how much of the COLA the state is actually paying to Mt. SAC under the new funding formula. As we close out 2019 and look to 2020, I remain committed to advancing the interests of our union “to improve the lives of our members, students, and community”. I thank you again for your support, and it remains an honor to serve you.