MAIN Campus Classified Staff Council

Email: CSC@asu.edu

Phone: (480)727-8233

Fax: (480) 727-6273

Office: Admin B Rm 364

Mailing Address
ASU CSC
Box 871203
Tempe, AZ 85287-1203

Council Members

West Campus CSC

East Campus CSC

Submit Articles to CSC

Classified Staff BBQ sponsored by President Crow

On April 15, 2003 the Classified Staff Council hosted a barbeque sponsored by ASU President Michael Crow. Almost 1,500 people attended this event. President Crow gave a very short speech thanking all staff for the good work they do on campus. The BBQ Company catered this event and staff had a choice of BBQ pork sandwich, BBQ chicken sandwich, or a veggie burger. Door prizes were awarded through the RSVP list. Several club tables were set up at the event, including CSC, Parking and Transit, UCW, Sun Devil Advocates, Clean & Beautiful Committee, and the Energy Conservation Team, and HR. It was a great day for a BBQ, even though it was a little breezy. The CSC hopes to make this an annual event for all staff.

Geraldine Thiele
Business Mgr
Cntr/Solid State Electronics

Health Insurance at ASU

 For those watching the health insurance arena, the variables have changed again.  The Arizona Legislature has repealed Arizona’s mandate for self insurance by October 1.  As it stands now, House Bill 2025 still allows the state to self-insure, but removes the October 1 requirement.    The State will continue reviewing bids from companies wishing to administer a self-insurance plan. Groups such as the ASU Committee on Insurance and Retirement are still actively researching the subject.

 Several factors entered into the decision to repeal the October 1 deadline.  Laying the groundwork for self insurance turns out to be extremely complex.  The state can invest more time in designing better health plans and selecting the best providers.  Another factor in the equation, according to an article in The Business Journal of Phoenix (March 21, 2003), is the need to create a significant reserve, perhaps $80 to $100 million, to pay for health care claims under a self insured system.  Setting aside funds like this in today’s budget crisis was an unlikely proposition. 

 Meanwhile, Cigna and the State have entered into rate negotiations for the coming year.  Although staff are especially anxious to know the details of Cigna’s proposed rate increase, the State cannot release specific figures while negotiations are ongoing.  An announcement of the official rates is expected in the late April – May time frame.  Many individuals, staff and faculty, are working in advocacy roles to help hold the line on rising costs.  Human Resources and the Tri-University Insurance Work Group continue to meet regularly with the Department of Administration (ADOA) to keep abreast of progress.  All of us can expect that Human Resources will engage in extensive communications to inform ASU employees about any pending rate increases and option changes. 

For further information, see ASU Insight, March 7, 2003.

Barbara Walker

Staff Profile, Janee Nunes

Janee Nunes,  from the ASU bookstore, has donated this crocheted afghan for the Afghan for Afghans project. Their goal is to provide an afghan for every afghan women in Afghanistan. It took her over 50 hours to complete it with some help from her mother, Norma Proudfoot.

The Afghan was silently auctioned to raise money for more materials to crochet more Afghans. Everyone is welcome to join in in anyway they can, whether crocheting or donating materials. These ladies are meeting everyday at lunch and working on crocheting the beautiful afghans. Janee works at the bookstore as an accounting specialist and she actually attended ASU and played on the softball team which took 4th place in the 1976 college softball world series. Her daughter, Michelle Nunes graduated from ASU and works as a special education teacher in Gilbert.

If you would like to you can also donate more materials at the bookstore or at the MU information desk drop box.

David Minich
Engineering Technical Service
Classified Staff Council

CSC Online Crossword Puzzle

What's happening Out At ASU East

From 6:00pm on April 11th through 7:00am on April 12th, East Campus hosted the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Of course CSC East was represented by a team! Can you pronounce CSCEFFAAWAWCT (CSC East, Friends, Family, and Anyone Whose Arms We Could Twist)? Well, neither could we! In lieu of that and because we all wear so many hats, the CSC East team was named The Mad Hatters. Some of our 37 team members are in the picture! All of the money raised by the teams was given to the American Cancer Society - The Mad Hatters raised a total of about $500. It was a marvelous experience that we'll share with even more folks next year! Be sure you check out Rick Martorano's pictures at http://ww9.asu.edu/relay/. He really captured the spirit of the event.

Just like everyone else, our semester is winding down and it's hard to believe that both summer and the end of my term in office are right around the corner.

Jill Olson
President, Classified Staff Council East
www.east.asu.edu/csc/

Buy Time Now and Save!

For most of us time is a substance that we have to use, loose, waste, run out of, never have enough of, etc... Short of time-share purchases at resorts and other vacation spots time seems more like something you rent rather than purchase.

But, you can buy time to adjust you retirement date or increase your retirement benefits. The phrase most often used is "buy back," but the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) officially titles it as "Purchasing Service." The ASRS brochure titled "Getting Ready for Retirement" gives an overview of the subject by stating, on page 12, "Arizona laws of 1996 expanded the service purchase options available to active members of the ASRS. You are eligible to buy service time if you are actively participating in and contributing to the ASRS."

The five areas you may purchase service time from are:

   1. Reinstatement of Previously Forfeited ASRS Service
   2. Leave of Absence
   3. Military Service
   4. Other Public Service
      
       and
   5. Other Public Service—Non-Participating

Details on these five areas can be obtained by downloading the PDF file "Getting Ready for Retirement". This site will also provide you with other important information about your retirement benefits and rights as a state employee.

Here is an example. I served time in the U.S. Navy a few decades ago. I re-enlisted and served eight years, far short of military retirement. I am purchasing that time in the Navy into the ASRS. I will pay the ASRS 10.72% of my current salary for each year (pro-rated for month, weeks, or days served less than a year). I provided proof of service in the form of a copy of my DD-214. There are several methods to pay for this purchase, lump sum, Rollovers (from another retirement fund), or payroll deductions. Those eight years get me to the 80 points needed to be eligible to retire sooner. If I already had 80 points I would then have 88 which would greatly increase my monthly retirement benefit.

Most important: There is a very real possibility that the rate of cost for "buy back" will increase by 1% or more in the next fiscal year. So starting a purchase of service before the end of June would be advisable before the rate is increased. One percent may not seem much but compounded by the number or years purchased would a considerable savings.

Visit the ASRS Web site at http://www.asrs.state.az.us/web/index.do soon, you are never to young to think about retirement, in fact waiting to long could leave you starting to late.

Michael J. Martin
Academic and Administrative Documents
Classified Staff Council Member

	Your Council, Your Vote
Election results

What started off as a slow start for new member elections took off and really soared. We are pleased with the new Classified Staff Council members. This is the first year we used technology for our nomination forms and many people were not expecting it! In the end, everything turned out fine if not better than in the past!

From the provosts’ area we have a great group of members such as Ana Acosta from the School of Art. This past year, Ana was asked to fill in for a member who left the council. She, fortunately, was elected by her peers to stay on the council for another three years. Rick Martorano from Engineering Technical Services joins us. Rick has been involved in Ventures Dialogues since its inception and will be an active member. Lastly from Hayden Library we have Heather Weech. Heather is excited to get started and we look forward to working with her.

From Administrative Services we have great additions also. Norman Rollins and Joanne Stanley are both from the Custodial Department. Norman and Joanne are both extremely active with their department and want to help all classified staff across campus. Scott Smas, whom I have worked with directly, will be a terrific member if only for one year. Scott is a Supervisor in Mail Services so he gets to work with lots of folks around campus! After his year is up, we will try to get Scott to run for a full term. Tami McKenzie joins us from the Bookstore. Tami is active with many events on campus and looks forward to getting started in the Classified Staff Council. Lastly we have Todd Raven. Todd is with Capital Programs Management and wants to start off by meeting new people and seeing where he can help the most.

 We have Anna Wales from Public Affairs. Anna will not doubt hit the council running as she already has great ideas for fundraising projects. Anna was the Classified Staff Council President a few years past for ASU East. She did an awesome job there and we are happy to have her.

We are also happy to welcome Ana Chavez from Residential Life under Student Affairs. Ana has lots of friends on the Council as well as in the campus community so she will be a great fit.

“Classified Staff Council gives us the opportunity to meet great people and establish friendships”, says Linda Sawyer. Linda joined CSC one year ago and has made a positive impact on our Council.
 

Lynne Sauve
Development Office/Annual Fund
CSC Elections Chair

CSC President Elect

Whew.... Another academic year draws to a close, and many students, their families and my friends are asking me, "What are you doing for your summer break?" It's funny how easy it is for folks to forget that some Sun Devils are here allllllll year round.

As part of my summer work, I'll be assuming my role as Main Campus President for YOUR Classified Staff Council. Though the 2003-04 Council won't meet to set specific goals until early June, here are some of the general items on my to-do list for the next academic year:

• Improving Communication: There is a great deal going on at ASU, and having enough of the right information at the right time can help us all manage the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities. Therefore, I'd intend to work on increasing two-way contact between the Council and staff at large, between the administration and staff, among the campuses, etc.
   

• Improving Staff Worklife Experience: In addition to work on increasing salary and other formal benefits, pushing for other improvements in the services and support available for staff.
   

• Increasing Staff Involvement: To achieve both items above, I'd like to see more staff participating in Council committees (open to all staff), helping with Council projects, and serving as staff representatives on campus-wide work groups and task forces. (Watch for Council website updates for these opportunities...)

We have a lot that needs to and can be done for staff, by staff. If you have specific suggestions or would like to help with a particular issue, let me know: thomas.walker@asu.edu.

I'm looking forward to working with the Council members, staff across campus, other employee organizations--all campus leaders and do-ers to make it happen.

Thomas Walker, President-Elect
ASU Main Classified Staff Council
Intergroup Relations Center

CSC President's Outgoing Farewell

   Wow, where do I start? What a year it has been as Council President, or should I say 17 months? When I took over for Mitchell Harris as he stepped down from the Council last February, I had no idea what the months ahead had in store for me. It has been a very busy and exciting year which afforded me great opportunities to meet and work with so many in the ASU Community that I would otherwise never have crossed paths with. Of course much this year has centered around the new University President, Michael Crow, and staff members finding their place within the new administration. Many in the campus community were fear stricken by tales of this guy from Columbia University who never seems to sleep; has an aggressive agenda and maniacal tendencies along with a desire to get things done in a NY minute.
(Hmmm…can’t remember the last time I got a full night’s sleep without the kids waking me for some reason or another. Aggressive agenda? Over this past year I have tried to make 4,297 staff members happy in between learning a new job, managing the kids, day care, dance classes, cooking, housecleaning, and the occasional time with that stranger I fondly refer to as my husband…talk about maniacal tendencies…I’m all there! Maybe it’s a NY thing.)

Once we got to know Dr. Crow and realized he was human just like us (well sort of), we had various opportunities to meet with him and learn about his plans for the University. Several steps forward over the past months have happened as a direct result of the Council’s communication with Dr. Crow:

• some salary adjustments were made to lowest paid staff members after bringing some salary levels to Dr. Crow’s attention

• the Board of Regents is scheduled to do a second reading of Dr Crow's proposal to increase the tuition waiver benefit - suggested to Dr. Crow based on Council discussions with our NAU and UofA counterparts; and

• just last month, Dr. Crow sponsored the first ever Barbecue for Classified Staff – an informal event to acknowledge and connect the staff

I am very proud of these accomplishments, though they may seem small to many of you. We have worked to have the campus administration recognize our efforts in the ASU Community and realize what a great asset WE ARE – and I believe that we have been successful. We have worked to bring important items to their attention including suggestions and research to back up our claims. We know that they are listening. We also know that not every problem has a quick or easy solution and we need to continue to work together to identify remedies. If you have a suggestion, send it our way. We try to respond and bring as many issues forward as possible.

I have been rewarded in this experience by tremendous personal growth and by the opportunity to be acquainted with so many in the ASU Community. Thanks to all who supported, inspired and challenged me. I will be passing the gavel to Thomas Walker in a few weeks – who is extremely capable and motivated and ready to advance the performance of the Council – I hope that you will double the enthusiasm and support that you directed my way and redirect it to Thomas and the entire Council.
 

Pamela Mulhearn
Classified Staff Council President
Engineering College/Deans Ofc

Diamondbacks vs. Cubs - University Day at the Ballpark

Get together with staff members from ASU, U of A and NAU for a day at the ballpark! For $10 you get an upper level seat and a specially designed t-shirt for the event! This is for the game on Sunday, August 24th at 1:30 p.m. Have a great time while helping to grow our Professional Enrichment Award Fund! For more information go to http://www.asu.edu/csc/baseball/uday.htm . If you cannot attend but would like to purchase one of these special t-shirts, please contact Linda in the office at 727-8233. All ticket and shirt proceeds will be deposited with the ASU Foundation, a separate 501©3 non-profit organization which exists to support ASU.

Pamela Mulhearn
Classified Staff Council President
Engineering College/Deans Ofc