UNL STAFF SENATE MEETING
Date: 9 March 2023, 2:30-3:30 pm
Location: Heritage Room, Nebraska Union, & Online: https://unl.zoom.us/j/94767184621
Note: These are not verbatim minutes. They are a summary of the discussions at the full Staff Senate meeting as corrected by those participating.
The meeting was called to order at 2:34.
Name cards are for acknowledgment of the Senator as well as determining the quorum.
Land acknowledgement reading
Reading and approval of minutes (not applicable since this is the first meeting.)
Officer Reports
President, Terry Haverkost
If anyone would like to add an invocation, a show of honor or gratitude please consider making a motion to add to the opening ceremonies. Please contact Staff Senate President.
Staff Senate is an advisory body.
Staff is being represented well on the Chancellor Search Advisory Committee. The Staff Senate President will sit on this committee. Other advocates for staff are serving on the committee as well.
Academic Planning Committee – 2 members of Executive Committee staff and you will hear more in the next couple of days. Unable to share as of today.
Power of Staff Senate: What authority does the Staff Senate have to conduct its business?
Would like to adopt the following in response to that question: We are an advisory body, and as such are in a position to pursue information and perspectives that ensure we provide advice that is of the highest quality. Permission to pursue action and gather information for the purposes of providing recommendations is granted by your peers in this room.
If someone does not like your answer, please refer them to the Executive Committee.
Committee reports with no actionable items or voting needed should be submitted to the Liaison Committee. These will not be presented at the full Staff Senate meeting but will become part of the consent agenda.
Rules of Order & Issues of Decorum
If you wish to speak, raise your hand, wait to be recognized, and provide your name and district so we can record. 10-minute time limit, once you have completed, yield the floor and we will move on.
When speaking to other senators, if the name is not known, please address each other as Senator and remain gender neutral.
As motions are raised concerning the Senate’s actions, please be advised that the debate is limited to 10 min. per speech. The debate will begin with the Senator who raised the question, with follow-up from anyone opposed. The debate will switch between those for and against, until conversation has been exhausted or the question has been called.
Asking a question is a privileged motion and is generally allowed when no one is speaking (Question of Privilege) or if you do not know where we are at within the debate or point of information.
Recommendations for Standing Committee
If you are a member of the committee, you can make a motion to adopt these recommendations or wait until your report, new business or let it slide and speak with your committee and return with your answers.
Bylaws (Chair Christina Franklin): I recommend a change to the bylaws regarding the following: procedure for amending the bylaws; clearly defining a quorum; ensuring that the president has the power to appoint all committees; and Rules of Order specific to the Staff Senate.
Communications (Chair Derek McConnell): I recommend hosting Celeste Spier on her listening tour about learning and development opportunities for staff.
Elections (Chair Corey Cook): I recommend the creation of a set of standing rules that outline a fair process for establishing term limits of those elected in 2024, to ensure the proper staggering of Senator term limits as outlined in the bylaws.
Legislation (Chair Jerri Harner): I recommend the crafting of resolutions that support or oppose legislation that affects staff. Both faculty and students passed resolutions supporting the 3% UNL budget increase sent to the legislature. I hope the staff can have their voice heard in similar situations in the future.
Questions for President:
Q: What is the CCSW?
A: Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women
Q: Were you invited as the President to the Chancellors’ leadership meeting that happened this week?
A: Yes. We also learned about the APC meeting and Terry reached out to Josh Davis the Chancellor’s Chief of Staff, to let him know that we were looking forward to being invited.
Internal Vice President, Sara Haake
Addressing the Inclement Weather Policy and issues with the last occurrence. Numerous individuals are involved in making these decisions.
The policy itself can be found at https://bf.unl.edu/policies/inclement-weather. It includes three scenarios/options related to “closed” as related to virtual education and alternate worksites.
Option #1 – All classes and campus events are canceled; campus offices are closed; essential employees report to work; non-essential employees work remotely or do not work based on unit approval.
Option #2 – In-Person Classes and Campus Events are Canceled; Classes Follow Instructional Continuity Plans; Campus Offices are Closed; Essential Employees Report to Work; Non-Essential Employees Work Remotely or Do Not Work Based on Unit Approval.
Option #3 – Classes and Campus Operations Conducted as Usual.
Typically, the decision to close on any given day is made between 5 and 6 a.m. However, the monitoring of storms starts as soon as the chance of severe weather is announced. The Vice Chancellor of Business and Finance gathers information from weather professionals, campus facilities, and UNLPD to ensure the safety of students and employees. They then report back to officials within the Office of the Chancellor. This is when the final determination to stay open or close is made. Officials always take the status of the roads, sidewalks on campus and the surrounding Lincoln area into consideration before deciding.
In the last cancellation, the university backtracked its decision because the storm was rapidly accelerating, and it was decided it was safer to indeed close campus. Unfortunately, this change did cause some confusion and some inconvenience for students and employees. Despite the timing, a decision is always made based on the safety of the campus community.
All Staff Conference – This year’s theme is “IMPACT: Cultivating Change through Action to Create Lasting Impact.”
The Staff Senate has been invited to be the keynote speakers on May 22, 2023. Sara made a motion to approve the Staff Senate as the Keynote Speaker.
The motion was to accept the invitation, create an ad hoc committee, chaired by Sara, and include Staff Senate Secretary Jodie Barnes, and the chairs of each committee. The committee will report its progress at the next Staff Senate meeting.
Motion on the table - Patrick Barret seconded the motion.
Do we accept to be the keynote speakers and to create a special committee chaired by the VP of Internal Affairs, including Staff Senate Secretary Jodie Barnes, and Chairs of each committee, with the committee reporting its progress at the next meeting and dissolving after the All-Staff Conference?
Oppose – Hollie Swanson would like to make a motion to amend the statement to include “the chair or their designee from their committee.”
President recommends we move for with Hollie’s proposal and amendment.
Seconded – voted – all in favor and approved.
No more discussion is needed, vote on the motion. All in favor.
Motion: To accept the invitation to the All-Staff to serve as the keynote address, create an ad hoc committee, chaired by Sara, and include Staff Senate Secretary Jodie Barnes, and the chair or their designee from their committee.
External Vice President -Jessie Brophy
The University of Nebraska Staff Advisory Board: includes representatives from each campus: UNMC, UNK, UNL, and UNO. Some of the issues we have addressed are the inclement weather policy, campus climate surveys, nonfinancial opportunities to increase retention, performance evaluations, and creating a united voice across the board for staff advocacy.
If there is anything that you would like to bring to that group, please reach out to Jessie with your suggestions.
Big Ten Collaboration on Staff Advocacy: Missed the January meeting but Senator Marissa Kemp is also attending, so we were well represented.
Currently working on updating the benchmarking study the group is conducting. The intent of the study is to understand where our peers across the Big Ten are regarding staff councils, senates, and advocacy. As soon as it is completed, Jessie will share it with us.
Strategic plan: On behalf of the Staff Senate, I would like to make a motion on behalf of the Executive Committee that the Staff Senate create a strategic plan with clear goals to help direct the actions of the Staff Senate over the first term and that this task be directed to the Executive Committee with the expectations that the next report is due at our next Staff Senate meeting.
The motion does not require a second because it comes from one of the standing committees.
Motion on table from the Executive Committee that the Staff Senate align itself to a strategic plan that will outline the senate’s priorities during this first term, that the formation of the strategic plan shall be referred to the Executive Committee, and the Executive Committee will report its progress at the next Full Staff Senate meeting.
Motion passes.
Committee Reports
Bylaws (Chair: Christina Franklin, District 6)
Meetings are scheduled for the 1st Thursday, every second month at 1 pm. The next meeting is scheduled for April 6.
The committee has confirmed the Code of Ethics.
Currently, they are working on 10.7.1 to provide clarification of the committee’s role, and how they will be accepting amendments to the Bylaws.
Members participated along with the Executive Committee in Parliamentary Procedure training provided by Kevin Hanrahan.
Communication (Chair Derek McConnell, District 4)
Reminder to please speak clearly and slowly so that those senators on Zoom can hear and the closed caption program can accurately transcribe what is being said.
The committee’s next meeting is April 10 at 1:00.
Website changes: Please let the committee know if you believe anything needs to be updated or changed.
Social Media: Currently reviewing how Big Ten Staff bodies are working with social media and other ways to communicate with their constituents. The committee is not currently planning to move forward on social media. If you want to suggest other modes of communication with staff, please let the committee know.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: (Chair Jordan Gonzales, District 2)
The committee meets the second Wednesday of each month from 1-2pm
Voted to approve the Code of Ethic.
Bridge policy: Instituted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The committee will be visited by Dr. Gwendolyn Combs in its next meeting to discuss the goal of the policy and the role of Diversity Ambassadors in faculty and staff searches. After gaining a better understanding of the issues, the committee will bring a recommendation to the senate on how they would like to proceed with engagement as Diversity Ambassadors.
Workplace environment – Bullying: The committee is also looking at this issue and has invited Dr. Susan Swearer to attend their May meeting.
Further investigation with HR may follow Dr. Swearer’s visit.
Elections: (Chair: Corey Cook, District 6)
The committee meets the third Thursday every other month, with the option of special topics meetings in between those. The committee has started working through the process of the first elections coming up next year and then onto the cycle of 1/3 going forward.
A special meeting was held to discuss the general election. The next election cycle is scheduled to begin in January of 2024 to replace those senators who have left UNL, have resigned, or select not to continue beyond the first 18 months. The committee plans to create a process for when someone leaves the senate internally, which may involve offering the position to the person next on the election list from the district where the seat is being vacated.
After action review of the Executive Committee elections during orientation to determine what went well and what did not. Electronic voting and ADA compliance were discussed as topics to be considered prior to the next election.
Action items:
Develop a timeline and documents from the last elections and place them in our folders so they can be reviewed by committee members.
Develop a plan for staggered terms going forward.
Concern raised about by individuals from District 3, specifically that smaller colleges do not have representatives from their colleges on the Senate.
Consider any necessary bylaw changes related to elections that will need to be addressed.
Legislation (Chair Jerri Harner, District 2)
The committee meets the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month at 2:00.
The members are focusing on the current session, with special focus on a couple of current bills. Updates on the bills are provided at each meeting.
As a committee it was decided to wait on creating a strategic plan or having a plan until after the session closes and there is more of a directive going forward.
Liaison (Chair Patrick Barrett, District 1)
We have determined we are a committee on committees, ensuring every senator serves on a committee. Also, looking into university-wide committees needing Staff Senate representation.
Committee Reports should be sent to Patrick before each Full Staff Senate meeting, preferably in Word form. In the alternative, you may drop it in your shared folder with a quick note to Patrick.
Personnel Affairs (Chair Jennifer Rutt, District 7)
The committee meets the opposite month of the Full Staff Senate, the second Thursday at 1:00 pm.
The Committee reviewed the bylaws and code of ethics.
The Personnel Affairs committee makes a motion for clarity on Code of Ethics # 5, the definition of what we mean by a meeting, is this a full senate meeting, committee meeting, or both for when a senator must notify Executive Committee. (No second needed)
Patrick Barrett, District 1, requested a reading of the rule.
Voted after reading. The motion passed. The motion will move forward, and the Executive Committee will provide clarification on the COE.
Issues brought to the committee:
Two issues were brought to the Staff Senate by the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women. The first is a lack of career ladder/ promotional opportunities and clear pathways for advancement for UNL staff. The second involves the experiences of temporary workers, especially those who are hired for one temporary position and then another. The committee is reviewing these issues and determining whether they will take up the topics, and if so, what that will look like.
Request to review abusive management practices.
Request to review the impact of the current leave policy on new employees. (More about this can be found under New Business.)
The personnel committee is reviewing best practices on how to address grievances or requests. They are creating operating procedures which will be discussed at their next meeting.
Recognition (Chair Hollie Swanson, District 4)
The committee is discussing employee awards, supplementing those awards that are already out there. In the process, they are considering what other institutions are doing. This information is being added to a web form of that data.
New Business
Tony Lazarowicz, District 3, introduced a motion for the Communications Committee to review the Faculty/Staff Services webpage and request Staff Senate be listed.
Seconded by numerous. No opposition, motion passes.
Jen Rutt, District 7: (Active or passive information gathering) Asked whether we as senators should actively be reaching out to gather information from staff or if we should be more passive in our approach, allowing staff to come to us. No policy currently exists, although it will be part of the strategic plan going forward.
Motion: The Communications Committee will create a standard best practice on how and when senators should reach out to constituents within their district.
Amend: The Communication Committee in collaboration with UCOMM will establish best practices on how and when to reach out to our constituents. The amendment was seconded with no opposition.
Ian Edgington, District 5, would like to amend extending the timeline. Without our strategic plan, we need to wait on any communication with constituents. The Amendment recommendation to extend the timeline for creation and review to the September full Staff Senate meeting. The motion was seconded with no opposition.
Motion: The Communications Committee will create in collaboration with UCOMM a standard best practice on how and when to reach out to our constituents with the understanding those are of the people within their district by the September Staff Senate meeting.
Motion passed: All in favor.
Tareq Daher, District 3, made a Motion that the Personal Affairs committee review the mandatory use of vacation leave or unpaid leave to account for the mandatory shutdown. This issue was brought to him by the College of Education Staff Council.
Markeya Peteranetz, District 3, seconded the motion.
Motion: Personnel affairs committee shall review policy requiring mandatory use of vacation leave or unpaid leave to account for the mandatory shutdown when most staff are prohibited from working.
Jenn Rutt, District 7, agreed that this belongs to the personnel committee, as the bylaws state this committee is to review university policies and procedures.
Clarifying question: Are we talking about people who can take unpaid leave during the closedown? From her experience, they have never forced some to utilize their leave.
Response: Numerous different actions are taken by different groups, departments, and supervisors.
Markeya Peteranetz, District 3, asked that the Senate keep in mind religious issues when it comes to the shutdown and when people celebrate.
Jolene Deinert, District 1, believes that the use of leave during the shutdown is based conveniently when bodies/students are off campus.
Pat Tetreault, District 5, explained that the timing was about savings money and when students are not on campus. She agreed that it is not fair for people to be forced to utilize their leave. Recommended that the university just close during the winter break and pay people.
Jen Rutt, District 7, questioned whether this issue should be sent to the Staff Advisory Board who could take up the issue instead of the UNL Staff Senate since it is a Board of Regents policy, not just a UNL policy that should be reviewed.
Table discussion.
Meeting was adjourned at 3:54
The next full meeting of the Staff Senate will be on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 2:30 pm.
The meeting will be held in the Nebraska Union Auditorium. The minutes are respectfully submitted by Joann Ross, Coordinator, and Jodie Barnes, Secretary.