May 3, 2023 Employee Forum meeting minutes
Attending: L.E. Alexander, David Barnette, Randall Borror, Sharron Bouquin, David Bragg, Shane Brogan, Bonita Brown, Renata Buchanan, Shavon Carey-Hicks, Denise Carter, Tiffany Carver, Matthew Chamberlin, Gabriela De la Cruz, Elizabeth Dubose, Shayla Evans-Hollingsworth, Stephanie Forman, Adrianne Gibilisco, Lonnie Hawley, Leah Hefner, Keith Hines, Jonah Hodge, James Holman, Linda Holst, Rebecca Howell, Jacob Hurst, Brigitte Ironside, Kira Jones, Sara Kelley, Brett Kenney, Anthony Lindsey, Haydee Marchese, Arlene Medder, Mandy Melton, David Michaud, Vanessa Mitchell, Katie Musgrove, Katherine Neer, Monica Okarmus, Joseph Ormond, Lisa Petersen, Sara Pettaway, Laura Pratt, Charlissa Rice, Drexel Rivers, Jacqueline Schwamberger, Kelly Scurlock-Cross, Lori Shamblin, Audrey Shore, Theresa Silsby, Janice Singletary, Heather Skinner, Sarah Smith, Jake Stallard, Jennifer Stallings, James Stamey, Mathew Steadman, Janet Steele, Tyler Steelman, Matthew Teal, Shelly Terry, Julie Theriault, Ally Wardell, Michael Williams, Jacob Womack
Excused Absences: Jessi Hill, Amber Meads, Laura Pratt, Leslie Earl Ray, Annetta Streater
Chair Katie Musgrove called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m. She welcomed guests and in particular the newly elected delegates of the Employee Forum. Before getting into the agenda, she took a moment to encourage all to donate at the 35th annual Carolina Blood Drive happening throughout the day at the Smith Center. Donors receive free food and a free t-shirt with the Drive’s new logo. Walk-ins are certainly welcome.
The Chair led delegates in the recitation of the Delegate Charge. Following the recitation, she welcomed Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz to speak in the Forum’s customary roundtable. Guskiewicz noted the upcoming end of the semester and thanked employees for their role in helping Carolina achieve its mission of teaching, research, and public service. He particularly thanked those helping to beautify campus as preparations culminate for commencement on May 14th. He noted the excitement among seniors, and noted the contributions from staff in helping graduates get to this important day.
Regarding the state budget, Guskiewicz said that university representatives are watching the legislative session very closely, including the issue of salary increases for state employees. He was pleased with the very good turnout at the legislative reception hosted by the General Alumni Association, which featured faculty, deans, and staff among others. He was again struck by the passion and love that everyone has for Carolina, and the willingness to educate General Assembly members about the university and its role in driving the state’s economy.
Guskiewicz recognized Amy McConkey, the university’s new legislative liaison in Raleigh who has worked with him to provide updates and to advocate for important concerns like salary increases and program funding. He noted the work to request renovations and repairs (R & R) funding to improve the condition of Carolina’s aging buildings.
Guskiewicz was pleased to mention the university’s good standing in US News & World Report’s recent ratings. Once again, he cited the work of passionate and dedicated staff who help to maintain the quality of programs here at Carolina. He was pleased that 19 of the university’s graduate programs rank among the top ten in the nation in their respective categories, with 16 programs increasing their ranking over last year. Guskiewicz emphasized this advancement in spite of the pandemic and national enrollment issues. He was also proud to state that for the sixth consecutive ranking, the Gillings School of Global Public Health was ranked first among all public schools of public health, and second among all such schools.
Looking forward to State Employee Appreciation day May 10th, Guskiewicz called on all to wear Carolina Blue in celebration of campus employees. Finally, he welcomed listeners to the Sunday, May 14th commencement events, featuring author Bryan Stevenson as lead speaker. He offered to take questions from the group, noting the weather concerns around the 14th.
The Chair asked if Guskiewicz will be able to attend the blood drive later in the day. Guskiewicz hoped to get there but noted his busy schedule for the day. He thanked all who assist or who participate in the blood drive preparations. Lacking further questions, Guskiewicz took his leave from the group.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Linc Butler presented the day’s human resources updates, as Vice Chancellor Becci Menghini was out on vacation. He said that Joe Williams, Brandy Flickinger, and Jessica Pyjas were at a conference dedicated to putting the heart back into services provided in the benefits and total well-being space. “Heart” in this use stands for ‘H’elping ‘E’mployees ‘A’spire, ‘R’eview, and ‘T’hrive in the benefits area.
Benefits deals with some very positive things, like the growth of families. However, Benefits also must support employees through family medical leave that may involve a serious health condition, and things like short-term and long-term disability, and even death. Butler said that the refocusing of this conference will help center these employees in doing this crucial work. He noted Pyjas’ work speaking on proactive events and programs to assist employees’ total well-being. Butler was excited about the prospects for this conference and was interested to hear how it eventually goes.
Butler noted that May is State Employee Appreciation month. While the university’s Employee Appreciation Day is scheduled for October, Butler said that the service award banquet will finally resume at the end of the month. Three employees will celebrate over 50 years of service and will be highlighted in an upcoming The Well article. The 25-plus years of service or appreciation breakfast will occur June 8th along with the 20-year appreciation event as well.
Butler said that university leaders are keeping a close eye on occurrences in the legislature related to the state budget. He reported prospects that the legislature will wrap up its work later in June, which would allow early implementation of legislation. He noted the House proposal for a 4.25% across-the-board increase in salaries this year, with an additional increase of 3.25% next year. Butler said these higher percentage proposals represent really good news, although much more can be done to assist in this area. He was hopeful that the House’s proposals are not reduced in conference negotiations.
Butler noted another bill in the rules committee which changes what is considered confidential personal information. He said that this bill has expanded its reach from that of a few years ago, and thus presents something of a concern. There is a chance that the bill may not make it out of the rules committee. Still, if enacted, the bill would release the specifics of the final letter when an employee goes through a disciplinary procedure in which they are dismissed. Butler said that making those letters public did not seem a very good idea.
Butler offered to share Pyjas’ wellness updates with the Forum via email distribution. He offered to take questions from the group. Arlene Medder asked about elder care and the prospects of additional benefits in this area. Butler recalled that childcare is actually dependent care which can be used for some of these expenses. He said that dependent care is not specifically labeled as either child or elder care to provide flexibility of use.
Rebecca Howell asked how the bill mentioned earlier will impact current employees. As she read it, she found some distinctions regarding what may be released about current employees versus new employees. She also noted a distinction involving employees who leave service and return, and the possible grandfathering in of their records. She asked the implications of these changes.
Butler understood that there would not be an opening of older historical records. Instead, the bill would simply change what information would be considered under the public records act of the State. Currently, items like name, age, date of original employment, title, and current salary all are considered public information. The legislation would broaden the general description of these reasons related to promotion and demotion, transfer, suspension, separation, and dismissal. Any documentation related to the reasons for these actions would become public record.
Howell asked if an employee is either suspended or terminated, and is appealing that decision, would relevant records be held until a final decision is made or could they be released while the decision is pending. She said that the distinction could make a huge difference in the outcome of these appeals. She observed that preemptive exposure of these records could also negatively impact that employee’s future employment possibilities.
Butler thought that this example was one measure of why OHR was concerned about the bill. Still, the university would work with counsel as well as its public records office to ascertain appropriate administration of this legislation, should it be enacted. Much would depend on when the public records request is submitted in the new system, Butler said. The standard is production of public records in a reasonable time frame, which could provide some flexibility through which the university could potentially wait for resolution of these appeals. The university would work closely with counsel and the public records office to ensure compliance with the prospective legislation. Much would remain to be determined, Butler said.
Howell asked about pending legislation related to a change in abortion regulations, and how this would impact state employees. Butler said that he would need to refresh himself on exact coverages, which he would do and then send along an answer to the Chair. Any potential legislation that would impact coverage would remain to be seen given subsequent legislative analysis. The State Health Plan would have to make changes to whatever coverage is subject to the legislation. He could not speculate as to how this impact would occur.
The Chair asked if there were any thoughts or comments on proposed Bill 715, regarding modernization and affordability around provisions that would grant more powers to the board of trustees around “eliminating unnecessary or redundant expenses in personnel or areas of study.” Butler said that his office has been mobilized to provide feedback on what has been proposed in that bill. He said that the UNC System Office is in turn pulling information together from all UNC System campuses to work with their legislative liaisons on this project.
House Bill 715 deals with course items, tenure, mission applications, efficiency studies, non-instructional research, building usage and capacity. Butler said that this wide-ranging bill would be disruptive to current operations if enacted. He noted that should the legislation see approval, the impact of the elimination of tenure alone would be devastating upon recruitment of new faculty and graduate students, among others. Butler’s office is working to gather feedback about the proposed legislation.
Rebecca Howell noted that the bill came out shortly before the meeting of the Forum’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee meeting. She said that the committee has struggled with talking about potential implications and had questions around when that discussion crosses a line into political action, which cannot be pursued on employee time. Some committee members did not even want to begin discussions, as these talks could be viewed as doing political activity on work time.
Butler said that lobbying certain legislators or campaigning on behalf of certain legislation would be obvious examples that cross the line of this policy. However, he thought that a group of employees discussing the potential implications of legislation upon their own employment or to their organization would be allowable under the policy.
Matthew Chamberlin asked if there was any news concerning the switch away from Blue Cross/Blue Shield as the administrators of the State Health Plan. He noted that reports state that UNC Health has plans for its own healthcare plan apart from the State Plan.
Butler said that many years ago there was work done to declare UNC Health essentially exempt from the State Human Resources Act. This granted the health system a lot of leeway in creating compensation programs like insurance plans independently. Universities in the UNC System have had to remain with the State Health Plan. Butler said that the switch of the plan’s administrator is separate from the health plan itself, which is governed by a board that engages with external administrators. The shift in administrators from Blue Cross/Blue Shield will not change any provisions of the plan or coverage, on its own. The Board of the State Health Plan will continue to handle these decisions.
Butler concluded his remarks. The Chair thanked him for speaking. She then moved to the consent agenda and the approval of the April minutes. Arlene Medder had one edit of the minutes which she had provided Matt Banks prior to the meeting. Arlene Medder moved that the minutes be approved with this one edit, seconded by Charlissa Rice. The motion to approve the consent agenda was approved with no abstaining or opposing votes.
The Chair then called for committee updates. Joe Ormond of the Communications and Public Relations Committee said that the group did not have updates beyond its continuing work on publishing the InTouch newsletter. He asked that delegates send him or Shane Brogan prospective content for an edition to coincide with the closing of the academic year.
The Chair noted that the Forum Book Club is set to meet on May 25th. Details are on the website as well as in the newsletter InTouch. Jacob Womack gave a report from the Community Service committee while donating blood at the Carolina Blood Drive. Womack said that there was no report from the committee. Arlene Medder said that the campus survey for the Carolina Community Garden is currently under review.
The Chair said that Blood Drive chair Laura Pratt and Amber Meads were working at the Drive that morning. She hoped to see many delegates either donating or volunteering at the Drive following the meeting. She thanked Pratt and Meads for their work on the Drive.
Janet Steele said that the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee did not have any updates on its work.
L.E. Alexander reported that the Education and Career Development committee will take Carolina Family Scholarship applications through June 1. Delegates interested in reviewing applications should contact Alexander for further information. The Forum’s Professional Development Grant applications will open June 1. She urged delegates interested in reading these applications to contact her as well. She said that the committee typically receives 40-60 applications, requiring around 2-3 hours of reading over a couple of weeks.
The Chair reported that the Executive Committee will likely hear from Paris Miller-Foushee, a member of the Chapel Hill Town Council on affordable housing issues at its upcoming meeting. Miller-Foushee hopes to attend the May meeting of the committee, perhaps contributing to an eventual resolution from the Personnel Issues committee on affordable housing. All Forum delegates will receive invitations to attend this meeting to hear from Miller-Foushee if interested.
Keith Hines did not have anything to report from the Membership & Assignments committee. He did encourage delegates to think about which committees they would like to join. All delegates are expected to serve actively on at least one committee. Hines noted that delegates will formally select their primary committee at the Forum’s annual retreat in July. Delegates can research their choices before formally joining at least one in July. The Chair reminded Forum committee chairs to begin work on their annual reports, with a deadline to turn these in before the June 20th Executive Committee meeting.
Leah Hefner reported that the Personnel Issues committee has begun work on an affordable housing resolution. She recalled that the results from the affordable housing survey that went out to employees in January will be reported to the Chancellor next month. The committee looks forward to these findings and recommendations.
Hefner noted that Matthew Teal has reported some progress on the Forum’s housekeeping resolution, in that some permanent housekeeping positions have been posted with sign-on bonuses. The committee will meet again May 24th.
Tiffany Carver said that the Recognition & Awards committee is going through the 230 pages of nominations for the Forum’s Peer Recognition awards. The committee will choose winners of these awards at its Friday, May 5th meeting. She asked new delegates to consider volunteering for this task of reading and evaluating nominations. The Chair recalled that the committee will also choose the Rebecca Clark Staff Award for Moral Courage winner at its May meeting. Finally, the Kay Wijnberg Hovious Outstanding Delegate award winners will be announced at the June 14th meeting of the Forum.
Keith Hines reported that the UNC System Staff Assembly had discussed a possible resolution on compelled speech at its April meeting. Much remains to be seen as to this document’s eventual approval. The Chair added notice about the September Chancellors’ Cup golf tournament, which delegates will have the opportunity to work on soon. The event will take place in Greensboro this year.
The Chair asked for updates from university committee representatives. James Stamey reported that the Buildings & Grounds committee met in April to discuss football center signage, approving some designs. The committee will meet again in May.
The Chair said that the Advisory Committee on Transportation and Parking (ACT) has just started work on the university’s upcoming 5-Year Plan in this area. She thanked all who participated in the campus survey on this topic.
Charlissa “Charlie” Rice said that there were no updates from the Carolina Peer Support group.
The Forum then moved to Old Business, namely consideration of Proclamation 23-01 regarding accessibility concerns. She asked Julie Theriault to read the proclamation and would afterward open the floor for discussion. Following the reading, the Chair asked for a motion to approve Proclamation 23-01, stating that the Forum would afterward move into discussion of the motion. Matthew Chamberlin moved to approve, seconded by Lori Shamblin.
Members offered grammatical improvements to the resolution as friendly amendments to the motion. Parliamentarian Jacob Womack clarified that motions and edits that do not substantively change the resolution can be generally accepted as friendly amendments. After resolution of the grammatical issues raised, the Chair asked for a vote on Chamberlin’s motion. The Forum voted in favor of the proclamation, with no opposing or abstaining votes. The Chair said that the proclamation would be forwarded to the Chancellor’s Office and posted to the Forum website. The proclamation will also be mentioned in the upcoming issue of InTouch, the Forum newsletter to employees.
Elizabeth Dubose clarified that this proclamation states the Forum’s position on this question. Next would be the actual ‘ask’ of the administration, which would take the form of a resolution. She said that delegates interested in this next step should meet with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee at its next meeting.
Kira Jones suggested that the Forum use some of the publicity methods which were employed following passage of the Dobbs proclamation on abortion access. She offered to consult with Forum leaders. Janet Steele, the Chair of that committee, thanked Jones for her offer. The Chair took a moment to recognize Elizabeth Dubose’s and Julie Theriault’s work on the resolution. She emphasized that the work of the Forum mainly takes place in its committees. Theriault recognized Matthew Teal and Sarah Smith for their contributions as well. Dubose also cited the DEI committee for its work on this document.
Moving to New Business, the Chair requested discussion on House Bill 715, the Higher Education Modernization and Affordability Act. She noted the supporting articles in the Forum agenda which gave a summary of the bill and its progress through the legislature. She also noted that a faculty petition of around 700 signatures has circulated opposing the bill.
The Chair said that there are a number of troubling things that are part of this bill that would be hugely detrimental to the university in terms of recruiting faculty and staff. She noted the removal of tenure piece, about which people have already registered their concerns. She then said that the bill would amend G.S. 1-1633, making technical and clarifying changes to the powers and duties granted to the Board of Trustees of constituent institutions. The bill would add the duty to “ensure use of institutional resources, including evaluating and eliminating unnecessary or redundant expenses, personnel, and areas of study.”
The bill would also further amend G.S. 1-1611 and G.S. 115 D. 5., to require the Board of Governors to adopt a policy “prohibiting the use of state and non-state funds by constituent institutions and community colleges for listed extra-curricular activities, including social fraternities and sororities, and all activities related to political, social, or religious issues as specified.” The bill would also direct each constituent institution and community college to study all non-instructional research performed by higher education personnel, defined to include students, staff, or faculty, whether full-time or part-time and reports to the Board of Governors or NC State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC).
The bill would also direct each constituent institution and community college to study the daily usage and capacity of all buildings operated by the institution and report to the Board of Governors or the SBCC as appropriate.
The Chair said that these items represent an overreach of political interference and encroachment on academic freedom, to say the least. Elizabeth Dubose asked about instances in which the School of Medicine overlaps with UNC Clinical. She said that the bill applies to medical faculty in the exact same way, which in turn threatens the health care system. She added that significant numbers of faculty members are leaving her department and she termed this legislation “a serious threat”.
Arlene Medder said that one of the things that attract employers to North Carolina is the large population of educated individuals, specifically in the Triangle. Anything that repels stellar faculty also in turn repels quality students, leading this area to be a less attractive location for employers.
David Bragg recalled the Chancellor’s comments regarding the university’s U.S. News and World Report rankings. The bill would lead to a loss of faculty and a drop in the university’s historically high rankings. He said that the university would become the “laughingstock” among level one research universities. He also reported that several scientists who work at national laboratories are looking at retiring given this possible legislation. The Chair recalled that the university’s rankings are hugely tied to donors, both of which could be diminished by the legislation.
Michael Williams said that everyone knows that the purpose of this legislation is to intimidate the university and the people who care about education in the state as part of a larger culture war. He said that they want to intimidate and discourage students by labeling as political those who study marginalized people and experiences. He said that the legislation will cause people to spend time and resources to counter this bill and not work on other needs. Williams thought that people who are proposing this bill and attacking a lot of different kinds of people on a lot of fronts simultaneously to diminish their ability to organize a response.
Christine Keat asked what the campus will do with its smaller classrooms if legislation requires 40 students or more per class. Where will the campus put all of these people, and what would the university do with all of the empty classrooms that do not meet this requirement?
Matthew Teal commented in the chat feature that the proposed legislation has not gotten to the floor for a vote. The Chair responded that she sought to encourage preparation of how to react. She asked if the Forum wished to wait on passage of legislation before putting its feelings on record to the administration.
Randall Borror recalled a chat comment that said that the deadline for filing legislation is tomorrow. He asked if it would be worth the effort to come up with a statement if the bill is not brought forward on time. The Chair proposed that the Forum put together an ad hoc committee to develop a proclamation or statement should the bill meet the filing deadline. Elizabeth Dubose added that any such statement should include how appalled and concerned employees are about how these changes are being railroaded through the legislative process. She urged the Forum to author a statement now.
The Chair asked delegates to send an email to Program Manager Matt Banks to express interest in becoming part of this ad hoc committee. If needed, the committee would want to write a statement sooner rather than later. She asked that delegates consider the faculty statement on this legislation, which addresses tenure concerns and class sizes more than other issues mentioned in discussion. She asked that the Forum create a response only in the event the legislation meets the filing deadline, as that would have a greater impact than a statement made on a bill not moving forward.
Lori Shamblin asked if the Forum would ever work in tandem with the Faculty Council to create a more unified response. The Chair said that Council procedures are rather formal and have not allowed frequent response to Forum initiatives. Still, the Forum can always ask and forward its response to the Faculty Council to seek their sponsorship. She said that the current faculty statement had been written by one or two faculty members, not the entire Council. Shamblin said that the Council could be limited in what it is willing to state publicly for a bill that has not been calendared or posted.
The Chair asked that someone reach out to notify Forum leadership as to whether the bill would even get filed. Lonnie Hawley said that the balance of power in the legislature is only becoming larger. The Chair agreed, noting the question of gerrymandered districts. The Chair also agreed with the suggestion that if the bill is not calendared, the Personnel Issues committee would be a great place to figure out a possible statement reflecting on the legislation’s potential to affect campus staff.
The Chair then moved to the next item of New Business, the call for nominations for Forum Officers and UNC System Staff Assembly representatives that are up for election this year. Delegates with questions regarding the election were encouraged to reach out to the Chair or Matt Banks. She added that nominated candidates will have the chance to provide brief statements sharing their platform and what they envision for the role at the June meeting.
The Chair opened the floor for additional nominations beyond the ones that had already been submitted. Bonita Brown nominated Keith Hines for Vice Chair, which he accepted. Randall Borror asked the deadline for candidates to declare. The Chair said that nominations will be accepted up to the beginning of the June 14th meeting. David Bragg nominated Jacob Womack for Parliamentarian, which Womack accepted. Drexel Rivers nominated himself for the two-year term on the UNC System Staff Assembly.
There was a question as to the eventual election of an alternate for the UNC System Staff Assembly. The Chair proposed that the Membership & Assignments committee meet with current Parliamentarian Jacob Womack to work out a solution as to how this election would take place.
The Chair noted plans to introduce a new set of Bylaws revisions with regard to Forum elections, instituting a Chair-Elect system mirroring the Faculty Council and the UNC System Staff Assembly.
Lonnie Hawley shared news of his upcoming retirement in the chat feature. Delegates wished him well in his retirement. Hawley said that it had been an honor and a pleasure to serve on the Forum, and that he was extremely thankful for the time spent.
Tiffany Carver asked that delegates interested in the peer recognition award readings to contact her immediately as the meeting would take place Friday. The Chair urged incoming delegates interested in the video of the Orientation or the newly revised Delegate Handbook to contact Matt Banks for assistance.
Tiffany Carver made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Arlene Medder. The motion was approved and the meeting adjourned at 11:05 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Matt Banks, Recording Secretary