ANSWERS
The Officers of Local 8599 believe that
an effective Union begins with effective
communication to the membership.
This page contains answers to many
common and uncommon questions.
Do you have a question?
Click the link below.....
LOCAL 8599
Representing FUSD employees for over 30 years
Where is the Union hall? What are the office hours?

The Union Hall is located at 8621 Juniper Ave Suite 208, Fontana, Ca 92335. The phone number at the Hall is 909 823 6755.
Specifically, our building is at the corner of Juniper and Valencia, and our offices are upstairs (an elevator is available).
Currently the office is open from 8:00 AM to at least 4:00 PM Monday through Friday. We will likely be expanding hours in the
coming days to make the Hall available to members who need information about the coming Reduction in Force layoffs.
I watched the Board meeting last night and Stedry stated there would be no SERP this year but that they would be
offering a 33/34 Plan and a Bridge. Doesn't this preclude many other employees who may not fit the criteria from
benefitting from an early retirement because they don't have the 33, 34 or 15 years of service to qualify for these
programs? How many employees actually qualify for these programs and how much money will it save the District? These
employees will be receiving money for years they are not working in order to provide medical benefits to them. What do
those of us who are left in the lurch getting in return?

This question was forwarded to Superintendent Cali Olsen-Binks. Here is her reply:

"I need to see if all the numbers are back in for the SERP and 33/34 plan.  Your employee is correct though in saying that if
they don't fit the plan, "what ever it might be that we can offer" they will be a bit left out.  The SERP is money over time and it
would not be fiscally prudent to over burden the district with more "over time debt." However with the 33/34 plan  paying for
benefits versus salary and benefits is less if we don't fill the position, but still less if a newer person gets the job if filled.
Before you answer, let me see if I can get hard numbers. The numbers I reviewed initially were rough numbers."

We will be checking back with the Superintendent's office to get more information. This is an important question and is likely
to impact a significant number of members.  
I think I might be getting RIF'D.  If I find a job outside the District BEFORE June 30th will I lose my place on
the 39 month rehire list?  Should I wait until after I am laid-off to look for work?

Yes, if you resign before you are officially laid-off on June 30th, you WILL lose your place on the 39 month rehire list. If you
take a lesser position WITHIN the District (less hours, less days or less pay), you will remain on the list.
I heard that some Supervisors may be bumping back down into the Classified service. Is this legal? I thought once you
went to management you lost your rights to come back. This is going to cost some Union members their jobs!

California Ed Code 45104.5 states:    
"The governing board of a school district may adopt a resolution abolishing any or all  positions of the senior management
of the classified service. An employee occupying a senior management position abolished by the action shall become a
member of the classified or certificated service in a position to which he or she would otherwise be entitled if the employee
had not been a member of the senior management of the classified service.

If the employee in the senior management of the classified service had been a member of the regular classified or
certificated service, he or she shall be entitled to a position which is the same as, or similar to, the position to which he or
she holds rights outside of the senior management of the classified service."
The key here seems to be the word "abolishing". A simple layoff is not the same as an abolishment. The job must be deleted
from the District. In this case, the manager or supervisor can bump back. The Union is continuing to look at the resolution
being considered by the Board of Education to make sure our Contract, all Ed Codes and State Labor Laws are followed.
I/WE are very concerned about where the union is going if our Vice President is more worried about the Presidents pay
instead of the overall good of the union. Could you explain why you would go in front of the board on a night where people
are loosing their jobs and you want to bring up a pay issue?

Vice President Jim Williams responds:

" I think it is a matter of fully understanding the issues.  Its not only a pay issue. The District is not cutting the Presidents
pay. They did that last year when the position Mr Bruce holds as Repair Technician was cut from 260 days to 205 days.
What the District is doing is BREAKING OUR CONTRACT.  Full release time for the President is outlined in Article 43. If we
allow this to happen, then we will either have to absorb the Presidents salary into our Union budget or send our President
back to his job, thereby reversing 20 years of past practice. This will make our Union less effective, since the President will
have to go back and forth from his regular job without adequate time for research or planning. This is most likely exactly
what the District wants, a less effective Union. Also, ask yourself--if they can break that Article of the contract, then whats
next? Longevity? Seniority? We are supposed to NEGOTIATE changes to the Contract, not have changes DICTATED to us
and enacted without any comment from our members or the Board members at all.....I think you should be angry about what
they did (or may be about to do next), not about what I said....."
Where and how do we buy a DVD copy of board meetings?

Good question! The District has just begun making DVD copies available to the Union. We will be happy to make a (free)
copy of the Board meetings available to any member who asks. Call the Union hall at 909 823 6755 to make arrangements.
The District has also started archiving the meetings on their website.
I saw the Board Meeting on TV and was shocked to hear Mr. Hawthorne thank the people and students for speaking
because it reminded the Board that we are not just a number.  When I heard that I was very disappointed.  These Board
Members need to be reminded that they were elected to represent the people.  Since the Board made the decision to
lay-off people then they should be the ones to hold the lay-off meetings with the affected people so they can look the
employees in eyes as a reminder that they are not just a number instead of having HR and the Unions do their dirty work.

Your anger about the current situation is understandable. We are all upset and angry. It is hoped that Mr Hawthorne and the
rest of the Board are completely informed and tuned in to every part of the process. Their vote on breaking our contract
makes us wonder. If the affected people keep coming to the Board with their stories, then they will not be just numbers.
It is our mission to make it hard to lay off our people.
i just read past letters sent to the union. one was asking if we would go by school site or hire date. the answer to this was
that the president feels that it is a good idea to go by school site. i feel that this is the worst idea ever. i have 30 years in
the district but only 3 years at my site. this means that people with less senority that has been at the same school site for
more than 3 years have a better chance of not being layed off than i do. it makes no sense. you are probably doing this
because people with higher senority make more pay. i just dont understand why the union would agree to this. my union
dues are the same as lower senority. whos standing behind me?

Sorry, but that is not what is said in that answer.  It is clearly stated that the President wanted to allow members to discuss
changes to the seniority system. At the meeting, many members spoke on this issue, including the President, Vice President,
and Staff Representative who all spoke against changing the seniority system. A healthy debate followed, and, in the end,
there has been NO CHANGE to the seniority system in this District or this Union. Your District hire date is controlling.
This may sound very selfish of me with all that is going on but I am a ten year employee (aide) what are the chances of my
job being abolished? I have heard that the district is doing away with aides, I don't see how this can even be done
because we are so vital to special ed students success

It's not selfish to want to keep your job! As of this answer, we haven't heard that the District is abolishing Special Ed Aide
positions. Of course we will check on this rumor and keep you posted.