New council set up for staff

A recent innovation on campus will give classified employees without union representation a voice in university decision-making.

The initial goals for the newly developed Council for Non-represented Classified Staff will be to “promote networking, communication, understanding and cooperation among the non-represented classified staff, the faculty, academic staff, students and the university administration,” says Carla Raatz, director of human resources.

“This is the one group that, until now, has had no one to speak for them,” says Jim Stratton, classified personnel director.

According to Stratton, unions do not represent these staff members because they hold either supervisory or confidential positions, which give them unique knowledge of employee relationship and bargaining issues.

Raatz and Stratton originated the concept of the council, which will represent about 570 university employees, or 10 percent of all classified staff .

“It seemed like a large enough group that we should do something to tap their knowledge and make them feel more a part of the university,” Raatz says.

An organizing committee began developing the council idea in June 1999, and last spring an election was held to determine the council’s nine members, including a three-member executive committee.

At its first meeting Sept. 7, the council created four committees that are organizing goals and agendas. The areas of focus for these committees are compensation and personnel issues, campus communications and awareness, professional development, and nominations for future councils and campuswide committees.

Raatz says employee compensation is a vital issues for the council. “To date we haven’t had a systematic way of getting [non-represented classified employees’] input on compensation proposals for the biennial budget,” Raatz says.

The council will meet quarterly and also hold an annual meeting for all non-represented classified staff. The council will next meet Dec. 7.

Executive Committee chair Mary Ann Clarke says the council will give non-represented classified employees more visibility within the university and provides an avenue on which they can exchange information.

“In every campus event, it is important to have participation from all areas,” Clarke says. “I think we have something viable to offer the campus.”