The quarterly CAPS Board of Directors’ Meeting for the 2021-2023 Board of Directors was held last Saturday, November 5, 2022. Actions by the Board of Directors included:
- Approving the minutes of the August 20, 2022 Board of Directors Meeting,
- Approving an update Bargaining Team consisting of Chairperson District 2 Director Jacqueline Tkac, and President Margarita Gordus, District 3 Director Itzia Rivera, District 4 Director David Rist, District 5 Director Monty Larson as members,
- Approving modifications to the CAPS Bylaws that ensure the language is gender neutral and clarifies timelines related to information release for Board Elections,
- Approving incoming CAPS Local Representatives Apollo Fraidany (CalRecycle – Cerritos) and Harihar Nepal (Waterboards – Redding).
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 4, 2023 (to be held virtually).
Staff Quarterly Report Posted. The Quarter 3 Report detailing representation items of interest is now posted on the Members-Only Section of the CAPS Website here: https://capsscientists.org/members/. The password is ChooseCAPS! – it IS case-sensitive.
Reminder: Vote in the November 8, 2022 General Election! The CAPS Board of Directors encourages all State Scientists, your colleagues, friends, family – everyone – to vote in California’s 2022 General Election this coming Tuesday, November 8. In order for your vote-by-mail ballot to be counted, it must be postmarked by November 8 or dropped off in a secure ballot drop box by 8PM that night (Election Day).
If you have not yet registered to vote, state law allows for Same Day Voter Registration. Visit https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov/ to learn more about how it works and to find a list of voting locations where you can complete the Same Day Voter Registration process and cast a ballot.
The CAPS Board of Directors has made candidate and ballot measure recommendations via official endorsement that can be found on the CAPS webpage here. The candidates were selected after the CAPS Political Action Committee (PAC) reviewed candidate questionnaires and made recommendations based on what would benefit the interest of State Scientists in the realm of our pay, pensions, healthcare and job security. Please feel free to review the CAPS endorsements as recommendations for you to consider!
In Review. Check out what you may have missed from past CAPS Updates here:
October 25, 2022. Know Your Rights: Vacation Time. The late fall and winter months often bring many member questions about vacation, including whether a Department could deny an employee vacation time, while granting it to someone else; or how quickly vacation requests need to be approved. CAPS MOU, Section 3.1 defines how the situation should be resolved if this problem were to arise: “if two or more employees on the same shift in a work unit request the same vacation time and approval cannot be given to all employees requesting it, employees shall be granted their preferred vacation in order of seniority.” It further states that, “each department head or designee will make every effort to act on vacation requests in a timely manner.”
When making vacation requests, a good rule to follow is to request the time as early as possible to avoid possible conflicts. If you encounter issues getting your vacation requests approved, contact CAPS (caps@capsscientists.org).