Virtual Board Of Directors Meeting in November. The next Board of Directors’ (BOD) Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2020, at 9 a.m., via Zoom. Members will need to pre-register for the event via a sign-up process that will be sent out soon. The Draft Minutes from the August 22 BOD Meeting are posted on the Members-Only Section of the Website, along with the Draft Agenda for the November 7th meeting (the password is Fall2020 – it is case-sensitive).
Pre-Board of Directors Meeting Virtual Worksite Meetings. In advance of the Board of Directors’ Meeting on Saturday, November 7, 2020, the CAPS Board of Directors (BOD) will be hosting virtual “worksite” meetings to allow members a forum to hear from and talk to their Board Members. The meeting will begin with a presentation by the Board, covering recent events and committee work, and end with a Question and Answer (Q&A) session, open to members present.
The two virtual Worksite Meetings will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2020, and Friday, November 6, 2020. Members will have to pre-register for the event, and follow the CAPS Virtual Meeting Participant Expectations. Information for pre-registration will be released soon.
State Controller’s Office Calculation Error List Received. In August, the State Controller’s Office announced that they’d made a calculation error with the way employee’s retirement deductions were calculated due to the need to enter in adjustments regarding the May Budget Revise Reductions negotiated across all units. They reported that adjustments would be processed with the August 2020 pay to correct the discrepancy. The adjustment was to be shown as deduction “*PERS ADJ” on the earnings statement on the Cal Employee Connect Portal. At the time, we reported that we had contacted SCO via CalHR to request a list of members who would be subject to the correction along with the amount of the expected adjustment and promised to let the membership know. Well, CAPS has received the requested information. If you encountered issues on your August Pay Warrant (given to you in early September), contact CAPS (caps@capsscientists.org).
News Briefs.
Wildfire cleanup update: Nearly 1,000 properties cleared of household hazardous waste – This past week, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control resumed emergency Phase 1 cleanup operations to remove household hazardous waste and bulk asbestos from properties impacted by recent wildfires in Northern California.
FDA: Red onion salmonella outbreak over; investigation isn’t – The Food and Drug Administration has declared the Salmonella Newport outbreak that was likely caused by red onions from Thomson International Inc. is over. In the U.S., 1,127 people became ill from eating the onions, according to the FDA/Centers for Disease Control and prevention. The FDA worked with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and California Department of Public Health conducted field-level investigations at multiple Thomson International locations within days of its onions being linked to the illnesses, according to the FDA’s update.
Black bear burned in NorCal fire is released back into wild – A black bear whose feet were badly burned in a North Complex fire in Butte County was released back into the wild last week, officials said. The 370-pound male bear was found near the town of Berry Creek, with four burned paws, eye and lung injuries back in August, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Vets at the department’s Wildlife Investigations Laboratory in Rancho Cordova treated the bear with pain medication and fluids to correct dehydration. The bear’s burned paws were cleaned using an infrared laser treatment before it was released back into the wild.
In Review. Check out what you may have missed from past CAPS Updates here:
October 16, 2020. The Janus Case – Know the Facts! The U.S. Supreme Court ruling of Janus v. AFSCME in 2018 means unions can no longer collect fair shares fees from non-members.
Prior to that ruling, the Supreme Court’s decision in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) upheld that employees who do not pay their “fair share” should not be able to enjoy the benefits of a contract negotiated by the union representing them – including pay raises, retirement security, and worksite protections.
Read the rest of the entries, or see what else you may have missed on the CAPS Website here: https://capsscientists.org/supervisors/. The password is S10CAPS – it IS case-sensitive.