Updates from your Staff Welfare and Advocacy Committee

Committee Meetings
March 23, 2022

Staff Welfare Meeting Notes

March 17, 2022

  1. Jean-Marie’s term is up. Would anybody on the Committee like to run for Chair? Jean-Marie would be happy to nominate anyone from the Committee who might like to step into the role. (Jean-Marie would like to stay on the Committee if wanted.) 
  1. Staff wage conversation: there is a shrinking gap between professional staff hourly rates and student worker hourly rates. 
    1. Is the shrinking gap something that is on the radar of the People Center?
    2. Are all staff making a living wage for Chittenden County? We have been told “yes” but anecdotally we believe this may not be accurate.
      1. MIT living wage calculator says that a single person (no children or spouse) in Chittenden County needs to make $16.27/hr. 
    3. What is our desired outcome related to these issues?
      1. Ideally, all staff would be paid a living wage.
      2. More realistically, we would like the college to commit to a $15/hr minimum wage. 
    4. Our asks of the People Center:
      1. How many employees are being paid a wage close to what student workers are making?
      2. How many employees are making less than a living wage (part-time and full-time)?
      3. What is the wage of the lowest paid professional staff?
    5. Tied to this is the job description and market analysis project.
      1. Where are we at with the job description project? 
      2. Are we at a point where we can set deadlines and get this work done?
  1. Professional Development Day will be in June 8, 2022
    1. Can we integrate service into this day?
      1. Concerned about Alex not being able to be present for multiple events due to his busy schedule
      2. Service Day would preferably be in mid-May in order to get faculty participation
      3. There is a feeling that combining the two days devalues each
    2. Was service day ever incorporated into the recognition event?
      1. Yes, we did them on the same day or in the same week in the past
      2. Feeling that folks would prefer to be clean and tidy at the recognition event and not just coming back from picking up trash or digging in the dirt
      3. Having a distinct afternoon for Service provides more flexibility for folks to participate in both
      4. Leslie and Christina to work on selecting a date for this
    3. Recognition Event will be ???
      1. Likely to happen in the evening 
      2. Trick is getting a date that Dave can be present 
      3. Leslie will work on getting that date scheduled sometime in May
  1. Other business
    1. Job description project approach is changing
      1. People Center is working on this but isn’t going to be happening soon
    2. Salary Market Analysis
      1. Sara is thinking about this and researching different options for how and when this could occur
      2. Also thinking about scope of such a project
    3. Mask requirements
      1. After Spring Break we will see how many cases we have and make an informed decision
      2. Other colleges are lifting their mask requirements nationwide
    4. Modern Think Survey
      1. It is so important, especially after the last few years we’ve had
      2. It’s a great tool to get confidential feedback to administrators & supervisors and express honest feelings/opinions/etc. 
      3. Data is not separated by faculty or staff but is by department
    5. Performance Evaluations
      1. Kicks off tomorrow with MRT
      2. Need to have both written evals and coaching model integrated going forward
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Meeting Minutes
Staff Welfare Committee