Posts Tagged: Staff Assembly

UC ANR Staff Assembly e-newsletter helps staff stay ‘Current’

The Current is UC ANR Staff Assembly's monthly e-newsletter, keeping staff up-to-date on Staff Assembly offerings related to health and wellness initiatives, educational reimbursements, opportunities to engage with leadership and other employee concerns.

As a reminder: all staff employees (including county-paid, part-time and limited-appointment staff) are members of UC ANR Staff Assembly, and its council members advise UC ANR leaders by representing the ideas, input and collective voice of the staff. Note that academics are represented by Academic Assembly Council.

The Current e-newsletter arrives in staff inboxes on the second Tuesday of each month. If you are a UC ANR staff member and you have not been receiving The Current, please contact Mike Hsu, communications chair, at mjhsu@ucanr.edu.

Past issues of The Current can be found on the Staff Assembly website.

If you have a news item that pertains to all staff (related to health and wellness, educational/learning opportunities, or other workplace environment and culture issues), please submit it to Hsu at mjhsu@ucanr.edu by the end of the month for inclusion in the following month's e-newsletter.

UC ANR staff eligible for up to $50 reimbursement for personal wellness expenses

Beginning March 1, 2022, UC ANR staff members will be eligible for up to $50 in reimbursements for personal wellness expenses. These funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis and staff are encouraged to submit receipts early. 

The Staff Assembly Council and Wellness Committee encourage you to expand your personal wellness activities and submit your receipts for reimbursement. 

What qualifies for reimbursement? Equipment, clothing, classes, memberships, personal training and books first come to mind, but applicants are encouraged to explain how the purchase is improving their personal wellness. 

What does not qualify for reimbursement? Food, medicine and supplements.

The Wellness Reimbursement Program is in a pilot phase with this rollout so the Wellness Committee is interested in the choices staff make for reimbursement; this will inform future ANR Staff Assembly Wellness plans. 

To apply, click on the application link below and submit the application with receipts. The first reimbursements will be announced in mid-March 2022.

UC ANR Wellness Reimbursement Application

If you have questions, email Scott Brayton at sabrayton@ucanr.edu.

Become a Staff Assembly ambassador

 

UC ANR's Staff Assembly invites staff members to serve as ambassadors for their colleagues at their locations.

Staff Assembly ambassadors represent all UC ANR and County paid staff in their local office at ambassador meetings. It is a great way to develop relationships and enjoy networking opportunities with other ANR staff members throughout the state.

ANR locations needing ambassadors:

• Hopland REC
• Intermountain REC
• Kearney Agricultural REC
• UCCE Butte/Glenn
• UCCE Central Sierra (Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado and Tuolumne)
• UCCE Colusa
• UCCE Humboldt/ Del Norte
• UCCE Kern
• UCCE Lake
• UCCE Lassen
• UCCE Mendocino
• UCCE Merced/Mariposa
• UCCE Modoc
• UCCE Napa
• UCCE Plumas/Sierra
• UCCCE San Benito/Santa Cruz
• UCCE San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara
• UCCE Solano/Yolo/Sacramento
• UCCE Sonoma

Each ambassador acts as a conduit for Staff Assembly, relaying messages (via email, flyers, verbal communication) to staff members at their location. They informally collect information, ideas and suggestions from local staff and share them with ANR Staff Assembly Council.

Ambassadors also encourage and promote participation in Staff Assembly activities and opportunities – such as ANR Grows, education reimbursements, wellness activities and council vacancies – and UC ANR activities.

When possible, ambassadors may attend monthly drop-in-meetings via Zoom and attend the annual UC ANR ambassador meeting via Zoom or in person during their two-year term.

If you would like to be a Staff Assembly ambassador, email co-chairs Suzanne Lake at slake@ucanr.edu and Rosalinda Ruiz at rlruiz@ucanr.edu.

 

UC ANR Staff Assembly to reimburse staff members to grow food

UC ANR Staff Assembly is launching ANR Grows 2022. 

The UC ANR Staff Assembly program awards $50 reimbursements to cover the costs of materials and supplies related to growing a food garden. Staff members may submit reimbursement requests beginning Nov. 1, 2021. 

Soil, seeds, transplants, compost and tools are among the gardening supplies that qualify for reimbursement, according to David Alamillo and Vanity Campbell, Staff Assembly Ambassadors for the Second Street Building in Davis.

Applications will be accepted through March 30, 2022, or until funds run out, whichever comes first. Funding is limited for this popular annual program. 

For more information and to apply, please see the ANR Grows application form at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Staff_Assembly/files/360135.pdf.

 

ANR Staff Assembly seeks active members

The mission of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) Staff Assembly is to cultivate satisfied, dedicated and professional staff and to work with UC ANR Senior Leadership and other members of the ANR community to promote the interest and welfare of all staff employees. The Staff Assembly Council represents all UC ANR staff – full-time, part- time, limited-term, contract, career, represented, unrepresented and contingent employees.  Members of the council seek staff input on policies, processes and programs, and serve in an advisory capacity to UC ANR leadership, giving staff a collective voice on issues of concern. The council offers wellness programs, educational reimbursements, the ANR Grows program, and ambassadors for each ANR location. 

For Staff Assembly to be successful, volunteers are needed on the council.

Are you interested in:

• Building leadership skills?
• Offering opinions and recommendations to senior leadership?
• Fostering an understanding of ANR's mission?
• Helping ANR staff members further their career advancement?

If so, please consider being nominated for one of the following vacant positions.

Jr. Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) delegate (Two-year term and employee must be unrepresented)

Delegates for this position should demonstrate the following attributes:

• Possess a broad knowledge and understanding of the University of California system.
• Understand concerns and issues faced by staff.
• Have ability to consider and speak to issues from various perspectives.
• Make a commitment to attend and participate in quarterly CUCSA meetings and committees.
• Have full support from supervisor to participate in all CUCSA activities

For more information go to https://cucsa.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2018/01/junior_delegate_info_sheet.pdf

Scribe (one-year commitment)

Duties for this position include:

• Takes and prepares Staff Assembly Council minutes, including capturing action items.
• Provides timely written minutes to all SA Council members. Uses Collaborative Tools to maintain archive of minutes and to disseminate notes. 
• Consults with the chair and vice chair on the appointment of committees and committee members.
• Works with the chair and program chair to send “thank you” letters to guest speakers.
• Assumes other responsibilities as specified elsewhere in the bylaws or as requested by the chair.
• This is a 2.5 to 5 hour per month time commitment, depending on time of year and voluntary extra activities with the SAC.

Communications chair/coordinator (one-year commitment)

Duties for this position include:

• Serves as a liaison between Staff Assembly Council and all UC ANR staff to promote and advocate improved communication and interaction.
• Maintains and updates website as needed to reflect current and accurate information.
• Promotes UC ANR Staff Assembly events and programs as needed and works in conjunction with appropriate workgroup or committees to disseminate appropriate promotions.
• Creates and manages social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• Attends Monthly Staff Assembly Council meetings, bi-annual meetings and annual ambassador meetings.
• Assumes other responsibilities as specified elsewhere in the bylaws or as needed.
• This is 5-10 hour per month time commitment, depending on time of year and voluntary extra activities with the SAC.

For more information, please contact your local ambassador or go to our website:  http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu.

 

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