Posts Tagged: Staff Assembly

Meet your Staff Assembly Council during Lunch and Learns at South Coast, Kearney, Hopland

Sessions include free lunch, brief presentation on Staff Assembly and a tour or hike

Your UC ANR Staff Assembly Council is hitting the road this spring!

All UC ANR staff are invited to meet Council members and learn about Staff Assembly and how we're working to elevate the employee experience through our Wellness Reimbursement Program, Educational Reimbursement Program, Ambassadors Program and more.

Plus, find out how you can join and support our team, and help your colleagues in those efforts!

The three in-person sessions, which each begin at noon and include a free lunch, brief presentation and an optional tour or hike, are:

March 28: South Coast Research and Extension Center (Irvine) - THANKS FOR COMING!

April 11: Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (Parlier) - THANKS FOR COMING!

May 2: Hopland Research and Extension Center (Hopland) - REGISTRATION CLOSES APRIL 24

Lunch is provided, but staff will need approval from supervisors to attend and fund their own travel to and from the session.

Space is limited, so registration is required; please fill out this form to register.

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.

 

Read more