THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

STAFF SENATE

(NORMAN CAMPUS)

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Chair Joan Koos called the meeting to order at 1:35 p.m. in the Scholars Room of the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

Officers present — Joan Koos, Chair; Karla Woodfork, Recording Secretary

Officers absent — Betty Love, Chair-Elect; Debbie Copp, Immediate Past Chair

Staff present — Barbara Perry, Administrative Coordinator; Shanika Bivines, Administrative Assistant

Representatives present — Hourly Employees Council: Cheryl Barton, Carolyn Irons, Debbie Blevins, Karen Stark, David Houck, Cindy Goode, Ed Fontaine, Patsy Montoya, Robert Murphy; Informational Staff Association: Susan Lauterbach, Kevin Jarnagin, Elaine Bradshaw, Chris Cook, Annette Schwiebert; Organizational Staff Council: Tina Ledgerwood, Matt Berry, Linda McCarty, Kristi Wright; Administrative Staff Council: Sue-Anna Miller, Deborah Wollenberg

Representatives absent — Hourly Employees Council: Pam Shoopman; Informational Staff Association: Sophia Morren; Organizational Staff Council: Jannie Porter; Administrative Staff Council: Deborah Marsh

Guests present — Julius Hilburn, Human Resources; Nick Kelly, Human Resources; Lezlie Pilkington, Administrative Affairs

UPDATE ON BENEFITS BY JULIUS HILBURN AND NICK KELLY, HUMAN RESOURCES

Chair Joan Koos welcomed members and guests to the meeting and got the meeting underway by turning it over to Director of Human Resources Julius Hilburn who attended to update the group regarding health care. Julius said there had been a lot of discussion about health care over the last several months. He said HR meets regularly with the Employee Benefits Committee which is made up of representatives from all the governance groups from all three campuses. There are a couple of questions HR is asked repeatedly. “What can the University do about the high cost of dependant coverage; and is the University going to stay with Aetna or go back to Health Choice?” He addressed those questions.

Julius said they had looked at what OU does in comparison to what other peer institutions do. There are some major differences. OU pays 100% of the premium for the employee’s coverage, but nothing toward the cost for their dependents. That is a fairly unusual approach, but OU has practiced that for 30 or 40 years. We are now getting concerns expressed to us from faculty and staff because it costs around $700 a month to cover a family and that is a barrier to attracting and retaining people who have families, so we have to deal with this issue to be competitive. Julius said we also spend a lot more on retirement benefits. We are the only University in the Big XII that pays 100% for the employee’s medical, 100% for dental and then pays 100% of a retiree’s medical premium once they retire. Finding a solution will not be easy. HR has had discussions with several of the governance groups for feedback. Julius said they have been working with a consultant, Mercer, and have given them guidelines so Mercer can come up with a “strawman,” which is a model of a contribution strategy. The strawman will draw reaction from the EBC that will help us understand what is realistic. Julius said he would explain the strawman that Mercer has presented. He cautioned that the strawman was not a final proposal, but merely a starting point to generate discussion and analyze tradeoffs that might be required.

The strawman concept has a free plan for employees with a slightly higher deductible than the current plan, about $10 higher office and pharmacy co-pays. It would use the same networks as we currently use. That is the free plan. By keeping a free plan we are able to address the issue of having a plan that is affordable for lower-paid employees. The plans most people are in today are the HMO options. In the strawman concept, those plans would require a buy-up for employee-only coverage costing about $35 a month. If we do nothing, in 2007 the employee will pay nothing and the cost for family coverage will be around $700. Families will pay 70% of the cost of the plan. With the strawman concept, there will be a free plan, and it would establish a family plan that would cost around $500 a month because it would collect premiums on the other plans. Julius emphasized again that this was only a strawman concept. Discussions are ongoing and nothing has been finalized.

Julius said OU would also be making a decision whether to stay with Aetna or to go back to the State’s Health Choice plan. He said these companies were really the only two viable options for OU. An extensive request for proposal was done in 2005 and every company who did business in the state was invited to bid on our business and the only two that were close in price were Aetna and the State’s Health Choice plan. Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the others were totally out of the ballpark in terms of cost when compared. Julius said no matter which one we choose, there will be people who will be disadvantaged by one or the other. The choice won’t be made until quotes are received on the various plans.

Regarding timelines: Health Choice makes their rates public in late August. OU has been with Aetna long enough now so that they will have sufficient data regarding OU’s experience, and about mid-summer, we should get bids from Aetna as well. In August the EBC will know of any changes proposed by the State and by Aetna, and EBC will make a recommendation to the President; in September the Regents will approve a health insurance plan. Enrollment will take place in October and November. Julius said he did not know whether there would be any change in the contribution strategy this year. He said he would update EBC and Staff Senate as quickly as possible when they are close to recommendations or when they reach decisions. He then opened the floor for questions.

A member asked how dental coverage would be affected if we return to Health Choice. Julius said although Health Choice has a dental plan, he did not think it was a good option and we might look at going back to Delta Dental. Another member asked if there would be HMO coverage with Health Choice. Julius confirmed they do offer an HMO option. A member asked about out-of-state travel. Julius said Health Choice had created a plan to cover people out of state, although it had a hefty price tag (40 – 50% higher). A member asked why it costs more to insure OU as compared to other universities in the Big XII. Julius said our total cost, the amount the University pays, plus how much the employee pays, is right in the middle of the rest of the Big XII. Our cost is not really any higher. Where we are different is how we choose to pay for it. OU pays 100% for the employee for both medical and dental, plus we cover our retirees. Julius remarked that retiree medical coverage was one of our most valuable benefits. In closing Julius said he wanted people to realize that these discussions will be ongoing, and by all means, the issue is not a done deal. He asked people to contact him or the Employee Benefits Committee representatives, Nancy Matthews or Kim Haddad if they had further questions.

CHAIR’S COMMUNICATIONS

Chair Joan Koos remarked that Staff Week had gone very well. She thanked everyone for their participation and for the time and effort it took to put it all together. Joan said she hoped the members were able to attend the recent Town Hall meeting with President Boren. Shortly after that meeting, another email went out on behalf of the President related to the scholarship information that he presented at the meeting. The web site for financial aid is https://finaidapps2.ou.edu/forms/soonerheritage/. The President indicated that 100% of students who applied to the Sooner Heritage Scholarship fund who had a parent employed at OU were given assistance last year. Topics addressed at the Town Hall meeting were: shared leave and the availability of funding and hours; salary compression; insurance; raises; and the legislative session. [NOTE: A transcript of the Town Hall meeting will be posted when available; an email will be sent out to notify members of its availability.]

Joan said Staff Senate had received a response from Senator Cal Hobson as a reply to the resolution that was sent to him last month. It read: “Dear Staff Senate, I received the Resolution from the members of The University of Oklahoma Staff Senate. Thank you for this nice recognition. I understand the importance of staff in any institution and know that their work is vital for its survival and success. Thanks again. Sincerely, Cal.”

ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF APRIL 19, 2006

On motion by Matt Berry, the minutes of the April 19, 2006, meeting were accepted as written.

OTHER COMMUNICATIONS

Hourly Employees Council:  Member Cheryl Barton reported that HEC did not have a quorum for their last meeting. President Pam Shoopman had sent an email asking for members’ opinions regarding the constitutional change. Cheryl reported that everyone was in favor of the change. She said one staff member sent a revised suggestion which she would report on later during the meeting. HEC was contacted about the loss of free internet dial up from home that OU has made available in the past.

Joan said this issue was discussed at the Town Hall meeting. She said the individual who raised the issue was concerned that that the problem was not going to be fixed. President Boren said the decision whether to make the repairs to solve the problem had not been made. The cost to repair the hardware could cost as much as $200,000 to $300,000. IT is aware that there are people who use the service and they are trying to determine what the needs are.

Administrative Staff Council: President Sue-Anna Miller reported that ASC met on May 10^th and honored ASC’s award recipient, Bob Goodwin. Nick Kelly was their guest speaker. He talked about AFLAC insurance. ASC completed their elections for 2006-07. Sue-Anna said she would continue as President. Rennie Cook will be Vice President, and Lezlie Pilkington will serve as Secretary. The group discussed changes they would like to make to the Food Fair, namely that they may go with two sessions at 11:15 and 12:00 instead of having three sessions. They would like to keep ticket prices at $5.

Organizational Staff Council: President Tina Ledgerwood reported that OSC met May 4. OSC held their elections. Linda McCarty will be President; Cathy Brister, President-Elect; Kristi Wright and Barbara Bledsoe, Activities Coordinators; and Nancy Matthews, Secretary. They discussed the constitutional revision.

Informational Staff Association:  Member Elaine Bradshaw said ISA met on May 3^rd and continued to discuss staff promotion funding. They will continue to do more information gathering. Currently there is University funding for faculty promotions but none for staff promotions. It is left to the individual departments to find funding for promotions. Salary compression was discussed. They also discussed the online Staff Week survey; Dan Hough is working on that. ISA filled its vacant positions.

OU Staff Week Committee: Member Linda McCarty said the Staff Week Committee held its end-of-year business luncheon meeting earlier that day and discussed an online Staff Week survey. Dan Hough was elected Chair for the upcoming year.

REPORTS

The following reports were linked to the agenda:

Staff Senate Foundation account report.

Memorandum from Budget Council Chair Hugh Benson regarding FY 2007 Budget Priorities.

OLD BUSINESS

Discussion of constitutional revision proposed by the Administrative Staff Council: ASC’s motion was attached to the agenda. Joan asked each president to report for their member group. Cheryl Barton reported for the HEC. She had reported previously that one member had sent in a suggested revision. She read it. “In the expected absence of all members from the same group, a proxy may be appointed by that member group president to vote in his/her place. The member group president shall notify a Staff Senate Officer of the identity of the proxy prior to a Staff Senate meeting.” Elaine Bradshaw reported for the ISA. She said the group had some concern, but felt the recommendation should go forward. Sue-Anna said the ASC reviewed the wording the Health Sciences Center uses but did not make any changes to their motion. She thought the suggested wording read by Cheryl basically said the same thing as ASC’s motion. She said with ASC having only two representatives on Staff Senate, it was conceivable that at some meeting neither would be able to attend, and ASC would like to have some provision so that a proxy or alternate would be able to attend. Tina reported that OSC discussed the motion and had some issues. They are concerned that they are giving away votes. There are six OSC representatives. If all of them are absent, they trade six votes for one. She said in a catastrophic event, you could end up with only four proxies. She asked if there were significant numbers of members absent, should we should have a provision to table an important issue until more members could be present.

Joan then opened the floor for discussion. Since Section 4 of the Constitution deals mainly with absences, it was suggested that we create a new Section 5 to deal with proxies. There were no objections to this idea. Members discussed the difference between an alternate and a proxy. A proxy is appointed to vote in a member’s place – exactly as the member would have voted; an alternate has a little more leeway, although all representatives are elected to vote as their member group has directed them to vote. As either the proxy or alternate, that is their charge. However, new information can surface at Staff Senate meetings which has not been available at the member group meetings that can change a representative’s mind. A member commented that in such a case, a vote could be tabled.

The suggested revision underwent various changes and a lengthy discussion. Sue-Anna Miller read the final version. “In the event of the absence of all representatives from the same group, a proxy may be appointed by an officer of the member group to vote in the president’s place. A member group or other representative shall notify a Staff Senate Officer or the Staff Senate Office of the identity of the proxy prior to the Staff Senate meeting.” She moved for approval of the revised motion. The motion was seconded and passed on a show of hands.

NEW BUSINESS

Consideration of Staff Senate’s 35^th Anniversary celebration: Joan said that Staff Senate would celebrate its 35^th anniversary on November 11^th and the group should begin thinking about the type of event it would like to hold. Tina Ledgerwood made a motion to appoint an ad hoc committee to discuss the event. The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote. Joan asked for volunteers. It was decided that a volunteer from each of the member groups would be ideal. Linda McCarty volunteered for OSC; Sue-Anna Miller volunteered for ASC and Annette Schwiebert volunteered for ISA. HEC will provide a member.

ADJOURNMENT

As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:03 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Perry

Administrative Coordinator

Karla Woodfork

Recording Secretary