Personal Care Attendant Quality Home Care Workforce Council One Ashburton Place, Room 1109 Boston, MA 02108 General Council Meeting Minutes November 13, 2007 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. 21st floor, Conference Room 3 COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE Joe Bellil, Larry Braman, Eileen Brewster, Liz Casey, Jean McGuire, Paul Spooner COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE TELEPHONICALLY COMMITTEE CHAIR Assistant Secretary Jean McGuire NOTE TAKER Rachel Richards AGENDA SETTING No issues were added to previously-issued agenda Agenda Topics The Chair welcomed attendees and the Council members introduced themselves. Election Review Ballots were counted on November 7, 2007 at the AAA office in Boston. As the PCA Workforce Council’s delegate to the process, Mr. Spooner provided an update on the events of the day. Mr. Spooner explained that the AAA ran the counting of the ballots efficiently, and the count took about 3 hours. A copy of the AAA’s certification of the result of the election was provided to Council members and made available to the general public attending the meeting. The Chair commented on the respectfulness and transparency of the entire process. Ms. Casey commented that she is thrilled about the results of the election. The Chair acknowledged Rebecca Malberg of SEIU who indicated that SEIU is very pleased with the results of the election, and looks forward to working in collaboration with the Council. Lisa Kelleher, a PCA, read a letter from the SEIU to the Council requesting collective bargaining at the Council’s earliest availability. The letter was accompanied by an information request for documents. The Chair thanked Ms. Kelleher, and stated that she is sure that the spirit of collaboration that got us to this point will be the spirit with which we move forward in working together with SEIU. The Chair opened up the discussion for comments to the audience. Bill Henning stated he thinks this is great; and believes this is an important opportunity to improve the program. Approval of Meeting Minutes Ms. Casey made a motion to accept the October 16, 2007 minutes as written. Mr. Braman seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously without further discussion. Collective Bargaining update The Chair explained that the Council will be going into Executive Session at 3:00 PM and will discuss collective bargaining at that time. Preliminary FY 08 budget review and approval The Chair distributed a preliminary budget to the members of the Council and indicated that the budget provides a general framework for how it is anticipated that the Council’s appropriation will be allocated this year. The Chair gave a quick overview of the preliminary budget, including the allocations for Council personnel and related expenses, administrative expenses, contracted services, and IT expenses. The Chair suggested the Council identify a person to work with the Director on the budget, and provide updates to the rest of the Council from time-to-time. Mr. Spooner moved that Joe Bellil be elected as Treasurer for the Council. Ms. Casey seconded the motion. After Mr. Bellil indicated he would be willing to take the position, the motion was unanimously approved. Mr. Spooner moved to accept the preliminary budget, as proposed. Mr. Braman seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously without further discussion. Next Steps in the RFI and staff hiring processes The Chair updated the Council on the staff hiring process, and explained the Council has put forward a candidate for the Secretary’s review. The Secretary delegated the final decision making process to the Chair. The Chair indicated that she is very excited about the candidate, and is hoping the person will be hired by the beginning of December. Mr. Bellil commented on the hiring process, indicating that he believed that the process was helpful in identifying a strong candidate for the position. The Chair discussed the need to secure senior administrative (executive assistant) resources soon, and urged the Council members and audience to refer qualified candidates for positions with the Council. Mr. Spooner asked a question about the Council’s role in hiring positions beyond the Exeecutive Director and a general discussion ensued about this topic. The Chair explained that ultimately the responsibility lies with the Council and asked how much the members want to be involved with the hiring of staff. Ms. Casey commented that the process that was employed for the screening of the candidates for the Director’s position was excellent and suggested that process be continued for future hires. The Chair asked for volunteers to assist in the development of an orientation session for the incoming Director; Ms. Casey and Ms. Brewster volunteered to support this effort. Ms. Richards updated the Council regarding the RFI process; the RFI will be posted on www.comm- pass.com by the end of the week; and the response time will be three weeks. Ms. Casey questioned how the posting will be made available to all interested parties. Ms. Richards explained that once the RFI is posted, Council members can disseminate the link to any and all interested parties. Mr. Spooner questioned whether it is appropriate for Council members to comment on the RFI; Ms. Richards commented that the purpose of the RFI is to gain insight from the community and any potential bidders. The Chair questioned how comments received would be reviewed. After discussion, it was determined that the Recruitment and Retention Subcommittee would be reformed for the purpose of reviewing the comments received, and providing updates to the full Council. Mr. Bellil made a motion that this matter be referred to the Retention and Recruitment Subcommittee. Mr. Spooner seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously without further discussion. Participant selection for the PCA program improvement workgroup The Chair stated that, on October 29, 2007, there was a meeting with parties interested in the MassHealth PCA program and an announcement that a PCA Program Improvement Workgroup would be established. Copies of the presentation used at the meeting were made available to Council members. Several members of the Council were present at the October 29 meeting, and there was discussion about which members of the Council would like to participate in the PCA Workgroup. There was a general discussion about the time commitment necessary to support the Workgroup as well as the anticipated time commitment that would be necessary to support anticipated collective bargaining activities. Ms. Casey and Mr. Spooner voiced their interest in participating in the PCA Program Improvement Workgroup. There was a general discussion about representation of PCAs on the workgroup. Other Ms. Richards stated that the schedule of Council meetings for 2008 was being developed and would be shared with Council members as soon as confirmation is received re: the availability of space. Ms. Malberg requested the opportunity to make a presentation at the next Council meeting regarding collective bargaining in other states and SEIU’s goals for collective bargaining in Massachusetts. The Council agreed to allow SEIU to present. A motion to adjourn the General Meeting and move into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining was made by Mr. Bellil and then seconded by Mr. Spooner. The motion was approved unanimously without further discussion. The general meeting adjourned at 2:55 P.M. 2 Minutes November 13, 2007