A-1 and A-3 assemblies are seeking respect

If you have never heard of the A-1 or A-3 assemblies, count yourself as one of the majority. The assemblies, which can be likened to the Faculty Senate in nature, represent many of the thousands of University staff members. Although "A-1" and "A-3" classifications really represent staff pay designations -- faculty members are "A-2s" -- their assemblies deal with all types of University and staff issues. The A-3 Assembly was recently saved from an 8-year slump by Rochelle Fuller, the current assembly chairperson. She began to pursue the idea of restarting the Assembly while working in the president's office in July 1992. "After I did some research [on the Assembly] I went around telling people I was starting it up again and asking if they wanted to help," Fuller said. Four months later, 15 A-3s met for the first time to re-establish the Assembly, said Fuller, who works in library development. Since then, the Assembly has flourished. An executive board was elected last May, and subcommittees including Career Development and Enhancement, Peer to Peer Mentoring, Communications and Employee Recognition have already begun tackling issues important to A-3 staff members. A-3s, staff members who are paid on a weekly basis, can be found in almost all University departments, Fuller said. The Assembly has sponsored motivational speakers, resume workshops, employee rights workshops and a number of social events for A-3s throughout campus. "We want to empower A-3s to help themselves with personal growth and upward mobility," Fuller said. The monthly A-3 newsletter, a product of the Communication Committee, informs staff of important issues, announces events and sometimes serves as a survey tool. This month's newsletter, Fuller said, includes a survey on pay equity, an issue with which University staff, faculty and administrators on all levels are concerned. Fuller said the regeneration of the Assembly has been a huge success, gaining recognition from not only A-3s, but administrators and faculty as well. "When people plan things at the University, they now think of involving A-3s," Fuller said. While the A-3 Assembly has just recently been re-established, the A-1 Assembly, which represents monthly-paid staff, has been going strong for many years. Assembly Chairperson Carol Kontos-Cohen, human resources director for the Office of University Life, said she believes the Assembly's main purpose is to facilitate communication. "The A-1 assembly is a network for communication for the professional administrative staff of the University," Kontos-Cohen said. The Assembly has sponsored forums for A-1s to voice their opinions on many University issues, including meetings with the Presidential Search Committee and the Commission on Strengthening the Community. In addition, Kontos-Cohen said, the Assembly is sponsoring an education fair for all University employees, to inform them of the part-time educational opportunities of which they can take advantage. Both assemblies have e-mail addresses to which complaints, comments, problems and questions can be sent. Both Kontos-Cohen and Fuller said they are supportive of the recommendations concerning staff members made by the Commission on Strengthening the Community in its preliminary report. The report offers suggestions on improving the quality of work life, and also suggests that "University employees be referred to to by their employment status, not their pay categories." Neither Kontos-Cohen nor Fuller has succeeded in finding other names for their assemblies. But Fuller said she does not believe a mere name change is enough to improve employee morale and quality of work life. "Penn is a very classist place to work," Fuller said. "Getting rid of names will hopefully break down some barriers, but changing the names isn't enough to get people to think differently." Fuller said this can only be done by sensitivity and diversity training. In order to solicit feedback from its members, the A-3 Assembly is sponsoring a week of "brown-bag lunches" at which members can offer comments and suggestions on the Commission report to the Assembly board. Suggestions will be passed on to the Commission for consideration in their final report. Kontos-Cohen said she is hopeful that the Commission's recommendations will then become "part of the daily fabric of the place, not just some ad-hoc committee."

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