After a lot of time it is finally review and vote on contract proposals for the 2018-2020 contract. Unless there is objections I will sent out an email a week from today with a survey monkey with anonymous voting in one week Tuesday that needs to be completed no later than 1430 on Friday.
I will have another Union member look at Survey Monkey to establish 2 things... 1) It is anonymous and 2) The outcome.
The changes... I will attach the actual PDFs below. Changes will be in Red. Commentary will be in Blue.
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In Article 4 -
COLA
2018 2%
2019 1%
2020 1%
and Section 5
Section 5. Shift Differential. Employees who work all the 2nd half of the second 2nd shift (B shift) and all of the third shift (C shift) shall be paid a shift differential of $.50 per hour, in addition to their regular base hourly rate of pay, for all hours actually worked during that time. Shift differential will not apply to any hours paid as sick leave, vacation, or hours paid for time not actually worked. Shift differential does not apply to travel time.
So B shift gets differential for all shift.
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In Article 5 -
Section 2. Workweek. The present workweek of forty (40) hours in each seven (7) day period is the standard used for purposes of overtime computation. The workweek shall begin at 0000 on Monday and end at 2359 Sunday. However, all hours worked in any continuous period of time beginning prior to 2359 on Sunday and extending past 0000 on Monday will be considered hours worked on Sunday. Also, all hours worked by any third shift (C shift) staff during any part of the third shift (C shift) period including any continuous period of time extending past 0000 on Monday will be considered hours worked on Sunday.
This has been the standard for a while... If you start your work seek on Sunday and work into Monday it is hours worked on Sunday for end of week things.
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ARTICLE 7
WORKING IN A HIGHER CLASSIFICATION
When an employee is temporarily assigned to perform duties by the Employer which are not contemplated within the scope or function of the employee’s own classification, and are the duties of an established classification with a higher maximum rate of pay than the employee’s regular assigned pay grade, and the temporary assignment is for a period of one workweek or more, the employee shall receive the following a 5 percent adjustment in addition to their regular base hourly rate of pay while holding this temporary assignment:.
Advanced Communications Operator 5% adjustment
Shift Supervisor 8% adjustment
If you get promoted to ACO you get a minimum 5% increase in pay (same as now) and in 2018 if you become a supervisor you get a minimum 8% increase in pay (right now is 5%).
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Article 9
Overtime
Section 3. Probationary Employee. A newly hired probationary shift employee may be eligible for overtime upon successful completion of initial training.
This is just a clarification of language - If you get promoted you are already eligible for overtime.
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Article 10
Time Trade
h) An on-call employee may not work trade for another employee at the same time they are on-call.
h)i) Any time trade not completed will require the application of Article 26, Leave of Absence for the employee off trade.
This is just putting formally in writing what has already been in practice. Trade has to be an exchange of services between employees, in order to be legal. If someone who is working trade calls in sick, the scheduled employee's leave time is used and that employee has the use of sick time on record. This keeps Metro from having any part in direct dealing of the exchange of services between employees. Metro only has the agreement that time is covered by employee originally scheduled.
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Article 12
Seniority
b) Job Classification Seniority: Seniority within the job classification shall be deemed to be that portion of the employee’s total length of continuous service accrued continuously in a classification above or equal to a specific job classification.
Correcting some wording.
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Article 14
Promotion
Section 3. Probation.
a) A promotion shall not be deemed complete until a period of probation not to exceed sixtwelve (612) months has elapsed. Should a probationary employee be absent from the job for more than thirty (30) days, the probationary period will be extended for a period of time equal to the absence in order to enable the employee to complete his/her full probationary period.
Section 4. Step Placement. When an employee is promoted, the employee shall be placed into the pay step of the new position which is at least, and closest to, the following 5 percentages higher than the pay step received prior to the promotion:
Advanced Communications Operators 5%
Shift Supervisor 8% .
If the maximum pay step of the new position is less than the 5 percentage increase identified in this section higher than the pay step received prior to the promotion, the employee will be placed at the maximum step with the lower percentage increase. The employee will not be eligible for a step increase upon completion of probation, but will be eligible for step progression in the normal prescribed intervals and procedures as defined in Article 4, Wages.
Switching the probation period from 6 months to 12 months on promotions and applying the 5%/8% change.
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Article 19
Section 4. Suspension, demotion, and discharge may be the subject of a grievance as set forth in Article 2019, Grievance Procedure.
Fixed a typo.
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Article 24
Vacation
Section 3. Accrual Schedule.
a) An employee shall receive a full or prorated vacation benefit with full pay based on the following schedule, and each new level in the schedule shall become effective in the pay period in which the employee’s employment date occurs and available for use on the first day of the following pay period:
Years Completed Hours per Pay Period
0 but less than 3 3.15
3 but less than 4 3.75
4 but less than 5 4.16
5 but less than 10 4.65
10 but less than 11 5.00
11 but less than 12 5.30
12 but less than 13 5.55
13 but less than 14 5.89
14 but less than 15 6.25
15 but less than 16 6.50
16 but less than 17 6.81
17 but less than 18 7.16
18 but less than 19 7.39
19 years and over 7.75
More vacation is good.
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Article 25
Sick Leave
Section 7 Last paragraph
If the employee is absent due to an FMLA qualified circumstance, the paid or unpaid sick leave absence will be designated as FMLA leave and treated in accordance with Article 265 Leave of Absence of this agreement.
Correction of a typo.
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Article 26
Leave of Absence
First paragraph
Requests for unpaid leave will only be considered in the event that the employee has used all available paid leave time; e.g. i.e., vacation
Apparently lawyers care about e.g. and i.e. use. Corrected typo.
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Article 28
Funeral Leave
Section 1. Leave.
Employees are permitted to use up to four (4) days of their available sick leave for attendance at any funeral service plus reasonable travel time. Use of sick leave within this four-day per-funeral limitation includes additional time for funeral planning and conducting estate business following that funeral when the employee’s non-professional time is needed for these purposes,An employee who has to make arrangements for or attend a funeral, or has to attend to estate business following the funeral, during his/her regularly schedule work hours shall be permitted to use up to four (4) days of sick leave for that funeral.
Basically we rewrote the first paragraph. Going to a funeral here in town, just because you want to go does not automatically mean an excused absence. It clarifies that it is for planning and conducting estate business and going to a funeral. I don't know what caused this but Management wanted to limit who we could take funeral leave for (immediate family or spouses family) and we objected. We found this to be a compromise. There was an incident apparently of someone wanting a lot of time off for an acquaintance or to go to a service in another area of a stranger "for support". I have no idea, nor do I really worry about it. Basically if one has to plan a funeral or travel for a funeral then up to 4 days is excused without special permission. If one is going to an elementary teacher's funeral here in town that does not include planning if one wants more time off it should be vacation.
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So there you have it... Overall not to many changes, but I feel is a step in a good direction. -
All documents are emailed to you, as well as accessible here... 2018-2020 Proposal
Feel free to ask any questions and let me know what you think.
Jared
