Update…
Just a few things:
– The winter vacations should all be bid by this point. We had some calls in the Union Hall concerning the bidding..the usual ones about overlap, timeliness of approval, use of deficit reduction in conjunction with requests, etc. Surprisingly though, there were far less problems raised than I had anticipated. If you have difficulties or concerns still hanging out there in this area please give us a call ASAP so we can get them addressed.
– The next Labor/Mangement Meeting will be held on 15 November 2011 @ 1015hrs. If you have an issue that you would like considered please contact me within the next week. I can be reached on my cell @ 574-8229. Also, speaking of Labor/Mgmt Mtgs: I would like to begin bringing a guest or two to the meetings. We did this in the past at two of our meetings when we were in the process of closing Grounds. Two of our DAs from the cottages participated with great success. If you are interested call me or e-mail me at jim@csealocal425.org.
– Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) update: There was concern and confusion over the number of days that had to be given in order to utilize PEP. The contract language was evidently not clear between the bargaining parties so the interpretation of the agreement was different. So here’s the final decision as agreed upon in Albany: Members can give either 3 days vacation/PL, valued at $500, OR 6 days vacation/PL, valued at $1000 towards reducing their health care deduction…and remember, you can use vacation, PL, or a combination of the two. Michelle Owcarz is the contact person in Bldg 1 if you have questions on this program (517-2065). For most of our members, if you have some time you can afford to give towards PEP, it is really a good idea and something you should take advantage of.
– We are in the process of putting together a Local 425 Newsletter. This will give us another venue to report and relay important information to the membership of 425. This will not be an easy task. I think sometimes we lose perspective on the geographical area that our DDSO covers….seven counties in Western New York. That’s a tremendous area. We’re in the cities, suburbs, and some of the most remote rural areas in the State! Communication is vital, not only from management down to the workers, but also between homes…between the staff who show up every day to do their job, and who do it well in the face of so much demand. All seven counties are in this together, with common challenges….from Batavia to Boston, Lockport to Little Valley….you can name any number you want, any site you can think of…we have commonality, problems and concerns, news and successes, that we need to share with each other. So I’m asking for contributions here in the way of input. If you’re willing to get involved with this project, from ideas to writing, by all means get involved! Call me…e-mail me…stop me on the street if you want. Your knowledge..experience..advice..and most importantly your participation is needed. Please step up and join the group for the betterment of all of us.
That’s enough for now I suppose. Thanks again for your hard work and dedication…not only to the job you do, but also for the dedication you show towards one another. It escapes me for the moment who said this, but the adage still rings true: If you won’t stand up for anyone else when they are troubled, then who do you suppose will stand up for you when trouble knocks on your door? We have each other…and that’s a powerful force.
Seamus (Jim)
Deficit Reduction Agreement clarification
It’s been brought to my attention today that there are still many concerns and misunderstandings over the Deficit Reduction Program Leave (furlough) agreement, so I thought I should explain it just a bit more to clarify portions. First of all, the agreement doesn’t dictate how or when you are to use your furlough time…it does make suggestions of how you might get the most out of it if you intend to use it in a block of time. It does NOT say that you have to use it in 15 minute blocks. Also, as for second vacations: second vacations are not out of the question, they just cannot be bid on the vacation bid sheet along with the first vacation request…and that provision only applies to this one bid cycle because of the short time frame we’ve been given to get everyone their furlough time. Second vacations can be requested and will be given consideration based on available time.
As for Day Hab staff: There has been no final decision on how, or even if, the deficit reduction program will impact the vacations at this point. Because of the mix of CSEA and PEF personnel, and the current vacation bidding agreements in the Day Habs, we will be getting with the PEF reps and HR to get it figured out.
This agreement was the result of hard decisions over a very difficult issue. We sought input from our membership, looking for ideas and suggestions, and many members responded. It was from that input that we based our decisions. I hope those few points clear up some of this for you. No doubt rumors and misinformation will be floated around, so please give me a call if you have more concerns or questions.
Seamus
Ruffled feathers….oops
It has been brought to my attention, yesterday, that some of my comments on OUR website have ruffled feathers, somewhat, with the DDSO management folks. Well, for what it’s worth, that was not the intent on my part…but so be it. My intent, and my responsibility, is to keep the CSEA members informed of activities and actions that directly or indirectly affect their working lives. I take that responsibility very seriously. I also have an obligation to survey the membership for ideas, comments, views, and suggestions on issues No excuses, no wavering, and no apologies. I welcome the idea of working cooperatively with any body, DDSO management, CSEA, PEF, or other entity for the sake of our hard working members.
By the way…the follow-up meeting on this furlough program (DRPL) takes place this morning at 1000 hrs. Hopefully we can get past the personal stuff and get something accomplished. This is an issue to be dealt with now…we’re on borrowed time. I will write results of the meeting later.
Thanks for patience….and as always…thanks for your dedication to duty!
Seamus (Jim)
09 Sep Meeting Update
Evening all…
Rick Ortel and I did meet this morning with our Director, Deputy Director, and Linda Barone (by phone), our personnel Director. The meeting itself lasted approximately forty five minutes and our only topic was the furlough issue. We, on the CSEA side, stated that we saw no alternative to ET/OT to ensure everyone getting their furlough days off. Management is of the opinion that we can get this thing done with little, if any, ET/OT. One idea that Mark Lankes floated was limiting winter vacations to two weeks instead of the current three week cap when bidding for your time. After everyone got their vacations in we would then bid, by seniority most likely, on furlough days off…most likely in whole segments (five days), unless the member chose otherwise. I see problems with that type of system in that people who wanted a longer time away, and had the time on the books, wouldn’t be able to get it….so that idea in my mind is outta here! However this thing falls on us, I think it’s important to maintain the cap that we now have in place. Three weeks is not unreasonable…you guys work hard not only for the money but for the time off that is justly coming to you. God knows it takes a minor miracle in most worksites to get off even one accrual day outside of the vacation we bid on, so we have to hold that somewhat sacred.
Now….ideas folks….I need them because we have to come up with useable, sensible alternatives rather than waiting for the decisions to be made for us. Call me at either the office: 675-7570…. or my cell: 574-8229. You also can e-mail me at this address: jim@csealocal425.org. I have a follow-up meeting scheduled for next Wednesday morning at 1000 hrs. and we have to have something to lay out on the table. We don’t have a ton of time here as you know…they’re already into us for the money! Let’s get together and get this going. I will be calling some of the contact folks out there, as well as stewards, for ideas.
I’ll write more when we start getting information and input from people. In the meantime….call !! (thanks….)
later,
Seamus (Jim)
A.M. Meeting…Friday 09 Sep @ 0830
There are oh so many questions around this furlough issue! The meeting I have been invited to will include myself, Rick Ortel (CSEA), Kirk Maurer (Director), Mark Lankes (Deputy Director), & Bob Clemens (DDPS4). The purpose of this meeting is to discuss in detail how this deficit reduction is suppose to be managed…for instance how we are to get this time off, any order to requesting the time (seniority…single days vs. blocks of days, etc.)….you know, all the “little” things. Management is still believing that this can be accomplished without incurring additional ET or OT. I can’t wait to hear how they think that’s even remotely possible! At any rate, should be interesting to say the least.
In the last three days, as you can imagine, I’ve had countless phone calls, both to the office and to my cell, about this issue. I intend to get answers to those questions, as well as a few I have of my own. I will be updating this tomorrow…so definitely tune in for the latest info.
Later….and thanks.
Seamus (Jim)
Post-Ratification….here we go….!!
Okay everyone, like it or not the Contract, as we all are aware, has been ratified and is now in effect until 01 April 2016. I will not spend time here with my opinions of right or wrong, good or bad, etc. But there are some immediate challenges to meeting the State’s conditions, specifically with implementing the Furloughs they’ve demanded. There’s a lot of noise out there about how it’s to be done and what the member can do or not do. Truth is this: confusion continues to exist from everywhere and the picture isn’t very clear, not even in this office. So, I’ll lay out to the best of my knowledge some do’s, don’ts, truths & myths.
Number One: It is up to each member to approach their supervisor to discuss and request their time off on furlough. Your request has to be submitted on a Form 69. You can request time in blocks ranging from 15 minutes ( I certainly would not recommend that!) up to five days in a row.
Number Two: Next, your supervisor has to consider and take action on that request. Seeing as we are responsible for “ensuring continuation of State services”, it seems to me that refusal can only be based on whether there is already someone off on FURLOUGH at the same time you have requested. If that is the case, you will no doubt be denied that particular time off. But remember: the State (DDSO) MUST make time available for these furloughs for each and every CSEA member! So…request wisely to avoid conflict with other furlough requests from your peers. This means we will all have to work together as a team…and of course we already do that without a problem…right?!
Number Three: MYTH: “If you have a scheduled vacation you must use a portion of that vacation for your Furlough. That statement is WRONG! You are not required to use any portion of your vacation to accomodate this program. That choice is clearly up to you. There are advantages however. Let’s take a “for instance” here: let’s suppose, for example, you have a three week vacation coming. You could, if you wanted to, convert up to five days of that vacation to the furlough, therefore giving you back five days of vacation to “bank”. Now, you can elect to give those five days to the PEP program (Productivity Enhancement Program). That will bring your health care contribution costs down considerably. (If you are unaware of the PEP program or need specifics of how it works…call me at 675-7570 or my cell @ (716) 574-8229 and I will be happy to fill you in.) Example aside now, understand that this DDSO, along with the other twelve DDSO’s, are no doubt going to push hard in trying to get folks to take these furloughs as a piece of their vacation. But you know the truth here. Obviously we want this place to continue to function as best as it can, given the present circumstances of short-staffing and all…..but we did not create these conditions and we did not ask for these furloughs….the State Negotiators did on behalf of Management! We all know, from the Worsites to Albany that this will incur countless hours of Extra time and Overtime…so be it! Do Not Give Up Your RIGHTS !!!! My opinion kind of goes like this: the State is reaching into our pockets ladies and gentlemen, and that is what it is and we can’t stop that in this instance….but we sure as hell won’t let them whip us while they do it!
Bottom line …. nothing is at this point set in stone. OPWDD has issued certain guidelines, and of course Central Office for OPWDD is suggesting that management at all levels should “encourage” our members to do as I cited in Number Three above. If you feel harrassed or intimidated to use your furlough time other than by your choice…call me! We’ll discuss your situation and take appropriate measures on your behalf. As new information or such is received at this office I will pass that along to all our members, including posting information and guidance here in the President’s Corner. I know this whole furlough deal is confusing…believe me, it’s certainly not crystal clear here either. We’ll get through it as best we can.
I gotta split… As always: thanks for all you do. With all the bull…t around here, you guys don’t just keep this place afloat, you do work far and above the call of duty.
More to come…later
Seamus (Jim)
More, More, More…….
This is what is being asked from all of us…direct care as well as support personnel……more, more, more…with less resources (meaning workers)! Mandations are through the roof…relief is not in sight and nobody can (or Will) say when it will be in sight. It’s absolute bull…..! And it’s the prime topic on tomorrow’s Labor/Managment Meeting because we want answers. No…we DEMAND answers! I’ll guarentee you there is no-one up in Bldg 1 working mandatory overtime, or coming to relieve someone out there who is. And you know, even if you’re fortunate enough to be working in a home where mandatory overtime is not a problem, I’d be willing to bet that there are issues either related to overtime or affecting your day to day working conditions in a “not so positive way” let’s say…
Is anyone out there tired of getting dumped on? Anyone feeling slighted, misused, taken advantage of? I mean I hate to sound all negative here, but it’s hard to find any silver lining in this storm we work in.
We need to effect change around this place…to get things back in order…to have our voices heard, respected, and responded to positively to improve our working lives, thus improving the quality of care that we provide. I need to hear from you folks…lots of you, because there IS strength in numbers. We know that poor working conditions are to be found in the majority of our worksites, and we want management to know that we know, and we have the evidence to prove it. It will be a topic of discussion tomorrow and I’m sure for some time to come after that. We can’t let this slide…we won’t.
Get involved…join the campaign to return fairness and dignity back to our worksites…call me:
office: (716) 675-7570
cell: (716) 574-8229
fax: (716) 675-7718
email: jim@csealocal425.org
We need activists and action NOW….please don’t put it off.
Stay tuned….. and thanks for the job you do!
Seamus (Jim)