Central Table Update 7/27/09
After eight months of negotiations, we have reached a tentative agreement with the State on a new two-year contract.
From the start of bargaining, we have sought to keep state workers on the job serving Oregonians and to ensure that we do not shoulder more than our fair share of the burden necessary to see the State through the worst economic crisis of our lifetime. We feel that this agreement meets those goals.
Here are the highlights:
1. We protected fully paid family medical coverage. The State will pay for premium cost increases of up to 5% in each year. Increases between 5% and 10% will be paid partly by the State and partly from PEBB reserve funds. The state subsidy for part-time employees' health insurance will increase so that part-timers' premium costs do not rise.
2. There will be a one-year step freeze from 9/1/09 through 8/31/10. While this is a significant sacrifice, it is a huge improvement on the two-year step freeze the State had proposed. Employees who receive a step in July or August 2009 will have that step "rolled back" on 9/1/09 and then restored on 9/1/10. They will keep the money they got from the step in their July and August paychecks.
3. We protected the new 10th step. This means that all bargaining unit members will get one step at some point during the life of the contract.
4. There will be no cost of living adjustments during the contract.
5. We will take 10, 12, or 14 furlough days over the next two years. These days will mean real sacrifice, both for workers and for the Oregonians who rely on our services, but the impact will be much less than the 24 days the State had proposed, and less than employees of many other states have taken. Employees earning less than $2,450 a month will take 10 days. Employees earning $2,450 to $3,100 will take 12 days. Employees earning more than $3,100 will take 14 days. While some agencies will implement furlough days on a "floating" basis, in most agencies offices will be closed on the designated furlough dates. Furlough days will be pro-rated for part-time and seasonal employees and will count as time worked for accruals and insurance. A fact sheet with more details on furlough implementation will be available soon.
6. In addition, there are other changes that will benefit members, including a classification study covering support staff and health care positions that must be finished in time to bargain salary rates in 2011 and an extra year of recall rights for laid-off workers.
7. See below for more details about these highlights and other aspects of the tentative agreement.
We will be holding a bargaining conference on Saturday, August 15 for elected bargaining delegates to review the tentative agreement and vote on whether to recommend ratification. To register for the bargaining conference,
download and return this form. Sorry, there is no on-line registration available.
Registration forms must be returned by 5pm on Monday August 3rd.
Following the bargaining conference, all members will receive ratification ballots by mail. You must be a member to vote. If you need a membership application, please check with your union steward or call your
local SEIU office.
As central bargaining team members, we knew from the outset that these would be the toughest negotiations we had ever faced. And they were. But under the circumstances, we believe this settlement, combined with a legislatively approved budget that minimizes layoffs and cuts in services, is a victory for fairness.
We would not have achieved anything like this if we had not contributed our time and voluntary CAPE contributions to elect legislators willing to stand with us to protect services, our jobs, and our rights. We would not be here, either, without support from community allies like AARP, Children First, Oregon PTA, and without the alliances we forged with Oregon's other public sector unions. But there is little doubt about who played the most important role. You did. You
organized worksite unity actions, confronted your agency managers, testified at hearings in Salem and across the state,
lobbied legislators,
marched through the streets of Portland and, finally, generated thousands of phone calls to the Governor. It is because of these actions and our unity that we have reached a tentative agreement that is far better than what we once faced: a full two-year step freeze, thousands of potential layoffs, and 24 furlough days. We are stronger together.
In unity,
Kermit Meling, ODOT; Bill Kinyoun, ODW; Karen Miller, DHS; Theresa Arndt, DOE; Dan Smith, OSH; Dan Ferguson, OYA; Rob Sisk, DAS; Trish Lutgen, ODE; Marc Nisenfeld, OUS; Nat Elder, OUS; Linda Burgin, SEIU; Donna Glathar, SEIU; Leslie Frane, SEIU
Frequently Asked Questions about Steps
The following questions and answers are based on the tentative contract agreement reached by the State of Oregon and SEIU on July 27, 2009. This agreement is subject to ratification by the members of SEIU, Local 503 OPEU.
1. How many steps will I get during the biennium?Everyone will get one step during the biennium. One step is equal to approximately 4.75%.
2. How long will the step freeze last? There will be a step freeze from 9/1/09 through 8/31/10. During that time, no employee will get a step increase. Regular steps will resume on 9/1/10.
3. What happened to the new tenth step that took effect on 6/30/09? The tenth step is protected in the new agreement. However, because of the one-year step freeze, no one will move to that step until the second year of the contract.
4. What happens if I got a step increase on July 1, 2009 or August 1, 2009? That step will be “rolled back” on September 1, 2009. You will not have to re-pay the money that you received in your checks for July or August, but starting in September, you will return to the rate you were earning on June 30, 2009, before you got your step.
5. Are there any exceptions to the roll-back?Just one. On June 30, 2009, a tenth step was added to the top of the salary scale and the first step was eliminated from the salary scale. On July 1, 2009, anyone being paid at the “old” first step, regardless of salary eligibility date, moved to the “new” first step. That change is permanent. Since the “old” step one is no longer part of the salary scale, no one will return to that step or be hired onto that step.
6. What happens on September 1, 2010 to employees who were “rolled back?”All employees who were rolled back will automatically have their step restored on September 1, 2010.
7. What happens on September 1, 2010 to other employees?Starting September 1, employees will get their regular steps on their regular salary eligibility dates. If you are currently at the ninth step, you will move to the new tenth step on your first salary eligibility date on or after 9/1/2010. If you are currently at a lower step, you will move to the next step on the scale on your first salary eligibility date on or after 9/1/2010.
8. What about employees who get promoted during the step freeze? An employee who is promoted or reclassified upward will still receive an initial increase upon promotion or reclassification upward during the freeze period (except that no one can be placed on the new tenth step during the freeze period). Employees who promote during the freeze will receive an additional step either six months after their promotion or on September 1, 2010, whichever is later.
9. What about employees hired during the step freeze?Employees hired in July or August, 2009, will get their first step increase on September 1, 2010. Employees hired on or after September 1, 2010 will get their first step increases on their normal salary eligibility dates, since they will fall outside the freeze period.
Frequently Asked Questions about Furlough Days
The following questions and answers are based on the tentative contract agreement reached by the State of Oregon and SEIU on July 27, 2009. This agreement is subject to ratification by the members of SEIU Local 503, OPEU.
1. How many furlough days do I have to take?Employees who earn less than $2450 per month will take ten furlough days during the biennium. Employees who earn more than $2450 but less than $3100 per month will take twelve furlough days. Employees who earn more than $3100 per month will take fourteen furlough days. These pay rates are based on your gross pay rate, before deductions.
2. When do I take the furlough days?Most agencies and programs will be closed on ten specific days during the biennium. (For exceptions, see #3 below.) Those closure days are:
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009
Friday, Nov. 27, 2009
Friday, March 19, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Friday. June 18, 2010
Friday, Aug. 20, 2010
Friday, Sept. 17, 2010
Friday, Nov. 26, 2010
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday May 20, 2011
For OSAC and PERS, 2/15/10 and 2/21/11 will be substituted for 11/27/09 and 11/26/10.
Unless you are covered by the exceptions in #3 below, you will take ten furlough days on the dates listed above. If you are required to take more than ten furlough days, you will take the additional days on a floating basis (see #4 below).
3. Which agencies and programs are not subject to the closure days listed aboveManagement presented a list of certain programs in which furlough days will be scheduled on a floating basis, and there will be no fixed closure days. If your program appears on the list below, you are most likely subject to floating furloughs, but please double check with your supervisor to make certain. If your program does not appear on the list, your program was designated by management to be subject to the office closures listed in section 2 above.
• Department of Education: Many job classifications at the Schools for the Deaf and Blind only
• Oregon Youth Authority: RN’s, LPN’s, GLC’s, Social Workers and Cooks at 24/7 facilities
• DHS Institutions: Many job classifications at Oregon State Hospital, Blue Mountain Recovery Center, Eastern Oregon Training Center & Pendleton Secure Residential Treatment Facility
• DAS State Data Center and Technology Service Center: ISS3, 4, 5, and 6’s in Service Operations Center & Production Control
• DCBS: OSHA Industrial Hygienists and Occupational Safety Specialists only
• Board of Dentistry: to be determined
• Department of Justice: Administrative Services Division, Appellate Division, Civil Enforcement Division, Crime Victims Services Division, Criminal Justice Division, General Counsel Division and Trial Division
• Department of Forestry: Will go by closure days listed in Section 2 EXCEPT during fire season (June through October), during which most employees will take furloughs on a floating basis
• Department of Fish and Wildlife: Certain employees based in hatcheries and wildlife areas; employees conducting critical biological sampling, and multi-jurisdictional regulatory processes
• Department of Parks and Recreation: Field Operations and Support and Portland Reservation Office
• ODOT: Many job categories in Motor Carrier Transportation Division and Highway Division
• Department of Treasury
• Veterans Affairs: Many positions in Claims and Counseling, Conservatorship Program, and Home Liaison Officers
4. How will floating furlough days work?If you are required to take floating furloughs, either because you work for a program listed in #3 above or because you must take twelve or fourteen days and your office is only closed for ten days, you will have your choice of days off subject to operating needs. You will submit a furlough request form at least thirty days before the start of each calendar quarter indicating your requested furlough days for the next quarter. Supervisors must respond no later than fifteen days before the start of each quarter.
5. When do furlough days begin?Nothing in the tentative agreement takes effect until union members ratify the contract. We expect the ratification vote to be complete by the middle of September. If the contract is ratified, floating furlough days can be scheduled at any time after that point. As noted above, the first office closure day is scheduled for Oct. 16, 2009 for employees in agencies/programs subject to office closures.
6. How will furlough days affect my benefits? Furlough days will count as time worked for vacation, sick, and personal leave accruals and for health insurance purposes. Furlough days will not count as time worked for the purposes of overtime pay or PERS.
7. How will furlough days work for seasonal and part-time employees?Part- time employees will be pro-rated based on their regularly scheduled hours. Seasonal employees will be pro-rated based on their regularly scheduled hours during the months in which they are employed.
8. What happens if I am regularly scheduled for more or fewer than eight hours on a furlough day?Employees who are scheduled for more or fewer than eight hours on a furlough day may, with supervisory approval, adjust their schedules in a manner consistent with the practice that is used in their worksites during weeks with holidays.
9. Can I use vacation or personal leave when I am on a furlough day?No.
10. Can management “cancel” a furlough day? Management may require you to work on a furlough day in emergency situations based on operational needs. If you are normally eligible for call-in or penalty pay for working on a scheduled day off, you will get that pay if management cancels your furlough day. If management cancels your furlough day, you must reschedule the day, but management can only require you to reschedule a day once.
11. Must furlough time be scheduled in eight hour blocks?Yes, except for part-time employees who regularly work less than eight hours a day.
12. How do I code furlough days on my timesheet?A special timesheet code will be created.
13. Will furlough days affect how long my trial service lasts, my salary eligibility date, or my seniority?No.
14. What if I don’t schedule or take my required furlough days?If you don’t schedule or take your required days, management can schedule them for you.
15. If I’m subject to floating days, can I take all of the days at once?No, the days must be distributed evenly among the calendar quarters in the biennium. With permission of your supervisor, you can distribute them unevenly, but you can’t take more than two furlough days in one month.
16. Can I still get overtime pay in a week I take a furlough day?Yes. Furlough days don’t change the regular overtime rules. If you normally get overtime after eight hours in a day, that rule is not affected by your taking a furlough day on another day the same week. But remember that furlough days don’t count as time worked for calculating overtime, so if you normally only get overtime after forty hours in a week, you can’t count your furlough day toward your total hours in the week for the purpose of calculating overtime.
17. What if my office is closed for a furlough day on a day that is my regularly scheduled day off? If a designated closure day falls on your regularly scheduled day off, you will take the furlough day on another day that you select, subject to operating needs.
18. Can management require me to take a furlough day on a paid holiday?No, but employees subject to floating furloughs may choose to schedule their furlough days on holidays at their sole discretion.