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AFSCME Local 1724
Bargaining Issues for 2004
2/10/04
Thanks for the 40% Return on the Surveys! By using them and our grievance history and the AFSCME Local 1724 Executive Board, we have developed the following general issues for bargaining a new agreement with the City:
Health Insurance:
Last contract bargaining we negotiated a formula that takes into account increased cost of living and increased premium costs for health insurance. Our wage increases were never below 2% and our premium share was never above ½%. During mid contract we also successfully added contraceptive prescription coverage for women. Our goal is to maintain the health insurance benefit without having to pay any more out of pocket for the premiums.
We would like to improve the health benefit by increasing the amount of coverage for hearing aids and the amount of coverage per year for Dental insurance
Wages:
Our goal is to maintain competitive wages.
We are not satisfied with the City’s method of analyzing their classification system. Our goal is for Union involvement and more objectivity used in their methodology.
Contracting - Out Union Work:
When the City was going to contract-out custodial maintenance jobs at the new library, we temporarily stopped them by organizing a campaign in the community. However, we have lost two custodial positions to contractors. We have no idea how many potential jobs we have lost to contractors in tree planting and trimming, parks, automobile body shops, etc, etc. Our goal is to improve our ability to stop contracting-out.
Layoff:
Last negotiations we improved our layoff language. However we need to improve the displacement language and we need to review the bumping ladders. Our goal is to improve the Layoff language.
Call Back:
There has been some confusion about when Call back starts. Our goal is to clarify this language.
Overtime:
Some employees have to work to much overtime. Some employees have shift changes and work long overtime hours but end up losing leave time because they are to tired the next day. Our goal is to clarify this language.
Work Schedules - A side issue related to the above, is the amount of time our members have off the job to rest up. Our goal is to bargain for enough rest time between work shifts.
Compassionate Leave - The contract states that the City “may” grant compassionate leave. It puts supervisors in a position of judgement. Our goal is to clarify this language and possibly increase the amount of time off if the employee needs to travel out of state.
Domestic Partner Coverage:
Amendments to the City of Eugene human rights ordinance, which provide for a Domestic Partner Registry, became effective February 1, 2003. Our contract does not reflect the cultural diversity acceptance of this ideal. Our goal is to reflect acceptance of domestic partners in our contract by making changes in FMLA, Compassionate Leave, and Sick Leave.
Short Term Disability:
If an employee gets hurt or has an illness off the job, he/she has only two protections; sick leave, vacation, and FMLA (protects job and health insurance for 90 days. However, the employee may not have enough vacation or sick leave. No pay is hard and especially when you are ill. Our goal is to protect employees’ income levels during this time of need.
Temporary Employees:
The City uses many temporary employees. Some of their assignments are taking our regular work.
Our goal is to bargain some controls over this form of contracting out.
Deferred Compensation:
With the deep cutbacks in PERS, we fear that employee retirement benefits will not be enough to cover their needs. The current contract only provides that employees can voluntarily participate in the deferred comp. program. The City does not add anything.
Our goal is to provide an incentive for employee participation.
Union Leave:
AFSCME has a need to for represented employees to leave their normal job and work for the AFSCME from time to time. They may be working on ballot measures, initiatives, candidates, organizing new units, or doing grass roots campaigns.
Our goal is for the City to allow activist employees up to one year of leave. AFSCME would pay for their lost time, preferably paying the City directly so the employee would continue have their retirement and health insurance covered.
Bargaining Team
Dal Ollek
Roberta Pupilli (CAT Coordinator)
Steve DeMeritt
Bill Ranney
Kristi Hayden
Wayne Vincent
Joe Sams (Recoder)
Lou Sinniger (AFSCME Representative)