The following testimony was given by clerical workers to the Board of Regents on June 14, 2010.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY MAY 11, 2010

Press Conference
Monday June 14, 2010
11am
Outside McNamara Alumni Center
(200 Oak St SE, Minneapolis)

Over the past months there has been much discussion about how to cut costs at the U. Many of us have heard a lot of rumors and misinformation about furloughs versus voluntary leaves of absences. We would like to take a minute of your time to provide the most up-to-date information.
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AFSCME Voluntary Furlough Survey Report

Kurt Errickson

Field Representative

AFSCME Council 5

One option for addressing the budget challenges facing the University is that of voluntary furloughs. While the subjects of mandatory furloughs and pay cuts have been actively pursued by the administration, little serious attention appears to have been dedicated to the possibility of saving revenue through the voluntary unpaid absences from work.

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On Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 9:00 p.m., our AFSCME clerical negotiating committee and the University reached a tentative agreement in settlement of our negotiations for the contract year 2009-2011. A summary of the terms is available on the AFSCME 3800 webpage (www.afscme3800.org).

Noon information meetings regarding the agreement have been scheduled for this week in areas throughout the campus. See the list below for meeting dates locations.

Voting on the agreement will take place after we have held all of our informational meetings. Only members may vote. Non-members are urged to join the Union and participate in this process. We will notify you of the voting process later this week.

All informational meetings will be held from noon to 1:00pm.

Tuesday, June 23:
West Bank
105 Blegen Hall

Wednesday, June 24:
WBOB/1100 Washington Ave.
142 WBOB

Wednesday, June 24:
St. Paul 
120 Coffey Hall

Thursday, June 25:
Med Area
Mayo A110

Friday, June 26:
East Bank
170 Tate Hall

Monday, June 29:
Como Area
Printing Services Room 111

Tuesday, June 30:
Conference call for outstate members.
Details on the call will be emailed out later this week.

(see summary in PDF format | See summary as a Grid )

Tentative Agreement Summary for contract 2009-2011, June 10, 2009 

On Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 9:00 p.m., our AFSCME clerical negotiating committee and the University reached a tentative agreement in settlement of our negotiations for the contract year 2009-2011.

A summary of the terms of settlement follows. Information about voting on the tentative agreement will be distributed to members as the details are finalized. Only members may vote, but you are urged to sign a membership card to join the Union and participate in this process.

Article 19, Wages

• All Clerical Bargaining Unit employees whose pay rate falls within the pay ranges for the Unit will receive a 2% general wage adjustment on July 1, 2010. The pay ranges will all move up 2%.
• Progression steps will be temporarily suspended from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011. All language regarding step increases remains printed (as shaded paragraphs) in the contract. The University dropped its proposal to include an additional sentence that stated, “Step movement shall be discontinued until a new agreement is negotiated.”

Article 20, Insurance

• There are several changes to the section entitled “Basic Coverage”, but for most employees these will have a relatively minor impact.  These changes will become effective 1/1/2010.
• The Union and the University agreed that there will be no changes in the percentages to employees’ contributions to their Health Plans (90%/10% for the employee-only contribution; 85%/15% for family coverage)
• One of the most important pieces of information we received from the University is that in any situation in which the use of a higher-priced drug is a medical necessity, the Prior Approval process will apply.
• Specialty drug coverage (in which a drug is administered in a lab or a clinical setting, such as the infusion of a medication) will now be covered through the pharmacy plan rather than the medical plan. This is primarily an administrative change rather than a change that will affect how the actual drug is administered.
• Low-dose Lipitor, when not used for its secondary therapeutic value, will be moved to a non-formulary copay in order to encourage the use of low-dose generic equivalents.
• The pharmacy plan will provide only one brand of diabetic testing equipment and supplies at the generic copay. The University will arrange for informational presentations by the provider and manufacturer, and will make detailed information available regarding the use and capabilities of the meters and test strips. (The Prior Approval process will continue to apply to exceptions for these products as well.)
• Pharmacy copays will increase for the medications that are not listed as Generic Plus:
• Generic Plus drugs will remain at $8
• Brand formulary drugs will be raised from $20 to $25
• Non-formulary drugs will be raised from $35 to $50
• Emergency Room copays will be raised from $50 to $75, but the copay will continue to be waived if the patient is admitted to the hospital
• A new copay for MRI and CT scans will be instituted at $25, but there will still be no copays for lab/diagnostic testing.
• The office visit copay will be increased from $10 to $11 for the Base Plan and Health Partners.
• Obsolete language regarding a one-time 2008 open-enrollment for life insurance will be deleted

MOUs and other material appended to the contract

·         An MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) from the 2007-09 contract regarding an agreement to meet and confer on issues relating to our salary steps (compression of steps, length of pay ranges, etc.) will be modified to a letter, which will recognize what we have already accomplished and acknowledge that either party may wish to pursue the next logical steps in a more favorable economic climate.

• There will be a new MOU to address issues surrounding Respectful Workplace and anti-bullying language. Representatives from the Union and the University will meet and confer to discuss the issues and possibly arrive at some processes to address them. The speed of this negotiations process did not allow us an opportunity to fully discuss all the parties’ concerns.

“Housekeeping changes”

• All the appropriate date changes will be made, along with continuing all the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and the Fitness Incentive Letter.

The Unit 6 Clerical Union Negotiations Committee recommended acceptance of this Tentative Agreement. 

Phyllis Walker                                     Cherrene Horazuk

Peter Lunney                                       Sven Erik Olson

Laura Mirelez                                      Kelly Alghamdi Zimmerscheid

Andy Carhart                                      Julia Gladhill

Ginger Nohl                                        Laura Stolle Schmidt

Kem Tae Lynch

 

The clerical negotiating committee reached a tentative agreement with the University of Minnesota at 9:30 on Wednesday night, June 10th. Details regarding the agreement will be posted by the end of the day Thursday.

Also, Click here to sign a petition online to the Regents!

Or you can click here to print out a copy of the petition sheet to sign and to use in your work area

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Rally Thursday, March 12
12:15-1:00
McNamara Plaza

(click above image for printable PDF of flyer)

On Thursday, March 12, 2009 the Faculty, Staff and Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Regents will consider an Administration proposal that will require employees who wish to take a class at the University through the Regents Scholarship to pay 25% of the tuition for that class. The committee will meet from 2:45-4:15, and it’s important that they hear from employees before they take action to cut this program. AFSCME 3800, AFSCME 3937 and other concerned employees and students are organizing a rally and speak-out to demand that the Board of Regents not cut the scholarship program.

Given the alarming tuitions rates here at the U, and the decreasing buying power of our wages, this is yet another slash in our ever-shrinking benefits package. Unionized staff at the University, whether AFSCME or Teamster, are among the lowest paid employees of this institution, and this proposal will fall heavily on us. 71% of the staff who use Regents Scholarships is unionized and civil service employees. We cannot afford to have the University budget balanced on the backs of hard-working employees.

SEND A MESSAGE TO THE REGENTS! If you think this is an unacceptable proposal, let the Regents know. Come to the rally on Thursday! Bring your coworkers! Listen to what students, faculty, P&A, civil service and union employees have to say about the wonderful benefits of the Regents Scholarship, how it has changed lives, and how devastating the proposed cut will be.

We are also collecting signatures on a petition that we will deliver to the Regents following the Rally. Click here to print out a copy of the petition sheet to sign and to use in your work area. Bring copies of the petition to the rally on Thursday.

AFSCME Local 3800 is collecting toys for children who would otherwise not have a gift this Christmas. Toys will be donated to the Toys for Tots program. If you are able, please contribute to this worthwhile cause.

We are also collecting financial contributions to UE Local 1110 in Chicago. These workers' factory was shut down with only three days notice and the workers are fighting for pay and have staged a peaceful sit-in in the factory since Friday. Complete information about their struggle is at the end of this e-mail.

You can drop off your Toys for Tots donations, and/or donations for the workers of UE Local 1110 on Thursday, December 11, Friday, December 12 and Tuesday, December 16 at the following locations:

• Wiley Hall skyway entrance (West Bank) from 11:00 to 1:00
• Scott Hall Foyer (East Bank) from 11:00 to 1:00
• Outside Inn Hallway (Medical Area) from 11:00 to 1:00
• WBOB (West Bank) from 12:00 to 1:00--There will be a donation box in the lobby where you can place gifts and donations anytime.

The following people will be accepting toys and donations in their offices from 8:00 to 4:30 only on the above mentioned days.

• Julia Gladhill, 266 Mc Neal Hall (St Paul Campus)
• Rick Castillo, 337 KE (Medical Area)
• Mary Lou Middleton, 295 Humphrey Center (West Bank)
• Cherrene Horazuk, 300 Humphrey Center (West Bank)
• Kelly Alghamdi Zimmerschied will be accepting toys before 8:30 am at the third floor lobby of the Transportation and Safety Building.

Support the Workers of Republic Windows and Doors

On Friday December 5th, the workers of Republic Windows and Doors, members of United Electrical Workers Local 1110, occupied their factory in Chicago, which the owners announced just three days earlier they were going to permanently shut down at 10:00 AM that day. The workers are fighting for pay for their lost vacation days and for the 75 days notice that they are guaranteed under Illinois law. This is the first time in many years workers have taken the bold strategy of occupying their place of work to demand justice. They have put the struggle of all workers at the forefront of the nation's consciousness and have made the complicated financial crisis something that is crystal clear and easy to understand. The basic lesson is that it is bad for working people, and the only way we'll get anything is if we organize, stand up and fight for it. They have won the support of workers around the country and even many politicians and public figures. But so far Bank of America, a recipient of billions of dollars of the government bailout, has not agreed to loan the money to the company so that the workers can receive the notice and earned pay they are supposed to receive in this situation. The longer their action continues the more support they'll need.

AFSCME 3800 sent a solidarity message to UE Local 1110 yesterday (check it out here). We are also collecting financial donations for the Republic Windows workers. Bring your checks, made out to UE Local 1110 Solidarity Fund, or cash to the same locations where we are collecting Toys for Tots.

To get more info and to sign a petition in support of the Republic Windows workers, go to http://www.ueunion.org/ue_republic.html.

Hello AFSCME Local 3800 employees,

You should all have received an e-mail from the University Retirement Programs office containing information about the University's PROPOSED Retirement Incentive Option (RIO).

Because this proposal has an impact on our terms and conditions of employment, union members will need to vote on whether or not to accept this proposal.

This vote will take place at our next local membership meeting; only full members are able to vote on issues pertaining to terms and conditions of employment:
THURSDAY, MAY 29th
5:15 pm
HHH Room 205
West Bank

The leadership of the Local has had a number of meetings with University HR to discuss this proposal. The e-mail you received today from the University is just a summary of the retirement incentive proposal.

PLEASE READ THE FULL TEXT before making any decisions! The following link brings you to the University Human Resources office Benefits page – click on the "Civil Service and IBEW employees" link. The proposal for AFSCME is the same as this one:
www.umn.edu/ohr/benefits.

(Please note that, in the FAQ on the web, wherever it says "former employee", they are referring only to employees who retired under this RIO, not all "former employees.")

The RIO could be a positive benefit for union employees in some circumstances, particularly considering the high cost of health care coverage in the United States:

* If you are 62 years of age or older; if you are eligible under the rules as stated in the RIO, and if you have considered retiring, this RIO will give you three full years of health care coverage under your current plan. (You will continue to pay the employee portion as you do now; the University will continue to pay its portion.)

* If you have been considering leaving University employment and you are eligible under the rules as stated in the RIO, having the three years of health care coverage may be a good bridge between jobs.

The last time the University and the Unions agreed on a retirement incentive was in 2003/04. This proposal contains some different options, so you should be aware of these:

* Read the full text for information about eligibility; the e-mail from the University summarizes the eligibility requirements;

* There will be NO payout for length of service: the last RIO allowed for 1 week of pay for each year of service; this benefit is currently only available if you've received a layoff notice, and is in the MOU on Alternatives to Layoff;

* Once you have agreed to this RIO, you have only 15 days to rescind your decision; after that 15 days, you are locked into the retirement option regardless of any circumstances that may arise before your retirement date that may change your wish to participate;

* Once you have retired under this program, you may not EVER return to University employment in a benefit-eligible position. You may return to work at the University after 3 months have elapsed between your retirement date and your new job, but you will only be able to work on a 49% (19.5 hours) appointment or lesser appointment.

Should this proposal pass the membership vote, the "window of opportunity" will be set for a date very soon after the May 29th membership meeting. Local 3800 employees will get an e-mail with the results of the vote and an opening date for enrollment in this RIO.

We encourage you to send comments and questions to the Local 3800 email.