Let your voice be heard!
If you haven't already done so, get your bargaining survey completed and turned in by October 31st. Follow the link below to access the electronic version and get it done today.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DAS_survey_2012
If you have any suggestions for contract changes, you will find a section of the survey that will ask you to reference the Article if one exists. You want park specific language? This is the place in the survey to do so. This is how we changed the vacation, holiday, and boot language in the last contract.
Shift Lead Differential?
Automatic purge of LOE's after 2 years?
Seasonal staff vacation carry over to next season?
These are examples of what some Parkys are putting on they're bargaining surveys.
Strikes of 2013
There is alot of emphasis on questions in regards to striking. At this time we are not planning on a strike, but this is always a tool at hand that we may use if the offers of managment put employees into a position to vote on a strike.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
SDE Error
Recently a grievance, in regards to Article 26, was won after it was decided that the language within the article under Section 5 has been misinterpreted by our agency. There have been similar cases with the half hour of SDE misunderstood by other agencies in the past.
Article 26 Section 5 "... All employees shall be paid a differential as outlined in Subsections (b) and (c) below, for each hour or major portion there of (thirty (30) minutes or more), worked between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and for each hour or major portion thereof worked on Saturday or Sunday."
In a nutshell, this means that if you worked 30 minutes of SDE instead of a full hour, your rate of .75 should not change (.5 hours SDE x $.75 does not equal $.375). I remember a few years ago when I worked weekends we were told if you worked 8.5 hours of SDE you are supposed to round up to 9. Then about 2 years ago an email went out and we were directed to no longer round up our total "shift diff" if it included a half hour. Looks like we may return to 9.
Most of you have probably received the email from our HR Department about this issue. Payroll will be performing an audit on all employees effected and there will be more to come, so stay tuned.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Shop Steward Maurice Wray for his diligence in working on this case. He was the steward who represented the grievant that brought this issue to light.
Article 26 Section 5 "... All employees shall be paid a differential as outlined in Subsections (b) and (c) below, for each hour or major portion there of (thirty (30) minutes or more), worked between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and for each hour or major portion thereof worked on Saturday or Sunday."
In a nutshell, this means that if you worked 30 minutes of SDE instead of a full hour, your rate of .75 should not change (.5 hours SDE x $.75 does not equal $.375). I remember a few years ago when I worked weekends we were told if you worked 8.5 hours of SDE you are supposed to round up to 9. Then about 2 years ago an email went out and we were directed to no longer round up our total "shift diff" if it included a half hour. Looks like we may return to 9.
Most of you have probably received the email from our HR Department about this issue. Payroll will be performing an audit on all employees effected and there will be more to come, so stay tuned.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Shop Steward Maurice Wray for his diligence in working on this case. He was the steward who represented the grievant that brought this issue to light.
Monday, August 13, 2012
General Council 2012
On August 3rd, your elected officers attended SEIU 503 General Council (GC) 2012. This is the time (every 2 years) that elected SEIU delegates from all over the state representing many state and local government agencies come together and vote on the direction of SEIU 503. Months prior, members get together with they're GC delegates and develop resolutions that if adopted by a committee, will have a chance to go to the "floor," of which delegates will have an opportunity to speak for or against the resolution. Then, through a democratic and fair process, the proposed resolutions will be voted by those who are in attendance (a quorum). Highlights also include fun evening parties put on by candidates running for State wide officer positions (President, VP, Treasurer of SEIU 503) and other events.
Here's what our GC newbie Tiffany Hicks had to say:
My first General Council and what an eye opener! It was empowering to see all of the state's delegates together talking and voting on our Union's issues. Attending my first ever protest with fellow delegates at Wells Fargo in Albany was also a very empowering experience. Like any organization, there were differing opinions and as the days unfolded I was reminded by others that we live in a democracy where every opinion not only matters but counts. How do we stay unified even though we have differing opinions? I think part of the answer to accomplishing unity is ongoing communication and all of us sharing ONE vision. I appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this important process.
Tiffany Hicks
Treasurer, Local 733
If you would like to view the resolutions that passed, I will be posting scanned copies in the "File Cabinet" on the upper right of this page labeled General Council 2012 Resolutions.
Here's what our GC newbie Tiffany Hicks had to say:
My first General Council and what an eye opener! It was empowering to see all of the state's delegates together talking and voting on our Union's issues. Attending my first ever protest with fellow delegates at Wells Fargo in Albany was also a very empowering experience. Like any organization, there were differing opinions and as the days unfolded I was reminded by others that we live in a democracy where every opinion not only matters but counts. How do we stay unified even though we have differing opinions? I think part of the answer to accomplishing unity is ongoing communication and all of us sharing ONE vision. I appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this important process.
Tiffany Hicks
Treasurer, Local 733
If you would like to view the resolutions that passed, I will be posting scanned copies in the "File Cabinet" on the upper right of this page labeled General Council 2012 Resolutions.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Next LMC on August 15th
Your Local 733 officers and management will once again meet on August 15th. We have some topics of discussion, but if you have any issues that you would like us to bring to the table let us know!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
LMC met on May 9th
LMC met on May 9th and the minutes of that meeting will be posted here soon. Topics include the Director's response to the committees draft proposals on schedules and Park Ranger Supervisors. There was also a discussion about schedule creation and using paid leave (VA, PB, ect).
Does you manager ask you to find coverage when you request time off using Vacation or Personal business (exempting employee-to-employee day swaps)?
If you request time off using a Leave slip at least 15 days in advance of your time off, does your manager wait until the last minute (like the day before your time off) to Deni or accept your request?
Contact your Parks and Recreation Human Resources Department if you frequently encounter these scenario's.
Does you manager ask you to find coverage when you request time off using Vacation or Personal business (exempting employee-to-employee day swaps)?
If you request time off using a Leave slip at least 15 days in advance of your time off, does your manager wait until the last minute (like the day before your time off) to Deni or accept your request?
Contact your Parks and Recreation Human Resources Department if you frequently encounter these scenario's.
Dan Matta is also an Alternate
Apologies to Dan Matta. He was also elected as a General Council Alternate. Dan Matta is a a new officer as well as a shop steward from Reservations Northwest. Recently (this winter) he has also accepted a temporary position as a MOC (Member Organizing Committee) for SEIU.
MOC's are members who have been selected by organizers of SEIU to perform various roles promoting the union. Assignments can include travel to other states to help organize other public and service employees. A worker that is selected to be a MOC will retain their previous job position once they're service is completed (a couple months to a year).
MOC's are members who have been selected by organizers of SEIU to perform various roles promoting the union. Assignments can include travel to other states to help organize other public and service employees. A worker that is selected to be a MOC will retain their previous job position once they're service is completed (a couple months to a year).
Sunday, May 13, 2012
New Meeting Format: We are coming to you!
Due to budget constraints (Long story), we will be coming to a park near you to hold our Quarterly Member Meetings. We cannot afford lodging for members, but we will pay for mileage perdiem depending on the Park that we visit. We will have an agenda, but our main interest is what your issues are.
As you well know we have been meeting regularly with management (LMC) to discuss specific park issues and drafting proposals to solve.them. These meetings is your opportunity bring your park issues to the table. Who knows other parks may have the same problem.
Our first of these new meeting will be held at Nehalem Bay State Park May 19th from 11-4. It will be held at one of the yurts (look for the signs). We will pay mileage for those comming as far as South Beach to Fort Stevens.
The Long Story:
Your past officers held quarterly meetings but no one showed up so they offered to pay full lodging for members who registered (family vacation?). We continued this tradition but found that we could not sustain this offer as we began to have more than 12 members showing up regularly. Typically SEIU (other State Locals, like ODOT) only pay half the lodging for member meetings, but even at that rate we still could not afford lodging on top of mileage reimbursement (imagine someone driving from the Blue mountain district all the way to coosbay? expensive travel bill for us). SEIU wants us to continue meetings, as these are the heart of a Local to encourage members to meet and discuss concerns, so they told us to keep the meetings going while we went into the red (better red than dead?). So we eventually ended up pleading for money, rebates, ect to pay our debt. The truth of the matter is that every time you pay your dues SEIU gets most of your money (they spend it well don't worry), but your local (us) gets a small portion to pay for meetings, paper, pencils, cards to send out to members, a laptop, travel to trainings, travel for bargaining, and even pizza every time your organizer visits your park. We have made cuts to everything we can, even pizza, to keep our local going. If a Ranger had to live off our local's 2 year budget, he/she would have to move in with Mom an Dad and get an extra job to pay for gas to get to work everyday. Believe me, your President is one hell of an accountant and she is all about fiscal responsibility! There are other small Local's like Parks (ODA, ODF, ODFW, ect) in the same boat as far as Local budgets. We are hoping in the future that SEIU will give us the funding we need to provide the kinds of things that THEY want us to provide in the first place....like paid lodging for members at Quarterly meetings. Remember "The Shield?" That was cut because of printing and paper costs, which is why you are reading this Blog instead of a newsletter.
As you well know we have been meeting regularly with management (LMC) to discuss specific park issues and drafting proposals to solve.them. These meetings is your opportunity bring your park issues to the table. Who knows other parks may have the same problem.
Our first of these new meeting will be held at Nehalem Bay State Park May 19th from 11-4. It will be held at one of the yurts (look for the signs). We will pay mileage for those comming as far as South Beach to Fort Stevens.
The Long Story:
Your past officers held quarterly meetings but no one showed up so they offered to pay full lodging for members who registered (family vacation?). We continued this tradition but found that we could not sustain this offer as we began to have more than 12 members showing up regularly. Typically SEIU (other State Locals, like ODOT) only pay half the lodging for member meetings, but even at that rate we still could not afford lodging on top of mileage reimbursement (imagine someone driving from the Blue mountain district all the way to coosbay? expensive travel bill for us). SEIU wants us to continue meetings, as these are the heart of a Local to encourage members to meet and discuss concerns, so they told us to keep the meetings going while we went into the red (better red than dead?). So we eventually ended up pleading for money, rebates, ect to pay our debt. The truth of the matter is that every time you pay your dues SEIU gets most of your money (they spend it well don't worry), but your local (us) gets a small portion to pay for meetings, paper, pencils, cards to send out to members, a laptop, travel to trainings, travel for bargaining, and even pizza every time your organizer visits your park. We have made cuts to everything we can, even pizza, to keep our local going. If a Ranger had to live off our local's 2 year budget, he/she would have to move in with Mom an Dad and get an extra job to pay for gas to get to work everyday. Believe me, your President is one hell of an accountant and she is all about fiscal responsibility! There are other small Local's like Parks (ODA, ODF, ODFW, ect) in the same boat as far as Local budgets. We are hoping in the future that SEIU will give us the funding we need to provide the kinds of things that THEY want us to provide in the first place....like paid lodging for members at Quarterly meetings. Remember "The Shield?" That was cut because of printing and paper costs, which is why you are reading this Blog instead of a newsletter.
Officers have been Elected!
Thank you to all who participated in voting for your Local 733 Officers. The results are Peggy Rinck (President), Steve Hernandez (Vice President), Barbara Lakey (Secretary), Tiffany Hicks (Treasurer), and Dan Icklan (General Council Delegate).
Please welcome our new officers Tiffany and Dan. Tiffany is an OC at Stub Stewart State Park and Dan Icklan is a Park Ranger 2 at the Cove Palisades, as well as they're MU's Shop Steward.
Please welcome our new officers Tiffany and Dan. Tiffany is an OC at Stub Stewart State Park and Dan Icklan is a Park Ranger 2 at the Cove Palisades, as well as they're MU's Shop Steward.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
LMC Met on January 11th
Labor Management Committee met at the Fairgrounds on January 11th. Topics that were discussed included Schedules and "Operational Need", Park Ranger Supervisor Roles, OPRD's interpretation of SB2020 (1-11 management to employee ratio), and future topics.
To view the LMC minutes follow the link to the right of this page.
To view the LMC minutes follow the link to the right of this page.
Monday, January 23, 2012
New Contract!
Its finally here! To download the contract in PDF format follow the link on the right of this page.
HINT: If you are having trouble finding a certain contract subject while viewing the contract in PDF form simply type the subject in the box labeled "Find."
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Boot Allowance Forms on the Blog
Having trouble getting the boot allowance forms? They are now available on the blog. Go to the right and click "Boot Allowance forms" under "The file cabinet." Due to Internet Explorer being difficult, the first form is viewable on the blog and the rest of the forms are available by clicking on the links. The bottom links are completed examples of Hazard Assessment forms.
New contract language now applies to anyone who is eligible per Article 122.3 A,B
New contract language now applies to anyone who is eligible per Article 122.3 A,B
HEM Penalty Charges Dropped?
Recently (January 10th) our HEM Labor management committee unanimously agreed to recommend to PEBB that the HEM surcharges be suspended. Thousands of members throughout the state were unhappy being penalized for not participating with the HEM program during open enrollment. A common suggestion was to offer an incentive rather than a penalty to participate.
To view other recommendations by the committee to change HEM, click on the "January 10th HEM Committee minutes" page on the right under FILE CABINET heading.
To view other recommendations by the committee to change HEM, click on the "January 10th HEM Committee minutes" page on the right under FILE CABINET heading.
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