CSD Area Update #9

by Amy Achilles

Statewide DTB/UMCC Issues as of 4/27/12(Does not include grievances/arbitrations)

In 2/2012 management informed the UMCC team that they intended to eliminate Tier 2 calls in the CSC. This essentially meant no more handoff and that you finish the call you take. Customers were facing forced disconnects at several different levels was the concern management presented. In a collaborative effort to resolve the concern about this change, and the fact that phone workers were facing significant burnout (with no relief in sight), management agreed to establish a rotation that would provide phone workers some days on batch and batch workers would do some phone coverage. The agreement was reached informally on 3/1/12 and the rotation is in place.

A DTB was filed on 2/1/12 in response to notice that CSD intends to have some childcare done over the counter again to address the increased needs of seasonal child care. The team for this meeting was Gayle Chamberlain-Smith, Chevy Zarate and Lorraine Lopez and the meeting was scheduled for 2/24/12. Agreement was reached informally resulting in a pilot project at the Mt. Vernon, Wenatchee, Yakima and Moses Lake offices. Following the implementation of the pilot, concerns were raised that things did not seem to be playing out as agreed. These issues were raised with Babs and corrected. Other concerns remain and discussions continue to try to address items not related to the agreement.

A DTB was filed on 1/17/12 in response to notice that CSD intends to implement the CHIPRA grant, which auto enrolls newborns into newborn medical when the change is reported through Washington Connections. The team for this was Gayle Chamberlain-Smith, Randy Kurtz and Billie Malcolm. The DTB was scheduled for 3/2/12 and Jeanine Livingston also attended. Agreement was reached and the MOU was sent to all CSD reps and the team on 3/2/12.

SB 5921 was signed by the Governor and retained the language in section 27 establishing an employee incentive pilot related to Workfirst performance. The bill requires the Department to implement a pilot by January 1, 2012, and to report to the Legislature on pilot implementation and outcomes by January 1, 2013. The department has not determined how they plan to implement this yet but we would expect to receive formal notice and plan to file a DTB as soon as that is received. On 8/17/11, I confirmed CSD had not yet developed any plan on this issue. In 10/11 I received a copy of an email that showed that management is working on developing their plan. I sent an inquiry to HR and CSD and the response was that a notice would be coming very soon.  Notice was received and a DTB was filed on 11/1/11.  Meetings occurred on 12/12/11 and 1/13/12 to exchange proposals and the team was Billie Malcolm, Annie Namyniuk and Gayle Chamberlain-Smith. A MOU was reached and sent out to all CSD reps and the team on 1/18/12.

• UPDATE: The invitation to participate in the pilot went out to staff on 2/8/12 and the pilot began on 3/1/12. We will be requesting more information after the pilot is complete.

 A DTB was filed 10/20/11 in response to notice that the CSD intends to close Othello, relocate staff from Colfax and consolidate the three Spokane offices into two. Spokane has been resolved through informal discussions, it has been determined that Colfax will remain open and informal discussions were satisfactory for Othello. This DTB was resolved through those informal discussions and is now closed.

A DTB was filed on 10/19/11 regarding staff reassignments in the CSC. At the statewide CSD UMCC management explained that they received approval to hire a number of positions. A large number of FSS and OAS positions were a part of that approval, nowhere near filling the vacancies in CSD but a good thing none the less.  From the UMCC summary dated 1/13/12: “CSD has recently received authorization to hire 52 FSS’s and 24 OAS’s. Of those positions, all of the OAS’s will go to the CSC to free up the FSS’s currently working in HIU to do financial work. In addition, the CSC will receive 6 of the FSS’s. So, the end result will be about 18 FSS’s added to the CSC. The CSO’s will receive the remaining FSS’s authorized for hire as well as an additional 8 WFPS’s.”  This DTB is related to the reassignment of the FSS’s currently in the HIU. On 12/7/11 staff from HIU, Gayle Chamberlain-Smith and myself met and reached an MOU with management that protects members’ classification, location, workload and even the types of tasks they are assigned.  This was sent out to all CSD reps on 12/8/11. The team was Gayle Chamberlain-Smith, Tracy Boose and Addie Rodriguez.

• UPDATE: Through informal discussion, it was agreed that the FSS’s being hired in the CSC will be hired into phones. It was also agreed that once the hiring of the most recent recruitment of FSS’s in the CSC is complete, staff currently on phones will be able to switch to batch, a more desirable function, if they choose. This will be handled in accordance with the agreements reached at the DTB when the function groups were established.

 A DTB was filed 1/7/11 not in response to a notice, but to a change in leave approval practices at the Mt. Vernon CSO. A lengthy information request was sent in order to prepare we’ve had our first meeting on 4/19/11. I attempted follow up on this issue many times w/ the HRD rep with not much response, so we decided to pursue follow up from CSD by placing it on the statewide agenda. Since that time I received a request from HRD about what more was needed and I have requested a follow up meeting. I have also received communication from OFM that they are receiving nothing on this as well. The team appointed is Marci Douglas-Bumgarner, Diane Linnell-Merry and Terea Gilmore. Since the last update we’ve met with OFM and reached agreement addressing the outstanding impacts...at last! The agreement was shared with the appropriate reps and the team and this DTB is now closed.

A DTB was filed 9/7/10 regarding the CSC implementing a statewide tele-work project. This has been completed and is now closed. Six monthly follow up teleconferences have also now been completed and a detailed summary of the final meeting went to all CSD reps. The next step was to expand the opportunity to about 70 more people in the near future.  At the CSC UMCC on 8/9/11 we were informed that there are 75 slots available and that about 130 members have expressed interest in those slots. The selection will be based on the agreed upon criteria. We were also informed that, due to a technological glitch, the setup of the 75 new participants may be delayed by about a month.  The latest delay is a result of trying to figure out how to even out some of the workload that comes in to “points of contact” in the office from the tele-workers, LEP being an example. In accordance with the LEP MOU reached on 1/25/12, it was expected that the next phase of telework would roll out on 3/1/12. It has since rolled out!

• UPDATE: As of this week, there are over 130 of our members doing tele-work! Phase 3 is now in place and future opportunities are being considered.

Under the CBA, statewide CSD UMCC’s now occur.

• The first one occurred on 9/27/11 at the ESA building in Olympia and a summary was sent out to the team and CSD reps.  The second one occurred on 1/13/12 and a summary of this also went out to the team and CSD reps.

• A CSC UMCC occurred on 8/9/11 and a detailed summary was sent out to the team and CSD reps. CSC UMCC’s are scheduled for the entire year and the first one occurred on 4/26/12.

• Over the next week I will be drafting a summary of my notes and getting that out to the team and CSD reps. The next UMCC is scheduled for 6/13/12 in Ellensburg.