Statewide DTB/UMCC Issues as of 8/20/12
(Does not include grievances/arbitrations)
A DTB was filed on 8/14/12 in response to notice the the Lakewood CSO intends to eliminate all alternate work schedules. A grievance is also being filed by CR Gary Hill. The team has not yet been determined for this DTB.
On 8/3/12 informal discussions occurred with Region 2 CSD about changes in paperwork processes within the Social Work units. The team at this meeting was Logan MacGregor, Shannon Nielsen and Seattle CR Gabe Hargrove. The issues were resolved informally and a summary is drafted but awaiting response from Deborah Doyle.
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.
*UPDATE – This pilot continues and discussions at the statewide UMCC table about the CSD Business Plan included management putting forth the idea of having child care not be solely a call center function (partly over the counter). Please refer to the business plan. This is very preliminary, idea phase only, so more information is being gathered and another UMCC is set for 10/19/12.
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 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 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 has been done and a request for volunteers wanting to switch functions was sent out to staff in the CSC. Those that had been on the list already were considered first for this opportunity.Under the CBA, statewide UMCC’s have been occurring for CSD. The first one occurred on 9/27/11 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 third meeting occurred on 8/13/12 at which management presented the Union with their business plan and had some very frank discussions about changes being contemplated. Notes are still being drafted from this meeting. The Business plan was sent out to all CSD staff by the management team and to CSD Reps within the WFSE by me. A follow up meeting on these issues is scheduled for 10/19/12.
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. We also had a Child Care specific meeting with management on 5/23/12 to discuss the concerns within that function group. A follow up meeting for the Child Care group has been requested and the next CSC UMCC is scheduled for 9/27/12.
