The University of Iowa and AFSCME Local 12
Labor Management Committee Meeting
July 20, 2010
Present: Shannon Bartlett, Josey Bathke, Tim Cook, Andy Cooper, Michelle Dixon, Dee Gansemer, Suzanne Hilleman, Joe Marron, John Stellmach, Todd Taylor
Absent: David Bergeon, Deborah Conger, Al Schepker, Kevin Ward
Guests: Chuck Green- DPS, Sue Mulder- DPS, David Visin- DPS, Dave Hackbarth- EHS, Carol McGrann- EHS, Nancy Kroeze- ELR, Diana Leventry- HR, Laurie Lentz- Treasury Ops
Review Summary of June Meeting prepared by University of Iowa
Social Media Guidelines- Guest: Diana Leventry
Social media continues to grow; it can be used as a tool for learning or connecting with friends or family. Social media is a very graphic and immediate means of communication. Messages that might have been well thought out in the past might not be now, so there is a real potential for problems not only for people personally but also in the work place. HR is educating employees about how to use social media and what some of the risks are. The Social Media Guidelines were issued in May 2010 and the intent is not to use them as policy but they are to be used as best practice information. Guidelines are posted on the HR website, the general University of Iowa website, and on the ITS website. Additional questions can be addressed to Josey Bathke or Diana Leventry.
Employee Payroll Deduct and Misc. U-Bill Charges- Guest: Laurie Lentz
There is a new policy being established for employee charging that is linked to payroll deduction. This is being developed to standardize the charging system across the entire institution. This new system will help avoid cardholder confusion and inadvertent loss of charging privileges. Everyone will need to opt in to this new system even if they are currently able to charge. Email notification will be sent to all affected Faculty and Staff (those that are in non-student job classifications). There will be signage at campus vendor locations and there will be a pop-up notification in the Employee Self Service website. Non-voluntary charges such as library fines or parking tickets will first go to your U-bill, and then will be deducted from your next paycheck. This gives you a month to dispute charges. The new system is currently set to go into effect 10-1-10. Additional questions call 335-0071 or e-mail ubill@uiowa.edu.
Police Dispatchers- Guests: Chuck Green, Sue Mulder, David Visin
Issue: It was brought up at a Local 12 meeting that the Police Dispatchers had a staff reduction and people were being pressed to the point of no breaks or lunches. Response: Actually more people have been hired but they are in training, it takes 4 months to train and dispatchers have to be licensed and certified. During the day shift there’s sometimes only one person available for that job. The shift commander can come in to cover a restroom break but because there are 911 calls they cannot cover a regular break- The dispatcher is the only qualified trained person to do the job. This situation of being short staffed is expected to last for about another 6 weeks. The final goal is to have 2 dispatchers on the shift at all times. There will be an update from DPS in about 2 months to let LMC know the status of the situation.
Notice to AFSCME of IOSH Inspection at Oakdale- Guest: Dave Hackbarth, Carol McGrann
April 2010, it was stated in Lab News Environmental Health and Safety there was an unannounced IOSH inspection. Iowa law states that the local union should be notified so that they can be present during these inspections. This is not part of the contract agreement but it is Iowa code. Union will find out where it is stated specifically so that what it says can be defined specifically. Union wants to be a part of these visits in order to keep employees safe. Previous union contacts have retired so John Stellmach and Joe Marron will be the new contacts for IOSH inspections, contact information to go to Josey Bathke via e-mail.
Early Retirement Incentive Program II Update
The numbers that were presented in the meeting minutes from 6/15/10 are the most up to date. 260 employees applied for the early retirement program. Of those, 15 were faculty, 117 were AFSCME covered and 128 were other (SEIU, Merit Exempt and P&S). Of the 15 faculty applications 7 were approved. 21 of the AFSCME applications were approved and 35 of the other applications were approved. There is a 45 day deadline that will affect the numbers a bit, so the final numbers are not yet available.
90% Appointment
Ken Kates and Dr. Robillard confirmed that the 90% appointment will continue to be used at UIHC. It was never intended to be used temporarily. UIHC senior leadership never viewed this to be used for only a few employees. The statement about implementation of 90% appointments being intended to allow employees and departments more flexibility still stands. Conversations about this issue are expected to continue as there are concerns about employees hired at 90% but working more and not getting appropriate benefit accruals.
Concerns About PNA’s Not Getting Breaks
No employee names are available at this time. Union will check to see if this issue has been resolved or if it needs to continue as an agenda item.
Span of Control
Span of Control was discussed at the Statewide Labor Management Meeting. There was a report due April of 2010, and a copy was sent to Danny Homan.
Privatization of Custodial Work
Union will get more specific information about this for the August meeting.
UIHC Phone Policy Related to Wash-Up Time
Nursing unit clerks and front line clerical staff working from 8-5 no longer get a “wash-up” period at the end of the day. Historically some areas let their people pick up early so that they were ready to leave at 5 p.m. Now they are asking that phones continue to be answered right up until 5 p.m. If the employee ends up being on a phone call past 5 p.m. and they are over 40 hours they are eligible for overtime. Departments could be creative and stagger the schedules to get away from paying overtime. If there are issues with specific areas or employees notify Josey Bathke.
Meeting adjourned at 3:23 p.m.