Stewards News

By Paul Pickett

Layoffs

April was a tough month for stewards. Six employees at HQ and SWRO in the Spills and HWTR programs were laid off. One of them turned down their “formal option” (the job they were offered) and left the agency. The other five took their options. Unfortunately, many of the options represented a demotion and all were jobs held by another employee (i.e. a “bump”). That resulted in another 5 employees laid off and offered options. We are not sure how that all turned out, except it appears that at least 4 landed in vacant positions, although once again taking demotions.

Nobody is happy about layoffs, and many people are frustrated with the seniority system and the use of “bumps” that favor senior employees. However, keep in mind a few things:

• The system is intended to reward longevity in state service. Without seniority, highly paid senior employees could be the first laid off, as often happens in the private sector. 

• The system is also intended to discourage favoritism. We don’t want a “family and friends” system where managers can purge employees or prevent them from filling positions just because they don’t “fit in”. Many employees ask why we can’t have a “merit-based” system to decide on who gets laid off. Unfortunately, although it sounds like a nice idea, experience has shown that such a system is commonly abused. 

• The seniority system is very “mechanical”. The employee laid off is offered a vacant position first (if available), then a position in the same job class with the least seniority (again, if available), and then other options if available. It is supposed to have nothing to do with who is in the position. Although it’s a lousy situation and no one is happy, it isn’t personal.

• Finally, the layoffs all started with decisions made by management. They made decisions to offer up cuts in certain parts of the agency based on priorities they set. The governor accepted those cuts and the legislature included them in the budget. If layoffs, seniority, and bumps make you angry, I suggest you direct your anger to a Governor and legislature who refuse to consider closing tax loopholes or raising user fees instead of cutting vital programs.

Demands to Bargain

• In April the agency issued a new parking plan for the HQ/SWRO building. It includes a proposal to tow employees cars if they are caught three times parking in the wrong spot. Employees are unhappy with the plan, and based on the advice of union members, the union has demanded to bargain over this issue. 

• We have also demanded to bargain over the impact on working conditions from the layoffs described above. We can’t stop a layoff, but we can address issues like training, workload, and reasonable accommodation.

• Bargaining dates for these DTB’s have not been set at the time of publication. If you have any comments or questions, please contact a UMCC member or steward.