(June 6, 2006, Bob Dillon, CSEA Contract Administration Specialist)
CSEA and the UCS have settled an Improper Practice Charge filed by CSEA when the Courts unilaterally changed the Court Reporters Manual in relation to what material must be turned over when a Reporter leaves state service.
In a 2003 revision to the Manual, UCS stated that reporters, when leaving court service, may be required to turn over electronic notes and CAT (computer aided transcription) personal dictionaries to their supervisor for storage. This was a change from the previous practice, which required reporters to give to the UCS only the paper tapes of court proceedings transcribed by the reporter, since the tapes were the only material that the UCS supplied reporters with.
The modification unilaterally changed the terms and conditions of employment for court reporters, without notice or negotiation with CSEA.
CSEA immediately filed an Improper Practice Charge with the Public Employment Relations Board.
The settlement calls for reporters leaving State service to sign an affidavit agreeing to produce all transcripts requested after separation from service or, alternatively, to provide, on UCS-provided disks, a copy of electronic stenographic note files and CAT dictionary to UCS.
(June 8, 2006, Robert Lorenc, Local 332 President and CSEA Statewide Board Judiciary Representative) The CSEA/UCS Sick Leave Bank exists pursuant to an agreement between the parties dating back to February 8, 1994. The agreement was negotiated by a subcommittee appointed by CSEA, comprised of Tom Jefferson and Robert Lorenc, and a designee appointed by UCS, Robert Herrick. That agreement outlined in specific detail the intent, benefits, guidelines, and operational aspects of the Sick Bank. The agreement remained unchanged until the contract negotiations and collective bargaining agreement between UCS and CSEA agreed to on August 4, 2004 covering the contract period 2003-2007. The newly agreed to agreement, only slightly modified from the original, is printed in its entirety in the current contract as Appendix C, pages 99 thru 104. That printed agreement represents the proverbial "bible"governing the operational aspects of the bank. In broad terms, the bank is administered by one representative each from UCS and CSEA. Each designee has veto power relating to any particular application, that is, an application requires two "yes" votes to be approved. The representatives are in more than frequent contact with each other reviewing applications. On occasion, the applicant is asked to submit additional medical documentation. All information in the application is strictly confidential, discussed neither with local management or local union representatives. Coverage to an applicant can be awarded for up to a year at either full- or half-time rate. Given the fact that medical conditions are not static and, hopefully, subject to improvement and change, grants are not made for extended periods of time. Rather, a grant of a mutually agreed to reasonable period of time is made and the applicant is encouraged to reapply as needed. When reviewing an application, five criteria are utilized for evaluation purposes. Said criteria are: 1) length of service, 2) nature of the disability, 3) reasonable expectation of return to work, 4) attendance history record, and, 5)the maximum number of days that can or have been granted. The bank cannot make retroactive grants to cover any lapsed periods wherein the employee is on off-payroll status. Thus, it is vitally important to have completed applications submitted well in advance of the expiration of total leave credits. Employees transferring in from another union who were members of the former union's sick bank may apply to join the CSEA/UCS bank within sixty days of transfer. They must pay the initial full contribution charge. It is analogous to changing insurance carriers. Carrier B will not give you credit or a refund for what you paid to Carrier A. One would be expected to pay Carrier B's full charges for coverage. The bank functions to serve in a fair and equitable fashion to applicants "in need." It also has an equally important mission, to shepherd and protect that precious commodity, the time paid into the bank by all of the members that have joined the bank. Since its inception and to date, the bank has been a huge joint labor/management success. Countless members /employees have been permitted to utilize the grants to get well and return to work, thus benefiting both labor and management.
(November 22, 2006, James Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration) CSEA began a lawsuit earlier this year disputing New York State's decision to make our members pay for the cost of Medicare Part B premiums for retired employees. Previously, the State and local governments (for those in the NYS Health Insurance Plan) paid for the cost of the Part B premiums. CSEA contends that the change violates the Civil Service Law and is a change in terms of employment without negotiations, and a violation of the Health Insurance articles of the various CSEA-NYS Contracts. State Supreme Court in Albany County ruled that CSEA was wrong and NYS right. We appealed. The Appellate Division of Supreme Court, Third Department, has UNANIMOUSLY overruled Supreme Court and agreed with CSEA 100%! We expect the State to request the highest court, the Court of Appeals, to reconsider the matter. In the meantime, it looks like NYS may not get away with this cost-shifting through a back door.
(December 18, 2006, James Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration) The Appellate Division, Third Department, effectively killed the CSEA lawsuit disputing UCS's decision to change its mind and not reclassify Court Clerks to Senior Court Clerks when Court Officers provide security. The Justices insist that the peace officer status of Clerk titles in the downstate area does provide a "back-up security" force that makes them different from upstate Clerks. The fact that that belief is completely untrue does not seem to have penetrated the judicial mindset. The Court also pooh-poohed the Civil Service Law mandate that the State give equal pay for equal work, questioning the ability to enforce it, and saying that the State can violate the policy in some cases. This is the kind of "reasoning" that makes the public think judges are irrational, arbitrary, and capricious! There will probably not be an appeal of the decision. We would need Court of Appeals permission to appeal, and they are not going to find against the Chief Judge and Chief Administrative Judge, their bosses. CSEA will work on new strategies to address this ongoing problem.
Click on the following link to review the Empire Plan changes that will begin in 2008 and beyond. View 2008 Empire Plan Changes
(James Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration, May 7, 2008) CSEA and UCS have made a tentative agreement on a new contract for 2007-2011. The deal includes increases in compensation, location pay, and other benefits. More details will follow once final wording is agreed upon.
(As posted on the CSEA Web Site, www.csealocal1000.org, May 8, 2008) "CSEA Reaches Contract Settlement for 6,000 Court Employees Across New York" CSEA - New York's Leading Union - has reached a tentative agreement with the New York State Office of Court Administration on a new contract covering more than 6,000 non-judicial employees in the state's Unified Court System. "CSEA and the Unified Court System have reached a fair and responsible agreement that recognizes the value and importance of the court employees who make the system work every day," said CSEA President Danny Donohue. "These were challenging negotiations and I am extremely proud of the focus and commitment of the CSEA bargaining team." The four-year agreement retroactive to April 1, 2007 includes salary increases in every year of the agreement, improved downstate and Mid-Hudson Valley location pay, enhancements in longevity bonuses for long-term employees, improved payments to the Employee Benefit Fund and Labor-Management programs and increased funding for body armor for security personnel. There were no significant changes to health insurance provisions. Across-the-board cost of living adjustments are as follows: * April 1 2007 - 3 percent or $950, whichever is greater (retroactive); * April 1, 2008 - 3 percent or $975, whichever is greater (retroactive); * April 1, 2009 - 3 percent or $1,000, whichever is greater; and * April 1, 2010 - 4 percent or $1,025, whichever is greater. CSEA also agreed to a salary increase deferral for employees earning more than $115,000 annually until a judicial pay raise is enacted. Employees at or above that level will have their salaries held harmless but will receive the contract provisions once the judicial pay raise issue is resolved. If it is not resolved by the end of the contract, the employees will receive all of the contract cost of living adjustments retroactively. This issue would affect about 500 individuals out of the bargaining unit's 6,000 members. CSEA-represented court employees work in a range of non-judicial jobs, from court clerks to clerical and administrative staff to security officers in the court system in every part of New York. Additional details about the agreement will be posted on the CSEA website www.csealocal1000.org shortly. The agreement will be presented to the CSEA rank and file members for review and ratification in the weeks ahead. It must also be approved by the state legislature and signed by the governor. [Editor's note: Additional details will also be available here at the CSEA Judiciary web site, www.cseajudiciary.org]
(June 25, 2008) CSEA members by a 25-to-1 ratio have overwhelmingly ratified a tentative agreement with the Unified Court System. Members approved the agreement by 2,876 to 114. The four-year pact, retroactive to April 1, 2007, includes salary increases in every year of the agreement, improved downstate and mid-Hudson Valley location pay, enhancements in longevity bonuses for long term employees, improved payments to the Employee Benefit Fund and Labor-Management programs and increases funding for body armor for security personnel. There were no significant changes to health insurance provisions. Ratification ballots were counted June 25.
Click on the following link to review CSEA's "Better Choices" flyer regarding addressing the budget crisis in New York State. View Better Choices Flyer
(December 12, 2008, James Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration) NYSHIP recently mailed to employees a brochure listing its new rates and transfer deadlines. You may have noticed that CSEA-represented employees in the Executive Branch and all UCS employees pay a slightly higher premium for the Empire Plan. The reason for that difference is that other unions agreed to put limits on the list of drugs which the Empire Plan covers, while CSEA insisted on retaining eligibility for all drugs approved by the FDA.
(December 12, 2008, Donald Lynskey, Local 334 President) The new Court Reporter Page Rate Agreement and Minute Agreement Form have been deemed to be effective as of November 18, 2008, the date upon which the Administrative Board of the Courts approved the change and Part 108 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator was amended. CSEA would have liked a smoother transition to the new rates, so that our members did not have to deal with "retroactive" negotiation of page rates, but UCS nonetheless has specified November 18th as the date of implementation. All CSEA members received a copy of the new agreement with the ratification materials included in the ratification process earlier this year. CSEA-represented reporters must still complete the new Minute Agreement Forms for private party transactions, but reporters now retain the forms themselves for a two-year period. In the event a request is made of a reporter for production of a Minute Agreement Form, that request must be in writing stating a valid reason for the request. If a reporter feels the reason for the request is inappropriate, please contact your union representative as there is a committee in place to review requests, if necessary. CSEA-UCS 2008 Court Reporter Page Rate Agreement
(December 23, 2008, Donald Lynskey, Local 334 President) A reminder that CSEA EBF co-pay reimbursements must be submitted by 3/31/09 for the 2008 calendar year. Physician office co-pays are reimbursable up to $125 and Prescription Drug co-pays are reimbursable up to $100. The form is available on our web site, under the "Forms & Member Services" link.
(December 23, 2008, Donald Lynskey, Local 334 President) Despite repeated requests over many weeks asking that UCS produce a new Court Reporter Minute Agreement Form, we still have not received one. I have attached the latest CSEA-UCS Minute Agreement Form (MAF) from 2003, which the UCS Labor Relations Department has confirmed is accurate with regard to our newly enacted rates effective 11-18-08. This is NOT a UCS-distributed document, although their office did create this document back in 2003 when we were negotiating these same issues. All of the information is accurate and up to date on this form. Our CSEA-represented reporters may want to use this form, until eventually UCS may distribute a MAF to both UCS management and reporters. Once again, reporters are to retain the form themselves. Do not turn them over to management. In an earlier notice, a two-year retention period was mentioned, based on a UCS memo from one of the Judicial Districts. Please disregard that directive. At this time, we have not determined with UCS how long the retention period will be. You will be informed once that is determined. View CSEA Minute Agreement Form effective 11-18-08
(December 23, 2008, James Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration) The Governor has vetoed S.5565, which would have made Court Officers police officers (Veto # 180). He says most CO's are never called on to perform purely police functions. He also says it would cost money for additional training and that more expense for binding interest arbitration would not be far behind. (December 23, 2008, James Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration) The Governor's proposed budget would, among other things, depend on savings to the State by NOT paying the 3% raise employees are due next April; by DEFERRING (lagging) five days of pay from State employees; by increasing the premiums paid for health insurance in retirement by State employees who have fewer years of service than the average; and by eliminating State reimbursement of Part B premiums to active and retired employees who must pay it to retain Medicare. If some or all of these ideas are not agreed to by the unions and/or the Legislature, the Governor and Legislature would have to come up with money equal to these savings in order to balance the budget. The feeling is that the Governor might very well make up the difference by lots of layoffs of State employees. He cannot lay off UCS employees, but if the final budget cuts UCS funding a great deal, UCS could possibly also lay off employees.
(February 18, 2009, Kathy Guild, Contract Administration Specialist) The Office of Court Administration, with input from the affected unions, has developed a new policy for electronic recording of court proceedings. This policy has three main tenets. First, electronic recording may continue in those courts and court proceedings where it is currently in use. Second, court reporters are to be used in Family Court juvenile delinquency proceedings unless it is impractical for operational or fiscal reasons to do so. Third, in specified courts and court proceedings where electronic recording is not in use, court reporters will continue to be used unless reporters are unavailable and efforts to hire a reporter on a permanent, provisional or per diem basis has failed.
(February 18, 2009, Kathy Guild, Contract Administration Specialist) CSEA has instituted a pilot program to provide legal services to all CSEA members who carry firearms as part of their job requirements for certain job-related incidents requiring legal counsel. Under this pilot, CSEA-provided representation to a CSEA member involved in the use of force will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A list of CSEA Legal Assistance Pilot Program Attorneys and further information regarding this pilot will be published in the CSEA Work Force. Contact your CSEA local president if you have any questions or need additional information.
(February 19, 2009, Kathy Guild, Contract Administration Specialist) CSEA was successful in getting a Public Employee Safety & Health Bureau (PESH) complaint against the Unified Court System sustained. This complaint was filed because there are holes and depressions, some of which are improperly covered and an electrical outlet causing a tripping hazard in the UCS Print Shop on the 9th Floor of 25 Beaver Street, along with various other violations. These violations caused a CSEA-represented employee to be injured and represented serious safety hazards to the employees of the Print Shop. PESH has given UCS until March 12, 2009 to abate the violations.
(Donald Lynskey, Local 334 President) SALARY INCREASES & INCREMENTS CSEA has been informed that the salary increases and increments will be in the April 29th, 2009 paycheck. SENIOR COURT REPORTER EXAM RESULTS UCS has found that the computers used in calculating the scores for both the open competitive & promotional Senior Court Reporter exams given last April made some sort of grading error. The faulty lists have been withdrawn by UCS. No appointments have been made from the faulty lists to date. The old lists will continue to be used for the time being. UCS expects to have the corrected lists established "within the next several weeks." "CONFIDENTIAL" EMPLOYEES "This is just a reminder about court employees who are designated 'confidential.' UCS designates many non-competitive and some exempt employees with this label. Legally, any employee who is in a confidential position has NO disciplinary due process rights and has NO layoff rights. ALL Court Analyst titles are non-competitive and confidential. That means anyone who is a Junior Court Analyst, Court Analyst, Senior, principal, or whatever kind of Court Analyst can be dismissed or disciplined without charges and a hearing. If there were to be layoffs, no Analyst would have any seniority to use in the layoff process. "Please remember that other job titles are non-competitive but NOT confidential. Those employees do not have disciplinary or layoff rights for their first five years in non-competitive service, but once they have five years they DO get these rights. "I know this gets very complicated, but it is important to remember that any 'confidential' employee can be dismissed summarily." (Source: Jim Hennerty, CSEA Dep. Director of Contract Administration)
CSEA LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM - FIREARMS ENHANCEMENT As announced in the latest edition of the CSEA newspaper "The Workforce," CSEA has introduced a pilot program to provide legal services to CSEA-represented employees who carry firearms as part of their job. In the event of an occurrence where the member needs legal assistance based on the use of a firearm or other use of force in the line of duty, legal assistance is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our CSEA Region 5 attorney is Edward Dunn, Esq., of Syracuse. See the document below for more information. You may contact the CSEA Legal Department at 1-800-342-4146, extension 1443 for further questions or comments. CSEA Legal Pilot Program - Firearms
EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT You've undoubtedly heard of the Employee Free Choice Act, proposed federal legislation that gives workers more freedom to join unions and limits an employer's ability to intimidate workers trying to join a union. If you would like to learn more about this important legislation, go to www.csealocal1000.org to view a video that explains in further detail the background of the legislation.
(This information provided by CSEA Headquarters in Albany, 6/25/09) "ALBANY - CSEA is reviewing a proposal from the state Unified Court System to offer a separation from service payout similar to what has been offered to executive branch workers. The court system is attempting to shed payroll and would target the positions to be voluntarily vacated. Workers would need to take the offer before close of business on Sept. 2, 2009. The court system would have complete discretion to identify the titles and the number of positions in each title and jurisdiction that will be targeted for the cash payment. In areas where there are more employees in the same bargaining unit, title and jurisdiction than the number of positions that have been identified to receive the payment, the offers would be made to eligible employees in seniority order beginning with the most senior workers. For purposes of the cash payout, seniority is defined as the first date of hire in the court system. Where an employee's total separation cost (cash payment and the payout of accruals) does not yield a savings in fiscal year 2009-2010, the employee will not be eligible for the cash payment and the court system will move to the next eligible employee in seniority order." "This is not an early retirement incentive and CSEA has not yet chosen to participate in the payout offer. As this edition went to press, CSEA was still reviewing the proposal. If CSEA were to adopt the payout offer, offers to employees from the Personnel Office would be generated beginning on July 8. The offers sent from UCS to payout candidates would include instructions on how to accept the offer."
(Jim Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration, July 7, 2009) CSEA has agreed to the UCS proposal on a Separation Payment. As noted already, UCS would have the sole discretion to target specific positions and offer $20,000 to employees in those jobs to leave State service. For judicial districts 3-8, offers to targeted positions will be made based on seniority on a county basis, with the exception of the Analyst series, where offers will be made based on bargaining unit, jurisdiction (county), function and then seniority. Offers will begin to be generated on July 8, 2009 (through July 28) on a rolling basis via overnight mail and through Groupwise. Employees who are offered the payment are under no obligation to take it and will have seven calendar days to respond. The payment would be subject to taxation and would not be added into salary. Naturally, this is a difficult decision to make, and employees will have little time to decide. CSEA urges members who are faced with the choice to ask UCS for all possible details of how such an offer would affect them if they take it, especially in regard to health insurance coverage and other benefits.
(Jim Hennerty, Dep. Director of Contract Administration, July 30, 2009) On July 29th, the CSEA Unified Court System local presidents were briefed by the representatives of the CSEA Employee Benefit Fund (EBF) on some exciting changes affecting both full-time and part-time UCS employees. Both the full-time and part-time employees received increases to the fee schedules for their respective dental plans effective July 1, 2009. These increases in the schedules may translate into less out of pocket costs for you. Increases were applied to exams, periodontal treatment, cleanings, bridges, crowns, root canal therapy, fillings, dentures, extractions, radiographs and orthodontics. Because of the changes to orthodontics, the lifetime maximum was also increased from $2580 to $2948 for full time employees, and the orthodontic maximum for part-time employees went from $1950 to $2601. As a result of the changes to the dental plans, new benefit books have been mailed out to all employees and information is also available on the CSEA EBF's newly redesigned website, www.cseaebf.com. The second enhancement applies to the co-pay reimbursement benefit. On July 21, 2009, Chairman Danny Donohue and the EBF Trustees approved the physician and prescription drug co-pays to be combined and increased to a maximum $325 reimbursement annually. Any reimbursement request that has already been submitted for the current year is being reviewed and a letter sent to the member stating that they may submit for the higher reimbursement. In a separate mailing, all UCS covered employees will be advised of the details of this enhanced benefit. Should you have any questions, please contact the CSEA EBF at 1-800-323-2732.
(Submitted by Former Statewide Rep. Tom Jefferson, now retired, Feb. 22, 2001) I know the activists have heard and continue to experience the questions and answers often asked by membership and a lot of the questions come without reflection. Once State workers retire, an opportunity exists for them to reflect upon their work history, the benefits and salary increases that you have enjoyed as a result of the collective effort of your union activists. I started 39 years ago when the only benefit received was an occasional pay raise and a health insurance program, so I write this quiz in the hope of enlightening some who still question why I pay union dues or what does the union do for me or why can't you do more? Start by asking yourself, Do I compare car prices when shopping?
If the person you ask responds with mostly NAYS, then take a moment and reflect and say thanks to your union activist. I know I do! You control your future…if you are that unhappy, make a career move! Watch out what you wish for!
(Submitted by James Hennerty, CSEA Deputy Director of Contract Administration) CSEA Political Action advises that the Governor signed into law on March 24th a bill giving all Court Officers throughout the State the authority to execute bench warrants. The new law becomes effective May 24th, 60 days after the new law was signed.
(Submitted by James Hennerty, CSEA Deputy Director of Contract Administration, April 12, 2010) Court employees are scheduled to have a 4% salary increase effective April 1. So are State employees in the Executive Branch. But there is no State budget in place to pay for raises or much of anything else. While the powers that be work on finishing the budget, the Governor has the Legislature pass emergency spending bills on a weekly basis to enable State funds to flow to essential operations. The Governor is NOT allowing payment of the 4% raise to Executive Branch State employees until a budget is in place. (He also wants CSEA and PEF to give up the 4% permanently, although he needs us to agree to that.) It is not yet known if he will authorize an appropriation for the 4% for court employees or not. We will know when he submits next week's emergency bill. If the bill does not contain the raise, the governor says it will be paid when a budget is in place. Please continue checking in to this website for further developments.
(James Hennerty, CSEA Deputy Director of Contract Administration, April 15, 2010) There is no substantial change in the situation from our last report. As far as we know the Governor will submit an emergency spending bill on Friday which will provide the 4% raise for court employees, but not for Executive Branch employees. That could change, so stay tuned. The newspapers reported yesterday that a retirement incentive plan is slated to be part of the completed budget, but details are scarce. Reports say that there will be two parts to the incentive. First, those in Tiers 2-4 will be able to retire without penalty if they are at least 55 years old and have at least 25 years of service. It is thought that eligible employees will be able to do this without management consent. The second part will be offers to targeted employees (those filling positions management feels it can do without) which would increase service credit by one month for each year of service, up to a maximum of 36 months. Please note that this is all speculative, and any proposals will have to survive the larger battle over the budget deficit.
(James Hennerty, CSEA Deputy Director of Contract Administration, April 19, 2010) The latest news we have is that the Governor has submitted an emergency spending bill to cover the State while there is no budget. It covers the payday of April 28, the first in which court employees are scheduled to receive pay based on salaries 4% greater than the last fiscal year. As we read this bill, employees of the State in the Executive Branch will continue to be paid WITHOUT the 4% raise, but non-judicial employees in UCS are to be paid WITH the 4% included. We believe this is the way it will be come payday, but in the current atmosphere of fiscal crisis, anything is possible.
(James Hennerty, CSEA Deputy Director of Contract Administration, April 29, 2010)
WHAT CAN WE DO??? Please get every one of your members to contact their State Assembly Member and State Senator and urge them to get a budget done, which will include full funding for the EBF. The more voters they hear from, the more likely it is that they will settle this whole mess without hurting us.
(James Hennerty, CSEA Deputy Director of Contract Administration, May 4, 2010) Governor Patterson today announced that he will attempt to furlough State Executive Branch employees one day a week, beginning May 17, until a budget is enacted. Although he did not say this today, last week his intention was that furloughs would not apply to employees of the UCS. We continue to monitor the situation. The Governor also announced his proposal for an early retirement incentive. CSEA is reviewing it. The Legislature would have to pass this bill for it to take effect. Stay tuned for further developments.
(James Hennerty, CSEA Deputy Director of Contract Administration, February 18, 2010) The Office of the State Comptroller has kindly given us a preview of how the payment of deferred salary will occur for those employees affected. This procedure could change, depending on what is happening overall with the proposed budget and other actions in the Legislature and the Governor's Office. Remember, this is the repayment of salary percentage increases, increments and increments upon promotion which were deferred (withheld) from employees whose pay was already at $115,000 a year, or which would have put a member at or above $115,000 a year. (See Article 7.11 in the current Agreement.) The plan is to implement the salary restoration in April 2011.
PLEASE NOTE: CSEA does not give advice to members concerning income tax withholding or filing. Members who are concerned about withholding rates for the anticipated large check of April 27 should see a financial adviser or appropriate professional if they wish assistance in handling the matter. Could something about this go wrong? If there is no State budget on time, or no emergency appropriation, or a "shutdown" of State services, the plan could be upset. It seems unlikely this would happen, but in the event the State does not pay the money, CSEA will make efforts to enforce the provisions of our Agreement, as we have done in the past.
(April 5, 2011) As Judge Lippman announced yesterday, layoffs will be occurring within UCS sometime in the near future. As the employer, UCS does not have to and, indeed, did not consult with CSEA in this regard. UCS has invited all of the unions statewide to an informational meeting tentatively set for Monday, April 11th to discuss the layoffs. Your CSEA representatives will be attending this meeting. On Wednesday, April 13th, CSEA Local Presidents will be meeting in Albany to discuss the information relayed by UCS and to discuss layoff and bumping procedures. Soon thereafter, we will update our members on our statewide Judiciary web site, www.cseajudiciary.org. Members are asked to please hold off sending specific inquiries regarding the layoffs until after April 13th. There have been numerous inquiries regarding the definition of seniority for layoff purposes. Generally speaking, seniority is based on years of UCS service, NOT on the years served in a particular position. More information in this regard will be available the end of next week.
(April 8, 2011) We have just been notified that any member whose salary was deferred under the terms of the 2007-2011 contract will be eligible to contribute an additional percentage to their NYS Deferred Compensation for the retro paycheck on 4/27/11. If interested in doing so, call the Plan at 1-800-422-8463 to speak with a Help Line representative. (Tip: Press #, 0 to go directly to a representative) Participants will be asked what percentage they wish to contribute from that specific paycheck, which will include regular pay plus the retro pay in one check. Be certain to inform the representative if you only want to change the percentage contribution for that one specific paycheck and if you want it changed back to your normal percentage contribution for the next paycheck. IMPORTANT: This request must be made by Tuesday, April 12th at 4:00 p.m.
(April 13, 2011) The Unified Court System (UCS) has formally notified court employee unions, including CSEA, of its intent to lay off approximately 400-500 employees, with the possibility of thousands of other employees being displaced. OCA offices will be laying off 50-70 employees (as part of that total number). UCS asserts that these layoffs are made necessary by a budget cut of $70 million in UCS's proposed budget for this fiscal year. All of the unions representing court employees met with UCS on Monday, April 11th in New York City. At this point, UCS has not yet determined what positions will be abolished, much less which employees will be affected. A number of our members have asked CSEA to negotiate some agreement with UCS whereby all members would agree to a furlough or a lag payroll as a way to make the layoffs unnecessary. In our judgment, that is not possible. UCS has indicated that it would not consider either a lag or furlough unless all eleven unions agreed to it and nine of the unions have already vetoed the idea. Therefore, we are unable even to entertain the idea of either option. It is important to note that CSEA is not implementing layoffs. It is being done by the Unified Court System and it is up to that system to answer employee questions and explain the process to affected employees. CSEA Local representatives are available to double check responses from management if a member has any questions. Employee inquiries should first be directed to their personnel office or other appropriate management operation for such information. CSEA Local Presidents met today in Albany to review the legal procedures concerning the layoff process and methods of displacement. Until UCS publishes their plan of implementing layoffs, we do not have all the specifics, but we can provide the following tentative timeline: OCA Employee (Administrative Offices) Layoffs
All Other Layoffs in UCS
CSEA will continue to monitor the situation and update the membership through the Local Presidents and the web site.
Vincent Martusciello, Local 010 President, Chair
Donald Lynskey, Local 334 President, Co-Chair
Nicole Ventresca Cohen, Local 694 President
Robert Pazik, Local 335 President
Scott Gartland, Local 333 President
Kevin Mahler, Local 332 President
Kevin Ray, Local 330 President
As announced in the August CSEA "Work Force," elections will take place January 18, 2012 - February 14, 2012 for the CSEA Statewide Officers, Region officers, and Statewide Board of Directors. The following documents are available by clicking on the link below:
Election Schedule; Nomination Notice; Notice of Nominations and Eligibility requirements for Statewide Officers' election, Region Officers' election and Board of Directors' election, including the signature requirements for each Board Seat; Notice Regarding Campaigning; Notice of Election Rules; and the Standing Rules and Regulations, including the Notification of Intent to Observe form, the Slate Procedures, and the Candidate Printing/Mailing Costs.
Click here for Election Notices & Information
(Source: James Hennerty, CSEA Dep. Director of Contract Administration, 9/28/11)
We have just learned that changes in the New York State Health Insurance Plan, NYSHIP, negotiated by CSEA for its Executive Branch members will apply to CSEA-represented court employees, non-unionized court employees, and judges as of October 1st of this year. It is the responsibility of the NYSHIP Office to inform all affected employees about the details. We do not yet know if this is being done at present. Further developments will be posted on the web site.
(James Hennerty, CSEA Dep. Director of Contract Administration, 10/2/11)
Some CSEA members working for the court system are asking why the Empire Plan is changing before we have completed negotiating a new contract. The reason is that Article 8 of the CSEA-UCS contract specifies that CSEA-represented court employees receive the same health insurance benefits (including co-pays, premium contributions, etc.) as our fellow NYS Executive Branch State empoyees do. Now that we have made some changes in the Executive Branch, they become effective for our court employees pursuant to Article 8 of the contract. And the expired agreement stays in effect until a new contract is completed.
"PEP" PROGRAM INFORMATION
A new program called "PEP," Product Enhancement Program, will be taking the place of the "HOP" program, which expired with our last contract. This program allows employees Grade 23 and below the opportunity to exchange six annual leave days for up to $1,000 to be applied to the employee's share of their health insurance premiums during 2012. The attached file will give you complete information. Each Judicial District should be contacting employees to inform them of the program guidelines and to advise them of the enrollment cut-off date of November 25th.
Click here for "PEP" Information
NYSHIP INFORMATION 10/19/11:
The Special Option Transfer Period that is occurring from September 29 - October 31, 2011, will allow employees to make changes to their health insurance, if they so desire. This could be moving from an HMO to the Empire Plan, etc.
The Opt Out or Buy Out in which employees will receive $1,000 if they had individual coverage or $3,000 if they had family coverage, if they have proof of other insurance, will not occur until after 1/1/12. In order to be eligible to receive the buy out, employees must have been insured through the state continuously from 4/1/11 until the buy out period. If any employee drops their state insurance before the buy out period, they will not be eligible to receive the buy out.
Also, any State employee who retired from 1983 through 12/31/11, will pay a 2% increase on their health insurance.
The extended collective bargained changes effective October 1, 2011 results in premium contribution increases. This change resulted in enrollees being responsible for an additional 6% of the total health insurance premium contributions. Enrollees with individual coverage (above a grade 10) are now required to pay 16% of the individual premium (was 10%); enrollees with family coverage (above a grade 10) are now required to pay 31% of the dependent portion of premium (was 25%).
The increase in premium contribution affects all NYSHIP Options (The Empire Plan and various Health Maintenance Organizations), however, the increase varies by plan due to many factors.
Effective October 1, 2011, for grade 10 and above, New York State will contribute 84% toward the individual coverage and 69% toward the dependent portion of the Empire Plan premium.
For enrollees in an HMO, there is an added twist to New York State's contribution which makes comparison of HMO premiums more difficult. New York State's contribution to the HMO premium (hospital, medical, mental health/substance abuse components) is capped at the State's dollar contribution for the same components under the Empire Plan. The HMO prescription drug premium component is not capped at the Empire Plan contribution; prescription drug component is paid 84% for individual and 69% for dependent (no cap).
UPDATED "PEP" PROGRAM INFORMATION
"PEP," Product Enhancement Program, has recently been enhanced to allow employees Grade 23 and below the opportunity to exchange three days of annual for up to $500 OR six annual leave days for up to $1,000 to be applied to the employee's share of their health insurance premiums during 2012. The attached file will give you complete information. Each Judicial District should be contacting employees to inform them of the program guidelines and to advise them of the enrollment cut-off date of December 30th.
Your CSEA Contract Negotiations team met with UCS on August 10th and September 28th, 2011. The majority of our contract proposals have been delivered to UCS, and we have held extensive discussions regarding whether certain proposals are a mandatory or non-mandatory subject of negotiations. UCS indicated that any proposals with a fiscal attached, they would be looking to go in the opposite direction.
We were scheduled to meet with UCS on October 27th, but the day prior to the scheduled meeting, management cancelled, saying they were not yet prepared to proceed with their proposals.
Please see the attached notice regarding 2012 elections for Statewide Treasurer, Region Officers (Regions 2 & 4), Statewide Board of Directors, and AFSCME Delegates (Regions 2, 3, 4, 6).
Click Here for 2012 Election Notice
The link below provides a worksheet for estimating the value of your sick leave credit only. The worksheet is for full-time and part-time employees. If you are paid on an hourly basis, use your hourly salary as the Hourly Rate of Pay.
Click Here - Sick Leave Value Calculation
PENSION ALERT!!!! Click here to email your legislators! The governor's proposed Tier 6 will force people into a 401(k) and will cause YOUR Pension FUND to go under. The constitutional guarantee is useless if the PENSION FUND IS BROKE! This happened in Rhode Island - current retirees had to take as much as a 50 percent loss in their pensions. Oppose Tier 6 Tell Your State Legislators "Don't put my retirement at risk - oppose Tier 6" Call 1-877-255-9417 Go to: tinyurl.com/stoptier6
IMPORTANT - PROPOSED TIER 6
"I'm in Tier 4, so I'm not concerned about the proposed new retirement tier." "Why should I care about Tier 6? It won't have any effect on me."
Think the new Tier 6 proposal will not affect you? WRONG. In Rhode Island, current retirees had to take as much as a 50% loss in their pensions.
We do not want that to happen in New York. A constitutional guarantee to your pension is completely useless if the pension fund is broke! The proposed Tier 6 plan 401(k) option requires no mandatory employee contribution and the employee carries all of the risk. Even more important, the stability of our retirement system will be at risk with less people paying into the system.
What you need to do:
Forms & Member Information