After nearly 18 hours of solid bargaining with DSHS Secretary Dreyfus and her executive leadership, the union bargaining team concluded bargaining over the additional furlough days in DSHS.
The union bargaining team brought forward innovative ideas of how to conserve salary dollars in order to save family wage jobs. The union continues to seek ideas from our membership for cost saving measures.
Both the union team and the management team struggled to come to an unprecedented agreement designed to meet the needs of both parties and best serve the citizens of the state of Washington. The options available to the teams were limited by the economic crisis in the state, regulations, and potential liabilities.
The facts, as provided to the union by the Secretary of DSHS are as follows:
Due to the severe economic crisis in the State of Washington, the Governor has directed 6.287% across the board cuts. According to DSHS Secretary Dreyfus, the agency budget reductions total $167 million dollars. Therefore, in addition to the reduction of more than 2000 staff since June 2008, DSHS Secretary Dreyfus declared that it is necessary to implement a total one-time reduction in compensation through the end of this fiscal year totaling 11.1 million dollars.
As we understand it, the intent of the agreement is to expand and extend furlough days in a manner that is flexible, taking into account the work scheduling needs of represented employees as well as the business needs of the agency in order to achieve the salary and benefits savings required rather than resorting to the elimination of approximately 160 full time positions in DSHS.
The agreement recognizes that the furloughs reduce the time available for employees to complete the work they typically do. It takes into account the need to "reset" or reduce the expectations of the quantity of work usually done by state workers. Workload has been a key issue for our members. The hiring freezes and reductions in workforce coupled with the legislatively mandated furloughs have pushed workers to the very edge due to demands that they perform the same level of work despite the fact that there are fewer to do the work and those who remain have reduced hours to accomplish it.
The agreement does not allow workers to be punitively treated for the impact of these reductions on their work performance.
In most cases, performance evaluations will be suspended for the next eight months. A work group will be established to try to create a more meaningful and effective way to communicate performance assessments in the future.
Safety grievances will be handled in an expedited manner to try to quickly respond to dangerous situations that arise as a result of the current conditions.
State workers who earn the least will be exempt unless their work site is closed. When the work site is closed, they will be allowed to use their paid leave time.
The agreement allows for a reduction of furlough days when the savings are achieved.
The Union and Management will meet monthly to review the progress and determine if the number of days can be reduced.
Probationary and trial service employees will not face extensions of the time period due to furlough days.
Retirement and seniority credits will not be reduced as a result of furloughs.
The union team attempted to exempt a job class where the vacancy rate was so high that concerns were raised that potential fines or citations could be levied against the state. Management did not share those concerns and they were not addressed in the agreement.
These are only some of the provisions contained in the agreement. The full agreement is posted on the WFSE website.
The DSHS furlough bargaining team deserves our deep appreciation for the thoughtful way they approached this most difficult negotiation. Each of them worked hard to bring information, perspective, and creative solutions to the bargaining table. These tough economic times truly test each of us. This group took on the challenges with determination and hope for the future. Despite the late hour, no one left the table until the job was done. They maintained a true sense of union solidarity throughout. They thought of each one of our members in all their diverse circumstances and treated them all as members of our AFSCME family. I'm proud to have served with them. Thank you to all!
The Union team: Carol Dotlich, Sue Henricksen, Linnea Elmer-Andersen, Crag Gibelyou, Ken Blair, Daniel D'Haem, Ron Mullins, Sandra Reynolds, Steven Segall, Kandy Kraig, Julianne Moore, Marci Douglas-Bumgarner, Gabe Hall, Greg Devereux, Cecil Tibbets.
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