General Membership Meeting-AFSCME 404
July 21, 2022
4:30pm
Present:
Jason Scrabeck, Ryan Cates, Eric Hesse, Matt Stenger, Cory Moon, Eric Manriquez, Mike Hohenstein, Annie Jakacki, Nick Weerts, Steaed Doehring, Jamie Schwartz, Steve Wilking, Ben Zarn, Tom Keck, James Kibler. My apologies for any names that are missing as I was not able to attend the meeting.
1.Secretary Report:
Motion to approve meeting minutes by Ben Zarn. 2nd by Eric Manriquez. Motion passes.
2. Treasurer-Antonino Guerrero:
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR MONTH ENDING: April 2022
CASH BALANCE BEGINNING OF MONTH: $143207.27
INCOME FOR THE MONTH: $ 29404.91
EXPENSES FOR THE MONTH: $ 4777.93
CASH BALANCE ENDING OF MONTH: $167834.25
SAVINGS: $ 151052.50
SUBMITTED BY: Antonino Guerrero
Treasurer-Antonino Guerrero:
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR MONTH ENDING: May 2022
CASH BALANCE BEGINNING OF MONTH: $167834.25
INCOME FOR THE MONTH: $ 7671.72
EXPENSES FOR THE MONTH: $6901.18
CASH BALANCE ENDING OF MONTH: $ 168604.79
SAVINGS: $ 151122.69
SUBMITTED BY: Antonino Guerrero
Treasurer-Antonino Guerrero:
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR MONTH ENDING: June 2022
CASH BALANCE BEGINNING OF MONTH: $ 168604.79
INCOME FOR THE MONTH: $ 7377.25
EXPENSES FOR THE MONTH: $ 14542.70
CASH BALANCE ENDING OF MONTH: $161439.34
SAVINGS: $ 151247.52
SUBMITTED BY: Antonino Guerrero
Motion to accept subject to audit by Ben. 2nd by Eric. Motion Passes
3. Correspondence:
4. New Business:
1. Emergency inversing for forensics for training (core 4). Contact any union officer for inversing that happened today for training. Management has said they will be cancelling core 4 training for rest of the summer.
2. Fifty-dollar weekend bonus is only for VOLUNTARY overtime. Still discussion about whether people will have to be pay it back. It was a mistake across the board so there’s hope that they won’t have to pay it back. There was supposed to be a policy in place before the bonus. The MOU governs like contract. It was approved through the SCR. If the payback must happen it will have to be for all not just for one. VP will get with NOC staff to send out an email as to what the union understands. No talk about them taking the $150 away anytime soon. There was 1 counselor for forensics and 5 counselors for MSOP in the last orientation group. Labor would like to keep track of FTE’s so that we don’t lose track of those. We could do a data request on the information on vacancies.
3. Achievement awards were discussed and how they are going to streamline the process and make sure that they are still being pushed forward.
4. Rescinding vacation memo (in forensics): under 40 hours of vacation, you must rescind 4 weeks in advance. Can’t rescind vacation inside a posting. Labor wanted to be able to get vacation granted inside a posting after it was rescinded inside a posting and that’s why the memo came about so that people are no longer allowed to rescind inside a posting. Labor would like the process on how rescinding get processed so that it gives a chance for another person to get it. It isn’t fair to make us rescind within 4 weeks, but they don’t send confirmation of the rescinding until it’s too late for anyone to get it granted. Labor will bring it up at the next meeting with management to get it clarified and cleaned up. Supervisor could grant a rescinding of vacation if it’s a major change within the posting.
5. Rescinding of overtime resulting in a coaching. IF it’s more than one shift prior to the overtime then management shouldn’t be giving you a coaching on rescinding overtime. Management is required to tell you if it’s a coaching session. If management uses the terms of overtime being a “scheduled shift” pay attention to that because there’s contractual language that governs that.
5. Old Business:
1. Contract proposals: The request for them hasn’t come out yet but will be out soon. Any changes you want in the contract put in a proposal. The form will be sent out with the email. There’s a place where you need to know if it’s master language or supplemental, but you don’t know then an officer will fill that part out.
2. Council 5 Convention is September 29-October 1. Please remember to email Eric Hesse if you’d like to go. You must have the time off to go, it’s a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Resolutions are decided at convention which each local puts together. It’s also an election year so officers for the council will be up for election. Eric Hesse and Najib Jamac are both from our local that hold offices in Council 5.
3. Last month there was a proposal for the Local to buy sweatshirts and we tabled it until this month; the minutes didn’t get out as promptly as we wanted. There wasn’t time for ample discussion, so I’d like to table it again until next month, August. That motion was made and seconded so the discussion will happen in August meeting.
6. Items from the membership:
1. Not allowing people to work more than 24/48. Management agrees that triples aren’t a good idea going forward. Management brought up the safety of doing too many doubles in a row, but labor brought up that inversing would be worse if people didn’t pick up the double shifts as much as they do.
2. Recruiting ideas from labor is better wages and better hours. Management ideas were recruiting at Nicollet County fair and a billboard on highway 22.
3. Knocking the minimums down to prevent more inversing. That happened over the 4th of July…labor can bring it up at next meeting with management.
4. Not bumping as many to overnights was to try to spread the vacancies evenly but seems that they have taken more of the desired days off away in the process.
5. Vacation structure changing? 1-rescinding inside a posting 2-not enough vacation slots 3-partial shifts. We’ve been trying to get these solved over the last 9 months and we finally got the rescinding part but have yet to get the other two solved. Now we have more to solve with the rescinding as well. Management is required to make every reasonable effort to get us vacation when we want it not just to allow us to use our accruals. People are getting leave of absences approved when they have leave time available.
6. Having Work Therapy Assistants and Behavioral Analysts work as security counselors. It would be nice to have the “professionals” help relieve some of the inversing workload. Management isn’t currently allowing them to work the overtime because they can’t work all 8 hours but that needs to change.
7. Any changes in scheduling? Management is still discussing it. Labor brought up the overtime burnout and the need to have the old schedules back.
8. MOU in security services? No, labor has one that president was supposed to send to the e-board today but hasn’t had the chance yet. It is the revised MOU then we will forward it on to management and see what they say.
9. E-board vacancy? No definite answer on that yet. Let the membership know as soon as we know.
10. Day when 7 people went home sick on inverses…burnout, shorting units, etc.
7. Good and Welfare:
8. Officer Reports:
President: Ryan Cates- This past month I have…
Attended Forensic Meet and Confer- Notes are attached to the meeting minutes.
Attended Forensic Safety Committee.
Attended Interest Based Problem Solving.
Chaired the Executive Board meeting.
Chaired the General Membership meeting at Jakes in St Peter.
Filed multiple grievances and sat investigations.
Talked with members in multiple work areas and listened to their concerns.
Presented and argued grievances.
Communicated information to E-Board members about issues facing the Local.
Worked with new officers to get them familiar with their responsibilities.
We continue to push for changes to the vacation process that will allow more members to take vacation when they want to.
Attended meetings to discuss schedule issues in the FMHP.
Responded to 1,248 emails about Union issues and questions.
Continued to push for the continuation of the unfilled shift bonus and the voluntary weekend overtime bonus.
Attended the AFSCME International convention.
If any member of Local 404 feels they are not being represented by our Union, please let me know. We cannot fix problems if we do not know there is a problem.
We ask that all members who are interviewed as non-subjects in an investigation, request Union representation. If management refuses, then members should refuse to answer questions. Participation in investigations is completely voluntary and they cannot coerce you to answer their questions. We need to do this to compel management to discontinue their practice of refusing to allow Union representatives into investigations.
VP: Matt Stenger-Over the course of the last month have been sitting investigations and filing grievances on various contract violations. Have also attended MSOP, MSH meet and confers along with general membership meetings. Currently working on why charges haven’t been filed against patients assault staff that isn’t a result of mental illness. Please remember to get in any contract proposals you would like to see added or taken out of our contract so it can be voted on next month.
VP: Eric Hesse-
Executive Board: Steaed Doehring -
Executive Board: Jamie Schwartz - I have been fielding questions from my WOOC position. Sorry, I have not been able to attend the last 2 MSOP meet and confers and General Membership meetings. I am 100% against spending $60k on sweatshirts! That’s all I have for now.
Jamie Schwartz, E-Board
Executive Board: Mike Hohenstein-Get your contract proposals in
Chief Steward Nick Weerts- I was gone on vacation much of the last month, but still managed to keep involved in the ongoings at MSOP. I did attend our monthly Labor Management meeting, please see the meeting minutes for updates/information. I also facilitated the New Employee member orientation day, like most months. This was our largest class yet this year, so be sure to welcome these new folks as they make their way into their new work areas.
I did sit one investigation the past month and filed one grievance. As well as continue to address several issues/concerns staff have that were not contract violations.
Continue to read postings to the Announcement page, as well as any HR emails with updates, for COVID policy changes and updates. As it has been throughout the pandemic, these are ever changing and fluid! We are all also just an email/phone call away with any questions but won’t necessarily have any answers either.
Please stay on top of any changes/clarifications to the Unfilled Shift Bonus & Voluntary Weekend Bonus.
I continue to try and make monthly rounds across the MSOP work areas. It’s impossible to catch everyone, so if you have issues/concerns, you’re welcome [and encouraged!] to reach out anytime.
HR continues to have massive staffing changes/turnover that is continues to be a challenge for us all. The generic emails are as followings
Contract for HR is [email protected]
Leave Management requests (FMLA) should go to [email protected]
Communication continues to be key to our success & strength, so Members are encouraged to reach out with concerns/observations. Please see www.union404.com for all meeting minutes.
Onward & Forward!
Nick Weerts
MSOP Chief Steward 8.10.22
Chief Steward: Marvin Sullivan-
Chief Steward: Eric Manriquez-
Attended meet and confer last month, as well as General Membership meeting.
Sat one investigation this month.
Chief Steward: Cory Moon- Cory Moon (Chief Steward Noc’s)
-Filed grievances currently have 6 at step 3.
-Fielded questions from members in regard to updates on schedules, inversing, overtime, etc.
-Received contract proposals for members. Will be submitting closer to deadline to see what has already been submitted from other members.
-Sat investigations.
-Skipped meet & confer to cover an inverse when training was going on as we were “emergency” inversing.
Chief Steward: Steve Wilking-
Chief Steward: Rick Pitts-
Annie Jakacki-