Section 301—Dues Deduction
Upon receipt of appropriate written authorization from an employee, the Agency shall bi-weekly deduct from such employee’s pay the employee’s Union dues. Amounts so withheld shall be paid by the Agency to the Union monthly.
An employee may revoke their dues deduction authorization during the period January 1 through January 15 or July 1 through July 15.
If during the duration of this contract the State of Vermont creates legislation that mandates the Agency Service Fee, Management agrees to hold a conversation with the bargaining unit to discuss its implications.
If the Union attains voluntary dues paying status of at least forty-five (45%) of covered employees and maintains such level of voluntary dues paying membership for a period of at least three consecutive months, the parties agree to re-open good faith bargaining on the question of whether a mandatory agency fee provision should be added to the Agreement.
Section 302—Access and Visitation
A. Investigations: The Agency will permit a steward or staff representative of the Union to enter the Agency’s premises at reasonable times during working hours upon advance telephonic notice to the Agency’s Human Resources Director and work area supervisor to arrange the date and time of the visit and upon receipt of advance permission from the work area supervisor, which will not be unreasonably delayed or denied, for the purpose of investigating a potential or previously filed grievance or dispute which has passed the oral informal step of the grievance procedure or for other protected activity. A Union representative who is also an Agency employee must also secure permission from their supervisor before being authorized to leave their work efforts for this purpose, which permission may be reasonably withheld for the requested time because of work demands. The representative shall not, during the course of such visit, engage in any activity outside the scope of this provision and shall conduct themselves so as not to cause any interference with the operations of the Agency.
B. New Employees:
B. 1. The Agency will permit a union member to have a brief (10 minutes or less) conversation (at their workplace) with new bargaining unit employees to inform these employees of the Union’s intent to initiate a later conversation on non-work time, regarding potential Union membership. These conversations may not interfere with work and our services to clients.
B. 2. If desired, the Union will make available to new employees a packet of materials regarding Union membership.
B. 3. The Agency will provide the names of new bargaining unit employees to the Union President one week prior to their scheduled attendance at orientation (if their identity and employment is known by that time). The Agency will also determine a mutually agreeable time when the union can have one hour access to new bargaining unit employees during their scheduled orientation.
B. 4. The Agency will permit the union to show a short video, created by the Union, subject to the Agency’s approval, to new employees at their scheduled orientation at 208 Flynn Avenue. Attendance is not mandatory and staff will be compensated for their time. A union representative will be permitted to attend that portion of the orientation in which the video is shown at which time they may introduce themselves and invite later conversation subject to B1 above. Future revisions of the video will be mutually agreed upon between the Agency and the Union.
C. Communication:
C. 1. The Agency will permit the Union to set up a booth at the Diversity Fair to communicate the benefits of the Union.
C. 2. Employees who are bargaining unit representatives shall have access to the Agency’s email system to email bargaining unit members union related information and materials. Any access to Agency email will be in keeping with the Agency’s Responsible Use of Technology Policy
D. Agency Space: The Union may request the use of an Agency conference room by contacting the Director of Human Resources. The request will be approved if 1) space is available; and 2) the meeting is outside of normal business hours and 3) there is a security presence in the building.
E. The Agency shall provide to the Union on a monthly basis a list of bargaining unit members including:
E. a. Name
E. b. Position Title
E. c. Service Area
E. d. Email Address
E. e. Phone Number
E. g. Date of Hire
E. h. Scheduled Hours of Work
E. i. Pay rate
E. j. Work Location
E. k. Dues
F. Bargaining unit staff who do not desire further contact from AFSCME should contact the AFSCME Local 1674 President.
Section 303—Postings
The Agency shall allow the Union to post, within a reasonable amount of space (two 8 ½” x 14″ size spaces) at eye level of an Agency bulletin board or other designated area at each work site except UVMMC union informational materials which shall not include information concerning grievances, disciplinary actions, proposed or ongoing job actions or critical assessments of Agency actions or personnel.
Section 304—Outside Employment
Full-time Employees may pursue outside employment only when the following conditions are met:
A. The outside employment does not provide similar services to those offered by the Agency within the Agency’s catchment area.
B. Private practice must be approved in writing by the Chief Executive Officer or their designee and such approval must be on file in the employee’s personnel file.
C. An employee’s outside work schedule must be compatible with the employee’s Agency time obligations.
Agency decisions concerning permissible outside employment shall be final.
Section 305—Job Sharing
The Agency will consider specific employee requests for job sharing arrangements. Any such requests must include the delineation of job responsibilities, hours of work, and desired duration of the job-sharing Agreement. The Agency will present its response to any such requests in writing. Agency decisions as to such requests will be non-grievable. The employee with the least seniority will be laid off when the Agreement ends, in accordance with the layoff procedure.
Section 306—Seniority
A. That period computed from the date upon which the employee has most recently commenced employment with the Agency. Where seniority is determinative, strict seniority shall be observed for employees with more than thirty-six (36) months of seniority. Seniority shall be considered to be equal between employees with less than thirty-six (36) months of seniority within the same seniority blocks delineated as follows:
A. 1. Initial probation;
A. 2. After initial probation through fifteen (15) months;
A. 3. More than fifteen (15) months through twenty-four (24) months;
A. 4. More than twenty-four (24) months through thirty-six (36) months;
B.
An employee shall cease to have seniority, and their seniority shall cease to accrue and be deemed broken in the following circumstances:
B. 1. Voluntary termination and has not been re-hired within 6 months;
B. 2. Discharge for just cause;
B. 3. Expiration of recall rights.
C. Seniority shall continue to accrue during an unpaid leave of not more than three (3) months. Seniority shall cease to accrue but not be deemed broken during an unpaid leave of more than three (3) months.
D. Employees who, prior to July 1, 1994 were employed by either Baird or CDAS shall have their seniority determined, subject to the above criteria, as if such employment was with the Agency. Additionally, for layoff purposes only, those employees who worked at Founders Hall as of June 29, 1994 prior to becoming CDAS employees shall have seniority determined as if such employment was with the Agency.
AFSCME Local #1674 