EA Voice June 20107
Message from the President
Dear Members,
After several months of conventional and fast track negotiations, the EA and the Air District reached a tentative agreement on principals for an MOU extension on June 20, 2017. What this means is that the EA and the Air District have agreed to the concepts and principals of the contract, and will now write up contract language. A summary of this negotiation process is provided below.
To help members get a better understanding about what is in the new contract, we have summarized the principles of this extension below. Keep in mind that a tentative agreement was signed on these principles and the negotiating team is working to draft contract language. These principles are not subject to further negotiation. We will be voting on a contract based on these principles.
On a personal note, I would like to give a big thanks to the negotiation team of Robert Cave, Tina McRee, Michael Neward, Michael Wall, Ruby World and Will Saltz. Our team has worked very hard and I believe has achieved the best contract we could get in these negotiations. Thank you all for your hard work.
It is an honor and a pleasure to serve.
Thank you.
— Chris Coelho, EA President
eapresident2015@gmail.com
Update on Contract Negotiations
The EA Negotiation team, comprised of board and non-board members, began conventional contract negotiations with District Management in early January. On March 9th both sides agreed to Ground Rules for Negotiations, and at the start of April both sides introduced proposals for negotiation. The EA presented proposals related to Salaries (COLA), Standby Pay, Acting Assignments, Special Pay and Allowances, Fringe Benefit Allowance, Transit Subsidy, Family Care Leave, Succession Training, and the Term of the Contract. Management presented proposals on Deferred Compensation, Method of Filling Vacancies, and Intern & Fellow Program. The District likely would have introduced proposals for Salaries and/or Fringe had the EA not done so, and this may be true for other items initially presented by the EA.
In early April, District Management approached the EA leadership about the potential to explore a "fast-track" negotiation process that would limit discussions to the big money items (COLA, FBA, and Term). This fast-track process would not be subject to the same collective bargaining rules as conventional contract negotiations. Representatives from both sides met informally through the month of April, reaching a tentative agreement on April 18th. This tentative agreement was presented to the EA Board for ratification and it was voted down since the majority of the EA Board felt that the tentative agreement was unlikely to be accepted by the General Membership.
Conventional Negotiations resumed May 11th, and the EA team met with the District Management team on five occasions. Progress was made on some items, and little progress on others. With the end of the contract term fast approaching, the EA negotiating team impressed upon the District Management team the need for more serious negotiation.
After some preliminary informal discussion, both sides renewed fast-track negotiations reaching tentative agreement on an enhanced package limited to COLA, FBA, Standby Pay, Transit Subsidy, and Term of Contract. The EA Board voted to ratify the Tentative Agreement on Principles for an MOU Extension on June 21. The EA Negotiating team will now work out the Contract Language for these principles in negotiations with District Management. Once this work is completed, both sides will sign a tentative agreement on the MOU which will be forwarded to the EA board for recommendation to the General Membership to vote for or against adoption of the Amended MOU. If approved by Membership, it will then go before the District Board of Directors for their consideration and adoption.
Summary of Principles of MOU Extension
Contract language is currently being written, but the principles of the contract are listed below. We will send out the finished language as soon as we can.
Term
The term of this contract will be for two years (7/1/2017 to 6/30/2019).
COLA
Year one (July 1, 2017): salaries will increase by the CPI of 2.7%
Year two (July 1, 2018): salaries will increase by the CPI (not less than 1% and not more than 3.5%)
Salary Enhancement / Cash Out Swap
On January 1, 2018, all members will receive an additional 1.0% increase in salary.
In addition to the 1.0% increase in salary, employees that do not use all of their Fringe Benefit Allowance and previously received cash back will receive on January 1, 2018 a one-time payment (not to exceed $1,200) of annual cashback minus 1.0% of their salary. Note that there will be no reduction of salary in any form if 1.0% of your salary is greater than $1,200. Affected employees will receive a one-time cashback between $1 to approximately $750. Refer to examples below for details.
Example 1: if you currently make $65,000 and receive full cash back ($1200), you will get the 1% pay increase of $650, plus an additional one-time payment of $550.
$1200 - 1% salary ($650) = $550.
Example 2: If you currently make $144,000 and receive full cash back, you will get a 1% pay increase of $1,440 and no additional one-time payment.
$1200-$1440 = $0 cash back (there is no negative)
Example 3: If you currently make $85,000 and receive $900 cash back, you will get a 1% pay increase of $850 and one-time payment of $50.
$900-$850 = $50.
Fringe Benefit Allowance
On January 1, 2018, there will be an implementation of a Tiered Benefit Model based on Kaiser HMO premiums.
Eligible Employees (EE) only: will receive 100% of Kaiser HMO singles plus 100% dental and 100% vision for Employee Only Plan.
EE plus one: will receive 95% of Kaiser HMO plus one and 95% dental and vision for Employee plus One Dependent Plan.
EE plus family: will receive 90% of Kaiser HMO premium for employee plus two or more plus 90% dental and vision for Employee plus Two Dependents or more.
Effective January 1, 2018, the cash out option will terminate.
For employees hired before July 1, 2017:
Maximum monthly benefit capped at $1763.70 per month or Tiered Benefit Model Based on Kaiser HMO premiums for class of enrollment as described above, whichever is higher effective January 1, 2018.
For employees hired on or after July 1, 2017:
Maximum monthly benefit capped at Tiered Benefit Model Based on Kaiser HMO premiums for class of enrollment as described above with no cash out option.
Retirement Healthcare benefits
For employees hired before July 1, : $1763.70 or Tiered Benefit Model Based on Kaiser HMO Premiums for class of enrollment as described above, whichever is higher upon date of retirement.
For employees hired on or after July 1, 2017:
Tiered Benefit Model Based on Kaiser HMO premiums as described above.
Standby Pay
Standby pay increased to $5.00 per hour.
Transit Subsidy
Transit subsidy increased to the IRS limit ($255). Future increases will be pegged to IRS increases and not subject to decreases.
General Membership Meeting
July 6, 2017. 12-1 p.m.
Our next General Membership meeting will be Thursday July 6 from 12-1 p.m. in the Yerba Buena Room. We will be going over the new contract with members.
For field staff: we will be webcasting the meeting at the following field offices:
- Richmond Field Office, 845 Marina Bay Parkway, Richmond
- Concord Field Office, 1900 Bates Avenue, Suite G, Concord
- Hayward Field Office, 26220 Industrial Blvd, Hayward
Lunch will be provided at the Beale St. meeting and at the field office locations.
In addition, the EA will host an Open House on Monday July 10 from 12-1 p.m. in the Santa Clara Room if members have additional questions.
Contract Vote July 11 & 12
Voting for the contract will be done electronically starting July 11 at 8:30 a.m. and ending July 12 at 6:00 p.m. Members will be voting to accept or decline the offer.
You will be getting an email sent to your Air District email from electionbuddy.com. If you do not get this email on July 11 on 8:30 a.m., please check your junk or your clutter box.
EA Board Meetings
The EA Board meets on the second Wednesday of the month in the Bay Area Conference Room 6102. Meeting agendas are posted on the EA and the Public Bulletin boards one week prior to the meeting. Our next EA Board Meeting will be July 19th at 11:45 am.
Nomination Committee
Are you interested in taking the next step with your union? We are currently seeking motivated individuals to serve on the next EA Board after the current Board Members' term expires this September. We will be having a General Membership Meeting on September 6 to elect the new board. If you are interested or have questions, please contact the head of the Nomination Committee, Paul Grazzini.
Baseball Game Sign Up!
We're using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming Softball Game at the annual summer BBQ!
Here's how it works in 3 easy steps:
1) Reservations can be made at SignUp.com: http://signup.com/go/gbCyeCV
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.
