TA-2006

Negotiations '05

ACSUM State Boards

Campus Contacts

Constitution

Grievance Procedure

Political Action

Layoff Rights

ACSUM CONTRACT SUMMARY

July 1, 2005-June 30, 2007

i: wages

·         Effective July 1, 2005, the current wage schedule will be expanded to add steps between Step 10 and the maximum for each wage band.  The last step in each wage band will be a full step.  This will increase the maximum rate slightly in some steps.

·         Effective July 1, 2005, all unit members not yet placed on the wage schedule, will be placed on the step in their wage band at the next higher rate from their current rate.

·         Effective July 1, 2005, each step in the wage schedule will be increased by 3%.  Employees whose hourly rate is above the maximum for their wage band will receive a 3% increase.

·         Effective July 2, 2006, each step in the wage schedule will be increased by 2.5 %.  Employees whose hourly rate is above the maximum for their wage band will receive a 2.5% increase.

·         Effective July 1, 2005 and during the term of the contract, all step movement will occur every other year: on the second, fourth, sixth or subsequent even-numbered anniversary of the unit member’s job entry date.  This means that all retroactive step movement will be retroactive to the anniversary of the individual unit member’s job entry date.

·         A small number of unit members, who have been unit members for at least 5 years but who are still at Step 1, will receive a step on the anniversary of their job entry date in both FY06 and FY07.

·         Effective July 2, 2006, employees whose hourly rate is still less than $9.50 (after step movements and across the board raises have been applied) will advance to the step in their wage band that does pay at a rate of at least $9.50 an hour.  This adjustment affects 20 unit members.  The cost of this adjustment does not come out of the $1.89 million compensation package outlined above.

II: health insurance

·         Effective January 1, 2006, the employee share of premium cost for individual coverage will increase from 10% to 11.25%.  The incremental premium share for dependant coverage will increase from 12% to 13.25%.

·         The total annual employee share for various forms of coverage for 2006 are as follows:

NOTE: The figures on the chart below are unofficial.  Final amounts may increase slightly, to adjust for the retention of the cap on premium co-payments.

·         Increases in premium share take effect as of January 1, 2006.  Actual changes to health insurance will likely not be implemented until January 2007.  The difference, noted for each kind of coverage in the table above, will have to be repaid.

·         The University will provide a rebate for premium overpayments in 2004 and 2005 as follows:

§         Single coverage: $65

§         Single Plus One: $130

§         Family: $195

If savings equal or exceed 1% of total premium cost, the University will continue this rebate program into 2006.

·         The University will implement a three-tier system for prescription co-payments.  The effective date is still to be announced (probably January 2007):

§         Tier 1 (Generic): $10

§         Tier 2: $25

§         Tier 3: $40

·         Unit members may obtain a 90-day supply of a medication for two co-pays through either a mail-order service provided by Anthem or through local pharmacies which participate in this program.

·         Prescription co-payments will be capped at $1,300 annually for individuals and $1,950 for families.

iii: dental insurance

·         Effective January 1, 2007, the University will provide a dental plan for which the University will pay 100% of the premium cost for individual unit members.

·         Unit members may purchase dependant coverage (paying 100% of the dependant share) at the following rates:

§         Single Plus One: 24 biweekly payments of $12.68 each.

§         Family: 24 biweekly payments of $32.45 each.

§         In the two months of the year in which unit members receive a third biweekly paycheck, there will be no deduction for dental insurance from that third bi-weekly paycheck.

·         Details of the proposed plan have not yet been finalized.  Tentative details include the following provisions:

§         No waiting period

§         No deductible

§         100% coverage for ‘preventive’ care; 80% coverage for ‘basic’ expenses; 50% coverage for ‘major’ expenses

IV: CHANGES IN CONTRACT LANGUAGE

References are to articles in the ACSUM contract, available at the ACSUM website: www.acsum.org

Article 3: Association Rights

·         Time per fiscal year available for designated ACSUM members to attend ACSUM-sponsored conferences or training sessions (for example, collective bargaining preparation meetings) will be increased from 15 to 25 days.

·         Time during normal working hours per fiscal year available for the ACSUM President and Vice President to use for ACSUM business will be increased from 240 to 280 hours.

·         A standardized list of information on each bargaining unit member (for example, hire date, wage grade, and step) to be transmitted to ACSUM is specified for the life of the contract.

·         In their initial appointment letters, new hires will be informed of their obligation either to join ACSUM or pay a representation fee, and be given a citation to the ACSUM website.  Copies of appointment letters will be sent to the Maine Education Association, enabling ACSUM to contact newly hired employees.

Article 4: Information to Unit Members

·         Form P-10, no longer used, will be replaced by information available via the UMS website and Maine Street (PeopleSoft) portal.

Article 7: Evaluation

·         The recommended UMS evaluation form will include a voluntary self-assessment section.  There will be no pressure on a unit member to complete it, and no reprisals for non-completion.  The self-assessment will include a prominent statement to this effect.

·         Evaluations will be conducted in the 60 days prior to the individual unit member’s job entry date.

·         If the evaluation has not been completed 30 days following the unit member’s job entry date, the member’s performance will be considered satisfactory for the year.  If step increases are due, they will not be delayed because an evaluation has not been completed.

Article 9: Work Week, Work Schedule & Work Assignments

·         Compensatory time shall be used at the discretion of the unit member.  It cannot be assigned.

Article 13: Retirement

·         The name of the UMS retirement plan for classified employees will be corrected to: University of Maine System Basic Retirement Plan for Classified Employees.

Article 14: Sick Leave

·         A unit member receiving Long Term Disability payments and who is eligible to work part-time can use accrued disability leave to make up the difference between these disability payments and his or her regular wage.

Article 15: Bereavement & Funeral Leave

·         For purposes of this article, unit members may consider as ‘immediate family members’ a person who acted as the member’s parent when the member was a child or a person for whom the unit member acted as a parent.

·         Subject to supervisory approval, unit members may receive up to two additional days of paid funeral leave, to accommodate extended travel.

Article 22: Seniority, Layoff & Recall

·         Unit members who have worked 3-5 years, previously not eligible for severance pay, will receive 1 week of severance pay if laid off.

·         A unit member who is laid off and is on a recall list will be eligible for one-half the employee tuition waiver for two years following layoff.

Article 23: Position Vacancies

·         If the University chooses to fill a COLT vacancy with a current employee, only regular employees (not temps or students) will be given an opportunity to apply.

·         Vacancies will be posted for five days for internal candidates before being posted for external candidates.

Article 25: On Call & Call Back Pay

·         Unit members on call will no longer be required to remain at home.  Instead they must remain within a prescribed time or mileage radius of the workplace and available by cell phone or pager.

Article 26: Tuition Waiver

·         Full-time unit members will receive a tuition waiver for one or two courses (up to 8 credits) per semester.  Part-time unit members will receive a tuition waiver for up to 4 credits.  Required lab courses will not count toward the course limit or credit total.

·         The dependant tuition waiver will be open to all matriculated students, full-time or part-time.

·         Dependants and spouses of unit members called to active military duty will be eligible for the dependant tuition waiver.

·         Dependants of unit members who retire during the life of the contract with at least 20 years of University service will be eligible for the dependant tuition waiver.

·         The University will study the issue of charging fees to students with tuition waivers, and make recommendations to the next bargaining team.

Article 28: Bargaining Unit Work

·         A loophole in the restriction of temporary employees to a six-month term will be closed.

Article 33: Safety & Health

·         The stick figure illustrating proper seating for VDT operators will be deleted.

·         Supervisors are urged to use discretion and flexibility in responding to requests from unit members to participate in University-sponsored wellness activities.

·         Full-time unit members may receive up to 13 hours of release time per fiscal year to attend University sponsored wellness programs.

Article 34: Parking Fees

·         There will be no change to parking fees.  The maximum annual fee will remain $25.

Appendix G-1

·         Currently, eligible unit members who have completed five years of continuous University service receive a University contribution equivalent to 4% of the member’s base pay to the UMS defined benefit (retirement) plan.  With the new contract, the years of service required will decrease to four years.