LOCAL

Four things the Civil Service Commission will decide Wednesday

Carol Thompson
Lansing State Journal
The Michigan Civil Service Commission, from left, Janet McClelland, Jase Bolger, Robert Swanson and James Barrett meet on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, at the Capitol Commons Center in downtown Lansing.

LANSING — On Jan. 1, thousands of state workers will wake up to a new year and a new contract dictating their wages and workplace policies for the next three years.

Those new contracts have been the center of negotiations between the state and public-sector unions for weeks. They will reach the last step in their journey Wednesday, when the Civil Service Commission is scheduled to vote to ratify or deny the agreements drawn up between the parties.

The Civil Service Commission is comprised of four gubernatorial-appointees who serve eight-year terms. They meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Capitol Commons Center, 400 S. Pine St. in Lansing.

Here are some of the items before the commissioners on Wednesday: 

New contracts

Five collective bargaining agreements for state worker groups are on the agenda. Commissioners will vote on whether to ratify the contracts drawn up by unions and the Office of State Employer, which represents the state at the bargaining table.

The agreements on the commission's agenda cover: 

  • Direct care workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
  • Human services support workers, scientists and engineers, scientific technical and support staff represented by Service Employees International Union Local 517M
  • Human services and administrative support workers represented by the UAW

Unionized state workers’ current collective bargaining agreements expire Jan. 1.

Impasse recommendations

Two unions — Michigan Corrections Organization and Michigan State Employees Association — went to impasse with the Office of State Employer during this round of collective bargaining. An impasse panel heard from both sides of each dispute and issued recommendations in November.

Commissioners will decide Wednesday whether to adopt the panel's recommendations.

For the dispute between MCO and the state, the impasse panel sided with the state in recommending a 2% base pay increase and one-time bonus instead of an annual retention bonus proposed by the union.

The impasse panel also called for the parties to find a way to attract and retain corrections workers, something union officials considered a win because they have argued prisons are dangerously understaffed.

The impasse panel also largely sided with the state in its dispute with MSEA over elements of the contracts covering the union’s labor and trades, and safety and regulatory units. Eleven issues were raised to the impasse panel. Some of those disputes included:

  • Pay. MSEA called for a 6% base-wage increase in 2020 and 5% increases in 2021 and 2022. The state called for a 2% increase in 2020, without the 2% bonus granted to other bargaining units. The panel recommended a 2% increase and bonus.
  • Hours. MSEA officials argued the parties should be allowed to negotiate “hours” of employment, which the state contended violated new civil service rules, and the panel agreed.
  • Dues. Union officials contended the state should notify the union within two weeks of when a worker’s union membership has been authorized or revoked. The state argued that time frame can’t be negotiated. The panel sided with the state.
  • Personnel files. Union officials wanted to allow workers more access to their personnel records, expand procedures for expunging certain records and require employers notify employees if their records are subject to a Freedom of Information Act request. The state argued none of those provisions are necessary, and the panel agreed.

The Lansing State Journal obtained copies of the impasse panel's recommendations through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Travel rates

Civil Service Commissioners will determine what level of costs the state will cover for travel expenses, such as mileage, meals and hotels. 

The Department of Technology, Management and Budget's 2018 travel rate schedule, state employees can be reimbursed $81.50 per day for lodging and meal costs on in-state trips.

Non-union pay

Since not all state workers are covered by collective bargaining contracts, the commission on Wednesday is expected to weigh in on the wages that will be earned by non-union employees.

Commissioners will set rates for non-exclusively represented employees, or NEREs, who either have supervisory positions or work in business and administration. More than 31% of state workers are NEREs.

They will also make a recommendation on what unclassified workers, such as those who are appointed to serve on commissions, should earn, Civil Service Commission Spokesman Matthew Fedorchuk said.

Union representatives fill the room before the start of a Michigan Civil Service Commission meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, at the Capitol Commons Center in Lansing. The commission voted on proposed rules changes that would limit collective bargaining for state employees.

New rules

This round of collective bargaining marked the first time public unions and the Office of State Employer bargained contracts under a new set of rules approved by the Civil Service Commission in September 2017.

The rules created a set of “prohibited subjects,” such as scheduling overtime, job transfers and recalls, and allowed the state to violate contracts during governor-declared financial crises and disasters.

Wednesday will be the first time commissioners see contracts that don't include those "prohibited subjects."

Contact Carol Thompson at (517) 377-1018 or ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.