Ratification ballots were mailed to Santa Cruz members on February 17th and are due back February 29th.  Call 1-800-622-0909 if you are a Santa Cruz county member and did not receive a ballot.

Term:    Contract expires November 11, 2011

To support the County’s efforts to cut costs in a harsh economic climate, the UAPD Bargaining Team agreed to two of the concessions made by all other bargaining units in the county:

(-) Retirement:  As soon as administratively possible, the County will implement in our bargaining unit the same second tier pension  for future hires that all other County bargaining units have adopted:  2% at 60, based on the average compensation for the final three years.  Current employees’ pension benefits will remain unchanged at 2% at 55 based on the single highest year salary.  A two-tier pension system is now the norm in most California counties and for State of California employees.

(-) Active Medical:  Effective as soon as administratively possible, County contributions towards health care premiums for active employees will be 95%/90%/90% of the 2012 premiums for Blue Shield Net Value.  Last year the County’s contributions were calculated as 95%/90%/90% of the premiums for Blue Shield Access+ HMO, a slightly higher cost plan, meaning the County’s contributions were higher.   What does this mean in terms of dollars and cents?   For example, last year the County contributed $642 towards the monthly cost of health care for a single person, and in 2012 they will contribute $581, a loss of up to $60 per month for the single employee.  But those employees who opt for the Blue Shield Net Value plan, for instance, will pay just $30 per month extra, the difference between the cost of that plan ($611) and the County’s new level of contribution ($581).

(+) We protected our members and retirees against a third takeaway:

The UAPD Bargaining Team fought hard to protect the retiree health benefits for our group.  The county withdrew its proposal to attach a 20-year longevity schedule to our retiree health benefits.  The language in the current contract regarding retiree health remains unchanged.

(+) Reimbursement:   

We expanded the Reimbursement for Licenses and Certificates section of the contract so that those moneys can also be put towards the cost of achieving or maintaining board certifications.  Also, these funds will no longer be pro-rated based on hours of employment — all bargaining unit members are now entitled to the full $1400 payment in each two year cycle.

(+) Fair Scheduling

The County agreed to amend the Work Schedule language to state that “assignment of work schedules shall not be arbitrary or capricious.”  This language will help the union ensure that both popular and unpopular work schedules are fairly assigned.

(+) Clinical Care Management Committee

We strengthened the language regarding this labor-management committee to make it more adept at handling bargaining unit problems between negotiations.

Cleanup

We updated the contract to reflect slight changes in the laws, rules and numbers surrounding CalPERS, the Family Medical Leave Act, Long Term Disability insurance, and Life Insurance.  No person may be covered under two county vision or dental plans at the same time (no cross-coverage).

Read Press Release: Bill of Rights by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento)

Read article in Sacramento Bee

Advocates for inmates and some medical officials question whether the system will continue to improve without federal oversight.

Read Full Article Inmate advocates question California’s commitment to prison healthcare in the Los Angeles Times

Posted February 9, 2012:  UAPD Saves Thirteen Dental Positions

As a result of a class-action grievance UAPD filed against CDCR, fewer dentists will face layoff at the end of the month.  Five of the twenty layoff notices issued to dentists were rescinded  last week.  CDCR has notified those five dentists that they can disregard the layoff notice they had been sent.

In addition, CDCR agreed to offer the remaining fifteen dentists on the layoff list a chance to transfer to one of the eight vacant positions that UAPD has identified.  Even though the voluntary transfer process for this round of layoffs has finished, CDCR acknowledged that these vacancies should also be made available to dentists at risk of layoff.

CDCR will e-mail dentists who received a layoff notice a list of vacant positions and details about the process by which the positions will be offered; they expect to be able to send that e-mail today.  Starting on a day that will be specified in that e-mail, CDCR representatives will call on the telephone the dentists who received layoff notices in order of seniority (highest seniority first) to allow them to select a position from the list of eight vacancies.  Once reached on the telephone, each dentist will have a very short timeline in which to make a decision about transfer.  CDCR says it will not move on to the next dentist on the list until the higher seniority dentist has had a chance to accept or decline a position.  All dentists who accept a position will be given a written record of that fact.  Again, more details will be provided in an email from CDCR shortly.

If you have questions, or information to share, please contact your UAPD Labor Representative.   As always, UAPD will join with members to insist that the rights of all bargaining unit doctors are protected.  And together we will work to protect as many jobs as we possibly can.

Posted February 1, 2012:   UAPD to Meet Finance Director

Based on information provided by the dentists themselves, UAPD will present the Governor’s staff with a list of meaningful alternatives to reducing the number of dentists working in California prisons.

Deadline for CDCR Placement Options Worksheet Extended until January 10 at noon:  The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has agreed to extend the deadline for  returning the Placement Options Worksheet until Tuesday, January 10th at noon (not Monday January 9th at 5 pm as we previously reported).  Doctors facing layoff due to the AB 109 reductions had initially not been given sufficient time to complete and return that form, UAPD argued.

Posted November 15, 2011:  New Voluntary Transfer Process Deadlines Set

On Thursday, November 17th, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will send some Bargaining Unit 16 employees an Updated Memorandum on the Public Safety Realignment – Voluntary Transfer Process.  This Updated Memorandum is the amended version of the Voluntary Transfer Notice sent in October 2011, which UAPD asked the CDCR to suspend because the total number of vacancies it listed for BU 16 doctors was too low.

The Updated Memorandum being sent this week will inform the doctors who are impacted by realignment that they can submit their Voluntary Transfer Request via the US mail by the postmark deadline of Saturday, November 26, 2011.  The deadline for submitting the Voluntary Transfer Request via fax or email is Monday November 28th at 12 noon.

This Thursday CDCR will also provide impacted doctors with updated information regarding each location that is overstaffed or has vacancies. With the input of dentists in many work sites, UAPD was able to identify several vacancies that will now be listed as open to dentists under the Voluntary Transfer Process.

There continues to be far more psychiatrist vacancies than overages within the CDCR system, meaning that classification will see little impact.  CDCR Physicians and Surgeons are not be subject to this wave of Voluntary Transfers, SROA notices, and layoffs.  Instead, the Receiver’s Office will evaluate whether the reduction in the prison population necessitates the laying off or reassignment of some physicians.  So far, no determination has been made.

The State Restriction of Appointment (SROA) seniority list will be available on the intranet and at CDCR facilities in the Personnel Office for review.  The list contains the seniority scores for all of the dentist and psychiatrist classifications in CDCR.

Over the past several weeks UAPD has had numerous meet and confer sessions with the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) and the CDCR in an attempt to mitigate the impact of the Public Safety Realignment on our members, especially the dentists.  UAPD President Dr. Stuart Bussey and UAPD’s Chief Legislative Representative Doug Chiappetta also spoke with Governor Jerry Brown and Secretary Matt Cate about the disparate reduction of our dentist positions and how that compromises inmate care, as stipulated in the Perez court order.  UAPD has also demanded that the CDCR produce the inmate population numbers that they project will be in place by February 29, 2012, when the first wave of employee layoffs are scheduled to go into effect, in order to compare those numbers with the mandated ratios.

UAPD will continue its efforts to protect every possible job, and to make sure that when a layoff must occur it follows a process that is fair, transparent, and consistent with our contract.  While CDCR has been responsive to some of our demands, they are proceeding against our recommendations in a number of areas, including the speed at which they are trying to complete the Voluntary Transfer Process.  UAPD stands ready to advocate for its members to help resolve any problems that the CDCR has created in its management of AB 109 – Realignment.

Posted October 27, 2011:  DPA, CDCR Suspend Voluntary Transfer Deadline and Agree to Recalculate Open Positions

To mitigate the effects of the Public Safety Realignment, the Voluntary Transfer process was supposed to begin by identifying all open dental positions within CDCR, including those being held by contractors and limited term dentists, so that dentists in impacted counties could request transfers.

UAPD received information from several dentists that the State violated the process for Voluntary Transfers that they agreed to follow.   For instance, there should be be more than 2.5 dental vacancies offered for transfer when one counts all limited term and contractor positions in the state.

After a meeting called by UAPD, DPA and CDCR have acknowledged the errors and agreed to suspend the deadline for submitting Voluntary Transfer Requests.  DPA and CDCR have also agreed to reexamine the number of vacant dental positions that should be made available for Voluntary Transfers, and to reexamine the list of dentists who received SROA notices, some of whom should not have.

As of this writing, the new deadline for submitting voluntary transfer requests and the corrected list of vacant positions list have not yet been made available.  UAPD will continue to provide updates to members via e-mail, paper mail, and the UAPD website.

Have Limited Term Dentists or Dental Contractors working at your facility?  Have questions or comments?  Tell us what you know on this survey. 

Posted October 21: Public Safety Realignment 

This year the US Supreme Court ruled that 33,000 CDCR inmates must be released over the next few years from California’s overcrowded prisons, causing legislators to pass a “realignment” plan in the form of AB 109.  In July of this year the CDCR mailed out seniority scores to all of its employees, in preparation for staff cuts that it says will accompany the prison population decrease.  The following is a brief summary of the information that has been made available to UAPD regarding the classifications it represents within CDCR.

UAPD has been told that CDCR Physicians and Surgeons will not be subject to the  SROA (State Restriction of Appointments) process.  Instead, the Receiver’s Office will evaluate whether the reduction in the prison population necessitates the laying off or reassignment of some physicians.  So far, no determination has been made.  UAPD will meet with the Receiver’s Office and relate details of that meeting to members once it happens.

UAPD has met several times with DPA and CDCR regarding the impact of the AB 109 realignment on psychiatrists and dentists.  Recently the State reported that it does plan to cut dentist and psychiatrist positions in CDCR.  To mitigate those cuts, UAPD has negotiated an agreement that includes a Voluntary Transfer Plan that will allow dentists and psychiatrists who are at risk of being impacted by layoffs to transfer to open positions elsewhere in the state if they choose.  Complete information on participating in the Voluntary Transfer Plan will be mailed in October to all dentists and psychiatrists working in counties where positions are being reduced.  Note that the time frame for making a Voluntary Transfer will be very tight (ten days from receipt of notice).

Some people working in those classifications in counties where reductions are scheduled will receive SROA notices in November, despite the Voluntary Transfer process.   Under a revised SROA process, the notices will go to all employees in impacted counties who have less than 10 years of service.  Receiving an SROA notice does not mean a layoff notice will follow.   Layoffs are scheduled to take effect February 29, 2012.

Those with questions are encouraged to contact their steward or Labor Representative.

Beleaguered by fundraising problems and questions about the viability of its proposals, California Pension Reform shut down its efforts.

Read full article at  Group suspends California public pension reform ballot effort -  | Sacramento Bee.

If lower wages and reduced pensions make it difficult for the public sector to attract these highly skilled workers, the state will either have to contract out this vital work or cede it to the private sector where wages (and thus costs) are higher. Contracting out is particularly expensive.

Read full article at Pension-cutting plans on ballot promise savings but don’t deliver  | Sacramento Bee.

Read full article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The governor’s plan doesn’t go far enough,” said Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform, a group led by former state officials that is proposing a ballot measure to rein in pensions further.

Read full article “Clamor grows to rein in California pension benefits” in the Los Angeles Times

Kelso said the state also should create a quasi-independent medical bureaucracy within the corrections department to make sure the state doesn’t backslide because of budget cuts or a lack of interest.

Read full article in the The Associated Press

Read full article in the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal