Published Date: 2020-07-01
Summary of the State mandated worker compensation reduction side letter to the BU 18 2019-2022 Contract
Due to the Coronavirus Recession, which has caused significant reductions in state revenue, the State Legislature and governor mandated both a 10 percent reduction in state worker compensation and a postponement of all negotiated raises scheduled to take effect on or after July 1, 2020. Bargaining units were given until June 30, 2020, the day before the start of the 2020-21 fiscal year, to negotiate the terms of the compensation reductions. If CAPT had failed to negotiate an agreement on time, the governor would have unilaterally imposed the cuts, effective July 1, 2020. After many proposals, passes, and counter-proposals, CAPT and the State of California reached a side-letter agreement that significantly mitigates the economic loss to our base pay. Please note that the term of our contract was not extended. CAPT will be back at the bargaining table in 2022 to negotiate our next contract. The terms of the side letter are provided below. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your chapter president.
COMPENSATION REDUCTIONS
I. Personal Leave Program 2020
II. Deferral of General Salary Increases
The weekend differential raise of fifty cents per hour scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2021, remains intact.
Should the State acquire additional funding through federal legislation or increased state revenues, the Director of the Department of Finance may elect to restore some or all of the suspended pay items to BU 18 employees.
MITIGATION OF 9.23% LOSS
CAPT’s bargaining team negotiated with the State for over a month to mitigate the 9.23% economic loss of the PLP 2020 to our base pay. In so doing, CAPT was able to secure our 2.75% Jan. 1, 2020 GSI, as well as negotiate a two-year suspension of our 4% OPEB contribution, bringing the total PLP 2020 compensation loss down to 2.48%. CAPT also secured our July 1, 2020, 2.5% special salary adjustment, essentially zeroing out the total PLP compensation loss for much of the bargaining unit. Additionally, effective July 1, 2020, the minimum salary range for all BU 18 employees shall not be less than $15 per hour, possibly benefiting PTAs, PTTs, and PT apprentices.
CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS
CAPT took this opportunity to bargain additional sought-after modifications to contract provisions relating to vacation, overtime, and shift differentials.
Effective the October 2020 and 2021 bid cycle, BU 18 employees will have two additional vacations days for a total of 34. For the duration of the side letter, mandated BU 18 employees who find a volunteer “shall be rotated to the bottom of the overtime list regardless of how long they work.” Last but not least, CAPT was able to make our shift differentials PERSable, effective July 1, 2022—the income will count toward compensation for the purposes of retirement at that time.
CAPT congratulates the bargaining team for their diligent work, turning a bad situation that called for no raises and two furlough days into a situation that held on to our Jan. 1 (retroactive) GSI, our special salary adjustments, and putting our OPEB contributions back into our paychecks. CAPT will be back at the bargaining table in 2022 to negotiate contract improvements concerning our salaries and working conditions.
July 1, 2020 | Download Flier
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