Local 2948 Mass DOT Contract Updates (UPDATED August 10th)

MASSDOT UNIT B CONTRACT UPDATES

UPDATE 8/10/2020- Council 93 has continuted to work with MassDOT, HRD, and the Comptroller's Office on the implementation of the Unit B CBA increases and the implementation of the remainder of the Classification Study.

  • The Unit B CBA increases effective 7/9/17, 7/8/18 and 7/7/19 are scheduled to be processed during the pay period August 16, 2020 to August 29, ,2020 (included in pay advice of September 4, 2020). In the event there is an issue and it cannot be processed during this pay period I will let you know.
  • I have submitted the request to process the CBA retroactive payments to the Office of the State Comptroller but have not received a confirmation of the date they will be processed. Once I have the date I will let you know.
  • The increase of $700.00 to Step 12 effective 6/30/2020 and the $750.00 bonus for employees who remain red-circled will be processed after the classification/bargaining unit changes effective 2/16/2020 are implemented.
  • Once both the CBA increase and retroactive payments are processed we will continue with the implementation of the remaining Classification Study changes.


UPDATE 8/3/2020- After many months and a lot of hard work, the $1.1 billion supplemental funding request was signed into law by Governor Baker last week. The bill, which included the funds for the Local 2948 MassDOT contract, goes into effect immediately. Members should see the increases in their pay checks very shortly.

UPDATE 5/13/2020- AFSCME Council 93 has been working to ensure that MassDOT and the Baker Administration took the necessary steps to get the contract funded. Yesterday we received word that Governor Baker has filed the appropriate funding request. It is included in HB4707. We will continue working to push for prompt passage in the House and Senate.

UPDATE March 4, 2020- The contract for MassDOT has been fully executed and signed by all parties involved as of February 4th, 2020. Please see the below executed contract documents and Effective Date Letter from MassDOT.

Any member wishing to appeal their re-classification has 90-days from the effective date to file an appeal with the Local. All members wishing to make an appeal, must file in writing to the Local by May 4th, 2020 with a copy of their most recent Form 30.




UPDATE 2/14/2020

URGENT: Please review your seniority date of hire! You only have until Feb. 25, 2020 to appeal. So please check your DOH and get back to the Local Before February 25, 2020.

DOWNLOAD and REVIEW ASAP- MassDOT Seniority List

UPDATE 2/7/2020- The MassDOT Joint Board will be taking the MassDOT Unit 2 Contract under consideration at its Monday, February 10th Board Meeting at 11am.
https://www.mass.gov/doc/board-meeting-agenda-02102020/download

AFSCME had been participating in negotiations for a successor Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") as part of the Coalition of MassDOT Unions. The other unions comprising the Coalition are the Teamsters, Steelworkers, and SEIU. Traffic Section Foreman Joe Doten, AFSCME Atty. Ashley Peel, and Local 2948 Pres. Brad Gallant, and AFSCME General Counsel Joe DeLorey have participated in various negotiation sessions.

Last Friday, January 17th, the Coalition reached what we had hoped would be the conclusion of negotiations. However, we agreed that the employer would produce the final version of the CBA and related documents for our review before any commitment is made to sign. This final review was completed earlier today. The CBA and related material is now ready for publication and review.

The CBA now needs to be ratified. After all this time, it may seem odd to have to "hurry up," but the Coalition member unions would all like to get notice of a ratified contract back to the employer by Friday, Feb. 7th, in order to have acceptance of the new CBA on the agenda for the MassDOT Board of Directors meeting scheduled for Feb. 10th. As soon as the Board votes to accept, the Employer can then immediately submit a request for funding of the cost items of the CBA to the Governor.

Local 2948 MassDOT Contract Documents (Documents UPDATED 1/31/2020)

*Any changes to these documents will be updated ASAP and will only be technical corrections, the nature of the agreement will not change.

AGREEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

1. Contract Salary Increases: All members of Unit B will receive a six percent increase over the life of the three-year contract running from July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2020. (2% retroactive to year one; 2% retroactive to year two and another 2% retroactive to year three)

2. Top Step Increase: Effective June 30, 2020, Step 12 in the Unit B salary scale shall be increased by seven hundred dollars ($700) for all employees at that step or who later move to that step.

3. Compressed Workweek: Effective April 1, 2020, MassDOT may implement a compressed workweek consisting of either three (13.34 hours per day) or four day (10 hours per day) workweeks. This work opportunity will first be offered to volunteers in the order of seniority. If further employees are needed, temporary employees will be mandated first, and then regular full-time employees will be mandated in the order of reverse seniority, provided that the top 20% of the senior employees in Units B and C will be exempt from such requirement if they chose to exercise that option.

4. Compressed Workweek Differential: Employees who work a compressed workweek that includes both Saturday and Sunday shall be paid an additional differential for all hours worked in their compressed workweek at the rate of $1.25 per hour.

5. Sick Time Option for Overtime Worked: Employees who use sick time during a workweek in which he/she works either emergency or mandatory overtime may use up to three such days for purposes of calculating overtime pay earned provided that the sick time is used before notification of overtime work requirement.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE UNIT B CONTRACT SETTLEMENT, PLEASE REVIEW THE UNIT B "SUCCESSOR AGREEMENT COVERING EMPLOYEES IN BARGAINING UNIT B "WHICH CONTAINS ALL CHANGES IN ADDITION TO THE MAJOR ONES DESCRIBED ABOVE.

CLASSIFICATION STUDY IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT

1. Classification Study Upgrades: For certain members of the bargaining unit whose titles were recommended by the outside expert for upgrades, those upgrades will be effective retroactive to July of 2016.

2. Upgrades/RECLASSIFICATIONS Other Than Through the Classification Study: A number of job titles will be upgraded or reclassified to higher paying titles as a result of market adjustments implemented through agreement between the Union and MassDOT. These upgrades/reclassifications will become effective on the date of ratification by Unit B.

3. Transfers to Unit C: Units B and C will undergo a reorganization under which some Unit B employees will be transferred to Unit C and some Unit C employees will be transferred to Unit B.

4. Appeals: Any employee who filed a JAQ during the time table for doing so under the Classification Study and who is disappointed with the failure to be awarded and upgrade may be eligible for an appeal to an outside arbitrator. If you fit in this category, and wish to file an appeal, it is important to let Union leadership know of this immediately so that steps can be taken to initiate that appeal.

5. Confirmation of Retroactive Pay Calculations: For employees who have received upgrades under paragraph 1 and 2 above, MassDOT will provide worksheets showing pay growth and retroactive pay amounts to each of you. You will then be able to review those calculations and have 30 days to dispute them. If you feel that these calculations are inaccurate, please contact your Union leadership for assistance in challenging them.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLASSIFICATION STUDY PLEASE REVIEW THE CLASSIFICATION STUDY IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT WHICH CONTAINS ALL CHANGES IN ADDITION TO THE MAJOR ONES DESCRIBED ABOVE.

RATIFICATION PROCESS

The ratification vote will ask whether you approve or disapprove the proposed CBA. The other above listed documents will go into effect when the CBA does.

As you will hopefully all have access to all the documents electronically, and in light of the target date of Feb. 7th or earlier for tabulation of the votes, we are going to do our best to conduct the ratification vote electronically as well. If you would prefer a "hard copy" of the documents and can't print them at your location, please email Jheri-Ane at [email protected] or call her at 617 367 6024, and she can accommodate you.

If you can access all of the material electronically but you still prefer to vote via hard copy, you can complete the attached ballot and mail to AFSCME Council 93, c/o Jheri-Ane Czernetzky, 8 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108. If you choose this option, please PUT YOUR NAME AND RETURN ADDRESS ON THE ENVELOPE, but do not put any identifying information on the ballot.

If you are OK voting electronically, either scan and email the completed ballot to Jheri-Ane, or just send her an email indicating "Yes" or "No" as to whether or not to accept the CBA. Your vote will remain confidential.

Whether you vote electronically or via hard copy, please keep the Feb. 7th deadline in mind. The earlier you get your vote to us, the better.

PLEASE VISIT THIS SITE REGULARLY, AS THE DUE DATE FOR THE BALLOTS MAY BE COMPRESSED IF THE NEED ARISES, SO AGAIN, PLEASE GET YOUR CHOICE IN TO US ASAP.

If you have any questions about the CBA or any related material, please email them to Jheri-Ane or call her at 617-367-6024, and she'll get someone to respond to you ASAP.

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SENT YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS TO THE COUNCIL, PLEASE GET THAT ADDRESS TO JHERI-ANE AT [email protected]