My apologies for not updating this blog more frequently; there never seems to be enough hours in a day.
There is a lot going on and I will try to include as much as I can. I would encourage everyone to try to attend the PAAC meetings in your areas, because a lot of information is provided at these meetings.
First, the EOTs occurred on March 24, 2008, in all regions except Region II. Region II was required to do EOT moves the following week. We questioning the information received, from Reg. II, regarding vacancies that they provided. There was open statewide movement between regions for the first time in over a year. I am not sure what will happen in the future, but the memo released on 3/21/08, indicates that management will do quarterly EOT moves. It should be noted that management had agreed (at the February PAAC/Management Meeting) to do EOT moves in March and May and then evaluate the statewide impact. A discussion with the Director will take place next week for further direction on this issue. Arbitration on this issue will proceed in July. A recurring problem is that “prime” units are being filled by new hires. Numerous agents have contacted me and requested that EOTs be done to allow agents, that have started in less desirable areas, to transfer to more desirable areas. New hires should be hired to fill behind those who want to transfer.
Negotiations on Earned Discharge occurred on March 11 & 12. The team was led by Bill McCliman and included Mike Taber, Martin Sasse and John Stiver. Agreements in these forums are not in writing and therefore, I am not sure how valid these processes are. Management has agreed to “negotiate”, but at this point will not sign any agreements on this issue. This is a significant deviation from previous processes in which management (if they agreed) would actually sign agreements. Although workload impact is always discussed, the team usually leaves the table not knowing what management is going to do when the work is implemented. When I receive a written summary from our team and the CCPOA Labor Rep Michelle Arteaga, I will let you know where this issue is going. Earned discharge has been a pilot in Region IV and the status of this program is unknown at this time.
Audits in Region III continue to be problematic (this is an understatement). Apparently the Director said that when the statewide audits were conducted last year, they were not for punitive purposes. They were done to get an idea of what was going on in the field and to deal with issues that arose. It appears that those audits have now resulted in 100% audits in Region III and subsequent adverse actions. The reps have been very busy handling all these investigations and actions. We will continue trying to get these issues addressed. I have requested the results of the questionnaires, completed by the agents at the time of the audits, be made available to us. At this point, Labor Relations has indicated that the information is not yet available. The MOU/Last, Best and Final (19.05) states that audit results must be given to AOR within 10 days. Let your reps know if that is not occurring. If agents have high points, are not getting adequate OT and the PA IIIs are not waiving sufficient excess points, the reality is that agents will NOT meet their specs. It is important that all of us keep track of all extra training, work, lengthy BPH hearings, etc. so that we can support the reason why specs are not met.
FUNA positions’ being rotated is a hot topic right now. It was apparent at the Covina PAAC meeting that this process was not being implemented statewide, nor done equitably. There is a current policy (which is also being updated) that addresses rotation of not only FUNA/revocation positions, but also administrative assignments at HQ and other specialized assignments. My expectation is that management will follow their own policy when doing moves and not just do selective rotations.
Overtime is not being distributed based on the current policy that was recently released from HQ. There are many flagrant violations occurring statewide. Units with 330 points are not having specs waived adequately and are lucky if they get 40 hours of OT. These points are more than double a normal caseload. I hope that agents are not doing extra work for free just to get work done in these circumstances (I actually know many of you are). If you are working for free, management will continue to withhold adequate OT. Many agents are concerned that audits will be conducted and they will receive negative write-ups for their inability to do their job under these circumstances. Region III has shown that this can happen and has in the past. Grievances must be written when the requisite steps are not taken at the unit levels to address high caseload points. Additionally, it is unrealistic for supervisors to assume specs will be met if agents are on vacation for two weeks. We have asked that other agents be given the opportunity to assist with workload in these areas to assist field agents. FUNA agents and agents in other assignments could help on their RDOs or weekends to ensure that cases are covered and work is done.
Geographic assignments of caseloads would assist agents in more efficient supervision. The Director supports that premise. Hopefully, this will occur in the near future.
A new policy on Hardship Transfers should be forthcoming. It appears that these transfers have been occurring and there seems to be an established criteria used by HQ (existing DOM). The Director of DAPO has the ultimate responsibility for the final reviews of these cases. If a local region has denied your hardship, make sure you route it to Tom Hoffman for his review.
New policies are being released on a weekly basis. The amount of additional work associated with these is noteworthy. Despite “negotiations” occurring on some issues, management has been repeatedly advised that some supervisors are not compensating for this extra work. This contributes to agents’ inability to accomplish all the work required in a month.
Hiring above minimum salary (HAM) was brought to the Director’s attention by Paul Labbe. There are outside hires that take a significant pay cut to come to this job. Tom is checking in to this process. The request to receive this adjustment must be done before the individual accepts the job.
Negotiations were held on 3/26/08, for transition of sex offenders from GPS to local law enforcement upon discharge. The team was made up of: Santiago Auditor (mixed GPS caseload Region IV), Andrew Mounts (20-1 active GPS caseload Region II), Irma Dominicci (40-1 Passive GPS caseload Region II) and me. Policy 07-47 had already been implemented when the meetings occurred, but we did discuss workload issues. The directive from management was that the Unit Supervisor would initiate the process of the notification. The team expressed concern with the process for documenting that the notification occurred, since these files are all disposed of after 6 months. Management is willing to consider saving all these files indefinitely. We asked that certified mail be used to ensure that notification is documented. Management was not willing to commit to this process. As a result, we were NOT able to reach an agreement at that table.
Negotiations on Electronic In-Home Detention (EID) were held on 3/27/08. The team was made up of Joe Modesto (Region I), Irma Dominicci (Region II) and me. There is existing policy, but there will be a new policy (as a result of this meeting) that will supersede the existing one. EOP and Second Strikers will be allowed on the new program. Management will give one point to cases on this program (these points must be added manually, so keep track). If you are at 154 or have a 40-1 caseload, that should be overtime. The problem with “one point” is that there could be work during a month associated with EID that exceeds one hour. Equipment problems, repeated notifications by vendor of curfew violations, tampers, etc. might be more labor intensive than management was/is willing to address. Any work that exceeds one hour should be submitted to your supervisor for additional overtime. We did not reach agreement on this table. However, I would note that even if we did, labor/management is not willing to stipulate that in writing. This appears to be a direct result of the ongoing wonders of Last, Best and Final.
Remember there are currently N0 negotiated specs related to the GPS caseloads. I have asked for negotiations to occur, since this two year pilot program continues to grow unabated into a third year with no defining expectations. I will be meeting again, with management, on this topic in San Diego on April 10th. I have received extensive input from agents on this subject. Please continue to forward any and all information on related issues to me. We will eventually negotiate these caseloads.
Extensive “mandatory training” related to EID, DECS and other policies is additional work. Keep track and request OT for your caseload work. Management did agree, at the EID negotiations, that this is additional work and should be compensated with OT. This would be the same for DECS which is forthcoming and requires mandatory use of the computer.
Any agents supervising 290 PC registrants as High Control (3 point cases), need to keep track of all additional work that exceeds the specs for HC cases. If you are incurring significant work related to GPS distance determination and dally documentation of transient parolees, inform your supervisor and request the needed overtime to accomplish these duties.
If you are required to participate in an investigation (administrative, internal affairs, etc.), even if you are a witness, ALWAYS invoke your right to have a representative. Contact your local reps or me, so we can ensure a job steward or attorney will be present.
Next PAAC meeting is April 5th in Emeryville (Region II). Please try to attend.