NEWS

Two Excluded Employees Win a New Apple iPad for Joining ACSS!

In November 2015, ACSS held a promotional membership drive to encourage supervisors and managers to join ACSS. Two new members who submitted membership applications during the sweepstakes period were selected at random out of 121 applications to win a new Apple iPad Air tablet.

Sheila Haney is a Supervising Program Tech II at the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Sacramento. She has been a supervisor for two years and joined ACSS "because it is in our best interest as supervisors to join".  She also likes being involved in Chapter Meetings and receiving the newsletters.

Adams Yussif is a Health Facilities Evaluator II at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) in Fresno.  He joined for the representation benefits.

ACSS congratulates Ms. Haney and Mr. Yussif for participating in our membership drive and for becoming members of ACSS.

James Teahan, President of ACSS Chapter 503, presents Sheila Haney with her new iPad.

Adams Yussif (left) receives his new iPad from his supervising manager at CDPH.

Notable Points From The Governor's State Budget Report 2016-2017

On Thursday 1/8/16, Governor Brown released his proposed 2016-2017 State Budget. Brown claims that the budget still remains “precariously balanced” for the long term. Brown stated, “While timing is uncertain, the next recession is getting closer, and the state must begin to plan for it.”

Here are the proposals that affect ACSS and ACSS members:

State Employee Compensation

The Budget includes $220 million ($27 million General Fund) in 2016-17 for employee compensation and health care costs for active state employees. Included in these costs are collectively bargained salary increases for many of the state’s rank and file employees represented by bargaining unit 9 (engineers), which the Administration is extending to state managers and supervisors related to these employees. A 5% general raise in July of 2016 is the only currently      >> Read More...

Register NOW for ACSS Lobby Day!

• REGISTER online by February 19th!
• At the Training/Dinner on Tuesday March 8th, you will be informed about the process of Lobby Day and we will guide you on what messages to stress when speaking to the legislators. In addition, some inspiring guest speakers will appear at the training dinner.
• On Lobby Day, Wednesday March 9th, march with your fellow members into the Capitol Building to talk with your legislators to discuss important issues. Lunch will be provided.
• Stick around afterwards for the Ice Cream Social in the Capitol Building to candidly mingle with legislators and ACSS members.

This event is what ACSS is all about! Stand up with your fellow excluded employees and let your voices be heard! Together, we can make a difference.

REGISTER NOW!

Travel, lodging, and meal expenses for members attending Lobby Day are covered by ACSS.

AB 229 Allows State Employees Usage of Uber and AirBnB

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) released a PML which provides guidance on the provisions of Assembly Bill 229 (AB 229), which becomes effective January 1, 2016.

AB 229 adds section to California Government Code and stipulates that state agencies cannot prohibit state employees on official travel from using certain transportation network companies such as Uber or Lyft as well as short-term rental companies such as AirBnB.

Click here to download details of PML 2015-039 from CalHR.

IRS Decreases Mileage Reimbursement Rate

Effective January 1, 2016, the personal vehicle mileage reimbursement rate for employees will be 54 cents per mile (CPM). This reflects a 3.5 cent decrease from 2015. The California Department of Human Resources uses the same rates as those published by the Internal Revenue Service. Employee questions about the mileage reimbursement rates should be addressed on the department level.

Click here to read the details of PML 2015-041 from CalHR.

ACSS New Years Schedule

In observance of upcoming holiday, ACSS will be closed on the following days:

• Thursday, December 31st
• Friday, January 1st

ACSS wishes you a happy and safe New Years!

CalTrans Grants ACSS’ Grievance to Enforce “Call Out” Compensation

At the end of October, a CalTrans Supervisor alerted ACSS about concerns regarding a decision by the Department of Transportation (CalTrans) to change the method used to compensation supervisory staff for call outs. CalTrans sent an email informing maintenance supervisors that they would no longer receive a minimum of four hours of work time when called back to work after completing a normal work shift and/or during off-duty hours. Supervisors would only be paid for the actual time of work performed and a minimum of 4 hours of pay for a call out was not applicable to supervisors.

ACSS determined this new method of compensation for call outs was a violation of statute, regulations and CalHR policy. ACSS filed a grievance on behalf of the ACSS Member as well as all CalTrans excluded employees. The two primary classifications impacted are CalTrans Maintenance Supervisor (6301) and CalTrans Maintenance Area Superintendent (6282).

On December 16, 2015, ACSS received CalTrans’ response granting the grievance. The response stated “We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. It was never our intention to unilaterally terminate any benefit which we have the authority to provide to our employees … Therefore, it is our determination after further analysis that the CMS and CMAS classifications are in fact entitled to the 4-hour minimum when called back into work. Therefore, based on my review of the information presented above, your grievance is hereby granted.”

As a result of ACSS’ efforts, these CalTrans excluded employees have retained their rightful benefits. ACSS became their voice, supported them through this complicated workplace issue, and resolved the conflict on behalf of excluded employees.

Poll Results Show Bleak Future for Pension-Slashing Measures

A group of voters were polled to test the strength of the two pension reform measures proposed by former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio. One measure received 42% support and the other received 40%. Reed said he needed at least one of measures to test at 60% support to justify spending $25 million campaign to get it on the ballot. The future of both measures at this point is dismal.

Opponents of the proposals are confident that support for the measures will diminish. David Low, chair of the Californians for Health Care and Retirement Security, calls them “unviable” and says “Anyone investing is these two losers would be wasting their money.” If these measures continue to move forward, they will endure a challenging and costly uphill battle to appear on the ballot next year.

As always, ACSS will continue to stay on top of this important pension-reform issue and will deliver updates to you as they arise.

Click here to read the full article from the Capital & Main.

Annual Premium Age Update Review – Life Insurance and Long Term Disability

Annual Premium Age Update Review – Basic Group Term Life Insurance, Supplemental Life Insurance, and Long Term Disability Insurance

Effective January 1, 2016, premium changes take effect for certain employees enrolled in the Basic Group Term Life Insurance, Supplemental Life Insurance, and Long Term Disability Insurance (LTD) Programs for excluded employees. These changes are based on the employee’s age, salary, and/or policy amount.

The Basic Group Term Life Insurance policy for excluded employees requires that when employees reach age 70, their employer-paid life insurance premium and benefit will be reduced by 50 percent on January 1 of the following year. Therefore, effective January 1, 2016, (December 2015 pay period) premiums for these employees will be reduced by 50 percent. Benefits will be reduced as follows:

• Managerial employees from $50,000 to $25,000.
• Confidential and supervisory employees from $25,000 to $12,500.

Questions regarding these changes should be directed to MetLife at 1-800-252-8524.

Click here to read the full text of PML 2015-036.

Kamala Harris issues summaries for Reed/DeMaio pension-reform measures

The status of the two pension-reform measures proposed by Reed and DeMaio moved forward on 12/9/15 when Attorney General Kamala Harris issued official summaries.

One measure (15-0076) puts new hires in a 401(k)-style retirement savings plan and guarantees fixed contributions from employers.

The other measure (15-0077) caps the amount of money government employers would be allowed to contribute for new hires at no more than 11 percent of wages (13 percent for police, firefighters and public safety workers.)

These new summaries are important because they are the only language that voters will see during a signature collection campaign. Harris has carefully crafted these summaries in the most fair and legal way possible, removing any slant or inaccuracies. Reed commented “It’s not the most positive way to describe the initiative, but at least it meets the legal requirement to be accurate.” On the other side of the fence, Union spokesman Steve Maviglio did not criticize the language either.

Now that the summaries have been assigned, Reed will poll voters to see which initiative casts a greater response. He is looking to see if either measure can hold at least 60% support from voters. According to David Low, chair of the Californians for Health Care and Retirement Security, polling is in progress and should be completed by Monday 12/14/15. "Based on previous polling, we anticipate that neither measure will test above 50%," says Low.

Once Reed and DeMaio determines the stronger initiative from the poll, they will push for the $2 to $3 million needed during a 3-month period to get the initiative on the ballot, estimating a total of $25 million to run the campaign statewide. Low also mentions "If our polling projection is accurate it will add fuel to the argument that anyone funding Reed/DeMaio is wasting their money."

ACSS will share the poll results as they are received. Low comments, "There will be a well funded opposition campaign if this measure qualifies. We will take this fight to the streets, organize, mobilize, and turn out voters. The protests against Governor Schwarzenegger will pale compared to what the supporters of these measures can expect." Maviglio agrees and promises that if the measure does manage to reach the ballot, “We’ll throw the kitchen sink at it.”

As always, ACSS will continue to stay on top of this important pension-reform issue and will deliver updates to you as they arise.

Click here to read the full article from the SacBee.

Official summaries obtained from the Office of the Attorney General’s website.