Chapter 7 Meeting Minutes
May 3, 2010
The meeting started with Greg Kovalick, Chapter 7 Secretary, reading the Chapter 7 Meeting Minutes from April 27, 2010. Dave Burns made a motion to accept Greg’s report and it was seconded by Karen Ellis. All present were in favor of accepting the minutes as read. Motion passed to unanimously accept the minutes.
A Motion was presented by Karen Ellis to approve up to $ 200 per diem per attendee to attend the upcoming Lobby Day on June 22, 2010, in Harrisburg. Attendees will receive a box lunch, money for transportation, and a per diem. Joyce Johns seconded the motion. All present were in favor of approving the motion, and it was passed unanimously. It was mentioned that interested people can still call in to sign up for Lobby Day – it is not too late to sign up to attend.
Treasurers Report – Pat Barnes, Chapter 7 Treasurer then presented the Treasury Report for October 2010 to Sept 2011. The report:
We will be getting $ 8304, we figure $ 225 for supplies, $3000 Chapter related expenses, $ 1000 for meetings, $ 1000 for meals, $ 1000 for per diems. Motion to accept report- Andy Woll, seconded by Dave Burns, all were in favor of accepting report as read. Motion Passed.
Leadership Training is scheduled for September 9th, 10th and 11th. Motion was presented to pay for the expenses for leadership training for members of Chapter 7 by Pat Barnes, and seconded by Lois Brown- Velkoff. Motion Passed unanimously, to pay for expenses for Leadership Training.
Business Agent Report – by Judy Miller. Judy is responsible for 11 Counties. She says that we are getting an additional 500 members from Center County and an additional 400 members in Tioga County. The Youth Forestry Camp has a contract, and there is arbitration in the CAO in Tioga County. In Clinton County, and arbitrator is assisting a person who was terminated. There are problems at Pittsburgh OVR, which involves problems with a “sick building”. Many workers are out on Workmans Comp because of rat and bug problems and the resulting spraying of the building for these problems. Motion to accept report as written by Andy Woll, seconded by Dave Burns. Motion passed unanimously.
OES Report was presented by Carlene Gaither. She says that they still did not get an answer on Functional Supervision. Labor Relations was there. In regards to CWDS, Management accepted input from end users. There is no word yet on Reauthorization. Carlene says there are 4 people working out of class in the whole State. Clerical duties are being imposed on Careerlink Staff. Staff there also want to find out when the Careerlink Specialist exam will be opened again. Carlene says that Job Service Supervisors are being hired without experience - the workers must train them. Employers are fleeing the CWDS System – don’t want to use it to list available jobs. Motion to accept report as written- Dave Burns, seconded by Greg Kovalick. All were in favor of accepting report.
The Corrections Report was presented by Andy Woll, who said that an RFP (request for Proposal) has been put out to look at hiring more staff. Motion to accept report – Greg Kovalick, seconded by Dave Burns. All were in favor of accepting report as read.
MR Report – by Pat Barnes. The MR Committee met on 4-14-2010. The Budget for the Centers and Staff Complement were discussed. They continue to fill vacancies in PSA and Psychologist positions. Social Workers will need their Masters Degree. Pat Barnes says “TimeLink” the time management program, has been a disaster. Supervisors spend too much time trying to approve staff to be paid. The System lost 100 work schedules, and they must be found by Monday, or else they won’t be paid. RSS’s got their Pay Grade increase. Alot of people are retiring, and they are training the people who are replacing them, so the next person knows how to do the job. There are Surveys being done to improve the work environment, but not all members support doing the Surveys. President Jellison has asked that staff send her ways they feel they can improve the MR System. Staff need to collaborate with Management, to improve working conditions. There is a movement to refer to clients as having “Intellectual Disabilities”, not being referred to as having “Mental Retardation”. Motion to accept report as read- Dave Burns, seconded by Andy Woll. Motion to accept report as read passed unanimously, all in favor of accepting report.
A general discussion was held at the end of the meeting, suggesting that it would be best to ask for a contract extension, because we would be “better off” that way. Also discussed was Grievances which are at the 3rd Step. It was mentioned that someone (the Steward ?) must call and inquire about it, because there are so many at 3rd Step. Tehn the Grievance may be moved forward. But Terminations and Suspensions will always be resolved first.
A motion was presented by Karen Ellis to reimburse the Lobby Day attendees for their meals on the way home, in the amount of $ 15 each (mileage has already been approved in a previous motion). The motion was seconded by Kim Shick. Motion passed unanimously. All in favor of accepting report as read.
Motion to Adjourn- by Dave Burns, seconded by Andy Woll. Motion Passed unanimously to adjourn, all in favor.