August 19, 2009
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Lois Ratzow
WSEU Local 82
FROM:
Shannon E. Bradbury
UWM Labor Relations Coordinator
RE:
WSEU Labor/Management Meeting Minutes for August 18, 2009
WSEU Local 82
Lois Ratzow (BC)
Stan Yasaitis (AS)
Don Schmerda (BC)
Cecilia Lewandowski (AS)
UWM
Shannon E. Bradbury
Dave Danielson
John Krezoski
Kurt Hennemann
Note: The next meeting will be held Tuesday, September 15. Please respond to items from
your area by Friday, September 11.
The meeting began at 9:03 a.m.
I.
NEW BUSINESS
A. Facility Services Issues. Vehicles. Director of Facility Services Dave
Danielson noted that the Wisconsin Department of Administration, which
owns the UWM fleet vehicles, will be replacing them. The vehicles being
replaced are the trucks and vans that run on compressed gas, and they are
being replaced with vehicles that run on E-85 ethanol fuel. The compressed
gas vehicles need to be returned to Madison, but as they will not go that far on
a tank of compressed gas, the Department is looking to take them in on a
vehicle carrier.
External Contractor. A custodian encountered a worker for a contractor who
was confused about where to park and how to get into the room in Chemistry
in which he needed to work. The Director stated that this contractor has
worked here for five years and knows what the procedures are, and should be
instructing its workers.
Waste Control Contract. Purchasing is presently soliciting input on what to
include in the new contract for campus waste pickup. There are many
interests, including those of the workers and of green initiatives competing to
have a say in how the contract is let for bid.
Preventive Maintenance. The union questioned a recent reorganization of
classifications in the Preventive Maintenance shop in FS. The Director stated
that because all the workers perform primarily the same duties, they should all
have the same classification, so the classifications on two employees were
changed to match the rest. Now anyone in the shop could potentially be given
“lead work” responsibility in the absence of the supervisor.
Floater Custodians. Six custodians who formerly were “project/floaters” have
been given permanent assignments, to begin next week.
Gardener. The union announced that a long-time Gardener at UW-Waukesha
was recently laid off, and wondered whether FS would like to open a position
for him and make use of his expertise.
B. Furloughs. The parties again discussed the State furlough program as it
applies to WSEU employees. There is no apparent reason why probationary
employees cannot take their allotted days of furlough. The union also
requested that an employee who had a small amount of money deducted
before she was laid off be repaid for the lost wages because she did not have a
chance to take a day off.
C. School of Continuing Education. The union discussed at great length the
recent reorganization of support staff in the School of Continuing Education.
The School reassigned the support staff, which formerly each supported
individual programs, into a “pool” where each will work to support a variety of
programs. The union maintains that the decisions are being made without
employee input. There was a “Shared Services” committee, but the employees
believe it ceased to meet but the decisions kept coming, and that they shouldn’t
have been told they would be included in the decision-making process if they
weren’t. The union would like to see the final report of the Shared Services
committee, and would like to know how the decisions are being made.
D. Layoffs. The parties discussed current layoffs involving WSEU positions.
The union again asked for the justification for the elimination of staff in the
data center in UITS. They want to be assured that long-time classified
employees are not being laid off to make room for selected student workers.
E. University Housing. The union maintains that University Housing
Housekeeping developed new internal procedures that constitute “work rules”,
and thus they should have been vetted with the union before implementation.
They also assert that the Assistant Director of Housing has a bias against a
particular Custodian, and scolds him for bringing issues to this forum. By
memo, the Assistant Director responded that he has the highest regard for the
custodians who work under demanding conditions, but that he does feel many
issues could be addressed in-house.
F. Union Stewards. The union president noted that some stewards are getting
more than their fair share of work lately, and she would like to limit the
stewards to one grievance meeting per day.
II.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Health & Safety
1. Completed or Ongoing Projects
Bolton 180/184
EMS E218, W269, W320, WB1B, 1042
2. Pending Projects
EMS WB52, WB82
Tunnel Point A to I
A detailed list is available at:
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/PPS/Usaa/ASB/projects.pdf
3. Flood in Chemistry Building. A recent flood on the seventh floor of the
Chemistry Building was caused when someone left a hose running. There
was no leak.
4. Dr. John Krezoski, Director of University Safety and Assurances, noted
that hazardous waste disposal, and electronic (E-) waste disposal programs
each cost the University about $45,000 annually. The campus is examining
creating a surplus purchasing program of its own, particularly aimed at
reselling used computers.
5. Lab Safety Training. Dr. Krezoski noted that laboratory safety training has
taken a new approach. The training is offered directly to those who use
and teach in the labs in Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering and
Health Sciences. The lab safety program officer works directly with dozens
of groups of lab users and safety has improved measurably.
6. Elevators. The elevators in PSOA Music and in the Chemistry Building
are both still out of commission.
B.
State Budget Concerns. No one from the UWM Administration appeared
to address this forum with a comprehensive outlook on how the State
budget is affecting UWM, so the union would specifically like to invite
Associate Vice Chancellor Don Weill to come to the September L/M
meeting.
The meeting ended at 11:13 a.m.
III.
`
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, September 15 in 122 Engelmann Hall, 9:00 a.m.
Cc:
Carlos Santiago
Bob Grieshaber
Rick Koehler
Karen Perlewitz
John Krezoski
Dave Danielson
Dev Venugopalan
Deans/Division Heads
Steve Butzlaff
Mike Reck
Kathy Clark
Kathy Heath
Colleen Murphy
Linda Woods
Don Weill
Personnel Representatives
Karl Sparks
Kate Nelson
Rob Bodart
Ken Busch
Christy Brown
Rita Cheng