General Update (3/25/2019)
First, the A&R Tax Attorneys "impact bargaining" agreement has finally made its way to the legislature (HR-23 & SR-26). This has been a tough road for over 2 years to get this group into A&R from a non-union status. The Tax Attorneys were the first group that organized into A&R and there are 9 other titles that followed their lead and successfully unionized. This has not exactly been a smooth transition for them so I want to thank them for having the courage to do what they did and the determination to see this through until the end. We still need to get this agreement approved by the legislature so there is more work to do, but we are getting close. We also expect this first agreement to set the pattern for the next 9 groups and to have a follow-up agreement in front of the legislature before this session ends.
2) Other legislative news: For a change of pace, there are some union-friendly bills advancing through the legislature, these bills do have support and hopefully will pass this session. These bills counter-balance the harsh tone that was set forth in recent years and simply seek to keep the unions and management on the same playing field. That said, the usual bills to destroy unions and eliminate our pensions continue to crop up from the same legislative clowns that only focus on ruining others rather than ways to improve the state. This year, the anti-union bills won't get very far as their support was diminished at the ballot box last November. Just understand that although we have a much more appreciative legislature this year, this is a battle that hasn't ended, it is only subdued for now.
3) Telecommuting: we are still looking to come to an interim agreement on telecommuting. We aren't necessarily close to an interim agreement, but we are still hopeful that one can be accomplished and be submitted to the legislature for approval prior to the end of the current session. We have held several mediation sessions in an attempt to move the negiation process along. There is an arbitration hearing set for March 27. This arbitration is to establish whether all hazardous duty employees should be categorically excluded from telecommuting or whether there can be latitude based upon the actual duties assigned to a hazardous duty employee. For those wondering, A&R has less than two dozen hazardous duty employees.
4) A&R has moved funds from our Professional Development Fund into our Tuition Reimbursement Fund as we were running a bit low on Tuition Reimbursement. There shouldn't have been any delays in processing tuition reimbursements and there should be enough funding now to cover our expected expenses for this contract year which ends June 30.
5) Scholarship deadlines are approaching...there are several scholarship opportunities available for A&R/AFT family members. On the right side of our web site are the available scholarships that are available to those who are A&R members. This year, A&R will again be awarding 16 total scholarships solely available to family members of A&R.
6) Rumors of an early-retirement package remain untrue...sounds good, but don't plan on this, there have been no discussions of any sort with the unions on early retirements nor changes to pensions or healthcare. There are still rumblings of the “shared-risk” concept, however, nothing has been floated in our direction, so far, all is quiet.
7) Save the date: we will return to Lake Compounce this year to hold our early summer A&R picnic on Wednesday July 3rd. We will also hold our late-summer picnic at Maneeley's on Friday August 30...details for both are forthcoming.
8) The A&R Convention will be held at the A&R Office on Thursday April 25th. The A&R scholarships will be awarded that night and the business meeting will begin promptly at 6pm. Dinner will be available. This year, the elections for A&R Representative assembly and Delegate positions were uncontested so our election process this year will be limited to voting on Constitutional Amendments...details and voting instructions will be sent via snail-mail and broadcast as the balloting approaches.