Supervisory Update: September 1, 2010

Dear Supervisory Member,

The date for the first CCPOA supervisor information forum is approaching quickly, at this time there is still space available for members that would like to attend.  The meeting has been set for Friday September 17, 2010 at CCPOA headquarters in West Sacramento to begin at 9am. Please RSVP if you plan attending so we can have an accurate head count.

As the post and bid period for supervisor’s approaches we are having numerous issues statewide with managements interpretation of the Seniority Assignment Agreement for Sergeants and Lieutenants. The main issue focuses on the exempt positions, which can be controlled by management, however they still must be included in the count by the agreement. In a nutshell, management wants the positions but they wish to exempt them totally from the reconciliation process. If your institution is facing this problem please contact us.

At this time we are attempting to establish monthly, or at a minimum regular, meetings between the CDCR Director level and the CCPOA Vice Presidents to bring issues like this forward, hopefully for positive resolution. A tentative date has been set but not confirmed. When that date has been confirmed we will pass it on.

As well we encourage the local Chapter Supervisory Vice Presidents to hold monthly meetings with management to discuss supervisor issues. Any issues that cannot be resolved at the local level should be forwarded to be included in our meetings with the Director.

From the “I hear it’s coming” department there are numerous rumors concerning CDCR. While it is never a good idea to pass on information that can’t be verified I will address some of these rumors just the same. As with all rumors there is a certain amount of truth to some, while others are simply time fillers or non-starters at the end of the day.

Most of us would probably agree that CDCR headquarters seems to run on drills. When and if there is a state budget you can count on further cuts to the CDCR budget, being one of the largest drains on the general fund. At this time there are several budget saving ideas (drills) being bantered about. Two of the biggest are the 12-hour shifts and the 3% position reductions.

The 12-hour shift plan took a back seat to bigger issues inside the department recently, namely the high profile Parolee issues surrounding Garrido and Gardener. But that didn’t prohibit the state from sending 12-hour shift teams to SVSP, HDSP and PBSP.

The truth is many institutions are suffering from massive staff vacancies. As the department looks at re-directions, reductions etc. they are also considering sending ‘strike teams’ to Pelican Bay for over time avoidance. Pelican Bay reportedly has in excess of 120 vacancies. It’s not clear which institutions have an overage of staff that can be sent on per diem to assist with these vacancies. It’s my understanding that the final decision hasn’t been made at this time, but it is being considered just the same.

If you believe in conspiracies it’s not too broad of a leap to think the department has exasperated these vacancies to further their 12-hour shift agenda. Whether you believe it to be evil intent or just a sign of the times is irrelevant. The Governor has been promised that 12-hour shifts will save untold millions and they intend to implement.

As for the 3% position reduction the department issued a memorandum to all institutions to identify positions they can do without. These positions can be the same positions they identified in the 3% re-direction plan, which also has been violated in numerous institutions.

To be quite clear regarding the above-mentioned issues, we have not been noticed to meet on any of them at this time. If and when the notices do come we will pass that on to you as well.

With no state budget in place there is a certain amount of angst concerning the possibility of being paid with IOU’s. When the state runs out of cash sans a budget IOU’s have and will be issued to additional vendors etc. according to the State Controller. Banks can choose to honor them, for their members, as some did back in the nineties when we were paid with IOU’s.

As IOU’s pertain to state employees it becomes a very complex issue, as usual. One argument is basically the same as the minimum wage argument, Federal Law mandates full payment if you work any overtime. Can the Controller separate out one employee from another, issuing one an IOU and the other a paycheck? This is just one all to familiar aspect of IOU payments. Of course if they do violate the law it’s a long drawn out process for resolution. I know that’s not much of an answer, but it really isn’t as simple as yes or no. There are just way too many variables. The simplest solution is to pass a budget. If only there were an agreed to date that it had to passed…

Additionally we have a meeting scheduled with the Department of Personnel Administration for September 16, 2010 to discuss supervisor benefits.

As more information becomes available on these and other issues I will continue to update you.

Kevin Raymond
kevin.raymond@ccpoa.org

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