PEF/Banking Labor Management Meeting

June 27, 2007

(1:15 pm—2:30 pm)

 

The meeting was convened at 1:15 pm in Conference Room 6A by William Brennan, Council Leader. The following were in attendance:

 

PEF Council Members                                                    Management

William Brennan                                                             Diana Rulon

Peter Christensen                                                           Cheryl Aini

Wendy Henry                                                                 Peggy Butler-Bertholf

Harris Sibener                                                                Caroline Westbrook

Bhupendra Saxena

Sheik Nabijohn

Ian Dale

Michael Adinolfi

Sergey Garanin

Maria Velazquez

Jane Schwartz — PEF field representative

 

Note:   Underlined and bulleted items are from the PEF agenda for the meeting.

 

William Brennan, Council Leader, opened the meeting, asking that management email an announcement on the upcoming General Meeting PEF has scheduled. Diana Rulon replied that the use of email for union matters was the subject of a labor management agreement that still must be considered by GOER and PEF statewide. However, she agreed that the announcement would be sent. Mr. Brennan asked that the minutes of today’s meeting be prepared quickly so that they could be available for the July 18 meeting.

 

Flex schedule for office and field staff currently not eligible.

Mr. Brennan asked management to consider including all field and office staff in the compressed work week (CWW) schedules. Ms. Henry noted that the types of examinations being conducted in Licensed Financial Services and Mortgage Banking are now longer, and we should review and revise the existing policy. Ms. Rulon noted that the CWW schedules were implemented to allow Banking Department field assignments to match the Federal schedule. She asked what would be the operational benefit of expanding the program. Some of the advantages noted by PEF were increased coverage of the office, less commutation costs, improved morale, less absenteeism as employees would be able to schedule appointments on the flex day, and more equity among staff when all could participate in this program. Cheryl Aini noted that there may be a coverage issue on Fridays and that there may need to be different schedules.

 

Ms. Schwartz asked when the membership could expect to get an answer on whether management would agree to discuss the issue. Ms. Rulon stated that she would convey a decision on whether to consider the matter in two weeks. PEF requested that if the response was no, that management provide its reasons.

 

Current promotional process for all examiner grades and transparency in the promotion process.

Mr. Brennan noted that he had previously requested a written explanation of the promotion process. Staff wanted to know what must be done to get promoted. Ms. Rulon stated that written information would be provided, but that it would not be done until it did not conflict with the grievances filed on the issue. Mr. Brennan asked whether this would be before the next labor management meeting and Ms. Rulon indicated it would.

 

Rotation Policy revisited.

Mr. Brennan advised that PEF did not choose to discuss at the present time, as a productive joint Rotation Committee meeting had been conducted earlier in the day.

 

Recent grievance hearings.

Mr. Adinolfi expressed concern that three Step 1 grievances had been filed at the end of May 2007, but had not yet been scheduled as of this date. The Administration Policy calls for all Step 1 grievances to be scheduled within 3 days of the filing of a grievance, and the contract and administration policy require a decision rendered within 20 days of filing. Ms. Rulon acknowledged that there have been delays and they are being addressed. She noted that PEF had complained about her involvement as well as Human Resources as Hearing Officers, claiming that impartiality could not be maintained. As a result, management worked to assign other hearing officers. This culminated in a delay and some miscommunication in getting hearing officers to hear grievances. The grievances are now being scheduled. In addition to the above, Ms. Rulon noted that there was a lot of conflict with scheduling meetings from all the parties involved. Ms. Rulon reiterated management’s commitment to the time limits in the policy. It is the members’ responsibility to get representatives scheduled for their grievance hearings. Ms. Schwartz asked who should receive grievance filings now. Ms. Rulon said they should be addressed to Cheryl Aini. Mr. Brennan asked if Ms. Aini was the new co-chair. Ms. Rulon said that eventually she would be, but that Ms. Aini was new to the job and is training to add this role. Mr. Brennan asked if he should contact Ms. Aini on general union issues, including the use of e-mail to distribute union information to PEF members, and was told yes.

 

Travel Policy/Travel Issues.

Mr. Christensen asked again that management consider changing the travel policy to include travel time on every first and last day of the workweek when on overnight assignments, not just on the first and last days of the assignment. He noted that someone on a week long assignment could get home at a reasonable time on the last day of the workweek, but those on lengthy assignments arrived home unreasonably late. Ms. Rulon acknowledged that this matter had been discussed at the last meeting and that management had agreed to meet with PEF to discuss it. She asked Mr. Christensen to put together the proposed amendment to the policy as a way to facilitate the process.

 

Ms. Velazquez spoke about travel to training assignments other than

Washington, D.C. She noted that additional time, up to 7.5 hours, is being

approved on work schedule adjustments, although the policy provides for only 3.75 hours. She asked that the policy be amended to reflect actual practice.

 

Also, she noted that the policy is not adequate for overseas trips, with paid travel limited to one day. Ms. Velazquez suggested that jobs be scheduled to begin on Tuesdays and end on Thursday, to make clear to the staff that Mondays and Fridays are travel days. She also requested that the “Travel During the Workday” policy be amended to provide two workdays for travel to and from Asian assignments. She explained that it takes almost two days to get to Asia and that it is not reasonable to spend 21-22 hours on a plane and need to charge accruals or have no time for recuperation to get to an assignment.

 

Ms. Rulon asked who schedules jobs. The response was jobs were scheduled by the division on Monday as a matter of course. Ms. Schwartz added that an examiner could not take advantage of a rest day based on the current guidelines. The way things stand now, examiners traveling to Asia cannot take advantage of the 1 day travel allowance. Mr. Christensen offered that the same 7.5 hours in travel time was allotted for Asia travel (actual +1- 22 hours) as for Europe (8-12 hours). Ms. Rulon noted that examiners schedule the jobs and are responsible for completing them. She suggested that examiners should speak with Deputies regarding scheduling concerns. PEF requested that Ms. Rulon speak to the Deputies, and she agreed to mention it at an Executive staff meeting. In closing, Ms. Rulon advised the membership to provide a written outline explaining the issue and to provide recommendations for changes to be considered. PEF agreed.

 

IT Division-staffing, promotions, training, and plans to support upgrade in

IT platform.

Mr. Nabijohn congratulated the new appointees on the management team and complimented the performance of Mr. William Rachmiel the new IT Director. He then raised concerns that not all members in the IT division were receiving adequate training. Ms. Aini commented that Albany has approved training for IT staff and she asked for clarification on the issue. Mr. Nabijohn responded that training was highly selective and not provided broadly enough to the staff. He emphasized that cross-training is imperative and that no one person should be in control of any form of programming or systems implementation. He further stated that complete cross-training for all staff was needed to ensure continuity. Ms. Rulon indicated management was in agreement with ensuring adequate back-up and cross-training for IT staff. Mr. Nabijohn then pointed out that there is no quality assurance function within IT implementation projects. He stressed PEF’s opinion that this function is standard industry practice and of particular importance given that the implementation of the new infrastructure is in progress. Further discussion ensued relative to ensuring appropriate documentation for the Department’s IT infrastructure and obtaining the appropriate training from vendors.

 

In light of the discussion turning to a more technical nature, Ms. Rulon suggested a meeting between herself, Mr. Nabijohn, another member of the PEF Council, and William Rachmiel, the Director of the IT Division. PEF agreed with this course of action.

 

Health and Safety Committee minutes.

Mr. Sibener advised the minutes were given to Jim Fuchs in April but were never distributed. Ms. Rulon informed the membership that she never saw the minutes and asked why PEF didn’t follow up after Mr. Fuchs left the Department. Mr. Sibener responded that PEF would redistribute them to management. Mr. Sibener also asked if the membership could pursue the flu shot program again this year and Ms. Rulon answered yes.

 

Establishment  of a telecommuting  program  in accord with  the Memorandum of Agreement between GOER and PEF.

Mr. Christensen inquired about a sub-committee to review the idea of telecommuting and to come out with recommendations both pro and con for consideration at the next labor management meeting. He indicated that there is a current Memorandum of Agreement between PEF and the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations that encourages management and labor to devise telecommuting arrangements. He further indicated that there are many areas where this subject can work to the benefit of the Department and examiners. Ms. Rulon replied that discussing the matter was a reasonable first step, and that management would consider whether or not to open the issue. She agreed to advise PEF of management’s decision on going forward with a study on telecommuting within two weeks. PEF requested that if the answer was no, management provide its reasons.

 

Current organization chart for the NYSBD.

The Department organization chart was provided. Ms. Rulon noted that the chart will continue to be updated as new hires and changes are made. She noted it is management’s intention to provide the information to all employees after several key vacancies are filled.

 

Ms. Rulon answered general questions regarding the organization chart and about hiring. She noted that a Deputy will be assigned to head RATA, and the Department is actively recruiting for a Director of Human Resources and a Director of Internal Audit. PEF asked how “NS” positions are selected. Ms. Rulon explained that the correct term is “exempt” and that “NS” means non statutory in terms of salary. Exempt employees are recruited from a variety of areas, and depending on the position they may or may not be posted. All exempt employee appointments require approval from the Governor’s Appointments Office and the Division of the Budget.

 

Provisional Senior Bank Examiner positions.

PEF asked whether management intended to make provisional appointments now that the Senior Bank Examiner list has no more candidates. Ms. Rulon advised that there is a current list for open competitive Senior Bank Examiners and, therefore, provisional appointments cannot be made under Civil Service law. Provisional appointments cannot be made to the title because there are at least three people on the current list. Candidates on the current list were interviewed and were not selected. Since the list remains active and has at least three candidates, provisional appointments are not an option.

 

The question was asked when the membership could expect to see promotions for Principal and Supervising Bank Examiner positions. Ms. Rulon advised there is no date, but that it may not be very long.

 

It was noted that new stewards and Ms. Aini need to be added to the calendar invitation for the next meeting. Management will note the next meeting for the end of the minutes.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 2:30pm.

The next meeting is scheduled for August 8, 2007 from 1:00 to 2:30.