BPS Telephone Final Bargaining Report

The proposed contract was overwhelmingly ratified by the membership. The highlights for the new agreement are outlined below.

Duration

• New agreement is 5 years

Wages

• 1st Year – 3.0% Base Increase
• 2nd Year – 2.0% Base Increase
• 3rd Year – 2.0% Base Increase
• 4th Year – 2.0% Base Increase
• 5th Year – 2.0% Base Increase

Benefits

• No changes

Contractual Changes

ARTICLE 3

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

                Section 1.  A grievance is a complaint or concern by an employee or group of employees regarding the interpretation or application of an article or section of this Agreement.

                Section 2.  Nothing contained in this Agreement shall deprive any employee of the right to discuss concerns or complaints with his/her supervisor and/or the Human Resources Director.  Any individual employee or group of employees shall have the right at any time to present such matters to the Company and to have them reviewed and/or adjusted without the intervention of the Union as long as the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement.

                Section 3.  Grievance Notice:  Employees shall start the grievance process by providing an informal written grievance notice to his/her immediate supervisor or the Human Resources Director.  The notice must include the date of the occurrence, date of the notice, the Article(s) and Section(s) of this Agreement the interpretation or application of which is being questioned, the nature of the problem and the employee’s name.  Employees must properly raise their complaint or concern within fourteen (14)ten (10) work days of the offending occurrence in order to preserve their right to pursue the matter further using the grievance procedure.  The Company shall promptly provide a copy of the written grievance notice to the local Union representative either in person or by fax no later than two work days of the date of receipt.  The grievance process is limited to the interpretation or application of a section or article of this Agreement.  The grievance process does not extend to issues left to management or company discretion or issues specifically excluded from the grievance process.

                Section 4.  Level 1:  The local Union representative (or designated Union official) and the Human Resources Director (or his/her designee) shall discuss the grievance informally in an attempt to resolve the dispute within fourteen (14)ten (10) calendar days of the date the grievance notification was filed with the Company.  Management may request that the aggrieved employee(s) be present at this information meeting.  The Human Resources Director (or his/her designee) will respond in writing within fourteen (14)ten (10) calendar days of meeting with the local Union representative, with a copy to the aggrieved employee.

                No more than two employees from the Company, which shall include the local Union representative, may be involved in processing a grievance, unless management deems otherwise.  “Processing a grievance” is defined specifically as attendance at and participation in grievance meetings with management present.

                Section 5.  Level 2:  If a satisfactory result is not reached at the first level, the grievance shall then be presented in writing by the Union to the President (or his/her designee) within fourteen 14ten (10) calendar days of management’s level 1 response.  A grievance meeting shall be held promptly upon reasonable request from either party to the other.  The place of meeting shall be mutually agreed upon, with each party giving due consideration to the convenience of the other.  The Company shall submit its decision in writing to the local Union representative citing the reasons for the decisions within fourteen 14ten (10) calendar days of the grievance meeting.

                Once an employee has filed and pursued a grievance up to level 2, the same grievance may not be grieved again for the duration of this Agreement.

                Employees, including the local Union representative, speaking informally about concerns and employees pursuing a grievance to level 1 or level 2 will not incur a loss of wages for attendance at grievance meetings with management.  No wages will be paid to employees for time away from regularly scheduled work occasioned by pursuit of a grievance beyond level 2.

                Section 6.  Level 3:  If a satisfactory result is not reached at the second level, the Union may appeal the grievance decision to the Human Resources Director (or his/her designee) within thirty (30)ten (10) working days after receipt of management’s level 2 position statement by submitting a written statement via registered mail requesting mediation.  Mediation is optional and no mediation shall be conducted without the written consent of both the Company and the Union.

                Any written material that is presented to the mediator shall be returned to the party presenting the material at the termination of the mediation conference.  The mediator may only retain one copy of the written grievance to be used solely for statistical analysis.

                Proceedings before the mediator shall be informal in nature.  The presentation of evidence is not limited to that presented at level 1 and level 2, but must directly related to the events involved in the grievance.  No record of the mediation conference shall be made.  The mediator will have the authority to meet with any person who may have bearing on the grievance.  The mediator shall conduct no more than two days of mediation with no more than three mediation conferences per day.

The mediator does not have the authority to compel the resolution of a grievance.  The mediator is required to state the grounds for his/her advisory decision at the conclusion of the mediation conference.  If the advisory decision of the mediator is accepted by the parties it is binding, but it shall not constitute a precedent unless both parties otherwise agree. 

If no settlement is reached by the end of the concluding mediation conference, either party may choose to arbitrate.

In the event that a grievance which has been mediated subsequently goes to arbitration, no person serving as a mediator between these parties may serve as arbitrator.  Nothing said or done by the mediator or the parties may be referred to or used at arbitration.

All expenses associated with mediation, including the mediator’s fees and expenses and charges for meeting space, will be divided equally between the parties.  Each party shall bear the expense of preparing and presenting its own case.

Section 7. Level 4: If the Union desires to appeal the grievance to arbitration, it must submit a written statement of appeal to the Human Resources Director (or his/her designee) by registered mail.  The statement of appeal must be received in the office of the Human Resources Director (or his/her designee) on or before thirty (30)ten (10) calendar days after the concluding mediation conference. Appeals not so presented within the time limit described in this Article shall be considered waived by the Union.

ARTICLE 4

ARBITRATION

Section 1.  To take a grievance to arbitration the Union must have completely followed and exhausted the grievance procedure described in Article 3 - Grievances of this Agreement.

Section 2.  The parties shall endeavor to agree between them upon an arbitrator within sixty (60)ten (10) working days after the dispute has been referred to arbitration.  Failing to so agree, they shall call upon the Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service for a panel of seven (7) competent arbitrators from which the parties will alternately strike one name until the arbitrator is selected.  The union will strike first, then the Company, until six (6) names have been struck from the list.

Section 3.  The arbitrator shall interpret the contract in accordance with the reserved rights theory of labor contracts whereby all rights not specifically limited in the Agreement are reserved to the Company.  The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding.  The arbitrator shall have no right to alter, amend, modify or change the terms or provisions of this Agreement.  The arbitrator shall have no right to deliver decisions on any issues outside of the specific scope of the grievance, may not level punitive damages, and may do nothing to lessen or compromise management rights.

To be binding, the arbitrator is required to state in writing the reasoning behind his/her decisions within forty-five (45) calendar days of the conclusion of the arbitration hearing.

Section 4.  This arbitration process shall be expeditiously pursued by all concerned.  All expenses for arbitration, including the compensation and expenses for the arbitrator and court recorder, and fees for meeting space, shall be equally shared by the parties.  Each party shall bear the expense of preparing and presenting its own case.

Section 5.  All time spent away from work by an aggrieved employee or employees, employee witnesses and/or the local Union representative shall be on a no-pay basis.

Section 6.  Grievance Investigations:  Authorized union representatives, not to exceed two in number, may investigate a grievance on Company premises if such investigation is mutually prearranged between the Human Resources Director (or his/her designee) and the appropriate union officer.  Union investigations on Company property are limited to one per grievance and a management representative may be in attendance during the visit.

No more than one employee and the local Union representative may be involved in a grievance investigation on Company premises at the same time, unless management deems otherwise.  No employee or local Union representative shall leave his/her job during work time for the purpose of investigating a grievance without first getting permission from his/her immediate supervisor or the President.  Investigation of grievances shall normally be handled outside of working hours and such investigations are a non-paid activity.  Any time spent in grievance investigation that is done during work time shall be noted on the employee's time sheet and not charged to the Company.

The Company reserves the right to speak with any employee as part of the Company's grievance investigation.  Upon the employee's request, the employee will be afforded Union representation in any meeting with management regarding a grievance or grievance investigation.

Section 7.  Grievances or appeals to mediation not so presented within the time limits described in this Article shall be considered waived by the Union. 

Section 8.  The parties shall keep each other informed in writing of the representatives or designees authorized to process grievances.

Section 9. Written records of level 1 and level 2 grievance meetings may be kept by both parties but electronic audio or video recording devises are prohibited unless both parties agree.

ARTICLE 10

SAFETY, SECURITY AND HEALTH

The Company shall at all times make reasonable provisions for the safety, security and health of its employees during the hours of their employment and the employees and the union shall support and comply with such rules.

Employees will not be required to work under any condition which is unsafe and injurious to health.

At the Company’s discretion employees will have the option to be trained to perform all job duties including; Central Office, Outside Plant, and Network Management.    

ARTICLE 26

PLACE OF REPORTING

 The place of reporting for employees of the Company shall be the central office, garage, storeroom or other locations designated by the Company.

Time spent in traveling between such places of reporting and place of work at the beginning and end of the work period and time spent during the work period shall be counted as work time and so paid. Transportation incidental to travel time covered herein will be furnished by the Company or will be by means of other transportation approved by the Company.

If an employee, with approval of the Company, elects to use his own automobile in lieu of other transportation, the Company will reimburse the employee at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reimbursement rate for mileage in effect at the time of travel.

Employees who reside within ten (10) miles of their place of reporting shall be allowed use of company vehicles to travel to and from work.  

SERVICES TECHNICIAN

* An employee shall receive a wage progression increase each six (6) months until he/she reaches progression step “O”.

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNICIAN

* An employee shall receive a wage progression increase each six (6) months until he/she reaches progression step “O”.

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee