UUP, state reach tentative agreement; no 'contracting in' of faculty, staff jobs

By SUE WUETCHER
News Services Associate Editor

While the four-year agreement does allow the state to "contract out" jobs to external corporations, union officials say that the state would be required to meet "extensive and complex procedural standards" in order to outsource jobs.

"I think contracting out would be very difficult and expensive" for the state to do under the terms of the tentative agreement, said Jean Dickson, president of the Buffalo Center Chapter of UUP, adding that Thomas Matthews, the union's chief negotiator, told her that the contracting-out language has 27 pages of conditions built in.

"I hope it's all the protection we need," Dickson said.

UUP President William Scheuerman noted that the union has "built so many fences around the state's ability to contract out that we are certain no one will become unemployed during the life of our contract. In some key respects, we have actually increased job security through the obstacles that we've created to obstruct contracting-out."

President William R. Greiner said he was "thrilled" that the state and UUP have a tentative contract agreement.

"It's real important to have a contract," Greiner said, noting that the agreement appears to include a compromise on the contracting in/contracting out issue while providing some money for faculty and professional staff.

"It's a good morale booster," he said.

UUP members have been working without a new contract since July 1, 1995, and the "contracting in/contracting out" issue was at the heart of what had been contentious negotiations.

The state had insisted on the ability to outsource jobs. The union had maintained that outsourcing would, in effect, undercut tenure and permanent appointment and give SUNY administrators unlimited power to cut faculty and staff salaries, reduce benefits and fire union members at will.

Dickson noted that the language in the tentative agreement allows the state to save face on the outsourcing issue "without, I hope, hurting our members.

"On the whole, I think that in a very tough situation, our negotiating committee did a great job," Dickson said.

Although the full details of the tentative agreement are not yet available‹members will receive the full text in late August, along with a ratification ballot‹Scheuerman did release a summary. In addition to the outsourcing issue, key points of the agreement, which would cover the period of July 2, 1995 through July 1, 1999, include:

- A $1,250 lump-sum payment in October.

- A 1 percent, across-the-board raise divided equally among members and retroactive to 1996‹approximately $500 per person. This increase, which would be added to members' base salaries, also would take effect in October.

- 3.5 percent across-the-board salary increases in both January 1998 and January 1999.

- 1 percent discretionary salary increases to be paid in December 1997, 1998 and 1999.

- Full restoration of funds owed to the Benefit Trust Fund, which provides members with vision and dental insurance. Members also would be reimbursed for all dental and vision claims incurred since the state stopped payments to the fund and coverage ended on May 9, 1996. The state would increase its contribution to the fund for years three and four of the contract.

- The state would maintain responsibility for prescription drug coverage.

- Members would be allowed to accumulate more than the current limit of 40 vacation days

- Employees would be allowed to take compensatory time within 12 months of its being earned

Scheuerman will attend a Buffalo chapter membership meeting scheduled for Sept. 4 to discuss the tentative agreement, Dickson said.

The American Arbitration Association will conduct a mail ballot on the agreement, with the votes to be counted on Sept. 19.

Scheuerman said that waiting until September to conduct the ratification vote will not delay the distribution of any payments or benefits to members.