TO:  Board of Regents

FROM:  Sue Hill, Director, Labor Relations and Personnel

RE:  Approval of the tentative agreement with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Local 441

DATE:  September 25-26, 2003

Attached is a summary of the tentative agreement with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 441. The summary shows only the modifications to the prior agreement. The entire agreement can be viewed on line at: https://mus.edu/hr/cba/collbarg.html. This bargaining unit includes approximately 15 employees, who perform clerical, maintenance or ranch hand type duties working at the MSU-Bozeman Livestock and Range Research Laboratory in Miles City.

There were few language changes and none are very substantive. A caveat was added to the provision that gave employees who were off work, due to a workers' compensation leave of absence, 4 months of the employer contribution to group health insurance. In the future, an employee will be required to wait 2 years before becoming eligible for this benefit for a second time. An exception for employees who are called to active military service was added to the provision that stops the accrual of seniority when an employee goes on a leave of absence for more than 30 days. In the event an arbitrator is needed to resolve a contract dispute, the parties agreed to request 7 names to choose from, up from 5 in the prior agreement.

The salary settlement with AFSCME Local 441 includes a 25 cent per hour increase for all bargaining unit employees, effective January 1, 2005. This increase is consistent with House Bill 13. The tentative agreement continues to endorse the Montana University System Achievement Program (MAP) and provides for .5% Achievement Pay, effective the last day of each fiscal year for employees who receive an overall performance rating of "exceeded expectations" or "met expectations". Employees who receive an overall performance rating of "did not meet expectations" are not eligible for Achievement Pay.

I recommend approval of the tentative agreement with AFSCME Local 441. The bargaining unit has already ratified the agreement.