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General Rules for Election of Officers

Notice of Elections & Mailing Instructions

Federation of Indian Service Employees, FISE Local 4524

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Election Notice

Voting will be conducted by secret ballot in accordance with Article VIII, Elections, of the FISE Constitution. Ballots will be mailed on May 1, 2013 to all active members in good standing at their last known home address. Members who have not received a ballot or who have lost or spoiled their ballot should contact FISE Office Manager, Jackie Spencer at 505-243-4088.

Requests for a duplicate ballot must be received no later than May 15, 2013. Voicemail is available 24 hours a day. Ballots must be mailed so they will be received at the post office by 9:00 a.m. MST, on May 31, 2013 in order to be counted.

Instructions for Mail Voting

Please read the following instructions carefully before marking and mailing your ballot:

• Mark an "x" or place a check mark in the box next to the name of the candidates of your choice. Do not place your name, initials, or any other identifying information on the ballot. Ballots containing any identifying information will be voided.
• Place your marked ballot in the small white envelope and seal it. Do not write on this envelope. You must use the Secret Ballot Envelope to insure that ballot secrecy is maintained. Failure to use the Secret Ballot Envelope will result in your ballot being voided when the ballots are counted. If your ballot package does not contain the small white envelope, you may obtain one by contacting FISE Office Manager, Jackie Spencer at 505-243-4088.
• Insert the sealed white envelope containing your marked ballot into the return envelope pre-addressed to FISE and seal it. Print your name and address in the return address space on the return ballot envelope.
• Your name on the return ballot envelope will identify you as an eligible voter. The number in the lower left corner of the return ballot envelope will be used by the Election Committee for sorting ballots and determining voter eligibility at the ballot count. Your vote will remain secret because it will be mixed with other envelopes before it is opened and counted.
• Ballot secrecy can only be preserved if you personally mark and mail your ballot. Do not allow anyone else to mark or handle your ballot or see how you vote. Do not give your ballot to anyone else for mailing. Do not hand deliver your ballot to the union office.

IMPORTANT: Mail your ballot in sufficient time for it to be received at the post office by 9:00 a.m. MST, on May 31, 2013 in order to be counted.

Save your Union Money!

The Department of Labor requires by law all election information be sent to the members’ home. To ensure FISE has up-to-date addresses and to avoid the extra costs of mailing to the wrong addresses, please enter all required information.

Don’t be left out.

BIE OT Case Settlement Payout

On May 29, 2008, your Union filed a Grievance against the Agency on behalf of all bargaining unit employees. The allegations included the Agency's failure to properly compensate employees who were working overtime. Through many years of hard work, including numerous meetings and arbitrations, your Union was ultimately successful in favorably resolving this matter to the benefit of all covered employees.

It is with great pleasure that I write to inform you that part of the agreement reached with the Agency entitles each and every BUE to 24 hours of leave via a time-off award.

This is an EXTRA 24 hours above and beyond any other leave you are or were entitled to. To qualify for this 24 hour time-off award, you had to have been in the bargaining unit as of September 13, 2011. Some of you may have already received this award and may have wondered why. Others are just now receiving it or will be shortly. If you have not received yours already and do not receive it within 30 days AND you were a bargaining unit employee as of September 13, 2011, it is imperative that you contact the Snider Law Offices at the following email address BIEAward@sniderlaw.com. Or call the Union office at 505-243-4088.

BIE CONTRACT EDUCATORS

Sick Leave Donor Bank

A Sick Leave Donor Bank will be established at each school.

• All donated leave to the Bank by employees will be for that school only.
• Each bargaining unit employee will donate two (2) hours of personal leave per SY only.
• The committee is comprised of 2 Bargaining Unit Members and 1 manager.
• Sick leave is donated to the Bank and disbursed by the Committee in accordance with the procedures established.
• Employees may donate more sick leave into the bank at any time during the year, if they choose.
• Sick leave may be donated in any amount up to 120 hours.
• Only employees who have depleted their sick leave hours are eligible to access sick leave hours from this bank.
• Unused year end balances in the bank will be carried over from year to year.

Reference: CBA Article 30, Section 9 pg. 103

Purpose:

The sick leave bank was established to help employees requiring additional sick leave. Rather than requesting sick leave donations through email; this bank is established to insure there is available leave for those who need assistance.

Questions

How did this happen?

When negotiations began on the new CBA, employees were asked to submit any issues they would like addressed. The members the Union did hear from indicated that not having a sick leave bank was a major issue.

The negotiators of the agreement took this and other suggestions to the table.

Negotiators are a small group of people who have to consider the best interest of all those that they represent. The Union represents all bargaining unit members. A negotiation is a compromise between management and the Union. By law, the negotiators are required to have the authority to enter into agreements which bind the parties they represent. The sick leave bank is an issue that is collective and everyone must be considered. The Union realizes the demographics of our employees and believes this assured accessibility to sick leave will become necessary for the majority and is a valuable benefit to employees.

In the future when negotiations for the CBA are announced, remember it is your responsibility and opportunity to inform the Union as to what issues you would like addressed and considered.

Why weren’t we given an option to use sick leave rather than personal leave?

During negotiations, both Union and Management determined it would be in the employees’ best interest to use personal leave because it has less value than sick leave in the long term.

Personal leave is at present wage. Unused PL is paid out at 75% of your present wage at the end of the year. Whereas, sick leave is earned at your present wage, but will be used at the end of your career with the government at your highest wage level. Also, sick leave will be converted to time in service. Employees do not have this option with personal leave. If you retire on or before Tuesday, December 31, 2013 you can only use ½ of your accrued sick leave toward time in service but if you retire after Tuesday, January 01, 2014 you can use the entire amount toward your time in service.

Can individual work sites have any control over how this donation process will work?

A Sick Leave Donor Bank Committee should be established at each site early in the academic year. This committee may then study the CBA and work with HR personnel to somewhat customize the process to best accommodate the site’s needs. All committees will have to follow the established requirements but there is some leeway for the committee on certain decisions. Please see CBA Article 30, Section 9 pg. 103

Why now? Why not at the beginning of the year?

The reason it wasn't taken out at the beginning of this school year is because NBC (payroll) had to design a software program specifically to track these hours, which was just recently accomplished. Beginning next year, the deduction will automatically occur at the beginning of the school year.

What if you have used your personal leave?

FOR THIS YEAR ONLY due to the late implementation, HR is willing to let employees who have already used their personal leave earn two hours of compensatory leave, which could be substituted for the two hour donation into the sick leave bank. An amendment by the Business Tech (time keeper) will be necessary for this to happen.

What about Management; are they contributing to this Leave Bank?

To correct any misconceptions, Management is donating two (2) administrative leave hours for each bargaining unit member, as a matching contribution.

Bereavement Leave for BIE

This is an explanation for BIE (what happened to bereavement leave and how other leave can be used in place of it).

Bereavement Leave for BIE

There have been some concerns over the loss of bereavement leave for BIE. FISE would like to explain how the change came about. During the negotiation for the present CBA it was agreed by both sides that the past contract was not in compliance according to present federal regulations. Management and FISE agreed that the present CBA would follow the federal regs, which is actually required by federal law. As it were BIE employees did not have bereavement leave offered to them under federal regulations, 5 CFR 630, so the wording was removed for BIE employees.

There has been a misconception that Bereavement was its own type of leave and was not charged to the employee. As you can see it is charged to the rest of the other bureaus as sick leave.

The other bureaus use Article 17 Leave Section 4B 1&2 pg. 61 of the current CBA which states:

Sick Leave for Family Care, Bereavement Purposes, or Serious Health Condition

(1) Sick Leave for Family Care or Bereavement Purposes: Most Federal employees may use a total of up to 104 hours (13 work days) of sick leave each leave year to:

a. provide care for a family member who is incapacitated as a result of physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy, or childbirth;

b. provide care for a family member as a result of medical, dental, or optical examination or treatment; or

c. make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member or attend the funeral of a family member.

BIE did not lose this per se as these same conditions can be met under FMLA and BIE can use a combination of comp time, sick leave and personal leave. Also, we have religious leave (CT) which is located in Article 17 section 11 pg. 65 of the present CBA:

Section 11. Religious Leave

It is agreed that every effort will be given to accommodating the employee in meeting their religious commitments in attending various tribal or secular ceremonies by allowing the flexibility in granting appropriate leave (which may also include a combination of various types of leave). Advance collaboration between the employee and his/her supervisor will be required in order to address workload requirements. An employee may also request the opportunity to perform compensatory overtime work for the purpose of taking compensatory time off.

This type of leave will need to be declared as religious leave and does not expire nor is there a payout if it is not used. This should be recorded on your time sheet as RL. It is very limited on its use so you do not want to declare very many hours in this specific category. The use is strictly for the specific ceremony and does not include travel time, etc.

Weingarten Rights

Weingarten Rights are the rights of a worker to union representation when being questioned by management on a matter that could result in disciplinary action. The workers must ask for such representation; the employer is not required to tell the worker of his/her rights.  The term derives from a 1975 U.S. Supreme Court decision. 
 
BUT YOU, AS THE EMPLOYEE, NEED TO INVOKE YOUR RIGHTS, I.E., YOU MUST INFORM YOUR SUPERVISOR THAT YOU NEED YOUR UNION REPRESENTATIVE TO BE PRESENT.
 
PLEASE NOTE, the Federal Government acknowledges that unions are needed by workers.