NON-EXEMPT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WEB HIGHLIGHTS
April 7, 2004
The following highlights the major elements of the first comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU," or "agreement") reached with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees ("AFSCME") for the non-exempt bargaining unit on the College Park campus. The MOU:
The bargaining unit members voted to ratify this agreement on March 31, 2004. The Memorandum of Understanding will be presented to President C. D. Mote, Jr., on April 12, 2004. Following President Mote's approval, the MOU will be transmitted to the University of Maryland Board of Regents for final ratification at their meeting on April 16, 2004.
- Recognizes AFSCME as the exclusive labor representative for the approximately 1,700 regular full- and part-time non-exempt bargaining unit employees at the University of Maryland, College Park, who perform maintenance, office, service, technical and paraprofessional work.
- Leaves in place all University of Maryland Board of Regents and University of Maryland, College Park policies and procedures, except those specifically modified by the agreement.
- Affirms a 1.6% cost-of-living increase for all University employees, as well as the 2.5% merit salary adjustment for eligible non-exempt employees in Fiscal Year 2005. The University will meet with AFSCME each July thereafter regarding future budgetary requests for salary increases.
- Formalizes two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch period per day. Breaks and lunch may be combined with supervisory approval, but may not be used together to arrive late or leave early.
- Guarantees that non-exempt bargaining unit members pay the same rates as other campus employees for campus services such as parking, and sets a 10% cap on parking fee increases.
- Continues the current tuition remission program, as well as other benefit programs. Provides, in the event of layoff, that bargaining unit employees and their dependents continue to receive tuition remission benefits for up to one semester following layoff.
- Establishes a new category of leave, "Bereavement Leave," that provides for three (3) days of paid leave for a death in the immediate family member; five (5) days if travel is required. Also provides one day for certain other relatives such as aunts and uncles.
- Provides for the creation of up to twenty (20) job stewards who share up to 4,500 hours per year of administrative leave for the handling of related duties (such as processing grievances, certain meetings with management). Also creates "union leave" for other union-related activities (such as attending union conventions).
- Provides that bargaining unit employee complaints shall continue to be handled pursuant to existing statutory grievance procedures and establishes the formal grievance procedure as the mechanism for settling disputes under the Memorandum of Understanding.
- Creates a Labor-Management Problem Solving Committee to jointly discuss issues of concern.
- Expands layoff procedure to ensure 90-days of paid administrative leave for an employee placed in a layoff status.
- Provides that non-exempt bargaining units may continue to participate in shared governance organizations, but ensures that mandatory subjects of bargaining are negotiated with AFSCME.
The University of Maryland Department of University Human Resources is in the process of implementing a series of information and training sessions for administrators and supervisors that will deal with the tactical details of the nonexempt MOU, as well as the practical considerations of managing the workplace in a collective bargaining environment. In the interim, questions should be addressed to the UHR Staff Relations office at (301) 405-5651.