AFSCME LOCAL 2728

MEMORANDUM

Date:         June 3, 2008         

To:            Distribution                                    

From:        Robert Feneis, Warden

Subject:     Labor/Management Meeting  5/21/08

Attending:  Robert Feneis, Jo Earhart, Anita Alexander, Mark Freer, Nancy Moore, Tim Henderson, Darby Bunnell, Amy Score, Shannon Crittenden, Denise Pierre, Kris Ringgold, Mark Rozak, Sid Helseth

Motorcycle Parking Area

Kris Ringgold thanked Anita and Lonnie Danielson for getting the motorcycle parking area completed so quickly.  The barriers have been painted and moved to block off the parking area.  Kickstand plates are also there for use.  On any given day there are about 15-16 bikes.

Sergeant Hospital Position

In light of the recent incident at the hospital, management had discussed making one 7-day position at the hospital a sergeant.  This will provide additional experience and consistency in hospital coverage.  Captain Freer will notify affected staff of their options. 

Hospital/Medical Transports on First Watch

Union expressed concern that watch commanders are sending unit staff and not squad members.  Captain Freer noted that there are 18 trained staff in Transportation.  Captain acknowledges that on first watch there will be emergency medical transports and should be using A-Team members.  He will review this issue along with the previous concern.  Follow-up after the meeting notes:  We only send unit staff when options are limited.  Most of the time it’s our utility Squad Sergeant, Mike Dintino; however, the goal is to use A-Team members whenever possible.

Painting issues

About a year ago, it was requested that the inmate painters be supervised by their painting supervisors not the correctional officers in the units.  One issue is proper ventilation used during the painting process.  Anita noted that inmate painters are trained to know the proper ventilation and OSHA standards trained. Offenders are utilized after hours to accommodate the extensive number of painting jobs that need to be done throughout the facility.  In a large facility such as Lino Lakes, there are more painting work orders than can be completed in a Monday-Friday second watch work schedule.  We plan to continue using trained inmate painters after normal maintenance staff hours, working under officer supervision.  Maintenance is posting a painting schedule on the intranet.  In areas where ventilation is difficult, low-fume paints will be used.  Staff affected by paint fumes should immediately notify their supervisor so that staffing adjustments can be made.  We’ll have Mark Ostrander continue to monitor and Anita and Jo will follow up on this issue.

Late/Tardy

There still seems to be inconsistencies regarding what clock is being used to determine the beginning of shift briefing and all the Watch Commanders should be going by the same clock.  The computer time should also be the same as the CATS time and all three should be identical.  Captain Freer has ordered two new clocks.  They will “talk” to each other and will have the same time.  He also noted that supervisors will review instances if staff are cited for being late and claim they aren’t late.

Work Areas

Central Office has requested that a similar format be developed for each facility to determine work areas.  Nancy has developed the format and sent it to Tim for review.  This has been reviewed by labor and it has been approved (see attached).

DOC Labor Management Meeting – Tim Henderson provided a review on the topics covered at that meeting:

·        Legislative update from Assistant Commissioner Crist.

·        Universal fitness hiring (physical demands analysis).

·        Universal sick leave call-in form still under review.

·        Shotgun training-policy change.

·        Supervisory files-guidelines on retention.

·        Uniform utility belt-facilities requiring staff to purchase replacements if worn out.

·        Review of policy regarding dry cell-segregation.

·        PREA report.

·        Mantoux testing for those that have previously tested positive.

·        Shift exchange arbitration.

Uniform Medal Decoration -  Tim met with Deputy Commissioner Dingle to discuss staff being allowed to wear their military decorations on their uniforms on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veteran’s Day.  Although approval was given for this, staff are reminded that this also opens up the door for personal conversation with offenders.  This will also be discussed at the institution head’s meeting next week. 

Construction update – Current projects are a little ahead of schedule.  We have received funding to replace the damaged roofs on the Health Services and Kitchen buildings.

Lieutenant Promotions – Captain Freer announced that the three promotions made to our vacant and upcoming vacant lieutenant positions will be Aaron Amborn, Tom Miller, and Curt Watts.

Employee Recognition Program – There have been some suggestions regarding this program.  The award will be presented at the semi-annual service award ceremony which will be held on June 26^th.

Next meeting - July 16^th 1:00 p.m.