Early retirement incentive for select groups

About mid-March the Company approached the Union with a proposal for a voluntary retirement incentive for certain Hydro and Fossil Operations for employees in the Energy Supply system. This did not include Palisades or Big Rock employees. Part of the criteria for this plan required the employee to be 55 years old by May 31, 1996, and 25 or more years of continuous service. Two plans were presented, Alternative A and Alternative B.

Alternative A: A person who has 25 years of continuous service and voluntarily retires under the terms of the Pension Plan on June 1, 1996, will be given the opportunity to work not less than 920 and not more than 980 hours per year for five years thereafter as employees of an agency furnishing temporary personnel such as a contractor. These people could be assigned to a job that they are qualified to do on any shift.

Alternative B: A person of 55 years of age or older on May 31, 1996, could voluntarily retire on June 1, 1996 under the terms of the Pension Plan provided, however, no actuarial reduction in pension payments for retirement prior to 36 months before the affected employee's Normal Retirement Date will be made.

People who voluntarily retire under this proposed plan would be eligible to receive a separation allowance based on years of continuous service from 10 to 20 weeks pay. Under this plan the Pension Plan would be amended to provide for the early retirement option with a Retirement Income unreduced for early retirement and to provide that pay, for pension purposes, would be frozen effective January 1, 2001 for Hydro & Fossil Operations' employees who are on the payroll on June 1, 1996 and who are less than 50 years of age on that date.

After contacting our attorney and studying the two alternative plans of bringing back people that are no longer dues paying members to work anytime, and to do away with overtime and on any shift and to jeopardize young members' future by freezing benefits and that this only affects 88 of our members. The Executive Board informed the Company that we were not the least bit interested in this type of an early retirement.

Joint Gas Committee

During the 1995 contract negotiations, the Company proposed changes in the gas business. One such change was the "neighborhood concept". After much debate, we were successful in getting those proposals off of the bargaining table. However, we did agree at a later date to establish a joint committee to review how we do the work in the gas industry in the future.

On February 5, 1996, the committee was formed and representing the Union are John Ostrander, L-104-Saginaw, Tom Morrow of L-105-Pontiac, Tom Lipinski, L-119-Flint-Howell, Dennis Hutchinson of L-144-Bay City, Ron Kornoelje, L-150-Kalamazoo, Jim Alter of L-254-Macomb and Jim Reilly, Vice President of the Council and Co-chair. Representing the Company are Mel Yenglin and Chuck Personke both from West Metro, Dick Johnson and Tim Kowaleski both from Metro Region, Jim Flachs, Lansing, Mike Meier, Saginaw and Don Smith of Labor Relations and Co-chair.

The first joint meeting was held on March 15 and then again on the 3rd, 4th and 11th of April, with more meetings scheduled yet this month. If we feel there are ways that would benefit the Membership, we would bring those proposed changes back to the State Council for consideration. The sole purpose of making any change that might come out of this committee would be to maintain jobs and to advance the skill level of our members in this competitive world with contracting running rampant.

Contracting out of Meter Reading

I guess we all knew it could happen and all hoped it wouldn't. However, the Company has announced changes to the Meter Reading being done for the Company. Beginning some time in June, the Company plans to contract out portions of the Meter Reading work and has given the Council notice of these plans. In some areas the changes will trigger the provisions of Appendix Letter #46 in the 1995-2000 Working Agreement. The Council is responding at this time with work being done on research and preparations to meet with the Company in accordance with Appendix Letter #46.

The Company's plan establishes six "anchor headquarters" where Meter Reading will continue, for the time being, to be performed by OM&C employees. These headquarters are Livonia, Saginaw, Kalamazoo, Flint, Grand Rapids and Lansing. In other headquarters the Company will contract out work as vacancies occur and in some cases lay off employees and give their routes to contractors. Keep in mind that any layoffs or rearrangements must be done according to the appropriate sections of the Working Agreement, including Appendix Letter #46. The Council Executive Board realizes that these are stressful times and is doing what it can. We will keep your Local Presidents informed of future developments.

Drug and alcohol testing

If you use drugs and/or have an alcohol dependence, are subject to random testing and are unwilling to seek assistance to stop using drugs and/or a dependence on alcohol, don't plan on working at Consumers Power Company, at least not very long. This may seem harsh but with federal regulations, all companies are discharging employees who refuse to recognize that they cannot use illegal drugs or report for work under the influence of alcohol. The Company insisted on taking away our rights to receive sick leave coverage for voluntary drug and/or alcohol treatment for two occasions in a lifetime. Although the Union resisted this demand, ultimately in order to get a contract it was forced to agree to Appendix 48.

The Company agreed that it was their responsibility, and they agreed that they would inform those who tested positive under random testing that a second positive for drugs or alcohol within one year would result in an uncontested discharge. However, the Company has failed to live up to their promise and because of an employee's right to confidentiality, the Union does not even know who has tested positive so that they can be properly warned. Even though it is the Company's responsibility to warn its employees of the consequences of disciplinary conduct, they have not done so in regard to Appendix Letter 48 of the Working Agreement. Even though management maintains that they want employees to take care of drug and/or alcohol problems, by not informing employees of the Appendix Letter 48 and the consequences of their actions, they are clearly enabling employees and setting them up for failure. We feel that by doing so they are trying to cause employees to fail and purposely set them up for discharge without realizing the seriousness of taking care of their illegal drug use and/or alcohol dependence. It is clear to us that Consumers Power does not want to rehabilitate employees with drug and/or alcohol problems.

Of course, the Union has a concern for the safety of those who work with employees who use illegal drugs and/or alcohol, and want them to know that there is help available so that they do not jeopardize themselves or others. Anyone who uses illegal drugs and/or alcohol who tests positive as a result of an accident is subject discipline, potentially up to discharge whether they are subject to random testing or not, and they are taking a heck of a chance by using every day that they drive a vehicle and could potentially be involved in an accident and tested as a result.

So, even though the Company refuses to inform its employees of the seriousness of this issue, the Union wishes to inform anyone with an illegal drug and/or alcohol use or dependence that they are jeopardizing their employment and ability to support their family with the wages and benefits that they receive if they do not take care of their dependence and use.

If you have an illegal drug (including drugs not prescribed specifically for you) and/or alcohol use or dependence, contact the Employee Assistance Provider endorsed by your Local Union. Take care of your use or dependence, your job, and your family, before it takes care of you.

Is the Company bargaining directly with employees regarding Job Site Reporting and four, ten-hour days? Are these employees eligible for Job Site Reporting and four, ten-hour days, according to the Working Agreement? What effect does that have on contractual rights and entitlements?

When management allows employees to Job Site Report to work which is not project work, they are violating the Working Agreement. A job site is one project such as a subdivision or one small area of a circuit and not an entire system or service territory. If the Company allows employees to Job Site Report from occupational groups that are not entitled to Job Site Report, they are violating someone's contractual rights to overtime and are violating the Working Agreement by working ten-hour days for straight time. If the Company has an employee who does not qualify for Job Site Reporting, as recognized by Article X, Section 7(b) (Energy Distribution employees), work ten-hour days, it is the same as having them report to another headquarters. If the Company only pays them straight time, they are not being paid the appropriate rate of pay and should be paid overtime rates in accordance with Article XI, Section 14 and all applicable articles and sections of the Working Agreement, in addition, mileage, etc. to and from their headquarters, as well as an additional eight hours straight time pay for the fifth day of the week (40-hour work week straight time guarantee).

Management knows that assigning ten-hour days to those not eligible for Job Site Reporting is a blatant violation of the Working Agreement, but does not have enough honor and integrity to put a stop to it. What management is doing is improperly bypassing the Union and bargaining directly with the employees regarding working conditions and conditions of employment.

Job Site Reporting was also never intended to be more than a weekly assignment and employees have the right to leave from the headquarters on Mondays and return to a headquarters on Thursday.

It is imperative that UWUA Members notify their Local Unions wherever and whenever they are aware of these situations so that the Local and the Council can take action. The Local and the Council can file charges with the National Labor Relations Board when the Company refuses to bargain in good faith and bypasses the Union by bargaining directly with our Members.