Department of Revenue

The DOR Chapter continues to hold its regular monthly Chapter Board meetings and regularly scheduled Labor Management meetings,If you have an issue that needs attention please let one of the Chapter officers know so we can schedule it for discussion.

This year is shaping up to be a very active and important year for Unions politically as many candidates are openly calling for taking away Unions hard won rights, be sure to learn all you can about someone running for office before you vote.

The Chapter board recently met with Union legal staff (thank you Kate Shea) regarding Civil Service which seems to be the fairest way to administer the promotional process. Exams are given and a list formulated based on passing marks. We would like to hear how the membership feels on this subject before we try to take it further.

We have set up a meeting with Kate Shea a Union Attorney to discuss the problems facing those who have been denied reclassification. The meeting is scheduled for March 1 in Watertown, release time should be available for a few member from each office to attend.
Hopefully some valuable insight can be gained into the classification process.
Unfortunately the line seems to be drawn that case management is an A/B position,
as I have mentioned before we have brought this issue up at Labor/Management, OER, contract talks, and Civil Service to no avail.

Recently there was a lot of wasted negative energy out there about having to wait a few weeks for funding of the new 1.5% pay increase. This is just normal practice as funding needs to be approved at the start of a new contract. I hope these same members will devote half that energy to Union causes. Remember your Union is only as strong as you want it to be, it is in unity that we get things done.

The Local will be offering monthly member education on different topics of use to stewards and members at locations throughout the state. One program of special interest will cover how to supervise and be a good Union member, I hope everyone in a supervisory position will plan to attend. Various levels of stewards training should also be offered. Union release time is available for attendance at these sessions so watch the Union web site for details and sign up.

It’s great to see so many promotional and transfer positions available at DOR. We have been asking for upward movement and worker transfers for a while now and I know members are pleased that management was finally able to respond. We expect to see the transfer process continue.

If you would like to become active in the Union at any level please get in touch.

All the best

John Tortelli

Welcome to 2012 and hoping it will be happy and healthy for all

We continue our local office unity lunches with a visit to the Woburn office on 1/13/12.

Please plan to start the new year right by showing your Union unity and enjoying yourself.

The chapter will be holding its labor/management meeting on Wednesday 1/18 in Boston. If you have an issue that you would like considered bring it to the attention of a Chapter Board member. Some of the issues to be discussed are caseload size, hiring eco’s, additions to CSB bilingual staff, new q.c.positions, transfers and training.

As management continues to increase case load size I would like to remind our members again that you are contracted to work 37.5 hours. Complete the work you can in the time available, if a back log develops just let your supervisor know that you have to much work to finish.  Anyone threatened with discipline should see their Union Rep immediately.

I would like to welcome Charles Penta of the CSB Unit to our Chapter Board. Charles has been an active Union Steward and will bring knowledge and experience to the position.

John Tortelli - Chapter President

We wish to welcome Will Tatten of our Brockton office and welcome back Mary Brawn from Worcester to the DOR Chapter Board. I am sure that our two latest members will bring hard work and dedication to the position. We also have one more vacancy so now is your chance to become active.

A big Thank You to Derek Goodwin and Chris Landry for doing a great job on the office visits to present the contract updates for me while I was out sick.

The DOR chapter continues to offer day long training for its officers and stewards. By now most of you should have had a opportunity to attend. I wish to thank Kevin Preston, Jeff Knopf, Darrel Cole, Elaina McDowell and Fred Trusten for the workshops and material that they presented. This was a good chance to meet others, share ideas and learn how to address workplace issues.

The Chapter Board continues to try and come up with a solution to the inequity of pay for the same work that has been prevalent at DOR since the inception of case management. If you have any new ideas please bring them to a Chapter officer. We have previously meet with DOR management, OER and Civil Service as well as seeking upgrades during contract talks, unfortunately we have come away empty. The only positive is that we were able to secure a number of C postings a few years ago, management has promised to look into obtaining more in the future.

We have also voiced our concerns to management regarding the amount of work and knowledge a case owner is expected to master. It’s like expecting every football player on the Patriots to be able to throw like Tom Brady wishful but not possible. I guess since none of them has ever managed a caseload they just don’t get it. Maybe they should try and see what the day-to-day reality is at CSE.

We continue to hold regular statewide labor management meetings so if you have a topic that should be discussed let us know.

We would like to wish the best to former Commissioner Navjeet Bal who was always open and a pleasure to work with and welcome back Amy Pitter whom we look forward to meeting with.

Wishing you all the best,

John

Dear Members,

Through our work as a union, we’ve recently had a pair of victories for the DOR chapter:

• We are pleased to announce that nine of our members have recently received transfers via appropriate utilization of the transfer list by DOR management. Utilization of this list has been a topic at monthly labor / management meetings and we are optimistic that use of this list will continue and benefit both members and management. Six of our CSB members are now working closer to home making for a better work day. We also have several Unit 8 members transferring to the Comets HD project.
• If you too would like to be considered for a transfer fill out the form available on DORNET. Remember you must renew your request every year. At the October labor management meeting (Wednesday 10/19/11) the Union requested information on when successful applicants for the recent promotional positions would be notified. Management informed us that the positions were currently in the last stages of review for compliance with Civil Service law, the contract and affirmative action. Hopefully this will all be resolved soon. We were also informed that the agency hopes to post more D positions in the coming months.

We are currently seeing an increase in discipline involving Internet use and look ups.

Please when sending something work related from a DOR computer that contains sensitive / confidential information be sure you use Secure Mail.

Also when using social network programs from home check your privacy settings as big brother maybe watching you.

Never use DOR computers or systems for inappropriate look ups. If you are aware that on your job you accidentally accessed a case you think you should not have report it immediately. Your job may depend on it.

With the upcoming contract vote scheduled for Thursday Sept 15, members of the DOR Chapter negotiating team will be out visiting the DOR offices to answer your questions. Due to illness, I may not be able to make some of these meetings, but I am very pleased that Derek Goodwin and Chris Landry, two members of the bargaining team, have volunteered to assist by visiting some offices.

I hope by now that members understand that the State did not take away something but offered something that we saw as having much more value to our members. After all, that is what negotiating is all about: Trying to come out with the best deal possible for your side. Instead of a one time payment, we have been able to significantly add to base salaries over the two year extension. We were also able to convert outgoing holidays into personal days for those currently employed.

Ultimately, approving or rejecting the proposed contract extension is up to you, the membership. We have tried to bring to you what we believe is the best deal possible.

A YES vote assures us what is on the table now.

A NO vote has no guarantees except a return to the bargaining table.

At this time I do not see the possibility of doing better; therefore, I urge a YES vote.

Congratulations to Lauren Connolly of our CSB unit who was elected to our vacant JEB seat. I am sure Lauren will bring prospective and energy to the job.

Thank you to recently retired Jack Martin for his years of service to the DOR Chapter Board . Jack was always willing to fight the good fight. Even though he has resigned from the CB Jack will be continuing to lend his expertise to the Union.

Due to the retirement of Gardner Chace and Jack Martin and election of Lauren to the JEB we now have three vacancies on the Chapter Board. If you have a desire to become active in the Union or would like more info on the duties of a CB member please contact me. The Union News should contain specifics on the nomination process.

We have filed a grievance in regard to new workers being hired in the Brockton office prior to existing employees on the transfer list being given the opportunity to fill these positions. For some reason our agency is the only one who consistently tries to ignore this section of the contract. I do expect positive results from this filing. If this or any other type of violation happens in your office be sure a grievance is filed.

The State and Unions have met on a two year contract extension which looks like a positive for both sides. We should be out visiting the offices shortly to explain it fully. Look for a vote in September.

Thank you to Field Rep Jeff Knopf and Attorney Kevin Preston who held training for our western Stewards at the 509 Holyoke office. The training was beneficial to all who attended and I have requested that it be scheduled soon in the Watertown office.

Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine.

The DOR chapter has been hosting member lunches in each of its offices to raise member awareness and Union solidarity. To date it has been a great success and has given members a chance to meet their field reps, express concerns, have questions answered and develop Union enthusiasm.

I would like to thank all who helped with these events and all our members who attended.

Thanks,

John Tortelli