CTs in Education were astonished last week to hear that some of them might be asked to reduce the number of months they work in a year in order to help address the College’s budget problems.

Employees in Education were told that if there were not enough volunteers for the reductions, the College might begin layoffs and position reductions or reassignments.

According to Linda Brandau, the UR in Erickson, many CTs felt intimidated and scared by the discussions.

"They felt that maybe they should accept the cut to protect their jobs or their coworkers," she said. "I heard some CTs saying they wouldn’t mind helping the College out in this way until the budget problems are over. Still others wondered how they would be treated if they refused the cuts."

Brandau acted immediately to reassure members that our Contract provides that any switch to a flexible appointment must be entirely voluntary on the part of the CT.

"No one should feel (or be made to feel) like they have to do this to prove that they are a good employee, or to prove that they are faithful to MSU, or to prove that they are team players," she told members in her college.

"Many people simply cannot volunteer for this," she added.

Brandau directed members to Article 33 of the Contract (pp. 70-73) and assured everyone that the Union is prepared to fight for us in these uncertain economic times.

Within days, the Dean of Education called a meeting in which, according to Brandau, employees were assured that any switch to flexible appointments would be done on a strictly voluntary basis. The Dean discussed current budgetary concerns and repeated that a reduction in support staff—CTs, APs and supervisors—is being considered.

According to the Contract, "a flexible appointment involves full-time active employment for 9, 10, or 11 months per year with a prescheduled unpaid leave of absence with some benefits equivalent to full-time appointments. . . ."

Our Contract limits the number of flexible appointments to 100, University-wide, a number that may be exceeded only by mutual agreement between the Union and the Employer. Currently, there are no more than 29 CTs in flexible appointments.

According to Article 33, other than when filling a new or vacant position, a flexible appointment can be created only "with the voluntary assent of the incumbent in the position."

Flexible appointments may meet the needs of some CTs. Anyone who needs one to three months off work every year might be happy to consider such an appointment. CTs sometimes seek out such positions in order to spend summer holidays with their children or for other reasons. However, no paychecks come in during those months on leave status.

On the other hand, several benefits do continue—even during leave status—for example, health and dental coverage, long-term disability and expanded life coverage, optional life and accident coverage, and educational assistance.

However, several limitations also apply. For example, many benefits, such as vacation and other paid leaves, are proportional—leave is accrued while the employee is working but not while on a flex leave. No contributions are made to retirement accounts during flex leaves. In fact, all salary related benefits that are based on the annual base wage are reduced to the extent that the annual wage is reduced.

CTs who accept a flexible appointment should not count on their positions ever going back to full time. Article 33, VIII provides that once a position is officially designated as a flexible appointment, the University cannot unilaterally restore it to 12 months.

Transferring to another full-time position after accepting a flex appointment may also be difficult if other units scale back.

Some CTs might consider flex leave because they want to keep their own jobs. However, as Brandau pointed out to the members in her district, accepting a flex leave does not guarantee that there will be no changes in job duties or location. Management can implement subsequent changes for any number of reasons, including additional budget cuts.

"We cannot state it strongly enough: accept a flex appointment only if you want a flex leave appointment!" said CA Dan McNeil.

Our layoff protections are outlined in Article 18 (pp. 47-51).

First and foremost, layoffs cannot be done to punish or harass a member. It would be a violation of our Contract for management to target a CT for layoff because she or he refused a flexible appointment.

The department must provide the layoff notice to "the employee within the department with the least University seniority in the grade level where the layoff is to occur."

At the point that a CT actually is laid off from a department, he or she then has the right to be placed in vacant positions or to replace employees with less seniority outside the department. Any member "bumped" out of a position as a result of another CT exercising this right is covered by the same Contractual protections. The possibility of University-wide, chain-reaction bumping has proven to be enough of a deterrent that the CTU has never experienced mass layoffs, even during previous budgetary crises.

If an employee is actually laid off, she or he becomes eligible for unemployment compensation, a benefit denied under flex leave. In addition, layoff status makes a CT eligible for recall under guidelines that are strictly monitored by the Union. Several other protections also come into play.

As we come to terms with a difficult economic situation, it is important that we are aware of our Contractual rights. Read the contract. Contact your UR or, if you don’t have one, a CA. Above all, do not be intimidated into giving up your rights.

"If the University is going to try to fix budget problems by targeting CT jobs, then we need to protect ourselves by making sure they do everything according to the Contract," Brandau said.