Union comments on office workers class study
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Transcript of Union comments on office workers class study
Union Comments on DAS Office Worker Classification Study
November 12, 2010
REVIEW OF PROCESS BACKGROUND
Beginning in 2006, SEIU began Office Workers Campaign to win selective salary increases for office workers.
2007-09 contract DAS agreed to provide SEIU with notice of when they would do a class study
2009-11 contract, SEIU won agreement that study would be competed in time for 2011-13 bargaining.
Who’s included? Student Office Worker Office Assistant 1-2 Office Specialist 1-2 Administrative Specialist 1-2 Legal Secretary Executive Support Specialist 1-2 Public Service Representative 1-4 Data Entry Operator Word Processing Technician 1-3 Office Coordinator Executive Assistant Data Entry Control Tech
Classification Study
DAS reviews job classifications to determine whether current classification system needs to be updated and/or revised.
Based on their review they may delete, add or revise classifications
REVIEW AND COMMENT PROCESS
Regional meetings and rural webinar to review process—August 2010
Draft class specs and cover memo received from DAS—9/10/2010
SEIU questionnaire and link to draft class specs posted to SEIU website—September 2010
Work Group Meetings to Review Draft Class Specs and Member Input Work Group 1—Office Assistant, Office Specialist
1-2, Student Office Worker, Word Processing Tech 1-3, Data Entry Operator, Data Entry Control Tech—10/23/2010
Work Group 2—Admin Spec 1-2, Exec Support Spec 1-2, Legal Secretary, Office Coordinator—10/18/2010
Work Group 3—Public Service Representative 1-4—10/19/2010
Draft Comments Draft comments developed by SEIU research department
based on work of work group meetings Draft comments E-mailed to work group members-11/5/2010 Conference call to review draft comments—11/9/2010 Draft comments revised as needed based on input from
conference call Presentation of draft comments to SEIU DAS bargaining
team—11/10/2010 Submission of Union comments to DAS—11/12/2010
GENERAL COMMENTS—ALL COVERED CLASSIFICATIONS
Sampling Method Allocation Guide “Administrative Superior” Dangerous or adverse conditions
Sampling Method Sampling method is inadequate Looks only at 10% of positions within each
agency 90% of positions not considered Clerical positions are too diverse to
adequately capture with only 10% of positions
Allocation Guide Union recommends developing an allocation guide similar to
what has been used for other classification groups such as Program Analyst and Operations and Policy Analyst
More information explaining distinguishing features within and among classification series
Classification specifications are written in very general terms Need specific examples from a wide range of agencies to
understand intended meaning of general terms Greater clarity for agencies, employees Aid to employees and agencies in determining whether
positions are correctly classified Reduce likelihood of positions being improperly classified
“Administrative Superior” Draft class specs for Executive Support
Specialist replace “administrative superior” with “supervisor”
Recommend making the same change for other classifications using this term, e.g., Administrative Specialist 2
Dangerous or hazardous conditions Add reference in all clerical/technical class
specs that certain positions in the classifications may have to deal with dangerous or hazardous conditions on a regular basis
Examples—Oregon State Hospital and Oregon Youth Authority
WORK GROUP 1: OFFICE ASSISTANT/OFFICE SPECIALIST AND RELATED CLASSIFICATIONS
General Comments New Format for OA/OS 1-2 Series omits several
sections from current class specs Relationship with others Supervision received Knowledge, skills, and abilities Deleted information is helpful in correctly
classifying positions Recommend retaining current format
Office Assistant “Simple Repetitive Tasks”
DAS recommends combining OA 1 and OA 2 into one class, Office Assistant
OA 1 is rarely used Draft Office Assistant class spec combines wording from OA 1 and OA 2 Example: Reference to “simple, repetitive assignments Phrase comes from current OA 1 class spec Since OA 1 is not being used new spec should track current OA 2, rather
than combining OA 1 and OA 2. Basic knowledge of agency operations Independent judgment
Draft spec says OAs have “few opportunities to exercise independent judgment
Recommend referring to “opportunity to learn to use independent judgment”
Office Specialist 1 Exercise of initiative and judgment
Recommend retaining language from current class specs about “exercise of initiative and judgment in distinguishing among variables and identifying applicable standards
Office Specialist 2 Administrative/technical duties
Recommend retaining reference to “technical or minor administrative-related duties” under “Series Concept” section of class spec
“Moderately difficult work” Recommend replacing the term “moderately difficult work”
with more concrete, less subjective term Specialized program information
Draft class refers to “general understanding of specialized program information”
Recommend deleting “general”
OS Duties not captured in Class Specs Examples of duties cited in questionnaire responses which
are not captured in draft OS class specs Conduct criminal background checks Perform initial intake appointments with clients to assist them in
applying for services Compile information needed to determine eligibility decisions Keep records of cash, check and credit card transactions for
auditing purposes Maintain office procedure manual and update as needed Train and advise new staff in processes, procedures, and job
duties Database maintenance
Office Coordinator Positions Recommend retaining OC classification
Study recommends eliminating the Office Coordinator classification
DAS memo states that “class performs same type and level of work as OS 2”
Union recommends retention of OC class Fundamentally different from OS 2 class Features of OC positions which distinguish them
from OS 2 still apply
OC class spec needs to be revised and updated
Include reference to various additional duties currently not reflected
Delete outdated language, e.g., references to OUS
Revise draft OS class spec to delete new references to Office Coordinator positions
Word Processing Tech 1-3/Legal Secretary DAS proposes eliminating WPT series
Work environment has changed significantly WP duties found in all levels of clerical/technical work Dedicated series no longer necessary
Union response Agree with eliminating series Some positions should be reclassified to Legal
Secretaries Also recommend replacing Legal Secretary with LS 1 and
LS 2
Other Work Group 1 Classifications
Student Office Worker Data Entry Operator Data Entry Control Tech -No substantive changes or employee
comments on any of the above classes
WORK GROUP 2: ADMINISTRATIVE SPECIALIST SERIES AND RELATED CLASSIFICATIONS
Administrative Specialist 1-2
Executive Support Specialist 1-2
Administrative Specialist 1-2
“Interpret” vs. “Analyze” DAS draft class spec replaces “interpret” with
words used to define “interpret” Stated intent is to avoid confusion around the
meaning of the term “interpret” Comments recommend retaining “interpret” but
including the definition of interpret. Appropriate issue for discussion and explanation
in an Allocation Guide
Administrative Specialist 1-2 (Continued)
Information Technology duties Questionnaire responses and work group discussions
indicate that many AS positions are performing Info Tech duties such as database and website maintenance.
Employees/positions whose primary duties are IT-related should be reclassified into ISS series
Employees for whom IT duties are important but not primary duty might be retained in AS series
Class specs should be revised to reflect some degree of IT duties
Hay pointing of clerical/technical classifications should take IT duties and responsibilities into account
Administrative Specialist 1-2 (Continued)
Additional Duties and Responsibilities not Captured in Draft Specs Confidentiality Training Issuing Permits Acting as liaison between agencies and the
public or the legislature Payroll-related duties
Executive Support Specialist 1-2 “ Confidential” Secretarial Support Current class spec refers to confidential
secretarial support Draft class spec eliminates the word
“confidential” Preserving confidentiality is an important part of
these positions so the word should be retained
WORK GROUP 3—PUBLIC SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE 1-4 “Interpret” vs. Analyze”
As with AS 1-2, DAS draft specs replace “interpret” with “analyze”
Replacement wording is not consistent with AS draft Recommend retaining “interpret,” use wording consistent
with recommendations for AS class spec Use Allocation Guide to clarify and explain intended
meaning of the word “interpret”
NEXT STEPS Submission of final Union comments to DAS—11/12/2010 DAS considers Union comments; makes changes as it sees fit DAS Central Evaluation Team meets to assign Hay Points to
new/revised classifications DAS Compensation Unit conducts market study to determine
market rates for comparable classifications for private and public sector employers in the appropriate labor market.
Preliminary allocation of positions to new/revised classifications Negotiation of salary ranges to occur during 2011 bargaining Implementation of new/revised classifications—Probable date—
10/1/2011 Final allocation of positions to new/revised classifications Opportunity for employees to contest agency allocation decisions
through Article 81 appeals process