On June 23, 2023, UPE met with the County in regard to updating the above policy.
UPE found that there were no significant impacts on the membership. The policy had not changed, only the formatting of how the policy is now written; however, UPE did voice several questions. The policy states that in the event of an unplanned absence, the employee must call the main line and their supervisor. UPE asked why not have a dedicated absence line for the employee to call that can be accessible to management. The County response was that this might not work because some employees start before their supervisor, and the front office staff needs to know ASAP in case appointments need to be canceled and/or rescheduled. The County did say, however, that they would be agreeable to looking into this in the future.
There was also language in the policy that spoke to habitual tardiness that we asked to have removed; this would leave it subjective from supervisor to supervisor to determine what is considered habitual. Management said they would look at this and propose new language. UPE also wanted to know if the vacation request time could be lessened from two (2) weeks prior to one (1) week prior; the County was not agreeable to that due to current language that allows for unforeseen circumstances.
Thank you to the participants for your advocacy
Sarah Singleton and Matthew Von Savoye