A. Upon receipt of a written lawfully executed written authorization from an employee, The County agrees to deduct the regular monthly Union dues of said employee from employee’s paycheck. This deduction will be submitted to a Union Official so designated in writing to receive such deductions. The Union will notify the County in writing of the exact amount of such regular membership dues to be deducted.


B. The County agrees to deduct said dues each month commencing with the third (3^rd) month of employment of such employee. A copy of a list of employees from whose pay such deductions were made shall be delivered to the Local Union President. Deduction of Union dues made pursuant hereto shall be remitted by the City to the Union, c/o Secretary Treasurer, Communications Workers of America, AFL/CIO, 501 3^rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20001-2797, by the tenth (10^th) day after the deductions are made or as soon as practicable in the month following the calendar month in which such deductions were made. The Union agrees to indemnify and hold the County harmless against all claims, suits, order, or judgements brought or issued against the County under the provisions of this Agreement.

C. The County agrees to furnish to the Local Union the names of newly hired employees, their addresses, social security numbers, classifications of work, rates of pay, their dates of hire and names of terminated employees, together with their dates of termination, and names of employees in the bargaining unit.

D. The County will make every effort to immediately cease deduction of Union dues when a worker transfers out of a bargaining unit that is not represented by the Union.

E. Withdrawals of membership authorizations for the deduction of dues shall be in accordance with applicable statutes, court decisions and terms of the agreement set forth between CWA and the bargaining unit member on the membership dues/authorization card, or equivalent document. For employees who authorized dues deductions prior to the effective date of the WDEA, the effective date of dues revocation is January 1 or July 1.

F. In the event a claim is filed by a member or former member of the bargaining unit for a return of dues deducted from a member’s paycheck pursuant to this article, CWA will be solely responsible for the return of such dues, provided the Employer transmitted the dues to CWA and provided CWA or a court determines that CWA or the Employer is obligated to return the dues.

G. Once dues are transmitted to the Union, their disposition shall be the sole exclusive responsibility of the Union. The Secretary Treasurer of the Union shall certify to the Employer the amount of Union dues and shall notify the Employer of any changes in dues structure forty-five (45) days in advance of the requested change of such charge.

B. The term “holiday” means any day so designated under the Article concerning

C. An unfair practice is any action of either party as defined in the Amendments of

A. Agents of the Union who are or are not employees of the County, shall be

C. Any employee who is a member of the Union and who is legally elevated to an official

D. The Union has the sole right and discretion to designate shop stewards and chief shop

1. If the employee so requests, one steward may accompany an employee to a meeting, conference or hearing concerning a disciplinary matter. Such meetings, conferences or hearings shall be mutually scheduled by the Employer and the Union.
2. Mutually scheduled negotiation sessions.
3. Investigation of grievances up to one hour maximum.

(b) Suspensions which total more than fifteen (15) days in the aggregate in any one calendar year.
(c) Demotions.
(d) Removal.

(a) Major disciplinary action shall be commenced by the employer serving the employee with a Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action which shall set forth the charges and the Statement of facts supporting the charges (specifications).
(b) The employee shall have a right to a departmental hearing in accordance with N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.5. Such a hearing shall be requested in writing by the affected employee or by the local union representatives on the employee’s behalf within five (5) calendar days of the employee’s receipt of the Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action, otherwise the departmental hearing will be deemed to have been waived and the appointing authority may then issue a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action.
(c) A departmental hearing, if requested, shall be held within thirty (30) days of the Preliminary Notice of Disciplinary Action or at such later date as may be agreed to in writing by the parties. Hearings shall be held before the Human Resources Director or such other employer designated representative and shall be held in accordance with the requirements of N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.6. The hearing officer’s decision along with a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action shall be served by the Department Head upon the employee by either personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested, within twenty (20) days of the conclusion of the departmental hearing. A copy of the hearing officer’s decision and the Final Notice of Disciplinary action shall also be sent by the Department Head to the employee’s union representative, or attorney, by regular mail.
(d) Discovery. The employee shall be entitled to discovery which shall consist of the following:
(i) A copy of the charges and specifications;
(ii) A copy of all statements or other evidence which the employer intends to rely upon at the hearing;
(iii) The name of all witnesses who will testify for the employer at the hearing. The employee or the employee’s attorney or union representative shall submit all discovery requests in writing to the requisite Department Head with a copy to County Counsel not less than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled hearing date. If such a request is not made within that time frame, the union shall waive its right to object to the introduction of the evidence other than on relevancy grounds. The County shall be entitled to reciprocal discovery by forwarding a written request to the employee or the employee’s attorney or union representative at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled hearing date. The County, upon forwarding such a request, shall be entitled to know the names of any witnesses the employee intends to produce at the hearing, including any statements that have been secured as well as any documentary evidence the employee intends to rely upon at the hearing. In the event the County fails to exercise its request for discovery in timely fashion, then the County shall waive its rights to object to the introduction of the evidence at the hearing other than on relevance grounds. In the event that either the employee or the County fails to fully respond to a timely discovery request, then the hearing officer may preclude the non-responsive party from introducing the evidence at the hearing.
(e) Appeals. An employee may appeal from a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action by filing a Notice with the Merit System Board of the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.8, such an appeal must be filed within twenty (20) days of receipt of the Final Notice of Disciplinary Action. The appeal process shall be governed by the Merit System Board Rules and Regulations currently found in N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2.8 through 4A:2-2.9.

(a) Appeals of minor discipline shall be handled exclusively through the grievance process as set forth in Article X entitled “Grievance Procedure.”
(b) Non-permanent employees shall be limited in appealing disciplinary actions to the third step of the grievance process but shall be precluded from arbitration.
(c) Appeals of minor discipline shall be subject to the same discovery procedures as set forth in Section B(2)(d) of this Article.


10. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

1. A contractual grievance, for the purposes of and within the meaning of this

2. Step Two. If the grievance has not been resolved in Step One, the grievant,

4. Only B-1 grievances may be appealed to arbitration. The union must file the

11. LABOR-MANAGEMENT MEETINGS

The employer shall conduct annual employee evaluations. These evaluations will be used to monitor employee progress. At the time of the evaluation, the supervisor shall meet with the employee and will note for the employee any areas that are not satisfactory and will provide a corrective action plan to allow the employee to correct any deficient areas. At the end of a six month period, the supervisor shall meet with the employee to assess the employee’s progress under the corrective action plan. Although the employer reserves the exclusive right to establish evaluation standards/criteria, it will negotiate with the union on establishing the evaluation procedures. The employer may consider an employee’s evaluations along with other factors for purposes of promotion and/or demotion.

14. ACCESS TO PERSONNEL FILE

A. Upon request and with reasonable notice, an employee shall have the opportunity

B. No document of anonymous origin shall be used against any employee.
C. Copies of any written documents specifically related to discipline or the work

D. A copy of specific written material which is derogatory or adverse to an employee

1. An employee receiving a promotion of one grade shall receive a salary increase of four percent (4%) or the minimum salary of the new grade, whichever is greater.
2. An employee receiving a promotion of two grades shall receive a salary increase of five percent (5%) or the minimum salary of the new grade, whichever is greater.
3. An employee receiving a promotion of three or more grades shall receive a salary increase of six percent (6%) or the minimum salary of the new grade, whichever is greater.
4. An employee receiving a promotion from a professional grade to a supervisory grade shall receive a salary increase of five percent (5%) or the minimum salary of the new grade, whichever is greater.
5. Voluntary or Disciplinary Demotions shall result in a salary reduction as follows:
i. An employee receiving a demotion of one grade shall receive a salary decrease of four percent (4%).
ii. An employee receiving a demotion of two grades shall receive a salary decrease of five percent (5%).
iii. An employee receiving a demotion of three or more grades shall receive a salary decrease of six percent (6%).
iv. An employee receiving a demotion from a supervisory grade to a professional grade shall receive a salary decrease of five percent (5%).
Salary reductions due to an employee’s failure to obtain a permanent title pursuant to applicable Civil Service Commission law will continue to apply.

1. All overtime hours worked in excess of forty (40) hours per week (Sunday through Saturday).
2. All overtime hours worked on the sixth (6th ) consecutive day of work within an individual work week (Sunday through Saturday).

1. One and one-half (1.5) times the employee’s hourly rate of pay for overtime hours worked (in excess of forty (40) hours during the consecutive days of work) on the 6th consecutive day of work; and

2. Two (2) times the employee’s hourly rate of pay for the overtime hours worked (in excess of forty (40) hours during the consecutive days of work) on the 7th day.

3. Note that this only applies to overtime hours worked on the 6^th or 7^th day, not when employees switch shifts to cause them to work on a 6^th or 7^th consecutive day. For the purpose of this section, overtime hours means hours worked beyond 40 during the 6 or 7 day period.

4. In the event an employee works more than seven (7) consecutive days, the count of days shall reset to one (1) on the eighth (8^th) consecutive day of work for the purpose of determining compensation under this article.
5. Employees shall not be routinely assigned or pre-scheduled to work more than five (5) consecutive days.

Vacation Accrual. Vacation leave is credited and prorated in advance at the beginning of the calendar year in anticipation of continued employment for the full year and may be used on that basis, notwithstanding the limitations of paragraph (a) below. All full-time employees shall earn vacation leave based on years of continuous service to the Employer as follows:

(a) During the first year of employment, hire date to anniversary date, employees will earn one (1) day per month.
(b) 2^nd year of employment through 5^th year of employment (anniversary date to anniversary date) – 15 days per employment year.

(c) 6^th year of employment through 10^th year of employment (anniversary date to anniversary date) – 18 days per employment year.

(d) 11^th year of employment through 20^th year of employment (anniversary date to anniversary date) – 20 days per employment year.

(e) Beginning 21^st year of employment – 25 days of vacation per year

(f) Increase in vacation days based on years of continuous County service is prorated based on anniversary date and credited at the beginning of the calendar year in which the employee attains it, with the anticipation that employee’s employment will be continuous throughout the calendar year.

B. Vacations will be scheduled and granted, subject to management's responsibility to maintain efficient operations. If the nature of the work makes it necessary to limit the number of employees on vacation at any given time, the employee whose request is submitted first shall be approved. If two requests are submitted at the same time, the employee with the greatest seniority (as it relates to total years of service with the County) shall be given preference in vacation scheduling.
C. Vacation can be utilized in increments of one (1) hour. For vacation leave less than one week, requests must be approved at least 24 hours in advance by the employee's supervisor or designee. For vacation leave of one week or more, request must be approved at least two (2) weeks in advance by the employee's supervisor or designee. Emergency request will be considered on a case by case basis.
D. Earned vacation days that have not been used at the end of the calendar year may be carried over. The amount of carry-over cannot exceed the number of vacation days an employee will earn in the current year. Part time employees will be given a quarterly update of vacation time earned and those employees shall have until April 1st of the following year to use any excess carry over vacation days.
E. Employees on Leave of Absence Without Pay shall not accrue any vacation benefits during that time.
F. When an employee separates from the County, employee will be paid for all vacation time that has been earned, at employee’s current hourly rate. Advanced vacation time used, but not earned, will be deducted from the employee's final pay check.
G. Pursuant to the ongoing practice employees will be able to participate in the vacation buy back program of up to two days of unused vacation days per year to be paid by the end of the year in the event they meet all of the following conditions:

1. An employee must be employed for one full calendar year prior to being eligible;
2. an employee cannot have “W” time in the year they are seeking to buy back vacation time;
3. The employee cannot have furlough time during the year in question unless it is mandatory furlough time; and
4. the employee must be a permanent employee.

1. Personal illness which renders an employee unable to perform employee’s duties.
2. Presence of serious illness in the immediate family which requires the employee's short term personal care. Immediate family means an employee's spouse, child, legal ward, grandchild, foster child, father, mother, legal guardian, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, and other relatives residing in the employee's household.
3. Dental, optical or medical treatment that cannot be scheduled during non-work hours. One week advance notice of such treatment is required except in emergent circumstances. A doctor's note is required as verification of the appointment.

1. medical or dental treatment that cannot be scheduled during non-working hours
2. medical emergencies of the employee or an immediate family member.

A. Service Credit

B. Unpaid Leave

1. A permanent employee who is temporarily (mentally or physically)

2. Any employee seeking such special leave without pay shall submit employee’s

3. Such leave shall not be unreasonably denied and shall be applied

C. Military Leave.

D. Family Medical Leave Act/Family Leave Act.

The union and the County agree to abide by the County’s comprehensive written

E. Absence Without Leave.

1. All employees will receive their regular base pay for Jury Duty performed

2. When an employee is subpoenaed to appear as a witness during work time

3. Employees must notify their immediate supervisor that they have been

4. An employee who is notified in advance by the Court that employee need not

7. Employees who serve on jury duty shall not be subjected to mandatory

25. EMERGENCY PAY

6. Health Benefits at Retirement: An employee who retires shall

7. Leave of Absence: When an employee is granted a leave of

9. Eligible employees and their families will be offered temporary

A. LEGISLATIVE ACTION. If any provisions of this Agreement require adoption

B. SAVING CLAUSE. If any provision of this Agreement shall conflict with any

INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICES

Executive Vice President Date

Ruth Barrett, National Staff Rep. Date

Branch Executive President Date

Staff Representative Date

APPENDIX A