Dear GGU Member,
On Friday, September 30, I sent all GGU members a message updating the status of the requirement for GGU members to take 15 furlough hours each year of our July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). As I stated in that message the State agreed to delay implementation of GGU furlough hours while they were in contract negotiations with the Supervisory Union (SU). I also informed you that the SU and the State has reached a Tentative Agreement that has been submitted to the SU membership for a ratification vote. I have been informed that the ballots to determine if the SU ratifies the agreement will be counted on October 19.
As a result of my message on September 30, I have received numerous inquiries and questions regarding how the furlough hours will be implemented. All of these have been good and important questions. Therefore, I am providing answers to the major questions in this email. Additionally, we are working on a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to address other issues. The FAQ will be posted on the ASEA website as soon as it is completed. Of course, you should also feel free to call your assigned Business Agent with any questions you may have.
If the SU ratifies the Tentative Agreement on October 19, I have been informed that the State will immediately implement the terms of our Letter of Agreement (LOA): Appendix K in our CBA on furlough hours. As you are aware the LOA on furlough hours was included in the CBA that was ratified by a vote of GGU members on April 8, 2016. You can access this LOA to view the specific provisions by clicking on the following link:
http://afscmelocal52.org/asea-files/ASEA-SOA_CBA_2016-2019_App-K_LOA_Furlough.pdf 
As I stated in my message to you on September 30, the SU TA also contains a LOA that provides a SU member eligible to retire within five years may elect to forfeit 22.5 hours of accrued Personal Leave instead of taking 15 furlough hours. Many of our members inquired if this same leave exchange provision would be available to GGU members. The answer is yes. Recently I entered into a LOA with the State providing that GGU members will also, at the member’s option, be able to exchange 22.5 hours of accrued Personal Leave to negate the requirement to take the 15 furlough hours. You can view this LOA by clicking on the following link:
http://afscmelocal52.org/asea-files/ASEA-SOA_LOA_17-GG-140_Furlough-Leave-Exchange.pdf
Additionally, the SU TA is for a 2 year period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018 while our CBA is for the 3 year period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019. This could produce an inequity between the amount of furlough hours that the SU is required to take in the next 3 years and the number of hours GGU members will be required to take. To be sure that this possibility of unequal treatment can’t exist I recently signed a LOA with the State that provides that the requirement for furlough hours in year 3 (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) of our CBA will not be implemented unless a successor SU agreement covering the same period (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) has the requirement for 15 furlough hours. This is an improvement to our CBA and assures equal treatment. You can view a copy of this LOA by clicking on the following link:
http://afscmelocal52.org/asea-files/ASEA-SOA_LOA_17-GG-141_Furlough-Year-3.pdf
I will provide more information as it becomes available and will update you on the result of the SU ratification vote when it is completed. Again, if you have additional questions at this time you should contact your Business Agent or me.
Jim Duncan
Executive Director