Cayuga-Onondaga Counties

BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

Office of Personnel Relations

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Table of Contents

                                                                                                    

Introduction 

History

OPR Staff 

Description and Scope of Service 

Negotiations 

Contract Management/Grievances & Arbitration 

Representation at Administrative Hearings 

Support Services

Financing 

Future 

INTRODUCTION

         The Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES Office of Personnel Relations (OPR) currently employs a professional staff of personnel and labor relations specialists to advise and assist participating school districts in the pursuit of goals relating to employee relations.In addition, the OPR has two skilled administrative support members who perform many vital functions.The support members compile surveys on wages, salaries, and other terms and conditions of employment.At the forefront of the service, the specialists engage in instructional and non-instructional bargaining, usually as chief spokesperson for the participating school system.While negotiations represent a highly visible and important function of the service, it is by no means a total reflection of the OPR services.

         The OPR has been representing as well as advising clients on matters pertaining to unit representation proceedings, improper labor practice charges, grievances, arbitrations, human rights complaints, personnel policies, and, most recently, unemployment insurance hearings.On a daily basis, assistance is provided to school district administrators by answering questions relating to a variety of concerns on employment matters.The staff conducts periodic workshops and publishes a monthly newsletter on topics germane to personnel and labor relations.The OPR also updates area wage comparisons, supplemental benefit surveys, and contractual information and transmits same to superintendents through the management of negotiated agreement books and various surveys.

HISTORY

         With the passage of the Taylor Law in 1967,personnel and labor relations functions have emerged as an essential part of school district management.The OPR of the Cayuga-Onondaga Counties Board of Cooperative Educational Services has been in existence since September 1970 and is now in its third decade of successful service to participating schools.At the outset, the principal services that were offered included direct table negotiations, collection and dissemination of comparative data, and in-service training for administrators as well as school board members.While these activities remain important, additional services have been added to provide comprehensive and continuous assistance to participants.

         Among the additional services are representation in grievance and arbitration proceedings, improper labor practice cases, and unit certification hearings before the Public Employment Relations Board.Many grievances have been processed.If they were not settled or withdrawn, the grievances went to arbitration.Representation has been provided for improper labor practice charges and unit certification proceedings.The professional staff has assisted in numerous other administrative proceedings or hearings including tenure cases conducted under Section 3020-a of the Education Law.In addition, the staff prosecutes non-instructional disciplinary cases under §75 of the Civil Service Law or in arbitration.

         The need for comprehensive labor relation services has continued since the OPR was established.In its first year of operation, one Board of Cooperative Educational Services and six component school districts participated.Presently, approximately fifty employers utilize the service for approximately one hundred contracts. 

         On July 1, 1977, the OPR began providing services to the Cortland-Madison BOCES and its component school districts for the negotiation and administration of ten labor agreements.Thereafter, services were requested from and provided to the Candor, Groton, Hammondsport, Hornell, South Seneca, Trumansburg, Windsor, Byron Bergen, Deposit, Dryden, Livonia, Bath, Geneseo and Newark Valley Central School Districts, and the Batavia City School District.As a result of the additional services, the professional staff was expanded.

         In the spring of 1979, meetings were conducted between Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES OPR representatives and the chief school officers of the Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES.The purpose of these meetings was to determine whether or not the OPR could provide service to the component school districts.At present, most of the component school districts participate in the service.Consequently, Murry Solomon, an experienced private sector labor relations specialist was appointed in September of 1979 and began work in October of 1979.

         In the Spring of 1989, Cayuga County officials requested the OPR to provide labor and personnel relations services.Shortly thereafter, an agreement was reached with the County.As a result, the OPR represents Cayuga County and negotiates general employees, sheriffs, nurses, and the Community College collective bargaining agreements.

         As the demand for services increased, it was apparent that the OPR would have to grow.In November 1990, Brent Cooley was hired.Brent is a lawyer and a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law.Prior to his employment by the OPR, he was a practicing attorney and had several years of collective bargaining and labor relations experience.In August, 1996, Mr. Randy Ray joined the OPR.Mr. Ray, who graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Law is also a practicing attorney specializing in education law.

         During the past 30 years, school district personnel and labor relations matters have evolved into a highly complex area.The future promises much in the way of challenge to the public sector.Continuous contract negotiations, grievance administration, and several different types of administrative hearings will increase the demand for specialized skills.The OPR stands ready to serve public employers into the next century.

The Office ofPersonnel Relations Staff

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Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES

5980 South Street Road

Auburn, NY13021-5699

Telephone:(315) 253-0361

Fax:(315) 252-6493

Dr. Matthew R. Fletcher    Assistant Superintendent for Personnel

Murry F. Solomon,  Brent D. Cooley, Randy J. Ray   Labor Relations Specialists

Mark W. Snyder,   Safety Coordinator

 

Diane B. Dougherty,  Myra A. Madden,  Administrative Support Personnel

DESCRIPTION AND SCOPE OF SERVICE

         With the advent of the Public Employees Fair Employment Act (Taylor Law) in 1967, collective negotiations with employee organizations have emerged as an integral part of the activities of the participating school districts and boards of cooperative educational services.The vast majority of employees have been organized, and at the present time there exists approximately 100 negotiated agreements with recognized or certified labor unions among the educational institutions and county government represented through this service.

Negotiations

Negotiations is an important function and typically begins with an analysis of the existing agreement prior to the beginning of bargaining.This is done by reviewing provisions of the current negotiated agreement and determining if any changes need to be made.Following the initial review, a meeting is usually held with the administrative staff in order to develop proposals.After the initial proposals are submitted, a follow-up meeting is scheduled with board of education to review the proposals and to establish parameters for negotiations.

The negotiation process includes actual face-to-face negotiations, mediation, fact finding, conciliation and, if needed, services during a job action or strike.

Contract Management, Grievances, and Arbitrations

While the negotiated agreement is in effect, the OPR provides advice on matters pertaining to contractual interpretation and representation in grievance and arbitration proceedings.This is in addition to the regular day to day discussions concerning the administration and interpretation of the provisions of the negotiated agreement.These ancillary functions are extremely important as an adverse determination in any proceeding could have a detrimental impact upon the district.

Representation at Administrative Hearings

In addition to the activities associated with negotiations and contract administration, the staff has been representing as well as advising clients on matters pertaining to unit representation proceedings, improper labor practice charges, and most recently unemployment insurance hearings.As previously noted, the OPR has been involved in many unit certification proceedings, stays of arbitration, grievances, arbitrations, improper labor practice cases, Section 75 Civil Service Law hearings, in addition to the OPR’s involvement in tenure, human rights, unemployment and strike hearings.

Support Services

A.    AMonthly Newsletter

       The OPR publishes The Advocate, a monthly newsletter which reports on topics germane to personnel and labor relations.

B.    Management of Negotiated Agreements

       Management of Negotiated Agreements is a resource book distributed to chief school administrators.The resource book includes topical comparisons of negotiated agreements, salary and financial data, as well as miscellaneous materials pertaining to arbitrations, mandatory subjects of negotiations, disciplinary procedures, lay-off procedures and human rights rulings.

C.    Arbitration Award Files

       The arbitration award file is constantly being updated.To date, it includes in excess of 1,600 awards from school districts and other public employers.The        file is extremely useful in preparation for arbitration.

D.    In-Service Training

       In addition to the foregoing, staff members conduct periodic labor relations workshops for chief school officers, principals, and board of education members.

FINANCING

         OPR services are provided as a cost-shared program which enjoys the same state aid assistance as other shared services.Consequently, a direct Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES component school or for that matter, any other BOCES component school which elects to purchase this service on a cross-contract basis through its particular BOCES, is eligible for special financial aid beyond the aid provided for local programs.

         The total cost of the personnel relations program, which includes, among other things, staff salaries and supplemental benefits, is equally divided by the total number of collective bargaining agreements serviced by the OPR.Once that calculation is completed, each school system is charged based upon the number of agreements to be serviced.The payments in the case of the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES component school districts are made directly to that BOCES.Where a cross contract for services exists, payments by individual schools are made directly to their BOCES.In turn, that BOCES receives, generally on a quarterly basis, a bill for services from the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES.In both cases, the districts are eligible for "BOCES AID."The amount of the aid is a function of the local wealth within a school community.Thus, in poorer districts, the aid ratio is sometimes as high as 70% or 80%.The BOCES calculates the aid for each district by multiplying the aid ratio times approved costs and remits a check for same when it is received from the state.

FUTURE

         The OPR has been in place for 30 years providing meaningful and effective assistance to participating school districts.Past performance, however, does not guarantee future success.The needs of school districts must be reassessed periodically and new issues identified.Most recently school administrators, as well as boards of education are confronting the need to reduce escalating health care insurance premiums.A variety of approaches under consideration include the right to change carriers, the right to self fund insurance, a dollar limit on the district's premium payments, higher insurance deductibles, and a reduction on the premium payment for retirees.Consequently, a lingering problem will re-emerge with added dimension as organized labor seeks to prevent or reverse the trend of concession bargaining.

         Health and safety concerns of employees in addition to the enactment of several pieces of legislation in recent years have imposed a duty on school districts to maintain a safeworking environment.Health and safety issues are potentially an area where bargaining activity will increase.

         To no one’s surprise wages and salaries are usually at the center of any labor-management dispute.In the future, that dispute may be compounded by the administrative or board desire to compensate instructors on the basis of their individual performance instead of the traditional across the board raise.Much has been written on differentiated staffing and merit compensation.The concepts usually arouse passionate feelings on both sides of the bargaining table.As a result, future bargaining may become more difficult, complex, and perhaps philosophically agonizing as issues of labor peace confront issues of pay.

         Moreover, senior teachers as well as senior non-instructional employees are looking forward to an early retirement.Accordingly, they will lobby their individual board members and legislative representatives for an early retirement incentive.This activity will continue while proposals are actively pursued in bargaining.

         The strengths of the OPR have been continuing representation in collective negotiations, consultation with local chief school administrators and flexibility in meeting new and emerging needs of each school district on an individual basis.The problems of the past combined with the educational concerns of the future will create new challenges requiring novel and innovative methods of resolving labor and personnel relations disputes.

         The staff of the OPR welcomes the opportunity to serve you and discuss any questions you may have.Call us at (315) 253-0361or by fax at (315) 252-6493.