You may or may not know that we received no additional funding this year over last year and in addition the ARRA Stimulus money allocated for wages last year was not reinstatesd. During the pre-service HR rotations I also discussed the large insurance cost increases that we were faced with this year. On the plus side we did not have to lay off any employee’s this year and were able to promote several staff members and also provide most folks with their transfer requests. We are still awaiting word on any State cuts but we are hopeful that will not be the case. In addition you should be receiving your 2009/2010 403B retirement contribution announcements soon, for those of you who have met the eligibility requirements for this benefit.
For those of you who are covered by insurance (that includes Willamette Dental) your co-pay for insurance premiums will be $24.09 per month and for staff with insurance (that includes Sunlife Dental) your monthly co-pay for insurance premiums will be $26.48. (Please note these amounts will be pro-rated for staff working part year or fewer than 52 weeks per year)
All staff will have 5 furlough (unpaid) days for this program year (2010/2011), nine month (40 week staff or less) will have the five furlough days at the end of the part year program (June 6th thru June 10th)other staff will have 5 furlough days as mutually arranged with their supervisors. Furlough days are totally without pay, meaning no staff (including managers) may use any of their leave banks to offset these days.
The 1.84% COLA will remain in effect, however the wage adjustments from last years ARRA stimulus money will not remain in effect after August 31, 2010. That means that adjustments will be forthcoming for Teachers, Family Advocates and Associate Teachers who received stimulus funded wage increases last year. We still need to determine what those amounts will be and you will be contacted as to the adjusted wage. It is anticipated that the adjustment will be reflected at the next pay period ending Oct 2nd (pay checks dated Oct Oct. 8th).
I will post the changes to the labor contract soon (on this portal) so you may see the full details of the agreement which includes language regarding the reinstatement of lost wages if additional stimulus funding were to be granted by either the Federal or State government.
It was great seeing all of you at pre-service and I hope that we’ll have many more years together! You are a super group of folks to work with and your dedication to children, families and each other is a force to be reckoned with!
