Board Members
				Darold Bussio-Proxy
				Vacant
				Leslie Lentz
				Ralph Ray
				Karey Wilkinson
				Sonny Carothers
				Pam Hand
				John Roberts Secretary/Treasurer
				Eric Palmer
				Nancy Linear
				Dwayne Hart
				Keith Walburn
				Kim Ferguson
				Leo Arledge
				Ed Tourville President
				R.D. Bell
				Terry Dare-Proxy
				Charles Payne
				Jim Darling Vice-President
				Vacant
				Shawn Harper

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED
By Cynthia Gross    Wed, July 28, 2010

We, here at the MOCOA office, are in the process of lodging a complaint to the Insurance Board. It is important that you, the employee, contact these same legislators to express your concerns. It will do no good if 100 or 200 hundred calls are received. Every employee needs to make this call if we have any chance of reopening this issue.

Remember, health insurance is a NON-NEGOTIABLE benefit. This means that the state does not negotiate with any bargaining unit (associations or unions) concerning insurance benefits.

You should direct your complaints to the following legislators:

Sen. Frank Barnitz,   phone: 573-751-2108, email: frank.barnitz@senate.mo.gov
Sen. Tom Dempsey, phone: 573-751-1141, email: tom.dempsey@senate.mo.gov
Rep. Terry Swinger, phone: 573-751-2264, email: terry.swinger@house.mo.gov
Rep. Eric Burlison, phone: 573-751-0136, email: eric.burlison@house.mo.gov

THANK YOU
By Cynthia Gross    Tue, May 18, 2010

Thanks to all the members and others who took the time to contact their Representatives concerning the legislation to take away two holidays. “It worked!!” After being overwhelmed by calls and e-mails, the House leadership, lead by Representative Steven Tilley of Farmington and many others, the legislation did not come to a vote. It had earlier passed the Senate with only one “No” vote. Thank you again for your support. We would also like to express our thanks to Harry and Mike, your lobbyists, for their outstanding efforts on this issue.

IMMEDIATE HELP NEEDED - EMERGENCY INFORMATION
By Cynthia Gross    Fri, April 23, 2010

Help block House Bill 1677 which will take 2 state holidays from state employees, Lincolns' birthday and Trumans' birthday. Legislators may vote on this as soon as Monday, April 26, 2010 so call or email your Representaives TODAY. I encourage you to contact EVERYONE you know and ask them to do the same, custody, non-custody, friends and family.

$25 Per Month Put in Next Years Budget by State Rep. Ryan Silvey
By Cynthia Gross    Wed, February 17, 2010

We are happy to announce that after talks on 02/16/10 with State Rep. Ryan Silvey (Kansas City), who is head of the Appropriations General Administration Committee, he has agreed to put $25 per month in the budget for the Deferred Comp participants beginning in July 2010.

This is not a guarantee that it will stay in the budget. However, we will do everything in our power to keep it there. Keep in mind that we here at the Association do not control the economy or tax revenues collected by the state. So far this year the 1st quarter revenues collected by the state are down 17%. This is causing huge budget distress in all state departments, not just in corrections. Many departments have experienced layoffs and other staff cuts. As of this date, the corrections department has not had any layoffs and minimal staff cuts compared too many other departments. The bottom line here is that people aren’t buying and tax revenues dollars are short. When revenues are short it is impossible to get money when there isn’t any coming in.

Gary Gross, MOCOA

Proposed Policy Changes
By Cynthia Gross    Wed, February 10, 2010

The following is a letter in response to proposed policy changes in employee attendance. Per MoCOA’s agreement with the Department of Corrections, any proposed changes to policy must be forwarded to us for review and comments prior to implementation. We receive numerous proposals each week and carefully read, discuss and compare the changes with current policy. If we feel the proposed changes would in any way negatively affect corrections custody staff, we immediately formulate a response and return it to the proper central office personnel. This is a very tedious and time consuming process, but we feel the importance of custody staff having a voice in new policy is a vital component of protecting our rights and improving working conditions.
This letter is being posted in an effort to help enlighten our members on one of the numerous tasks your Association deals with on a daily basis. While we can’t win every battle, we are constantly attempting to assist our members not only with the high profile issues such as legislation, but also behind the scenes in various other areas such as this.
We are often unable to share with our members each and every detail of discussions with the department, but this is one example we feel is important enough to warrant the time and effort. I hope you find it enlightening and informative.







February 10, 2010

Lisa A. Schulte
Acting Compliance Unit Administrator
Missouri Department of Corrections
2729 Plaza Drive
Jefferson City, MO 65102

Gary Gross
Executive Director
Missouri Corrections Officers Association
7141 Business 50 West
Jefferson City, MO 65109


Ms. Schulte,
In reference to the proposed policy D2-8.15 Employee Attendance, I would like to express several concerns.

In Section II Definitions, the policy describes Critical Service Employees to include custody staff as well as select other employees. While we are all in agreement on the definition of critical service employees, I do not feel it is necessary to include this definition since employee attendance requirements should be the same for all staff regardless of classification. Defining critical service employees would indicate these employees are intended to be held to a different standard than non-critical employees. In our opinion, such distinction in this case is not acceptable.

In the same Section, Unauthorized Absences fails to exclude those absences accompanied by written documentation from a health care provider. Policy clearly states if a custody staff member is not at full physical capacity, they are prohibited from reporting for duty. If a custody officer becomes ill and is forced to seek treatment from a physician, this absence, while unscheduled, should not be considered unauthorized if documentation is provided.

Again, within the same Section, Work Schedule Abuse states an employee should be at their work station at their designated work time. In many cases, this is not feasible for custody staff. In most institutions, custody staff must clock in/sign in before being issued any equipment required for their assigned post. If an officer’s shift begins at 7:00am, she/he would be signed in prior to that time. However, after receiving her/his daily assignment and being issued keys, radio, wrist restraints or other items, the officer would still be required to walk to their assigned post while clearing any additional airlocks or security checkpoints. Any delay during this process would most likely result in the officer being late to their assigned work station. Since departmental policy and the Fair Labor Standards Act requires an employee to be paid for any job related duties, their time must begin no later than the time they are signed in and job related duties begin. An alternate view would be if an officer has signed in, received orders and equipment and begins to walk to their designated post prior to shift start time. While on the way to the assigned post, a situation occurs which requires immediate action such as an assault or a fight, the officer would be expected to respond, even though the shift has not officially begun. This would technically result in an off duty officer being involved in a use of force.

In Section III, Procedures, it states, “6 unscheduled absences in a 6 month period are considered an unacceptable level.” However, later in the same Section it states, “The supervisor shall begin performance improvement methods in accordance with our guidelines when an employee has 3 unscheduled absences within a 6 month period.” According to current performance policy, if this attendance policy is enacted as written, an officer could easily be placed on an Employee Performance Plan with only 3 to 5 unscheduled absences in a 6 month period. If 6 unscheduled absences in a 6 month period is the unacceptable level, then why would any performance improvement methods be necessary prior to these 6 absences?

These are the only concerns I have with this proposed policy at this time. I appreciate your time and attention and look forward to hearing from you.


Sincerely,


Gary Gross, Executive Director
Missouri Corrections Officers Association




Cc: Tom Clements, Director, DAI

Workers Comp Time Frames Extended
By Cynthia Gross    Tue, February 9, 2010

The Missouri Corrections Officers Association is pleased to announce an agreement reached with the Department of Corrections concerning return to work time frames associated with workers compensation claims. As stated in a previous release, MoCOA was considering filing legislation to increase the maximum time to return to full duty after a work related injury from the current 180 days (approximately 6 months) to one year. In a compromise agreement, the department has consented to modify policy to allow up to 270 days (approximately 9 months) for return to full duty status.
Reaching this compromise not only eliminates the need for legislation at this point, it will also accelerate the time in which this change becomes effective. If the proposed legislation were to be offered and successfully passed into law, it is uncertain when it would become effective. The department has agreed to make this policy change effective within the next 30 to 45 days.
MoCOA would like to thank the department for its efforts to cooperate in a manner which benefits both the department and employees. Additionally, we would like to again thank our members for their continued support. Without a strong membership base, many of the successes enjoyed over the past several years would have not been possible. Remember, this is YOUR association. It always works for you, but it can’t work without you.   

Gary Gross, Executive Director, MoCOA

Legislative Update
By Cynthia Gross    Thu, February 4, 2010

In response to interest expressed by our members, we are posting a list of bills being proposed by MoCOA during the current legislative session. In addition, we are posting the names of the legislators supporting our cause by sponsoring these proposed bills. As the bills progress through the House and Senate, we will post further information.

HB 1597: This is legislation proposed to make starting salaries for state corrections officers 75% of that earned by a post probation Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper 1st Class. If enacted into law, this should automatically provide raises for corrections officers each time state troopers are awarded a pay raise. This bill is being sponsored by our long time supporter Representative Bill Deeken of Jefferson City.

HB Number Pending: This proposed legislation would make it a Class D Felony for an inmate to provide false information against a corrections staff member which could lead to the employee being implicated in a crime. This legislation is being sponsored by first term Representative Linda Fischer of Bonne Terre, member of Corrections and Public Institutions Committee.

HB Number pending: This legislation would extend the allowed recovery time due to a work related injury from six months to one year, allowing DOC employees to retain employment for up to one full year. This is sponsored by Representative Chris Molendorp of Belton, member of Corrections and Public Institutions Committee.
[This legislation is currently on hold pending consideration by the department to address this in policy rather than through law.]

HB 1598: This bill would prevent DOC from forcing officers to “burn” comp time during the same week in which it is earned. Currently, many institutions are using this tactic to prevent officers from obtaining the time and one half to which they are entitled. This bill is also being sponsored by Representative Bill Deeken of Jefferson City.

These are the bills on which we and your lobbyists have been working during the past several months. While many other ideas have been proposed in addition to these, at this time we feel this selection has the most support and the best chance of becoming state law. Thank you for your ideas and input. If you would like to help your Association continue to make strides which improve salaries, benefits and working conditions, we urge you to contact your Senators and Representatives and ask for their support on these bills.  If you have any questions, please call us toll free at 866-346-6262.

Gary Gross, Executive Director
Missouri Corrections Officers Association

Suspension of Deferred Compensation Match
By Cynthia Gross    Thu, February 4, 2010

Yesterday, February 3, 2010, we became aware of the state’s intention to suspend the matching funds, or “employer incentive” portion of the State of Missouri’s Deferred Compensation Plan for all state employees. This means while you will still be allowed to contribute a portion of your salary to a savings plan for retirement, the state will not be matching any portion of your contribution. At this point, the cut is effective beginning with the March 31, 2010 paychecks and running until June 30, 2010. It has not been decided if this will be temporary or if it will continue through next year’s budget (FY2011).
This decision was made by the Office of Administration’s Division of Budget and Planning which works directly under Governor Jay Nixon. The reason cited for the cut was, “…expenditure restrictions necessary to balance the state budget.” We fully understand the severe budget constraints faced by the State of Missouri during these most challenging economic times. However, we feel there are other areas of the state budget which could be curtailed without denying state workers this very important benefit. For this reason we are diligently working with Missouri’s Senators and Representatives in an attempt to restore this portion of our compensation package.
If you have any questions or concerns, we urge you to contact Governor Jay Nixon at 573-751-3222 (phone), 573-751-1495(fax) or visit his website at   http://governor.mo.gov/. If visiting the website, go to the bottom and click on the CONTACT US tab to voice your opinion. It may also be helpful to contact your Senator and Representative regarding this matter.
As always, if you need to speak to us directly, please call toll free at 866-346-6262.

Gary Gross, Executive Director
Missouri Corrections Officers Association

Interviews For Job Bids
By Cynthia Gross    Mon, June 15, 2009

Recently we have received calls from NECC and ERDCC concerning interviews being conducted for bid positions held by Corrections Officers. We believe this practice to be in violation of the agreement between MOCOA and the Department of Corrections. The agreement (Article 8) is very clear as to the criteria for which the bidding process is supposed to be followed. Nowhere in that agreement is there any form of interview process mentioned. The agreement states the jobs will be posted and bid on by officers and awarded on (A) Seniority, (B) the ability to perform the duties of the posted position and (C) the performance appraisal. This issue is currently being challenged by this office through the grievance process as well as communications with Central Office. Anyone wanting to file on this practice regarding having to interview for job bids please contact our office at 573-634-7951 and we will be happy to assist you in the process.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By Cynthia Gross    Wed, April 22, 2009

The Missouri Corrections Association (MoCOA) announced today, April 21, 2009, they have filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cole County against the Missouri Department of Corrections. The suit, presented by MoCOA's attorney John Landwehr, of the Jefferson City law firm Cook, Vetter and Doerhoff, alleges the Department is in violation of the current Agreement entered into and ratified by the two parties on February 1, 2007.

The portion of the Agreement in dispute is Section 7.9 which states the Department will provide fourteen (14) days prior notice before scheduling mandatory compensatory time reduction. MoCOA contends the Department is routinely forcing officers to work beyond their regularly scheduled shifts due to staff shortages. While staff shortages at state prisons are an immediate threat to public security, it is understandable additional officers would be held over to compensate for the understaffing. However, the Department then compels these same officers to take an equal amount of time off during the same work week in order to avoid accumulation of overtime. This practice effectively eliminates any overtime to which they would otherwise be entitled.

Gary Gross, Executive Director of MoCOA, has brought this situation to the attention of the Director of the Division of Adult Institutions. The Director has denied MoCOA's demand the Department honor the terms of the Agreement.

MoCOA is recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for the State's approximately 4,800 correctional custody staff (primarily Corrections I and Corrections Officers II) by the Missouri State Board of Mediation. This Agreement is pursuant to State Statues Section 105.500-105.530 RSMo and is available for viewing at www.mocoa.com.

For more information you may contact the Missouri Corrections Officers Association at 573-634-7951 during normal business hours.

OVERTIME ISSUES
By Cynthia Gross    Fri, March 20, 2009

Dear Members,

I am sure that most of you are aware of the Departments overtime issues regarding the payment of compensatory / overtime. The Department has now decided they will force employees to take time off during the same week the officer works in excess of their assigned shift in an attempt to avoid this time becoming overtime.

We at MOCOA feel this is a direct conflict with the Bargaining Unit Agreement between MOCOA and the Department of Corrections section 7.9. This section states "Employer will provide 14 days prior notice before scheduling mandatory compensatory time reduction".

Policy definition of compensatory time - a code 2 employee works in excess of an assigned daily shift, but has not physically worked in excess of 40 hours during a standard work week.

Anyone wishing to challenge being forced to work overtime and then being forced to take the time off in the same week to avoid this time becoming federal overtime should file their grievance based on the above information. If you need assistance please give us a call at 573-634-7951.

We have turned this issue over to our Association Attorney John Landwehr to address on our behalf.

Gary D. Gross