Furlough Days

Your Bargain Team met with RSD today to discuss possible furlough days.  Your team shared the following Memorandum of Understanding which the district received and discussesd.

Workweek Reduction for Remainder of 2020-2021 School Year
Memorandum of Understanding:
 
In response to the public health emergency and economic challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and because of the availability of state and federal resources that are available to employers and employees, Reynolds School District 7 and Reynolds Education Association agree to the following:

1. This memorandum shall not go into effect until Reynolds School District 7 is approved to participate in the Oregon Work Share program and until the memorandum is ratified by the members of the Reynolds Education Association.
2. Reynolds School District 7 shall reduce the hours of each bargaining unit member by up to 40% for each week, by furloughing two days a week spread out hourly, beginning on Monday May 25th, 2020. Compensation for bargaining unit members shall be reduced by up to 40% for each of these weeks ending June 12th, 2020.

Recommended dates are Thu. May 28, Fri. May 29, Thur. June 4, Fri. June 5, Mon. June 8, Tue. June 9.

1. Reynolds School District 7 shall continue to provide the same health insurance contribution and benefits to each bargaining unit member that it provided prior to this agreement.
2. Bargaining unit members shall not perform any duties during the furloughed days or hours.
3. With assistance from Reynolds School District 7, bargaining unit members shall file the paperwork necessary to receive unemployment payments under the Oregon Work Share program. 
4. Reynolds School District 7 shall allow, and assist when requested, all bargaining unit members to access all available government unemployment assistance, including that provided under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program (FPUC) as set forth in the CARES Act.
5. The parties acknowledge Governor Brown’s waiver of Oregon’s one week waiting period for unemployment eligibility, thereby allowing bargaining unit members to be eligible for unemployment benefits beginning with the first reduced work week.
6.  All money saved by participating in the Work Share program will go directly back to certified, salaries, benefits, step increases, and negotiated pay increases. The funds may not go to fund any other programs or to increase staffing for 2020-2021.
7. Employees who are within 3 years of retirement, may opt out of the furloughed days by notifying Reynolds School District by emailing Robert Neu by Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
8. Reynolds School District shall pay the full contractual daily rate of pay, as if there had been no reduction in work hours, for any furloughed day in which a bargaining unit member did not receive Work Share unemployment benefits or FPUC compensation.
9. This memorandum shall expire on June 30, 2020.
10. This memorandum of understanding shall be null and void if the following conditions are not fully met by Reynolds School District.
    1. An immediate freeze on all professional development spending.
    2. An immediate freeze on all new / additional administrative FTE hires.
    3. The district agrees to spend down the ending fund balance down to 2% in order to support the 2020-2021 budget.
       

Negotiations will resume on Friday, 5/22, in closed session at 1:00.

Your Bargain Team