Dear SDCCD AFT Guild Members,
I am pleased to report that we have reached a tentative agreement with the District on a new Resource Allocation Formula (RAF) which will cover the period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023.
Despite the fact that the next few years will continue to be lean from a fiscal standpoint, we were successful in reaching an agreement guaranteeing that the District will continue to fully fund the Kaiser, Delta Dental, and Vision Service plan premium rates for each of the fiscal years covered by this RAF agreement. This also means that those employees enrolled in a United Healthcare plan will experience smaller (or potentially no) premium increases as a result of this agreement.
Other highlights of this agreement include:
- Additional resources available for employee compensation will not begin until the District is able to increase its cash reserve to the 15% level (approximately two month’s worth of operating expenses);
- Once the preceding trigger has been met, any type of ongoing COLA for employees will continue to be distributed January 1 of each year;
- In addition to the ongoing distributions effective January 1, there will also be an annual one-time bonus paid out with each February pay cycle in an amount equal to the COLA multiplied by each employee’s gross earnings from the previous July 1-December 31 pay period.
Those are just the main highlights which are new in this RAF. Many of the other calculations from the previous version of the RAF were carried forward into this new agreement. The entire agreement is attached for your review.
Given the fiscal times we are currently operating within (e.g., the State issuing all Districts IOUs for February through June of this current fiscal year), we feel that this is a very good agreement in that it protects the District, it ensures all employees who qualify for benefits are guaranteed at least one fully funded medical, dental, and vision plan, and it puts in place an additional annual bonus once the revenue picture improves.
Ratification ballots for this new RAF Agreement will be sent to your SDCCD email address starting tomorrow. Only AFT Guild members in good standing will be sent a ballot. Note that the ballot will be coming from AFT Guild Local 1931 <invitations@mail.electionbuddy.com> so be sure to check your junk folder if you have not received your ballot by tomorrow afternoon. The deadline for voting will be 3:00pm, Friday, March 5th.
Our Executive Council strongly encourages your “YES” vote on this new agreement. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or would like to set-up a meeting to discuss the details of this new RAF agreement.
In Solidarity,
Jim
Jim Mahler, President
AFT Guild, Local 1931