Chairperson Munsell read the following resolution into the record as an expression of appreciation to 24 retiring employees for their dedication and significant contributions to the Department of Civil Service. The Chairperson presented individual resolutions to the 17 retiring employees in attendance, and staff will deliver resolutions to the 7 retirees not in attendance

On motion duly made and supported, the Commission adopted the resolutions.

"Whereas, Steve Anderson, Monica Bauman, Marie Brown, Karen Danik, Jim Davis, Robert Freeman, Jesse Gonzales, Barry Horne, Lanet Holstrom, Mary Lindsay, Jan Lownsbery, Mike May, Arnold Morrison, Bob Pearson, Peggie Price, Bob Proctor, Carol Root, Dianna Salter, Judy Snyder, Bernie Starks, Dick Stout, Joyce Sweet, Madge Uehlein and Carole Wilcox have decided to retire from State Government after serving from 18 to 37 years individually, and a cumulative total of over 593 years of state service, and

"Whereas, these employees demonstrated commitment and dedication throughout their careers as public servants, gaining the respect and admiration of their colleagues, and

"Whereas, these employees, in their many capacities within the department including administrative support, information technology, personnel management, office management, and administrative leadership continuously pursued excellence in the creation and delivery of state-of-the-art technology and customer service, and

"Whereas, these employees, with their vast array of experience, knowledge, expertise, and foresight, took the lead in initiating many changes to improve departmental operations and core services, and

"Whereas, these employees, when they departed, took with them a variety of knowledge and perspectives on the Department of Civil Service, but most of all, their dedication to the continuous evolution of human resource services, and

"Whereas, these employees, in their retirements, will have more time to spend with their families and to further indulge in other interests, be it therefore

"Resolved, that the Michigan Civil Service Commission does hereby extend to all of these employees its heartfelt appreciation for their dedicated efforts and many accomplishments during their years of service.

"Resolved, that the Commission extends to them its warmest wishes for much health and happiness throughout their retirement."

The Commission received the following report from John F. Lopez, State Personnel Director.

Unclassified Position Report: Civil Service Commission Rules require me to report on the establishment or abolition of positions in the unclassified service. Since the last commission meeting, I approved the following requests:

I received an August 26, 2002, request from the Department of Attorney General to establish two unclassified positions. These positions will serve as the Communications Specialist for and the Administrative Assistant to the Attorney General. This request was approved on September 20, 2002.
I received a September 18, 2002, request from the Department of Consumer and Industry Services to establish an unclassified position. The position serves as the Chief Deputy Director for the Department of Consumer and Industry Services. This request was approved on September 20, 2002.

Regulations
Civil Service Commission Rules require that I report to the commission on the promulgation of regulations, which are issued to implement commission rules.

Since the last commission meeting, the following regulation has been revised and reissued:

Regulation 2.01, Implementing a Reduction in Force for Nonexclusively Represented Employees. Summary: The regulation was revised to clarify the application of employment preference with regard to new language in Standard F, "Frozen Positions". This change makes clear that frozen positions must be considered in the application of preference.

Employee Benefits Transfer to DCS:

We entered into an agreement with the Department of Management and Budget to delineate the respective roles, responsibilities, and resources of our respective agencies pursuant to the transfer of the Employee Benefits and Quality Recognition Systems programs and the State Sponsored Group Insurance Fund (SSGIF) from the Office of the State Employer to the Department of Civil Service on November 10, 2002.

In addition to delineating the transfer of funds, contracts, employee targets and FTEs, office space, and equipment, it was agreed that the Department of Management and Budget will continue to provide accounting services to the Department of Civil Service for the State Sponsored Group Insurance Fund for a period up to eighteen months.

Secondary Agreements:

At the May 23, 2002 Commission meeting, you gave tentative approval to proposed secondary agreements for the AFSCME, MSEA, and UAW. All of these secondary agreements have now been ratified.

Ms. Carol Mowitz, Department of Civil Service, Bureau of Human Resource Services, presented the recommendations of the Coordinated Compensation Panel on behalf of the Employment Relations Board. The Coordinated Compensation Proposal for Fiscal Year 2004 was provided to the Commission and the parties, and is by reference a part of the record of this meeting.

Ms. Mowitz summarized the recommendations before the Commission for approval:

The Panel recommends Commission approval of the following.

• A three percent across-the-board pay increase to be effective October 1, 2003.
• An increase from $12 to $15 per prescription co-pay for brand name drugs for persons enrolled in the State Health Plan effective January 1, 2004.
• An increase in the maximum annual dental benefit from $1,250 to $1,500, effective October 1, 2003.
• Renewal of the Professional Development Fund for MSC employees with funding of $150,000, and renewal of the Professional Development Fund for B & A unit employees with funding of $50,000

• A six-month extension of the compensatory time pilot program for Registered Nurse Managers 12 and 13 in the Department of Community Health, through April 1, 2003.
• A consensus recommendation of the ASEM and OSE to continue researching potential vendors to offer reduced rates for PRK and Lasik Vision Surgery.
• A consensus agreement between the MAGE and OSE for the OSE to conduct a study of the recruitment and retention of Registered Nurse Managers in the Department of Community Health, to be completed by July 1, 2003.
• The Panel's recommendation to OSE to include pharmacists in its next salary survey.
  

The Panel recommends denial of the following:

• A special increase for Pharmacist Managers recommended by Mr. Carey Abbott

Mr. John Gnodtke, Assistant General Counsel, Department of Civil Service, briefed the Commission and presented staff recommendations on items G-2 through G-8.

On motion duly made and supported, the Commission approved the following Resolution G-2 regarding the approval of a Secondary Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Department of Career Development and the Michigan State Employees Association (Labor and Trades and Safety and Regulation Unit):

The OSE, on behalf of the MSEA and the Department of Career Development, has requested that the Civil Service Commission approve a new secondary CBA for the agency. The bargaining unit members have ratified the tentative agreement.

Therefore, after consideration of the proposals of Civil Service staff and the parties:

The OSE, on behalf of the MSEA and the Department of Information Technology, has requested that the Civil Service Commission approve a new secondary CBA for the agency. The bargaining unit members have ratified the tentative agreement.

Therefore, after consideration of the proposals of Civil Service staff and the parties:

The OSE, on behalf of the UAW and the Department of Information Technology, has requested that the Civil Service Commission approve a new secondary CBA for the agency. The bargaining unit members have ratified the tentative agreement.

Therefore, after consideration of the proposals of Civil Service staff and the parties:

John Denniston, President, MSEA, read the following prepared statement into the record.

"I am here today representing MERIT, the coalition of unions supporting passage of Proposal 3, to inform the members of the Civil Service Commission that they will be filing a complaint with the Michigan Department of State alleging that state resources are being used to campaign against the ballot proposal.

We verified yesterday that supervisors in the Department of Corrections have been distributing anti-proposal 3 literature at staff meetings of probation and parole agents across the state.

This is clearly a violation of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act and it is not an isolated instance, but appears to be a well-organized effort to change the outcome of the ballot proposal.

In the complaint, we will allege that regional supervisors were given anti-proposal 3 material taken directly from the Governor's web site and asked to distribute information at staff meetings.

This is not the first instance of apparent violations and there have been reports of staff from the Office of the State Employer and the Department of Management and Budget using state resources for meetings and to produce materials.

The Coalition is also requesting that the State Civil Service Commission and the Office of the State Employer immediately issue a strongly worded directive to all supervisors and employees directing them to not use any state resources or time to campaign for or against the ballot issue.

It is important that the Civil Service Commission and the Office of the State Employer maintain neutrality as is pertains to ballot issues.

We will file the complaint as soon as it is determined how individual workers can he protected from reprisals, since state employees do not have whistle blower protections afforded other workers.

An additional complaint will be filed against Stephanie Comai, director of e-Michigan, to clarify if material now posted on the Governor's segment of the state web site is in violation of the Campaign Finance Act.

Once written material is posted to the state web site it may lose the protections afforded under the Act that are given to elected officials to speak out for or against ballot issues.

The Act clearly allows elected and appointed officials to disseminate information of a factual nature, but the August 13 posting on the Governor's web site goes beyond those protections.

The fact that some state agencies are downloading that information and using it verbatim to campaign against the proposal is proof that the web site is using state resources to determine the outcome of a ballot issue.

It is clear that the act prohibits the use of computer hardware or software to take sides in a ballot issue.

Until this issue is clarified I think that in the spirit of the law that material on state web sites, both pro and con, about ballot issues should he removed.

It is this lack of neutrality by state government that has led to Proposal 3 being placed on the ballot for public review."

Ms. Janine Winters, Director, Office of State Employer responded that she felt both labor and management are doing their best to try to control the dissemination of information and other activities surrounding things like ballot proposals, and particularly the ballot proposal in question. Ms. Winters stated what happened in Corrections should not have happened but that it was not an organized effort and was the only instance she was aware of. She stated that immediate steps were taken to stop that activity as soon as they were made aware of it, and steps have been taken to block other inappropriate communications such as union e-mails regarding the ballot proposal being sent to state employees at the work site. Ms. Winters added as an example, that OSE was recently made aware that notices advertising a meeting in a state facility about the ballot issue, jointly sponsored by the UAW and MSEA, were posted throughout Cadillac Place. OSE felt those were a violation, and asked that they be removed.

Ms. Winters indicated she would have no problem with issuing a strong statement reminding supervisors and employees that state resources are not to be used to campaign for against the proposal. She called upon the unions to help in this effort because many of the situations OSE is dealing with are directly the result of e-mails from union officials to employees at the work site, on work time.

Ms. Winters guaranteed the Commissioners that immediate action would be taken to stop any additional inappropriate communications by either management or the unions.

In conclusion, Ms. Winters stated that the OSE will work with the unions, and asked that the unions also work with them.

Note: These Minutes will become final upon approval by the Civil Service Commission Meeting.