Century Link 2023 Ocala/Winter Garden TA

Two Year Contract

1^st Year 3% and 2^nd Year 3% Effect April 1^st, 2023

Boot Allowance $100 a year or $200 Lump Sum!

Rest Period increase 4hours paid!

All L2S Discipline removed for 3176!

Increase in the differentials! 

MLK and Christmas Eve added to Holidays!

Layoff Notice Change!

Training on time coding so you get paid properly! 

Title Change!

RESPONSE TO UNION ECONOMIC PROPOSAL (UNION#10)

The increase in Year 1 will be effective April 1, 2023.  

MISCELLANEOUS CONDITIONS OF WORK

25.08   Safety Footwear.

Effective 1/1/2020–Safety Footwear. Employees with exposure to foot hazards as determined by the Company’s Task-Based Hazard Assessment for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Safety Equipment must regularly wear safety footwear (safety shoes/boots) that meet the current national standards recognized by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and internal CenturyLink requirements found in Safety &Health Practice on Personal Protective Equipment.  The Company, in its sole discretion, and in accordance with OSHA standards, will identify employees who will be required to wear safety footwear. 

Employees identified as needing safety footwear will be required to wear safety footwear at all times when performing their work assignments. Those employees will have the choice of wearing steel toe or composite toe safety footwear as long as it meets the current national standard. The requirement to wear safety footwear will cease when the employees leave the position through transfer, promotion, retirement, separation, voluntary resignation or dismissal, or when safety footwear is no longer required. 

Upon presentation of a receipt, the Company will reimburse employees who are required to wear safety footwear for the purchase of such footwear up to a maximum of $100.00 for each year of the term of the contract.  The amount may be used for a single purchase or broken into increments.

For those employees that have only occasional exposure, a safety toe overshoe, at no cost, is available through the SAP/CART ordering process.

10.05 Rest Period. Employees working 14 or more hours during the 24 hour period immediately preceding the start of their next scheduled tour of duty will be entitled to an eight hour rest period before reporting to their next scheduled tour of duty. Employees who choose not to report to work until their eight hour rest period has expired shall be paid no more than four hours base rate for those rest period hours which extend into the employees’ next scheduled tour.  The employee will have the option of taking unpaid time or Vacation time to cover the four remaining hours of the Rest Period.  All rest hours paid or nonpaid which extend into the next scheduled tour shall count towards the daily and/or weekly overtime build. Should an employee be required to report back to work, and before eight hours rest period has elapsed, the employee shall be paid 1-1/2 times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked until eight hours from the time the rest period began.

TIME CODING TRAINING

The company and the local will meet quarterly to review all time coding codes and discuss their proper use. The company will then maintain a living document that will be provided to all employees on how and when they can use those pay codes. The company will provide instructor lead training to all new hires, and all other employees will be given workgroup training quarterly to ensure proper time coding. 

The Company and the local will meet annually to review time coding best practices and discuss their proper use.  The Company shall provide the local with notice when changes are made to time codes and direction standardized communication to employees on how and when to use those time codes.  

Management will not make any time coding changes to an employee’s time until a conversation has been conducted with the affected employee. Any questions on the use of a paycode brought by an employee or member of management will be reviewed and approved between a union representative and local management.

Management shall inform an employee if changes are made to an employee’s coding of time.  If an employee disagrees with a time coding change made by management, the Union may grieve that change.    

COMPANY COUNTER TO UNION PROPOSAL# 3
8.01 Notice ofLayoff. The Company will provide the Local Union 45 days advance notice of layoff of employces, if the layoff exceeds a temporary layoff, when brought about by technological changes or methods of operation. After notice, is given, those employees in the impacted job title will have the right to refuse overtime.

WAGES

24.01      Differentials: It is understood that differential payments are fixed amounts that apply only to hours actually worked by employees that qualify for the differential. Differentials will not be applied to any non-worked hours.

Differential to be paid to any employee working in the following categories:

Per Hour:

1. Employees with journeyman electrician or journeyman heating and air conditioning license assigned to and performing electrical or air conditioning work shall receive an additional $2.50 for each hour spent performing this work.

2. Working Leader: Assignments on which the employee has the responsibility of directing the work of a group of employees and normally is required to perform some of the same work as that of the group directed $2.50.

3. During the short-term absence of a supervisor, employees may be voluntarily assigned to perform the duties of the supervisor (except disciplinary matters). Employees acting as a temporary supervisor may do so only for a minimum of

40 consecutive hours; will not perform their normal job duties during this time; and will continue to be managed under the parameters of this agreement $3.00.

D. Night Differential. A night differential of $2.00 per hour shall be paid for all hours worked between the hours of 11PM-5AM. Differential payments will not be added to the base rate of pay for overtime calculations.

5. In the event an employee is assigned by management to deliver on the job training to a fellow employee for a minimum of 1 hour shall receive a differential in the amount of $3.00 for all hours while delivering such training.  The definition of “on the job training” includes performing ride alongs with co-workers.  Technicians assigned to perform a ride-along shall provide management with documentation feedback about the ride along.  

HOURS OF WORK AND BASIS OF COMPENSATION

10.01  The overtime rate is one and one-half (1.5) times the basic hourly rate of pay and is paid under the following conditions:

1. All hours worked after an employee has worked 8 hours at the basic hourly rate of pay in a workday.  All hours worked after an employee has worked 8 hours at the basic hourly rate of pay in a workday, when working a normal tour (five eight hour days) or after 10 hours when working a compressed work week (four ten hour days).  

2. All hours worked after an employee has worked 40 hours at the basic hourly rate of pay in a workweek.

c)         All hours worked on a non-scheduled Sunday. (If Sunday is part of the regular posted work schedule, then all hours are paid at the basic rate of pay.)

4. All call-out hours worked and those call-out hours not worked which make up the minimum requirement threshold listed in Section 10.03.

The following hours will be considered as hours worked and will count toward the daily and weekly overtime calculation described in (a) and (b) above:

• Scheduled Vacation and Personal Holidays.

• First 8 hours worked or not worked on a recognized holiday.

• Paid rest period hours.

• Paid union time off for joint meetings with the Company.

• All hours worked on a scheduled Sunday. (NOTE: Sunday must be part of the regular posted schedule to qualify).

The following hours will not count toward the daily and weekly overtime calculation in (a) and (b) above:

• Bereavement, jury duty, witness duty, short-term disability (STD), workers compensation, military, unscheduled vacation and personal holidays, inclement weather and any other paid time off not listed above.

• Any non-paid time off, including non-paid union time.
•  Any hours worked on a non-scheduled Sunday

• Any call-out hours (worked or those call-out hours not worked which make up the minimum requirementthreshold).

• Any hours worked over 8 in a workday or 40 in a workweek already paid at the overtime rate.

Company Response to Union Counter to 

COMPANY PROPOSAL # 4

JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND LOCATION TRANSFER REQUESTS

1.  Promotion. The job will be considered a promotion if it pays a higher maximum rate than the job in which

the employee is presently working.

An employee’s bid will be considered except employees who at the time of the vacancy are in one of the following categories:

1. Probationary and temporary employees;

2. Laid off employees;

3. Employees who within the previous six (6) months have been returned to their former job because of failure to qualify on a job in the same job title as the vacancy involved;

4. Employees who have not been in their present position for at least one year. With supervisory approval, employees with less than one year’s service in their present position may submit a job bid.

5. In order to outline a method to promote an existing Customer Service Tech I in the Ocala and Winter Garden District to a Customer Service Tech II in the Ocala and Winter Garden District without posting the position. This method may also be known as an “in family job promotion” when an employee is promoted from I to II once the Company determines the need for the additional skill sets, an employee has demonstratedthose skill sets and the Company has verified the candidate’s proficiency in the required skill sets. This exercise is headcount neutral and only applies to employees already in the Customer Service Tech I job title.

The parties agree to the following steps:

1. The Company will determine if there is a need to increase the number of technicians with Customer Service Tech II skill sets without increasing headcount.

The Company will define the requirements for incumbent Customer Service Tech I employees to be considered for a promotion to Customer Service Tech II and determine when the requirements have been met.Historically, the incumbent Customer Service Tech I must meet these requirements before being considered for the promotion:

1. Be proficient in their Customer Service Tech I responsibilities.
   2. Have cable training (classroom and/or on the job training).
   3. Have independently identified, isolated, exposed and corrected trouble in the underground facilities.

2. Successful candidates will be promoted from Customer Service Tech I to II at the equivalent step on the Customer Service Tech II wage schedule.

(e) No later than 30 days after ratification of this Agreement, all Customer Service Tech 1s will be transferred to the Customer Service Tech 2 title.  The Company shall train all technicians transferred from the Customer Service Tech 1 role to the Customer Service Tech 2 role on any skill sets necessary to become a Customer Service Tech 2.  It is understood that all Customer Service Tech 2s will receive the training necessary to perform all required job duties of the Customer Service Tech 2.  This training will be completed no later than December 31, 2024.  

(f)  Customer Service Tech 1s who do not wish to transition to the Customer Service Tech 2 role must notify the Company within the 30 days immediately following ratification of this Agreement.  Any such Customer Service Tech 1 will be transferred to the Enhanced Premises Technician (EPT) role and will be “red circled” for pay purposes.  These technicians will be provided any necessary training in order to complete the full duties of the EPT role. 

If a Customer Service Tech 1 in the Citrus County work group does not wish to transition to a Customer Service Tech 2 role, that technician will be transferred to a work group / wire center/ work center outside of Citrus County that is mutually agreeable to the employee and the Company in order to perform EPT work.    

ARTICLE 5 GRIEVANCES

A grievance shall be a complaint or controversy by any employee or group of employees or by an authorized Union representative that arises during the term of this Agreement, with respect to the interpretation or application of any provision of this Agreement.

CWA Stewards and agents will be the sole bargaining agent for all grievances. The Company will agree not to contact the grievant outside of the grievance procedure in an attempt to settle the grievance. However, the Company may require additional facts from the grievant during the grievance procedure. Payment to authorized local union representatives presenting grievances shall be as follows:

(a) Employees who are authorized local union representatives shall be paid The Company shall pay for no more than 2 employees for all time spent attending grievance meetings that occur during their scheduled hours, as well as for necessary time spent traveling to and from the grievance meetings during normal working hours. This time shall be considered time worked. In no case will overtime be paid to attend meetings or any additional compensation as a result from attending meetings.

Unless otherwise provided specifically in this Article, no more than two (2) authorized local union representatives shall be paid. No more than the Grievant and two (2) local union representatives and two (2) Company representatives may meet for the purpose of grievance meetings. Other persons may be present at all steps of thegrievance procedures based upon mutual agreement of the parties.

Step One/Informal Step:

The Local Union Representative will contact the employee’s immediate supervisor or his or her designee within fifteen (15) working twenty-one (21) days after the event giving rise to the grievance or of the time the employee knows of it. Otherwise the matter will not be considered a grievance within the meaning of this Agreement.

The Grievant, the Local Union and Company Representative shall meet within fifteen (15) working twenty-one (21) days after the Union contacts the Company.  working days after the grievance was filed. This informal level meeting is intended to allow both sides to fully explore the incident, develop the facts, and state their contentions, clear up any possible misunderstanding and attempt to informally resolve the dispute.

The Company shall present its answer within ten (10) working days after the grievance meeting. If the Company’s disposition is not presented within this time frame, the local union may proceed to the next step of this process.

Step Two One:

If the issue is not resolved at the Informal Resolution Step and the Union desires to move forward with the grievance process, the grievance shall be reduced to writing by using the approved CWA District form by the LocalUnion and electronically sent to Human Resources and the local manager presented to the Company within forty-five (45) thirty (30) working days after the Company’s response the informal resolution meeting takes places.

The CWA District form shall contain the exact nature of the grievance, the act or acts complained of, by whom they were committed and when they occurred, the identity of the employee or employees who claim to be aggrieved, the specific provision or provisions of this Agreement which the employee or employees claim the Company has violated and the remedy sought.

A joint Union-Company meeting will be held within forty-five (45) thirty (30) working days after notice of appeal the grievance is filed at Step One. The meeting may be conducted face-to-face or via telephone or video conference.Present at the meeting for the Union will be the local Union President or designee, designated Union steward, and the grievant(s). Company representatives will be the employee’s second line manager (his/her designee) and one (1) additional Company representative.  The Company shall present its typewritten/legible proposed disposition electronically within twenty-one (21) fifteen (15) working days after the grievance meeting. If the second line manager does not provide a timely written response the grievance may move to Step 3 2.

Any grievance arising as a result of a termination of employment will be entered into the grievance procedure directly at Step 2 1 without the need to attempt informal resolution. Other issues that cannot be adjusted at Step 1 of the grievance procedure may be escalated directly to Step 2 upon mutual agreement.

Step Three Two:

If the grievance is not resolved at Step 2 1, the CWA Union representative may refer the grievance for a meeting with Labor Relations by making a written request within thirty (30) working days after receiving the Step 2 1 response.The meeting may be conducted face-to-face or via telephone or video conference and shall be held within forty-five (45) thirty (30) working days of the Union request. Present at this meeting shall be the CWA Union representative, Local Union President (or his/her designee), and two Company representatives.

Labor Relations shall issue a written response within forty-five (45) thirty (30) working days following the meeting.

Present at this meeting shall be the CWA Union representative, Local Union President (or his/her designee), and two Company representatives.

If a timely response to the grievance is not given, the Union may move the grievance to arbitration provided the Agreement has not expired by timely following the procedure in the Arbitration Article of this Agreement.

Time Limits - In the event the Company does not answer a grievance within the prescribed time limits, the grievant may proceed immediately to the next step. Failure on the part of any grievant or the Union to strictly abide by the prescribed time limits of this Article shall result in the grievance being deemed settled in accordance with the Company’s last response. The time limits contained in this Article are to be strictly construed and may be extended only by mutual agreement in writing.

“Working days” for purposes of this Article does not include Saturdays, Sundays or holidays.

ARTICLE 6 ARBITRATION 

A grievance which has not been satisfactorily resolved after it has been timely and properly processed completely through the Grievance Procedure may be submitted to arbitration by the Union during the term of the Agreement. To do so the Union shall submit a written request for a panel of seven (7) members of the National Academy of Arbitrators to the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, with a simultaneous copy to the Company’s Manager, Labor Relations, within sixty (60) workdays seventy-five (75) days of the Step 3 2 answer (or any default in answering). After receiving the list of arbitrators, and within fifteen (15) twenty-one days workdays of its receipt, an arbitrator shall be selected by each party alternately striking from the list of seven names. The Union, as moving party, shall have the first strike. The last name remaining on the list after each party has exhausted its strikes shall become the arbitrator.

The arbitrator so selected or appointed shall hear the arbitration proceeding within sixty (60) days after his/her appointment or by mutual agreement of all parties.

The arbitrator shall interpret the contract in accordance with the reserved rights theory of labor contracts whereby all rights not specifically limited by the Agreement are reserved to the Company. The arbitrator shall be confined to the issue(s) presented by the parties and shall have no right to alter, amend, modify, or change the terms or provisions of this Agreement. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding.

The arbitration procedure shall be expeditiously pursued by all concerned and time limits noted here will be strictly enforced unless extended by mutual agreement. Failure by the moving party to adhere to the time limits provided in this Article will result in the grievance being deemed withdrawn and settled in the Company’s favor. Failure by the Company to adhere to the time limits provided in this Article will result in the grievance being deemed settled in the union’s favor and the grievant is made whole in every way.

Where the issue submitted to arbitration involves the payment of money to an employee, the Arbitrator shall only have the authority to include in the award a direction for the payment of money, retroactively or otherwise, but limited to making the employee whole and no more. 

Deductions must be made for interim earnings (from any source), Worker’s Compensation, Unemployment Compensation, or other monetary compensation which the employee would not have been eligible for had the employee not been suspended or discharged during that period. It is understood the Company shall assume no back pay liability for delays at the specific request of the Union in which the Company concurs.  

Either party shall have the right to request the presence of a court reporter to prepare a written transcript of evidence and, should either party make such a request, it is agreed that the expenses and fees of the court reporter shall be equally divided between the parties.

Each party shall bear the expense of preparing and presenting its own case, including any attorneys’ fees. The compensation and expenses of the arbitrator and the incidental expenses of the arbitration proceeding shall be equally shared.

• So long as this agreement is ratified by June 2, 2023 the Company will remove all active Link 2 Success documented discussions and discipline for CWA 3176 bargaining unit members.   

ARTICLE 7 SENIORITY

7.01     Definition of Probation. Newly hired employees shall be considered as probationary employees for a period of their first six months of employment with the Company. Employees serving this Agreement, and may be laid off or discharged at the sole discretion of the Company. It is agreed, however, that any such probationary employee shall have access to the grievance procedure provided for herein, but the Company's third second step answer to any suchgrievance shall be dispositive of the issue and final and binding on the parties and the matter shall not be subject to arbitration. Employees retained by the Company after the expiration of their probationary period shall be placed on the seniority list and their seniority shall be retroactive to their latest date of hire.

ARTICLE 16 

16.07 Vacation Selection Usage. After the selection of vacation as outlined above, employees may, throughout the vacation year, request to take vacation on an hour-at-a-time basis by making such requests to their immediate supervisor or designee. If such requests are granted, the time taken on an hour-at-a-time basis will be deducted from previously selected days. Periods of less than one hour will not be granted. Service conditions permitting, such requests should be granted.; The Company shall not invoke this language arbitrarily or capriciously.  However, if a request is denied, it may be subject to the grievance procedure but not the arbitration procedure.

COMPANY PROPOSAL # 10

VACATIONS

16.01 Vacation Accrual. Employees who are on the payroll on December 26 will be vested for vacation eligibility for the next calendar year. Employees that terminate employment during the calendar year will be treated as follows:

1. Employees who terminate prior to December 26 for reasons other than retirement during the calendar year will be given vacation earned the preceding year in accordance with Article 16.09, but will not be given credit for vacation during the year in which they terminate.

2. If an employee’s termination date is between December 26 and December 31, the employee will be entitled to receive pay for the full amount of vacation hours which would have otherwise been earned and taken during the next calendar year.

3. A retiring employee will earn vacation during the calendar year in which they retire on a pro-rated basis for full months of service. This will be paid to the employee at the time of retirement. For example, an employee that retires on May 10 will receive pay for 1/3 of their vacation allotment.

1. Amount of Vacation – Full-Time Employees. Effective January 1 of each calendar year all regular full-time employees will be eligible to participate in the company’s vacation program, as follows:

1. Full-time employees hired during the previous calendar year will receive one day (eight hours) of paid vacation for each full month of service up to a maximum of two weeks vacation with pay for 80 hours at their base rate of pay.

2. Employees having less than five years of credited service will receive two weeks vacation with pay for 80 hours at their base rate of pay.

3. Commencing in the calendar year in which employees complete five years of credited service they will receive three weeks vacation with pay for 120 hours at their base rate of pay.

4. Commencing in the calendar year in which employees complete 15 years of credited service they will receive four weeks vacation with pay for 160 hours at their base rate of pay.
   5. Commencing in the calendar year in which employees complete 25 years of credited service they will receive five weeks vacation with pay for 200 hours at their base rate of pay.

Effective 1/1/18, vacations shall be granted to regular full-time employees at their basic rate of pay in accordance with the following schedule:

*During the first calendar year of employment, employees are not eligible for vacation pay.

The vacation year which shall be used in computing the amount of paid time off shall be from January 1^st through December 31^st of each year in which this Agreement continues in effect, except that in the anniversary year of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years, the employee earns vacation at the higher rate for the entire year.