The Division of Personnel has contracted with the Hay Group, a global management consulting firm specializing in human resource consulting services.  The end result of this study by the Hay Group is supposed to be a new classification and compensation plan. The Hay Group is looking at everything.  Benefits, pay, holidays, sick time, etc., and comparing this to the private sector.  We need to be very alert when the new classification plan is unveiled.  We may need to act very fast with our legislators if the DOP wants to take any benefits away as a result of this study.  The other big result of this study,  will be the “reallocation” of personnel that the DOP feels are no longer needed in one area, to another work area.  

During the 2010 legislative session the Department of Administration asked for legislation (SB 467 and HB 4330) that would have stripped employees of the right to file a grievance over any such “reallocation”.  The mere fact that they asked for this legislation in advance of the classification plan being finished, or made available for public scrutiny, tells us that they are expecting many grievances to be filed over this as yet to be seen classification plan.  The Senate passed the bill, but like the Furlough bill in 2009, thanks to the meetings with our legislators by our union members, our many phone calls and emails, this bill was stopped in the House of Delegates.  So, for the time being, you still have the right to file a grievance if you are moved to a new job and work center as a result of the new classification plan. 

Functional demotions of state workers are part of the "reallocation" already taking place. This Hay Group project and the blank check the administration tried to force on public workers are part of a larger trend of bad management practices, designed to cheat public  employees out of wages, benefits and the opportunity for advancement. We strongly encourage retirees and current current union members to actively recruit new members to our union and fight back because of the simple fact that this administration is coming after our rights. They are targeting the benefits that we have now.  We have to stand up for ourselves!  No one is going to do it for us. 

By now, state workers should be familiar with the Job Content Questionnaire that is being distributed by the Division of Personnel.  This is part of the Hay Group study.  If you have not filled one of these out, you should ask your immediate supervisor if you need to fill one out or complete one on line.  All state employees are supposed to complete one of these surveys.  For the entire transportation worker series within the DOH, a decision was made by the DOP for someone in management to complete one group questionnaire which covers all Transportation Workers.  You will (or are supposed to) be given a chance to read this questionnaire and agree or disagree with it.  You also have the right to submit one of these questionnaires on your own regardless of whether you agree or disagree.  Do not let someone else “water down” your responsibilities and duties, and the hazards you face on a daily basis.  The Hay Group is going to use these surveys to make recommendations that will update the current classification system and modernize the states compensation plan.  You must make sure your job responsibilities are accurately reported. 

The DOP has created a web sight that has information about the Hay Group Study.  It is: http://www.plans.wv.gov/ 

The West Virginia Public Workers Union has identified the following concerns related to the state personnel system and the implementation of a new personnel management plan.

1) Recognize employee seniority in all hiring, promotion and lateral transfers and strengthen the rights of seniority by requiring recognition of tenure when considering merit pay and classification and compensation plans. These measures respecting seniority in hiring, classification and compensation will reduce nepotism and favoritism in hiring and provides an incentive for employee retention.  Recognizing seniority allows the state to maintain the institutional knowledge that only experience can provide.

2) Enhance the recognition of employee seniority by increasing the annual increment (longevity pay) in 5 year increments.  By increasing longevity compensation, rewarding seniority provides an incentive for continuous years of service in a manner similar to the process for accrual of annual and sick leave.  This measure to enhance annual increment based on seniority will reward employees with tenured service, encouraging the retention of qualified personnel in the service to this state.

3) Investigate the intervention by the Division of Personnel in public employee grievances and evaluate the legal interpretations of the Division for any tortuous deviation from fairness or compliance with applicable laws. Evaluating the intervention by the Division of Personnel in public employee grievances will further enhance the fairness of the grievance process, promotes work place harmony by leveling the playing field when management is considered to be abusing their authority.

4) Require that the adoption of any Classification Plan, including the 2010 Classification Plan Modernization Project, be transparent and comply with the laws of the state. Including at a minimum, the adoption of all classification plans must be presented to the Legislature or the Division of Personnel Board, either of whom shall present the plan to the public, in writing not less than 30 days prior to conducting public hearings on the proposed plan, and allow for not less than a 30 day public comment period after such public hearings on the proposed plan before any classification plan is brought before the Legislature or the Board for final approval. Requiring transparency in the adoption of a classification and compensation plan for public employees, who have no collective bargaining rights, will provide affected employees with a process through which they can participate in regarding the determination of  the terms of their employment, providing for employee buy in regarding the plan and therefore improving employee morale.

5) Require that any classification and compensation plan or any revision to such plan cannot create a disparity of wages, such as under the false pretense of a need for recruitment because the incentives for retention are nonexistent. Eliminating a disparity of wages will enhance retention, promotes workplace harmony by improving morale and creates additional incentives for retention.

6) Require that all benefits and pay grades are respected and maintained as they relate to the current terms of our employment. Any pay plan that serves to demote public workers or further reduce our benefits is unacceptable. Management wage inflation at the expense of the state employee work force has gone on long enough. No more discriminatory pay freeze! No more benefit cuts! No more functional demotions! Public employees have more than proved our worth by working through the statewide staffing shortages.

The WV Public Workers Union continues to investigate the Hay Group and the Division of Personnel. Join us today, the pay and benefits you save might just be your own.