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North Texas Association of Public Employees
Steel Workers Local 9479
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Merit Appraisals, Appeals and Reality
As we go into this next budget year, I would like
to point out a fairly major flaw in the City Manager’s assertion that
employees are protected from having their income downgraded from incorrect
reviews. She stated that the ability to appeal an appraisal rating was
enough of an income safeguard.
These merit appeals are for the most part a dog and
pony show. The average employee appeal does not leave the department that
made the original decision. This drastically diminishes the chance of any
problems being corrected.
I, myself, filed a merit appraisal appeal, and like
the majority of these appeals it did not leave my department. My director
upheld the review on the basis that he found the original review rating to
be within the Performance Management Guidelines. His finding was made
despite my pointing out that almost no other guideline for employee reviews
had been followed. I was dismayed that a strict interpretation of the review
rules was being made to award the rating, while none of the rules governing
the department’s responsibilities were followed.
Putting aside the fact that the new guidelines
place an almost impossible burden of proof on the employees if they want a
top score, my case was based on the many instances were my department failed
to follow the most basic appraisal guidelines.
- The
bulk of this years review was based on an appraisal that was written
before the new guidelines were in place. This 2004 appraisal was never
even completed by my department; I never saw this final appraisal, did
not sign it, and my supervisors signature is not even dated to say when
he signed it.
- The
2004 appraisal has no mid year review. Something that should have been
done, especially had my performance slipped from it’s previous
‘superior’ rating.
- I
never received a new performance plan based on the new guidelines in any
of the jobs I was switched to after the first of the year. Like other
employees, the first time I saw this review was when it was presented to
me during my final review meeting.
- I
was never afforded the opportunity to excel on the new appraisal system,
due to the fact that my job duties, location and supervisors changed
multiple times after the first of the year.
Many employees I know did not grieve their
appraisals even when they disagreed with them. Their reasons normally fell
along the lines of “Appeal what? Nothing on it is measurable”, “It
won’t do any good, they are not going to change it,” and “All that
will happen if I appeal is that I will get in trouble with my boss and be
branded a trouble maker.” Possibly not what H.R. likes to hear, but this
is indeed what is being said.
The reality is that under the current rules there
is no real chance of challenging an appraisal rating in a hostile
department. I had several ‘smoking gun’ procedure violations, a good
work record, my own determination and quite a lot of assistance from my
labor association and I still had no chance. So where does that leave the
average employee? How many field employees are going to be able to
successfully appeal?
The appraisal appeal system is flawed. There is no
real justice or protection for the employees when the final decision is
being made by the department that approved the original appraisal. The only
way to get an unbiased review would be to move the appeals to Civil Service
or allow them to be heard by a different department than the one that made
the original determination.
I urge all employees to point out these problems
and ask council to consider a cost of living adjustment rather than a
divisive performance evaluation. Evaluations could still be done for
behavior correction and employees feed back without the negative impact upon
our livelihood - M.R. Frey
What does it take to get
a good Merit Appraisal?
Well, being
any pay grade H and above will dramatically improve your chance that’s for
sure. A Public Records Request
resulted in a list which included the names, grade, department and merit
increase of 5949 employees. Below
are the break downs by grade. Funny thing, one of the council members was assured that merit ratings
would be apportioned out fairly between the higher and lower levels
employees. That does not appear to be the case.
In fact the grade H thru
Unassigned group only have 24.77% of our total employees yet they received
40% of the 3% merit ratings and 62.5% of the 4% merit ratings.
Is that a fair apportionment of the merits? Depends on who you
ask. With such subjective
appraisals, apparently face time with the higher ups is everything.
(This list does seem to be missing a couple of
people, we did ask, but no answer has yet been received as to why.)
The
complete list with names will be at this month’s membership meeting for
review.
Grade A % of Grade
Total Emp - 66
0% 1 1.50%
1% 16 24.24%
2% 45 68.18%
3% 4 6.06%
4% 0 0.00%
Pay Rang $16,900-28,000
Grade B % of Grade
Total Emp- 660 1.21%
0% 8 19.24%
1% 127 70.00%
2% 462 9.09%
3% 60 0.45%
4% 3
Pay Range$21,200-35,000
Grade C % of Grade
Total Emp - 1073
0% 6 0.60%
1% 197 18.35%
2% 776 72.38%
3% 90 8.38%
4% 4 0.37%
Pay Range$23,300-38,500
Grade D % of Grade
Total Emp - 747
0% 10 1.33%
1% 118 15.80%
2% 462 61.84%
3% 147 19.67%
4% 10 1.34%
Pay Range$26,600-42,300
Grade E % of Grade
Total Emp - 688
0% 16 2.32%
1% 94 13.66%
2% 460 66.86%
3% 113 16.42%
4% 5 0.72%
Pay Range $28,200-46,600
Grade F % of Grade
Total Emp - 755
0% 12 1.58%
1% 133 17.61%
2% 502 66.49%
3% 103 13.64%
4% 5 0.66%
Pay Range$31,000-51,200
Grade G % of Grade
Total Emp - 486
0% 2 0.41%
1% 62 12.75%
2% 338 69.54%
3% 78 16.04%
4% 6 1.23%
Pay Range$34,100-56,400
Grade H % of Grade
Total Emp - 438
0% 7 1.59%
1% 57 13.01%
2% 245 55.93%
3% 114 26.02%
4% 15 3.42%
Pay Range $37,600-62,000
Grade I % of Grade
Total Emp - 379
0% 4 1.05
1% 57 15.03
2% 212 55.93
3% 92 24.27
4% 14 3.69
Pay Range$41,300-68,200
Grade J % of Grade
Total Emp - 156
0% 1 0.64%
1% 18 11.53%
2% 89 57.05%
3% 44 28.20%
4% 4 2.56%
Pay Range$45,500-75,000
Grade K % of Grade
Total Emp - 150
0% 1 0.66%
1% 13 8.66%
2% 83 55.33%
3% 50 33.33%
4% 3 2.00%
Pay Range$50,000-82,600
Grade L % of Grade
Total Emp -90
0% 0 0.00%
1% 16 17.77%
2% 41 45.55%
3% 26 28.88%
4% 7 7.77%
Pay Range $55,000-90,800
Grade M % of Grade
Total Emp - 157
0% 1 0.63%
1% 13 8.28%
2% 101 64.33%
3% 37 23.56%
4% 5 3.18%
Pay Range$60,500-99,900
Grade N % of Grade
Total Emp - 55
0% 0 0.00%
1% 4 7.27%
2% 28 50.90%
3% 18 32.72%
4% 5 9.09%
Pay Range$66,600-109,900
Grade O % of Grade
Total Emp - 8
0% 0 0.00%
1% 1 12.50%
2% 5 62.50%
3% 2 25.00%
4% 0 0.00%
Pay Range$73,200-120,900
Grade P % of Grade
Total Emp - 27
0% 2 7.40%
1% 3 11.11%
2% 15 55.55%
3% 6 22.22%
4% 1 3.70%
Pay Range$80,600-133,000
Grade R % of Grade
Total Emp - 1
0% 0 0.00%
1% 0 0.00%
2% 1 100.00%
3% 0 0.00%
4% 0 0.00%
Pay Range$97,500-160,900
Grade Unassigned %
Total Emp - 13
0% 0 0.00%
1% 0 0.00%
2% 4 30.76%
3% 8 61.53%
4% 1 7.69%
Pay Range $???
Town Hall Meeting Schedule
Leo V. Chaney, Jr - D7 Tuesday, August 30th
6:30 p.m. Oliver W. Holmes Middle School 2001 E. Kiest Boulevard
Dr. Thornton-Reese - D4 Tuesday, August 30th
6:30 p.m. Edna Rowe Elementary School 4918 Hovenkamp Drive
Dr. Elba Garcia - D1 Tuesday, August 30th
7:00 p.m. Kidd Springs Recreation Center 711 W. Canty Street Kidd
Donald W. Hill - D5 Tuesday, August 30th 7:00
p.m. Pleasant Oaks Recreation Center 8701 Greenmound Avenue
Ed Oakley - D3 Wednesday, August 31th 7:00
p.m. Kiest Park Recreation Center 3080 S.
Hampton Road
Pauline Medrano- D2 Thursday, September 1st
6:30 p.m. Arlington Park Recreation Center 1505 Record Crossing Road
Donald W. Hill- D5 Thursday, September 1st
7:00 p.m. Cummings Recreation Center 2996 Cummings Street
Angela Hunt- D14 Thursday, September 1st 7:00
p.m. Dallas Museum of Arts 1st Floor Meeting Room 1717 N. Harwood Street
James L. Fantroy - D8 Tuesday, September 6th
6:30 p.m. Polk Wisdom Library 7151 Library Lane
Dr. Thornton-Reese - D4 Tuesday, September
6th 6:30 p.m. Mark Twain Fundamental Vanguard 724 Green Cove Ln
James L. Fantroy - D8 Thursday, September 8th
6:30 p.m. Highland Hills Library 3624 Simpson Stuart Road
Pauline Medrano - D2 Thursday, September 8th
6:30 p.m. Samuell Grand Recreation Center 6200 E. Grand Avenue
Ed Oakley - D3 Thursday, September 8th 7:00
p.m. Dallas West Library 2332 Singleton Boulevard
Donald W. Hill - D5 Thursday, September 8th
7:00 p.m. Frederick Douglass Elementary (School Auditorium) 226 N. Jim
Miller Road
This is your last chance to make your voice heard! Don't let it slip
away.
Merit Review Survey
In June we
sent a letter to council suggesting that Human Resources survey the
employees to find out how they really feel about the Merit Review System.
And guess what? H.R. decided to do one. We were excited hear this and
encourage(ed) all employees to fill it out, but we did note a few problems
that cropped up.
Some
employees felt that there were not always good answers presented for some of
the multiple choice questions. We recommended that they fill the survey out
the best they could and then note the problem or exceptions down in the
comment area.
Some Field
employees who received the paper copies were upset that they were being told
to fill out the survey and give it back to their boss. They pointed out,
quite correctly, that it was going to be impossible to be honest while
returning the paper work to the person who did their evaluations. We
recommended that they do one of two things, fill it out honestly and them
mail it directly back to Human Resources, or fill it out as best they could
without angering their supervisor and note in the comments that it was not
possible to be completely honest with the paper work filtering though their
supervisor or command structure.
Some
employees claim that there was a bit of a problem with the Spanish
translated version, but we are not sure exactly what that was, it could have
been an error or a dialect problem.
The biggest
problem was H.R.’s absolute refusal to provide paper copies unless they
were passed out by H.R., not even of the Spanish version. This seemed a bit
odd, since the only people hurt by this would be field and shift employees.
One example was the WWT shift workers who did not get notification, until we
called them on the 29th. H.R. was strangely stubborn on this subject. L Weird.
MEDICARE PART D
Something to think about from Nurse Carol for the
many of us who will soon to be eligible to retire.
The City of
Dallas
must decide soon whether to continue offering a stand-alone drug benefit
or eliminate the plan for retirees. The
City will receive a sizable subsidy per retiree if the current drug plan
is retained.
Beginning
January
1, 2006
, new Medicare prescription
drug plans will be available to people with Medicare.
Insurance companies and other private companies will work with
Medicare to offer these drug plans. They
will negotiate discounts on drug prices.
These plans are different from the Medicare-approved drug discount
cards, which phase out by
May
15, 2006
, or when your enrollment in a
Medicare prescription drug plan takes effect.
If you join the plan, you will pay a monthly
premium (generally about $37 in 2006) and pay a shared cost of your
prescriptions. Costs will vary
depending on the plan you choose. The
plans will vary, but all must provide at least a standard level of
coverage set by Medicare.
If you currently have Medicare part A (Hospital
Insurance) and/or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance), you can join a
Medicare prescription drug plan between
November
15, 2005
, and May 15, 2006.
If you join after that, coverage will be effective the first day of
the month after the month you join. You
may join or change plans once each year between November 15 and December.
****If
you decline Medicare part D (and you do not have a better plan) and decide
to join after
May 15, 2006
, you will pay a penalty
for each month you were not in a plan.****
Retirees with income below a set amount and limited
assets will qualify for extra help. These
individuals will receive assistance with paying premiums and cost of
medications. Individuals with
private drug plans will receive detailed information regarding whether
your current plan is better than the Medicare Plan.
Detailed information will be provided in the fall of 2005 from
Medicare to assist retirees to make a decision appropriate for their
needs. – Nurse Carol
This is not the Private Sector
In another addition of our
ongoing saga “This is not the Private Sector” many employees were
startled to find their names and salaries for the last few years posted on
the internet at http://www.dallas.org/databases
by
Dallas
political blogger Allen Gwinn. He posts “If
your salary is on this website, it is because you are a public employee
and are paid with money that I worked to earn. I am your employer.
I want to know how well my money is being managed and spent.”
Fair enough, but
when next someone starts that wheeze, “They don’t have ______
in the private sector” I do hope Mr. Gwinn posts something for us
to the effect, “You may be right, but in the private sector, every bit
of your personal job history information is not open for public display,
theirs is.”
While some
employees have expressed dismay, most take it in stride as part of the
whupping that is public service, but wish Gwinn would note how many years
they had to work to get to the salary (such as it is) that they currently
earn.
*********************************************
No news on health insurance - Despite the fact that council will shortly be voting on the budget, no information on this years health benefit package
has
been put out for review. Word is that info was
originally planned for the 15th of August, but then canceled.
Also being whispered about is that nothing will be
available for review until right before council has to vote on it. (Ed. Note: Well that will certainly cut down on
those pesky employee objections)
*********************************************
Credit Union Problem
– If you bank at the Employees Credit Union check your credit report!
They had a bunch
of information stolen. Their assertions that they are watching your
account carefully will not stop someone from starting new ones at Sears or
Penny's or applying for loans using your info. More
Info Here!!
Henderson’s
Chicken is Back!
– Okay, so this is not union news, but it is of importance to a lot of
us who work in South East Dallas! As a lot of you know,
Henderson
’s
has always been very nice in letting us post notices and newsletters at
their facility in the past, so we are happy to assist them in getting
the word out. Their new location is
3103
Grand Ave
,
214-421-1777 – Welcome Back, we missed you!
**********
What have
unions done for me? - The American concept of the weekend has its
roots in labor union attempts to accommodate Jewish workers who took
Saturday instead of Sunday as their Sabbath. The first five-day workweek
was instituted by a
New England
spinning mill for just this reason. Despite a boost from the Ford
Automobile company closing
their factories on Saturdays, it wasn't until 1940 that the two-day
weekend officially began nationwide.
**********
Daily
State
of
Texas
Updates Available Want to
know what is happening in
Texas
that affects us from the labor point of view? If so, you can receive a
daily update from Ed Stills who is the AFL-CIO Austin Information Chief.
Just send your *personal* email address to comments@ntape.com,
put “updates” in the subject line.
The Time to Join is Now!
Don’t
forget about the 30 day waiting period on certain services for new members.
We don’t want anyone to miss out on assistance should they need it. The
time to join is now, so you will already be a member before any problem that
you need help with occurs.
