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Attention
Commonwealth Travelers -
Section
09.c of Management Directive 230.10, "Travel and
Subsistence Allowances" provides that the rate of mileage
reimbursement for the use of personal vehicles in the conduct
of official business, shall be the same rate established by
the Federal Government's General Services Administration
(GSA). The GSA has increased the mileage reimbursement rate
from $0.485 to $0.585 per mile effective February 1, 2007.
Any
mileage claims submitted for reimbursement on or after 7/01/08
will automatically
be calculated at the higher, $0.585 rate. Travelers need only
enter the actual number of miles on their Trip Expense
Reports. If you have any questions, please contact the Bureau
of Commonwealth Payroll Operations (BCPO) at: CO-TravelAudits@state.pa.us,
or by phone: 346-3401 or (800) 824-0626.
Effective
January 1, 2007 Management Directive 230.10, Travel and
Subsistence Allowances, has
increased the full day subsistence rate from $28.00 to $36.00
for employees in overnight travel status. Management Directive
230.14 and 230.15 which provide high cost subsistence rates
for areas such as Harrisburg & Philadelphia are in the
approval process and may not be effective until later this
year. If a traveler stays in a high cost area that is lower
than the new $36.00 base reimbursement rate such as
Mechanicsburg (which previously was $32.00) AND the traveler
incurs subsistence expenses of $36.00 or more, they can enter
the $36.00 for reimbursement on their Expense Voucher.
Important
Point To Remember and this is not a change in policy:
Allowance for subsistence is not a flat allowance – only
actual expenditures may be claimed.
Other
changes within Management Directive 230.10 include Lodging
Rate Allowances which can be found on page 10 & 11 of the
Directive. The new maximum rate for all areas except the ones
listed on page 10 or 11 is now $75.00 per day plus tax.
Additional changes for subsistence can be found on pages 12-16
which include general information, overtime, non-overnight and
overnight travel status. Copy of the Amended Management
Directive can be located using the link located below. I
caution you that before you ask any questions concerning these
changes please take the time to review the Management
Directive.
| Q
& A |
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| Q |
Has Local 2450 filed a
grievance for the extra day off during the furlough?
It's my understanding that the local representing the
Oil and gas inspectors has.
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| A |
If you want to file a
grievance, talk to your Shop Steward. The
Shop Steward will be able to assist you with the
grievance process.
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| Q |
At our last meeting did we
agree not to meet in July and August? I am
relatively new to the local and was wondering if the local
is made up of persons from the Erie and Crawford
County areas? This past meeting was my very
first union meeting I attended.
How many members do we have in 2450?
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| A |
At our last meeting, we
voted to cancel our July and August meetings.
The vote was 6-2. It has been past practice to
vote and cancel July and August meetings for
a long time because of very low attendance. The home
page of the website lists all of the
counties that our local covers. Those counties
are Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Clearfield,
Crawford, Erie,
Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer,
Venango and Warren. The local has 325 members as
of the State convention
in April 2007. That is not counting
the fairshare people.
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| Q |
Since I am
unable to attend the Local's meeting during May, June,
July
and August due to long standing commitments, would it be
possible to get
a brief summary of what took place at yesterday's
meeting? |
| A |
Have
you registered for the e-newsletter? That is how
you can receive monthly updates related to our meetings.
Go to the website, click on the link Subscribe to
E-newsletter and register. It only takes a
minute. You will receive an e-newsletter every
month with updates on what is and is not happening in
your local. |
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| Q |
Can
you please answer a question about the bonus that is
payable in
July? I started state employment on July 24, 2006.
Am I eligible for
the bonus that will be paid in July or do you need to
have a year of
employment as of July 1 to be eligible? |
| A |
If
you are a permanent, full-time employee who is and will
be in an active pay status on July 1, 2007, you will
receive the lump sum bonus. |
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| Q |
Are
fair share employee’s families eligible for
scholarships? |
| A |
Each
scholarship on our website is specific in their
instructions.
AFSCME scholarships are for members and their
families only. |
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| Q |
How
are union membership dues and fair share fees
calculated? |
| A |
Article
4 Section 1 in the current Master Agreement states,
‘The Employer shall deduct the Union bi-weekly
membership dues ”.
Article 4 Section 2 states, “The Employer
further agrees to deduct a fair share bi-weekly
from all employees in the bargaining unit who are not
members of the Union”. |
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| Q |
If
my employer is not following the contract, how do I file
a grievance? How do I find out (and contact) a Union
Steward where I work? |
| A |
Refer
to Article 37 of the Master Agreement.
The key element that should be noted when filing
a grievance is that there is a 15 day window from the
date of the occurrence to file.
If you do not have a shop steward or union
representative, call AFSCME District 85 at 814-437-7654
or 1-800-865-9652.
Dan Grove is our Staff Representative but you can
talk to anyone at the office. |
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| Q |
How
does a member become more in the Local (Become a steward
or Officer)? |
| A |
Nominations
for officers of Local 2450 will be held in September
2007 with elections being held in October 2007.
Local 2450 is actively recruiting Shop Stewards.
Contact President Bill Long at wmlong@afscmelocal2450.com
if you are interested. |
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