5.4 ERMUSR 09-14-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO:FROM: ERMU Commission Theresa Slominski - GeneralManager MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: September 14, 2021 5.4 SUBJECT: Wage & BenefitsCommitteeUpdate ACTION REQUESTED: Approve all action items as outlined below to be effective January 1, 2022. DISCUSSION: On October 13, 2020, the Wage & Benefits Committee (WBC) held an open meeting for employees to submit wage and benefit suggestions for consideration by the Committee. A representative group of employees presented several suggestions focused on the retention of employees. Several items were implemented in 2021 and two were held over for discussion and possible implementation in 2022: Longevity Pay, and additional Vacation Days. The Committee met on May 26, 2021, to review theresearch from these two items, and made a proposal to the Commission at the July 13, 2021 Commission meeting. No decision was made at that meeting and the proposal was deferred for further discussion with the WBC. An open meeting withthe WBC was held on August 10, 2021 for employees to submit wage and benefit suggestions for consideration by the Committee. A representative group of employees presented four suggestions and the document they prepared is attached. The first request was for the “metro average” wage adjustment for 2022, and for this to be the standard each year companywide. The second request was to have the residency rule for on-call positions to be modified to state “..within a twenty (20) mile radius of the power plant, or within a 30-minute response time.” The third request was for the Longevity Plan to be a choice between an employer contribution to the 457 plan or the employee taking the money in check form. To maximize investment in a 457 plan, the payout was requested to be annual rather than every four years. Both an annual contribution and a four-year contribution plan was submitted, notably with higher contribution amounts in the beginning and a more uniform distribution throughout the term of employment. The fourth request was to explore some options for having a summer hours schedule for field staff. The WBC met on August 25 to discuss the items requested at the open meeting, and the items previously proposed at the July 13 meeting. The Committee discussion and proposals are outlined as follows: 1. The first request for the metro average to be awarded for 2022, and for the metro average to be the standard every year was addressed in the open meeting. This ______________________________________________________________________________ Page 1 of 3 81