MOSES HAS SIGNED A SUCCESSOR CONTRACT AGREEMENT WITH THE COMMONWEALTH (May 24, 2024)

On May 24, 2024, your MOSES Commonwealth Collective Bargaining Committee reached a tentative three-year Agreement with the Commonwealth, which covers the period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027. This proposed agreement is subject to ratification by Commonwealth Unit 9 employees and the funding is then subject to approval by the Massachusetts Legislature.

The ratification vote will take place by mail. A packet of information on the contract has been mailed to your home address in a large manila envelope, please keep an eye out for the materials. When you receive the information, mark your ballot, and carefully follow the “Ratification Instructions” to make sure your ballot will be verified. Mail your ballot promptly to ensure your ballot is received by the deadline of June 25, 2024. Ballots will be counted on June 25, 2024, and the results posted on the MOSES website. A Zoom webinar will be provided to view the vote counting-details to follow.

A copy of the signed Memorandum of Understanding is attached here: MOSES 2024-2027 Commonwealth Contract MOU

A summary of the proposed changes is listed below.

Article 12 – Proposed salary increases:

1. Effective the first full pay period in January 2025, employees who meet the eligibility criteria provided in Section 3 of this article shall receive a three percent (3%) increase in salary rate.
2. Effective the first full pay period in July 2025, employees who meet the eligibility criteria provided in Section 3 of this article shall receive a two percent (2%) increase in salary rate.
3. Effective the first full pay period in January 2026, employees who meet the eligibility criteria provided in Section 3 of this article shall receive a two percent (2%) increase in salary rate.
4. Effective the first full pay period in July 2026, employees who meet the eligibility criteria provided in Section 3 of this article shall receive a two percent (2%) increase in salary rate.
5. Effective the first full pay period in January 2027, employees who meet the eligibility criteria provided in Section 3 of this article shall receive a two percent (2%) increase in salary rate.

• 2B Probationary Period: allowing a one-time 90-day extension; moves existing language from Article 23, Section 23.1 to Article 2B
• 5.1 Union Representation: providing the Commonwealth with a list of union officials
• 5.9 Orientation: provides for an additional 1 hour to meet with new employees if there is a specific need
• 7.2.J Overtime: accumulation of compensatory time capped at 90 hours
• 7.6 Stand-by Duty: increases stand-by pay from $25 to $42.50; provides a cell phone or beeper to employees on stand-by
• 7.7 Shift Differential: increases 2nd & 3rd shift differential from $1.60 per hour to $2.60 per hour
• 7.8 Weekend Shift Differential: new section creates $1.00 per hour for weekend differential
• 7.9 Bilingual Differential: new sectioncreates a differential of $80/bi-weekly per pay period for employees authorized to provide bilingual services as a significant component of their job
• 8.1 Sick Leave: adds domestic partner to list of family members an employee can use their accrued sick leave to care for; adds to category of acceptable providers of satisfactory medical evidence; increases the number of days to provide satisfactory medical evidence from 7 to 10 days
• 8.3 Bereavement Leave: adds 7 days for domestic partner, child of domestic partner who lives in the household, and foster child; adds 4 days for parent or child of domestic partner; adds 1 day for aunt, uncle, and grandparent or grandchild of employee’s domestic partner
• 8.5 Civic Duty Leave: court leave shall not apply to employees who testify as part of their regular work responsibilities
• 8.6 Military Leave: shall be granted in accordance with State and Federal Law
• 8.7.A Family Leave: an employee in their probationary period may now use their 10 days of paid family leave to bond with a child in advance of eligibility
• 8.7.B Medical Leave: an employee may use up to 60 days of their FMLA allotment intermittently to care for their spouse, child, or parent; an employee may use up to 100 days of their FMLA allotment intermittently if the absence is due to their own serious health condition; defines a benefit year
• 8.13 Paid Family Medical Leave: new sectionclarifies employee may elect to use leave accruals only vs. utilizing a paid benefit from the DFML; incorporates language from M.G.L. Chapter 175M, the PMFL Law, regarding the average weekly wage and overpayments
• 10.5 Holidays: compensatory time earned when working holidays will now be added to the regular compensatory hours bank and removes the need to use those holiday compensatory hours within 60 days
• 11.1.A Employee Expenses: increases mileage reimbursement from $0.40/mile to $0.62/mile; creates a Labor-Management Committee to study the impacts on Unit 9 employees caused by the fleet vehicle “rightsizing”
• 11.1.D Employee Expenses: new sectionthat creates a public transit reimbursement of up to $150/month
• 11.2 Employee Expenses: doubles the per diem rate from $30 to $60
• 11.3 Employee Expenses: doubles the breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack reimbursement rates
• 12.5 Salary Rates: new calculations for promotions and an increase to the promotional factor; clarifies what a demotion is and how to calculate an employee’s new salary rate as a result of a demotion
• 12.8 Salary Rates: new language that clarifies how to calculate the salary rate for employees not currently covered by this Agreement who are being transferred, promoted, or demoted into a position within a bargaining unit covered by this Agreement
• 13A.5 Mutual Aid: adds compensatory time to the list of time that can be donated to Mutual Aid
• 19A.1 Technology Resources: in the event that the Commonwealth initiates efforts towards a successor to HR/CMS, a Labor-Management Committee will be created to discuss the impacts in a change to current payroll and personnel systems
• 23A Grievance Procedure: eliminates 1 of the 4 steps in the grievance process and updates to timelines
• 23A.12 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee: the ADR Labor-Management Committee created in Section 23A.12.A shall convene 90 days after the ratification of this Agreement
• 30 Duration: the Agreement shall be for a 3-year period from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027
• 32 Wage Re-opener: the right to re-open negotiations and bargain economic increases in this Agreement if another Executive Branch Bargaining Unit has an Agreement with economic provisions/increases in excess of those contained in this Agreement
• Appendix E Alternative Work Options: employees in their probationary period may participate in this program
• Memorandum of UnderstandingConcerning a Labor Management Committee and Step Placement for New Hires: MOSES also came to an agreement on an MOU for step placement of new hires, including the impacts to current employees

The Collective Bargaining Committee has determined that this is the best offer that could be obtained from the Commonwealth. Therefore, we recommend that you approve the tentative agreement.

If you have any questions on the proposed changes, please use the contact us button on the MOSES website to send a question.

Please remember to mail your ballot promptly so it is received prior to the deadline.

Patrick Russell, President

The MOSES Commonwealth Collective Bargaining Committee: