This post was written by member Areanna Egleston.
For your information: bids, offers, seniority, oh my!
After years of slow hiring, we are glad to see some vacancies being posted and filled. Here’s what the contract says about the hiring process.
Print a graphic version of this post to put on your union bulletin board. Reach out to a steward or eboard if you have more questions after reading!
Seniority, aka continuous service, means continuous paid employment from the employee’s last date of hire. If 2 or more employees have the same seniority date, a lottery is used. (CBA 12.1)
Transfers are offered to all members within the job title. Transfers are awarded to the interested member with the most seniority. (CBA 12.7c)
You can transfer if you have not transferred in the last 90 days.
All members may apply for, AKA bid on, promotions to job titles for which they meet the minimum job requirements. Internal bidders receive preference over external candidates, unless external applicants have “demonstrably greater skill.”
Where bidders are “relatively equally qualified,” interviews and eventual offers are made based on seniority.
If the number of vacancies is less than the number of qualified bidders and external applicants, the rest are placed on a ranked pre-qualified list for one year, should additional vacancies open. (CBA 12.7)
You can accept a promotion if you have not been promoted in the last 6 months. Transfers and probationary status do not affect your eligibility.
Can you return to your previous position? For a promotion, you can return in the first 60 days. For a transfer, the union’s position is that you can return after you accept but before your effective transfer date. HR has been inconsistent, so we have a grievance on this waiting for arbitration.