Thank you to MPSEA members who completed our recent poll regarding MPSEA joining the South Central Federation of Labor (SCFL). The survey results were strongly (84%) in favor of MPSEA joining SCFL; as such, the MPSEA Board has voted join the group. The membership fee associated with SCFL will not result in any increase in dues in 2021, although the Board may revisit the issue in future years as our budgetary needs evolve.

One question asked repeatedly on the survey was whether MPSEA’s membership in SCFL would make MPSEA a formal union. The answer to that is no. MPSEA is an employee association. If MPSEA were to decide to join a union, this would be a different process with much more information, discussion, and debate before moving forward.  The MPSEA Board hopes and expects that our membership in SCFL will open up new avenues to represent and advocate for our membership.

ANSWER: Generally, yes.  The EEOC stated that equal employment opportunity laws “do not interfere with or prevent employers from following CDC or other federal, state, and local public health authorities’ guidance and suggestions.”  However, there are potential complications that employers must consider before implementing a mandatory vaccination program.

https://natlawreview.com/article/eeoc-says-employers-may-mandate-covid-19-vaccinations-subject-to-limitations

MPSEA Members,

We hope that this update finds you and your families well and healthy! There are many different topics with new developments to cover, so we have broken them up into sections for easy reading. Please take a minute to go through this information, and if you have questions, contact any Board member or reach out to us via this website!

Covid-19 Vaccination

On 4/28/21, the Mayor sent all City of Madison staff an email encouraging employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Included in the email was a link to online booking for appointments at the Alliant Energy Center, as well as a link to Madison Dane County Public Health’s vaccine page for more information on the vaccine.

The MPSEA Board strongly echoes the Mayor’s recommendations on vaccination, and we encourage our members to read her full email. We’d also like to highlight that Emergency Paid Leave (EPL) may be used to receive that vaccine AND for any recovery time needed. As EPL expires on May 31, 2021, now is a great time to use it to get vaccinated!

Telework

As we move towards higher vaccination rates in Dane County, City departments are beginning to debate how to bring back more in-person City services. With that comes a return to the office for many employees that have been partially or fully since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Mayor has issued an updated City-wide teleworking policy (APM 2-34), which can be found here. Many departments will soon be rolling out department-specific policies to address both teleworking and flexible scheduling in a post-pandemic world. City-wide and department-specific surveys have shown that many employees have found teleworking to be a good fit for their circumstances, and would like to see it continue in some capacity in the future.

MPSEA participated in the development of the new APM 2-34, and is very interested in how teleworking and flexible scheduling will be applied to its members. We strongly encourage members, as they receive more information about if and how their department will implement ongoing telework, to reach out to Board members and share their thoughts. We may be requesting more formal feedback (via survey) from members as more information is shared with employees.

MPSEA also encourages its members to read the following recent article from the Wisconsin State Journal, which describes how many local businesses view telework as a benefit and an integral part of their business model going forward: https://madison.com/business/as-employees-return-flexibility-is-key-to-post-pandemic-workspace/article_b0fe4ebd-08d9-53fc-9a59-385180a3e9dd.html.

Wage/Pay Parity

MPSEA and our Coalition Partners (Local 236, Local 6000, and the MCAA) continue to work with HR Staff and the Administration to find a way to close the 6% gap in pay equity / parity.  The Coalition has provided several proposals to HR Staff and the Administration, and we continue to work towards a day when MPSEA members and our Coalition partners achieve wage parity with other employee groups.

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Thank you, as always, for all of the work you do to keep our City running well!

Solidarity,

The MPSEA Board

MPSEA Members,

On March 30, 2021, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced that all Wisconsinites 16 and older will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine starting Monday, April 5th, 2021. More information can be found in a Wisconsin State Journal articlereporting the news, as well as on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services's Covid-19 vaccine eligibility website.

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The MPSEA Board encourages all MPSEA members to check on the DHS website and/or with their healthcare providers to learn how to sign up to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. The DHS website has a list and map of entities qualified to provide the vaccine. Wisconsin residents interested in receiving the Covid-19 vaccine can sign up for the Wisconsin Covid-19 Vaccine Registry, which is being used by several public health agencies (including Public Health Madison Dane County) to prioritize and schedule vaccinations for Wisconsin residents.

Many communities in Wisconsin outside of Madison/Dane County host mass community-based vaccination clinics. When vaccine supply exceeds local demand at these events, the clinics often open eligibility to non-local Wisconsin residents or even walk-ins. For those able and willing to travel (sometimes on short notice), these opportunities may be a good fit! MPSEA encourages its interested members to watch the news for opportunities that may fit their circumstances.

Mass vaccination with the Covid-19 vaccine is a crucial part of keeping our members and community healthy!

MPSEA Members,

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There are three candidates running for the three open seats on the MPSEA Board in 2021. Please take a moment to read through the statements of interest prepared by the candidates. A link to the ballot (via Survey Monkey) will be sent out to members shortly.

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Additionally, please remember that MPSEA's annual meeting(s) for 2021 will be held April 8, 2021 via Zoom. Two meeting options will be available: noon and 5pm. Zoom links for each meeting will be provided to members in the coming week.

https://www.mpsea.org/_files/ugd/a4d4b0_35309fb0680a4179b5b31abafb9de31e.pdf

Solidarity,

The MPSEA Board