Dear Colleagues,
Please see the following from Statewide President, Mr. Fred Kowal:
Dear Colleagues,
I am extremely pleased to inform you that the NYS Office of Employee Relations has again agreed to suspend the January 1 40-day vacation credit cap contained in Article 23.2(d) of the 2016-2022 State/UUP Agreement. As you will recall, two similar prior agreements suspended the January 1, 2021 and January 1, 2022 40 day vacation caps. This agreement, which suspends the vacation cap for one more year will provide members who earn vacation credits and who are currently carrying more than 40 days of vacation an additional year, and much needed flexibility, to exhaust excess vacation leave which they have been unable to use during the pandemic and which they currently have accrued.
The text of our newest agreement reads as follows:
This will confirm our agreement regarding expiration of vacation leave accruals.
- Vacation leave accruals subject to our last MOA dated October 22, 2021 (which extended the deadline to December 31, 2022), may now be carried by employees through December 31, 2023.
- Vacation leave accruals earned between January 1 and December 31, 2022, that would otherwise expire at close of business on December 31, 2022, may also be carried by employees through December 31, 2023.
- Employees shall be permitted to accrue vacation leave in excess of the contractual maximum until the close of business on December 31, 2023. Thereafter, forfeiture of vacation leave accruals shall be governed by the operative language from the applicable collective bargaining agreement between the parties.
- All other conditions set forth in our last MOA remain in effect.
For your convenience, I have also attached a copy of the October 22, 2021, agreement which is referenced in the language above.
In Solidarity,
Fred
In Solidarity,
Ken Kern
Chapter President
UUP Buffalo Center