TSEU BROADCAST: HHSC ANNOUNCES LAYOFF MORATORIUM
TEXAS STATE EMPLOYEES UNION
EMAIL BROADCAST UPDATE TO MEMBERS
May 4, 2006
HHSC announces layoff moratorium, 1000 additional eligibility positions, retention bonuses Friday meeting might have more news
HHSC has responded to calls from TSEU and numerous legislators to freeze layoff notices. TheMay 4 broadcast announcement was a broad admission that the new IEES system is not workingand that basic services are melting down along with HHSC eligibility staff.
The announcement says that:
1. There will be no reductions in eligibility staffing for the next twelve months. This meets thecall by TSEU and numerous legislators for current layoff notice to be rescinded.
2. HHSC will add 1000 additional state eligibility employees to the previously announced total ofabout 2900 after full implementation of the new system. The announcement says that there arecurrently 4800 eligibility employees in the system, so a future total of 3900 means a reduction ofabout 900 by full implementation.
3. HHSC will begin a program of bonuses to convince current employees to stay. The planincludes: A. An approx. $900 bonus this summer. B. An additional $900 six months after the first bonus. C. All levels of staff, including clerks and supervisors, will be eligible. D. Employees must have 3 or better on last evaluation and no active level 2 or 3 performance counselings.
This announcement is a major victory in our campaign to stop a money-wasting boondoggle andrestore a human services eligibility system that works, but there is still a lot to do.We still need to:
1. In the short term, win a statewide moratorium on office closures. The problems withTAA/IEES are not temporary glitches: this is a system that has very little chance of ever working,and we can look for the contractors to find a way out as soon is their profit margins get squeezed.HHSC has to keep (at least) every current office open so that Texans have access to humanservices.
2. Call for a hard, honest evaluation of the whole TIERS/IEES/TAA/Call Center plan. There isalmost no evidence that it will work.
3. Call for full staffing of eligibility (including Medicaid eligibility) and Community Care. 4800is not enough eligibility employees! Eligibility staffing has already been cut by around 1500 since2003.
Major announcement possible at May 5 meeting.
Region 7 program managers have been called to a Friday morning meeting at the WintersBuilding. Our information is that the meeting is with Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkinsand Accenture/TAA officials, and that a major announcement regarding roll-out of IEES mightbe made at the meeting. TSEU will post further information as it is available.
[text of the HHSC announcement]
Original Message
HHSC announces layoff moratorium, 1000 additional eligibility positions, retention bonuses Friday meeting might have more news
HHSC has responded to calls from TSEU and numerous legislators to freeze layoff notices. TheMay 4 broadcast announcement was a broad admission that the new IEES system is not workingand that basic services are melting down along with HHSC eligibility staff.
The announcement says that:
1. There will be no reductions in eligibility staffing for the next twelve months. This meets thecall by TSEU and numerous legislators for current layoff notice to be rescinded.
2. HHSC will add 1000 additional state eligibility employees to the previously announced total ofabout 2900 after full implementation of the new system. The announcement says that there arecurrently 4800 eligibility employees in the system, so a future total of 3900 means a reduction ofabout 900 by full implementation.
3. HHSC will begin a program of bonuses to convince current employees to stay. The planincludes: A. An approx. $900 bonus this summer. B. An additional $900 six months after the first bonus. C. All levels of staff, including clerks and supervisors, will be eligible. D. Employees must have 3 or better on last evaluation and no active level 2 or 3 performance counselings.
This announcement is a major victory in our campaign to stop a money-wasting boondoggle andrestore a human services eligibility system that works, but there is still a lot to do.We still need to:
1. In the short term, win a statewide moratorium on office closures. The problems withTAA/IEES are not temporary glitches: this is a system that has very little chance of ever working,and we can look for the contractors to find a way out as soon is their profit margins get squeezed.HHSC has to keep (at least) every current office open so that Texans have access to humanservices.
2. Call for a hard, honest evaluation of the whole TIERS/IEES/TAA/Call Center plan. There isalmost no evidence that it will work.
3. Call for full staffing of eligibility (including Medicaid eligibility) and Community Care. 4800is not enough eligibility employees! Eligibility staffing has already been cut by around 1500 since2003.
Major announcement possible at May 5 meeting.
Region 7 program managers have been called to a Friday morning meeting at the WintersBuilding. Our information is that the meeting is with Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkinsand Accenture/TAA officials, and that a major announcement regarding roll-out of IEES mightbe made at the meeting. TSEU will post further information as it is available.
[text of the HHSC announcement]
Original Message
From: HHS Communications
Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 11:39 AM
To: HHS Communications
Subject: Message from the Executive Commissioner
On April 5, we announced that we would not proceed with further rollouts of the new eligibilitysystem untiltechnical and operational improvements are made. I wanted to give you an update on ourprogress on the transitionto the new system and let you know that there will be no reduction in eligibility staffing for thenext 12 months.First, I want to thank you for your continued service. This is a difficult time in our offices, andI'm grateful for yourdedication to the clients we serve. As you know, SAVERR is not without its share of problemsand workarounds. Butyou have always managed to overcome those shortcomings to help clients get the services theyneed. I know you aredoing the same now as we work through issues with the new system.We continue our efforts to improve the new system and reduce the workload on our local offices.We've madesignificant progress in reducing the abandonment rate and hold times at the call centers, butadditional training andtechnical improvements still must be made before further rollouts occur.We will increase by 1,000 the number of state positions that will remain in place after thetransition to the newsystem. This means we'll have about 3,900 eligibility employees once the rollout is complete.There are currentlyabout 4,800 regular-status eligibility employees. We soon will be providing you with the detailsof how thesepositions will be filled. Like the previous process, the selections will be based largely on tenure.We also have finalized the details of the retention bonus for OES employees. Eligible employeeswill receive abonus of about $900 this summer and an additional $900 six months after the first bonus.Eligible employees includeregular and temporary field staff who have been employed at least six months and haveacceptable performance.(Acceptable performance means a rating of 3 or above on the most recent evaluation and noactive level 2 or 3performance reminders.) All levels of field staff - including workers, clerks, supervisors andothers - will be eligiblefor the bonus. Workers who recently received a merit or salary increase will be eligible for theretention bonus sixmonths after that pay action.We are working on a revised rollout plan that will help us provide you with more informationabout when changeswill occur in your area. Again, many thanks to each of you for your hard work and commitment to making a difference inthe lives of themany fellow Texans who count on us. I remain grateful for your continued service. Sincerely,Albert Hawkins
On April 5, we announced that we would not proceed with further rollouts of the new eligibilitysystem untiltechnical and operational improvements are made. I wanted to give you an update on ourprogress on the transitionto the new system and let you know that there will be no reduction in eligibility staffing for thenext 12 months.First, I want to thank you for your continued service. This is a difficult time in our offices, andI'm grateful for yourdedication to the clients we serve. As you know, SAVERR is not without its share of problemsand workarounds. Butyou have always managed to overcome those shortcomings to help clients get the services theyneed. I know you aredoing the same now as we work through issues with the new system.We continue our efforts to improve the new system and reduce the workload on our local offices.We've madesignificant progress in reducing the abandonment rate and hold times at the call centers, butadditional training andtechnical improvements still must be made before further rollouts occur.We will increase by 1,000 the number of state positions that will remain in place after thetransition to the newsystem. This means we'll have about 3,900 eligibility employees once the rollout is complete.There are currentlyabout 4,800 regular-status eligibility employees. We soon will be providing you with the detailsof how thesepositions will be filled. Like the previous process, the selections will be based largely on tenure.We also have finalized the details of the retention bonus for OES employees. Eligible employeeswill receive abonus of about $900 this summer and an additional $900 six months after the first bonus.Eligible employees includeregular and temporary field staff who have been employed at least six months and haveacceptable performance.(Acceptable performance means a rating of 3 or above on the most recent evaluation and noactive level 2 or 3performance reminders.) All levels of field staff - including workers, clerks, supervisors andothers - will be eligiblefor the bonus. Workers who recently received a merit or salary increase will be eligible for theretention bonus sixmonths after that pay action.We are working on a revised rollout plan that will help us provide you with more informationabout when changeswill occur in your area. Again, many thanks to each of you for your hard work and commitment to making a difference inthe lives of themany fellow Texans who count on us. I remain grateful for your continued service. Sincerely,Albert Hawkins
To add your name to the list for these broadcasts (you must be a TSEU member): send an email to http://us.f345.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=tseubroadcast@cwa-tseu.org Put "subscribe me" in the subject line Put your full name and work location in the text of the email Note: this address is only to subscribe to the TSEU broadcast network. For other issues call your TSEU office
To contact TSEU for more information or for materials: Austin: 512 448-4225 Houston: 713 661-9030 San Antonio: 210 354-2900 Dallas: 214 631-7863 Harlingen: 956 428-0251 Lubbock: 806 741-0044
For information about contacting your state legislators, go to the TSEU website
To contact TSEU for more information or for materials: Austin: 512 448-4225 Houston: 713 661-9030 San Antonio: 210 354-2900 Dallas: 214 631-7863 Harlingen: 956 428-0251 Lubbock: 806 741-0044
For information about contacting your state legislators, go to the TSEU website
posted by samm almaguer @ 5:58 PM
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