Non-UMB Retirees Excluded From The FSU Bargaining Unit

The FSU was made aware of a few bargaining unit members who were removed from the unit (that is, deemed ineligible to be union members) due to their status as retirees from other state employee systems (for example, former K-12 employees who retired from their positions and were subsequently hired by UMB). Article 2 of the contract indicates that UMB retirees who are rehired at UMB are not eligible to be in the union. The Administration asserted that this prohibition applies to retirees from any public retirement system. They argued that not only does the FSU contract language prohibit inclusion of all retirees but that the state's executive branch policies also preclude the possibility of having retirees in any bargaining unit. After consulting with the MTA Legal Services department, the FSU contested this assertion noting that the Article 2 language excluding retirees only applies to UMB retirees. We filed a grievance at level I (campus level) but the grievance was denied. We filed to level II (President's Office level) but placed it in abeyance while we work with the MTA to determine if there are legal aspects of this decision that might need to be considered and pursued.