Lionbridge is proposing Thursday May 26 or Tuesday May 31 for the next collective bargaining meeting

Let us know the date you prefer and if you intend to attend.
As mentioned in the previous post, the meeting starts at around 3.30 PM and takes place at

East Shore Unitarian Church

12700 SE 32nd Street

Bellevue, WA 98005-4317

It's a five minutes drive from the office. We'll keep you posted. The more people attending, the better.  

Collective bargaining meeting in the planning stage

We just received today a positive email from Tim O'Connell in response to our request for a collective bargaining meeting. Lionbridge is going to propose a few dates and we'll see what works for us. 
The meetings start at 3.30 PM and take place at

East Shore Unitarian Church

12700 SE 32nd Street

Bellevue, WA 98005-4317

It's a five minutes drive from the office. We'll keep you posted. The more people attending, the better. 

Can you believe it? Since January 1, 2015 Lionbridge supposedly offered regular status (with corresponding benefits) to temporary workers having worked 9 months on a project

Since January 1, 2015 Lionbridge offered regular status (with corresponding benefits) to temporary workers having worked nine months on a project!
This is what I think I understood from an answer given by the HR Susan Gillespie during a questions and answers meeting attended by a dozen of Tier 1s that took place today around 12.30. 

In a written answer to a question asked by Paul Shattuck (thank you Paul for asking) during a previous Q&A meeting she stated: "employees are converted from temporary status to regular employees after nine months of employment. That policy was put in place in January 2015, in response to the Federal Affordable Care Act. Again, though, Lionbridge was not allowed to unilaterally extend that policy to you and your peers since we were in bargaining with the union".

What prevented Lionbridge to incorporate this new policy into the first contract proposal they gave us in February 2015 instead of not offering any PTO and not offering in any way to modify the temporary status after nine months? What prevented Lionbridge to incorporate this within the final proposal they made in November 2015?
All the Tier 1s who patiently attended very frustrating collective bargaining meetings where Lionbridge systematically refused any change in this direction are certainly highly shocked by such an announcement and attitude. The contract that was rejected by a majority of the Tier1s in November did not include any such proposal while its presence would probably have changed the vote outcome. Making  such a proposal as soon as January 2015 would have drastically changed the process and the Tier1s could have immediately gained one whole year of benefits.
Susan Gillespie keeps trying to put the responsibility of the lack of implementation of this new policy on the union but of course only Lionbridge knew about this change and they never mentioned it as a possibility, quite the contrary.
As for now, we are immediately going to contact Lionbridge to renew the bargaining process about implementing this policy for our lab.
We hope a date can be set as soon as possible and that many of you will be able to attend.
Let us know of your comments and questions.
Take care
PS: Susan Gillespie mentioned the 2015 US Handbook that contained the new policy: we never saw this 2015 handbook while we did see handbooks in 2013 and 2014. Let us know if you had seen it.

Nota: The PTO allocated by Lionbridge to full time "regular' employees is as follow:
Up to 1 year: 14 days / 112 hours
1-2 years:      16 days /  128 hours
2-5 years:      20 days /  160 hours
5+ years:       25 days /  200 hours

The benefits provided by Lionbridge to ful ltime "regular" employees are as follows:
Company Life & Diasability: Yes
PTO: Yes 
Paid holidays: Yes
severance: Yes
401k: Yes
EAP: Yes
Breavement: Yes 
Jury Duty: Yes
LOA: Yes

Martin Luther King Was Assassinated On This Day, April 4, in 1968—While Fighting For Unions

See this article in In These Times.

Unfair implementation of the PTO requirement? Reaching out to Microsoft Compliance Hotline

Colleagues working along us via a different supplier told us they would only be able to accrue PTO six months from now, that is  in October. We think this is a violation of the requirement and an attempt to deny those employees PTO that should start accruing right now. It's already shocking that all those suppliers waited until the very last moment to implement this requirement, they should not add insult to the injury by trying to abusively postpone even more this implementation. We have sent a complaint (see below) to Microsoft's Business Conduct and Compliance Team but 5 days later we have not received their answer yet (if ever). We have kept mentioning (for now) the name of this supplier. We'll keep you posted. The link to Microsoft's Integrity Hotline:   https://www.tnwgrc.com

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Dear Business Conduct and Compliance Team,
I am concerned that our colleagues working for the Microsoft App Certification Lab via the supplier XXXX  are being shortchanged as far as the implementation of the PTO requirement is concerned.
From what I have heard they been told (nothing written) that they would be able to start accruing some PTO in six months, in October 2016.
If that is the case, I think XXXX  is in breach of Microsoft requirement that should start to be implemented at the latest on April 1s as the deadline announced by Brad Smith on March 26 2015 was one year.
I am not sure our colleagues know about you nor would dare complain but I do because if what they say is true they are treated unfairly and they would be deprived of 6 months of PTO they should start accruing right away.
Thank you for your concern,
Philippe Boucher

How Experis/Manpower will implement Microsoft's PTO requirement

Read below how Experis (Manpower) is going to start implementing on April 1st 2016 the Microsoft's requirement that was announced on March 26, 2015. Notice that the accruing will also only start at this date: you worked years for Experis, that will not count for anything. As for the public holidays Experis used to pay? They are now gone. You'll have to satisfy yourself with the 15 days of PTO. As for Manpower:  "In 2015, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the fifth consecutive year and one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup makes powering the world of work humanly possible: www.manpowergroup.com": Most ethical, most admired, most trusted... indeed.

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Subject: Experis Benefits update beginning April 1, 2016. Please read.
Hello,
Experis has enriched your benefits plan for 2016 to become effective April 1, 2016.  These changes were announced by the Experis Corporate benefits team via email to your personal account on Wednesday, March 16, 2016.  Please be sure to review that message for full details and any action items.
What does this mean for you?  Some changes, of course.
Effective April 1, 2016 you become eligible to accrue 15 days of PTO (paid time off) when working a full year.  The time accrued can be used as you need:  personal/vacation time, sick days, weather and client/Experis closures (holidays  or other.)  We are also reducing the premiums  for health benefits and offering a mid-year add event if you wish to add Experis Health benefits.  The new PTO accrual rate is 10 hours each month, updated on the final day of the month. I have attached a document with the instructions for using PTO and the new health premium information for your review. 
See the FAQ below to clarify the program.
Q: When is the new plan effective?
A: April 1, 2016.
Q: How many total days of PTO will accrue? 
A: 15 PTO days will accrue in a year.
Q: What is the monthly accrual amount?
A:  10 hours per month, posted on the last day of the month.
Q: When can I use PTO?
A: PTO can be used for time off work, related to being sick, taking personal time/vacation and client holiday or other closures. 
Q: How do I use PTO? 
A: Consultants enter the non-billable hours for PTO into their Peoplesoft timesheets using the PTB code. (See attached Word doc for instructions.)
Q: What happens to holiday pay?
A:  Experis Holiday pay will not automatically be paid out moving forward.  You may use accrued PTO if you wish to be paid for client holiday closures. 
Q: Was I paid for the New Year holiday? 
A: Yes, you were automatically paid the New Year holiday if you were active at that time.  New Year’s was the last Experis holiday to be paid automatically for our Microsoft consultants.
Q: Am I allowed to use PTO before I accrue it (go into a negative balance?)
A: No, you are to use the available PTO balance already accrued in your monthly bank.
Q: Can I carry over my accrual balance from year to year?
A:  Yes
Q: Is there a maximum amount where PTO will stop accruing? 
A: Yes.  Monthly accruals will stop once the 120 hour maximum is reached.  You will not accrue any more PTO until the bank is reduced from 120 hours.
Q: Will unused PTO amounts be paid out at the time of termination?
A: Yes, any remaining balance in your PTO bank will be paid out at the time of termination.
Q: My end date is scheduled mid- month.  Do I still get the full 10 hour monthly accrual?
A: No, but you will get a pro-rated PTO credit.  Same answer for any new hires in a month....

Microsoft and temps in ... 1997

From the Los Angeles Times of December 9, 1997, this article by Leslie Helm. Are things that different today?