AFSCME Council 13 and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania—2000 Clerical/Custodial Pool
The Clerical/Custodial Pool was created to reduce the use of private agency employees as temporary workers for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Originally proposed by the union, the program was conceived as a ìwin-winî proposition. The Commonwealth has saved millions of dollars over the years from utilizing its own in-house temporary employees to provide services in state office buildings in the capitol area (Dauphin County). And the program, originally agreed to in 1991, has created a unionized pool of employees with decent wages, benefits, negotiated working conditions, and a bridge to permanent employment with the Commonwealth.
The wages and working conditions of pool employees are bargained collectively, and the pool is administered in two groups: clerical and custodial. The parties have agreed that these employees would not be used to reduce the number of permanent employees. Participants in the pool accumulate seniority credits and have rights to entry level vacancies for which they qualify.
Clerical Pool—Limited Term Clerks and Limited Term Typists
There are two groups of employees in the Clerical Pool: Clerks and Typists. All clerical pool employees must pass a civil service exam. The Bureau of State Employment, acting as the Commonwealthís temporary employment agency, administers the program. Since the inception of the program, there have been 2,530 employees in the pool, with 1,260 being placed into permanent full-time positions. There are currently 265 Limited Term Clerks and 25 Limited Term Typists participating in the pool.
Custodial Pool—Adjunct Custodial Workers
The Department of General Services administers the Custodial Pool. Pool employees are known as Adjunct Custodial Workers. The use of these employees to provide custodial services has led to the elimination of most private custodial contracts in the area served, which in turn has led to the hiring of 87 workers from the pool into permanent full-time custodial positions or other entry level maintenance positions. There are currently 49 Adjunct Custodial Workers in the pool.
