This edition focuses on EAC meetings held from November 2022 - March 2023. | |
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The Employee Advisory Council is made up of MoDOT employees from each district and several Central Office divisions. The EAC gathers monthly to pursue its mission of fostering and enhancing a positive and supportive work environment for employees by assisting management with cultural diversity, policy review, communication issues and employee inquiries of the Senior Management Team. The EAC works every day to make MoDOT a safer place for employees and assure every voice is heard.
This publication highlights the EAC meeting minutes, meeting guests and hot topics.
All EAC meeting minutes can be found on the EAC's SharePoint homepage.
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"Together we make a difference." | |
We are looking for more new members! | |
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The Statewide EAC is currently taking applications to fill the following positions that are currently available:
- Northwest - 1
- Central District - 1
- Kansas City - 1
If you are interested in being a part of the Statewide EAC and meet the qualifications, don’t hesitate - apply here! Note: If you have applied previously, please do so again to ensure we have received your application.
Qualifications:
- An EAC member shall be a full-time employee of MoDOT in good standing for six months.
- Members shall not be on probation or have had any recent disciplinary action of written warning or higher in the last year.
- Team members must make a commitment to attend each monthly meeting. If it is not possible for a team member to attend a scheduled meeting, they will need to provide advanced notification to the chair and vice chair (the member shall not send an alternate in their place).
Come join the fun and hard work representing your fellow employees in this organization!
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Trent Summers
Kansas City District
What do you like to do outside of work?
I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I also enjoy going camping, hunting, fishing and riding my four-wheeler.
If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would it be and why?
I would go to Ireland and learn more about my family heritage.
What is your favorite quote?
"Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you get good at." - Matthew McConaughey
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Update from Chief Safety & Operations Officer
Becky Allmeroth
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December 2022
Safety policy, GeoTab system
The safety policy changes we have made are not to make anyone nervous about their job. They were put into place to bring attention to the unsafe shortcuts that are allowing for unsafe behavior.
The GeoTab system was implemented to give employees a warning if they are driving at an unsafe speed or not wearing a seat belt. The seat belt tolerances were added at the recommendation on the GeoTab company.
The public is sending in photos of MoDOT crew members on their phones while driving and not wearing their seat belts. Our greatest challenge right now is people driving while on their phones. Another concern is the public driving impaired or with a medical condition.
Q: Can we put something in a work zone that will disable phones?
Other states have investigated this and discovered that it is more distracting as drivers begin to try to figure out what went wrong with their phones and why they are not working.
Q: Has there been any talk about getting new lighting or newer trucks? There are so many times that the public does not get over for us.
We are part of a national study right now that will help us better understand how lights affect the driving public. We will not be able to use the blue and red lighting, as that is reserves for law enforcement.
Q: Why can’t we shut roads down to do our jobs?
You can, we just need to communicate if very well to the public. Out of necessity, we are going to have to start shutting down the roadways because we do not have enough staff.
Q: The discipline has created a level of fear every time we hear a beep. I was driving a state vehicle with two coworkers, and it beeped. We all had our seat belts on, and we were not speeding. The report read that I braked too hard going into a curve. This caused a lot of panic for us, thinking that we would be disciplined. Many of us feel that the GeoTab system is inaccurate and employees are being disciplined based on incorrect information. Everyone in Maintenance supports the safety changes, but we need to have better communication and recognition for the things we are doing right.
You should only be getting a beep for speeding and not wearing a seat belt. I will work on making sure all our vehicles are programed correctly.
View more details in the December meeting minutes.
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Update from Deputy Director/Chief Engineer
Ed Hassinger
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January 2023
Pay plan, staffing
We initiated the pay plan beginning six years ago when we asked a third party to investigate pay. We looked into the market, and MoDOT was well below market in engineering and technical fields. Maintenance became very low in the last six years, which brought us to having more than 3,000 employees below market. We have been working with legislators to fund MoDOT employees better. With no response, the lawsuit took place, and the court case is still pending after two years. We held 261 positions that are currently vacant to use those monies to fund as much of the pay as possible, which was about 85%. This plan helped retain MoDOT employees. Gov. Parson has also helped with state pay throughout his term. Legislatures have come back into session, and we have put forward the pay plan that would fill the remaining 15% for market and fund a percentage of the 261 vacancies on hold.
We’ve needed to slow the outflow of employees, and we have done that with only 24 employees having left in December – the trend is slowing from 80-90 per month. We need to raise our number of employees hired. The pay increases will help with this in maintenance and engineering fields, as well as in the St. Louis, Kansas City, Rolla and Warrenton areas. In 2022, we lost 777 employees and hired only 220 – the deficit is large.
Q: We are losing employees in the 40-50-year age bracket when they see the 90 and out – it’s too much for them. Is that being considered?
There is a bill proposed to move the 90 and out back to 80 and out. We will see what happens with the bill.
Q: The new safety requirements and GeoTab still create a fear of job loss if someone forgets seat belt and alarm is sent. Is this being discussed?
Time will fix a lot of this as we move forward. Document the issues and be assured that we’ll learn from the mistakes. The rumor mill is real but not always correct. Protecting our employees is the most important job. We’re doing what we can to counter distracted driving and less respect for job and work sites from the public.
Q: Are we looking into addressing the fleet issue with the number of trucks we need that aren’t available? We’re only getting 20 for whole state this year.
We are at the mercy of production. We are asking for other equipment if heavy trucks aren’t available. Light fleet, loaders, graders, etc. We still spend budget money and hope the supply chain levels out in the coming years, but we still replace or increase fleet with budget money each year. MoDOT must up the money because of cost increases for equipment. We must prioritize, make progress and keep going right direction. MoDOT is service-oriented, and we must do our job the best we can with what we have.
View more details in the January meeting minutes.
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Update from Chief Administrative Officer
Lester Woods, Jr.
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March 2023
Recruitment
There was recently a recruitment meeting with Human Resources across the state. They spent a lot of time discussing needs for the Maintenance and engineering departments.
Deputy Director/Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger has initiated an affirmative action outreach initiative for all districts. COVID-19 hit hard, and now we are ramping back up.
We need to get more hires in the doors. We are appointing a specific strategist in each district to think outside the box and work toward a new plan.
Q: Some rural sheds are doing their own recruiting. The process of bringing someone in and the delay of the interview process is an issue. Is that being discussed?
The MO Careers process has been shortened for qualifying Maintenance positions.
View more details in the March meeting minutes.
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The EAC recognizes the great importance of having an anonymous channel to voice concerns to the SMT. It is one of the many benefits afforded to us at MoDOT. Our volunteers work closely with SMT members to answer these inquiries as quickly as possible. If you haven’t used our inquiry process, you can find it on SharePoint's EAC homepage.
What happens to an inquiry after it's submitted?
When the inquiry is submitted, it is automatically assigned a number with “PENDING” as the status. The EAC Communication Team may edit the inquiry to protect confidentiality. Editing includes removing names, job titles, divisions, sheds, locations or other identifying information. The EAC Communication Team then works with the appropriate SMT member to produce an answer, and the status moves from “SENT TO SMT” to “REVIEWING.” At the next monthly EAC meeting, our entire team reviews the Inquiry, determines if it is answered thoroughly and then sets the status to “PUBLISHED,” making the inquiry public to any MoDOT employee. If an inquiry includes alleged sexual harassment, workplace harassment, retaliation or violence, it is sent to Audits & Investigations and is not posted publicly. Inquirers are also reminded that disrespectful language is not acceptable in an inquiry.
Check all EAC inquiries responses at "Where's My Inquiry?" on SharePoint's EAC homepage. This is a great place to view old inquiries - your concern may have been answered previously!
The following inquires were recently reviewed and approved by the EAC. At times, the team may have additional questions or feel there is a need for further elaboration of the response which will cause some inquires to still be under review.
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1526: Telework and fuel savings, Reviewed, Sent back for further Clarification.
1527: Telework and fuel savings, Approved.
1528: Remote Work and Office shared workspace, Approved.
1531: Hard Hats, Asked and Answered.
1533: Adopt A Highway, Asked and Answered.
1535: Kudos for the Market Adjustment, Approved.
1539: Service Awards, Asked and Answered.
1548: Life Insurance, Approved.
1552: Contractor Signs, Approved.
1553: Kudos for the Market Adjustment, Approved.
1554: Professional Leadership Development Award, Approved.
1558: Kudos for the Market Adjustment, Approved.
1560: Safety Shoes with Wedge soles, Approved.
1565: PPE During Breaks, Approved.
1567: Seat Belt Safety, Approved.
1568: Bump Cap Policy, Approved.
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1570: Winter Plowing Safety when traveling to Plow in a different area, Approved.
1571: Winter Operations pay for Volunteers, Approved.
1574: Pay Ranges on Job Postings, Approved.
1575: Bible at work, Approved.
1577: Hour Lunches, Asked and Answered.
1578: 80 and Out, Asked and Answered.
1579: Employee Appreciate Day, Approved.
1580: Retirement Benefits for Veterans, Approved.
1586: Winter Operations Incentives, Approved.
1593: Winter Pay Incentive, Asked and Answered.
1598: Lack of Engineer’s, Approved.
1599: Snow Plow, Asked and Answered.
1600: Insurance Coverage, Approved.
1602: Diabetic Supplies, Asked and Answered.
1604: GeoTab, Asked and Answered.
1605: Kudos to SMT, Forwarded to team.
1611 (1608): Salary, Asked and Answered.
1623 (1577): Hour Lunches, Asked and Answered.
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Farewell to our end-of-term members | |
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The time has come for two of our statewide EAC members to rotate off the team. Thank you to Southeast District Maintenance Supervisor Kenny Rhodes and St. Louis District Maintenance Crew Leader Kevin Wildhaber for their dedication and time with us!
Former EAC Chair Iuesha Wright-Crowder, who served on the EAC with Wildhaber and Rhodes, provided these farewell messages:
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Kenny Rhodes
"I had the honor of serving on the EAC with Kenny as a member and alongside him as my co-chair. We made an excellent team and built an amazing group. Kenny was supportive, informative and an overall great team player. Every month, he would reach out and ask 'What do you need me to take care of?' He was everything I needed in a co-chair, teammate and friend.
"If you don’t know by now, Kenny is one of the most genuine and humble individuals you would hope to meet. It was an extreme pleasure having the opportunity to work alongside Kenny."
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Kevin Wildhaber
"I walked into my first EAC meeting, and Kevin greeted me with an open mind and welcoming spirit. He told me if I ever needed anything, I could reach out to him. We spoke on many occasions, and he picked my brain and I picked his. If there was ever anything that I needed, I knew I could reach out to him. Kevin was my quiet yet knowledgeable resource.
"It was an honor working alongside Kevin as well as leading with him on my team. He approaches everything with the utmost respect, and I value him to this day for it."
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Try your hand at our word search! | |
The purpose of this publication is to introduce EAC members, highlight topics from the EAC's monthly meetings and provide the EAC meeting minutes. | |
Editors: EAC Member Aron Raney and Senior Communications Specialist Bethany Belt | |
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Please contact any EAC member with any questions you may have. View the EAC's statewide map to see who is a member in your area.
The statewide EAC wants to remind you all: "We are here for you, and 'Together we make a difference.'"
Be safe out there, Team MoDOT!
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