Chapter 293 President Gilman Meets with Cox and Ruiz

On the afternoon of November 8, Chapter 293 President Greg Gilman took a break from ongoing work on the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations in Washington to meet with SEC Chairman Christopher Cox and his Executive Director, Diego Ruiz.

During the hour-long meeting, the discussion was focused upon improving the overall tone of the relationship between Chapter 293 and SEC managers. “I took this opportunity to convey to Chairman Cox and Executive Director Ruiz that it is the desire of Chapter 293 leaders to engage in constructive dialogue with agency officials regarding issues that matter to bargaining unit employees,” Gilman said after the meeting. “I stressed that, while there will always be issues about which we will have disagreement, it is important that we endeavor to keep lines of communication open so that we can engage in frank discussions about those issues. The Chairman shared this view.”

Gilman also discussed the Merit Pay program. He emphasized the need for inserting real transparency and objective performance standards into the process, as critical first steps in the creation of a performance based pay system that will have any chance of being fair, effective and acceptable to employees. In addition, he also discussed the union’s issues with management’s unilateral changes to the Student Loan Repayment Program in the late summer and early fall. He noted that it is particularly frustrating when SEC management does not include employee representatives in the discussion of programmatic changes that will have an impact upon them and their families.

“It is my desire for SEC management to view Chapter 293 as an important partner to consult with on issues that affect employees,” Gilman said. “This initial meeting with Chairman Cox and Executive Director Ruiz was a step in that direction.”