(a) Local 7 members shall be allowed to promote into this Bargaining Unit provided they meet the preferred qualifications as outlined in the Class Specification for Communications Operator. In the event no one meets the preferred qualifications, then preference shall be given to Local 7 employees in accordance with Section 2115.46, “Vacancies”.
(b) Provisional Listings
(1) The employee who is determined most qualified to do the work from among the three (3) most senior qualified employees willing to accept the position in the next lower classification in the unit shall have the right to be appointed provisionally to that position. If there are not at least three (3) eligible employees within the immediate lower classification, then the most senior qualified employee(s) from the next lower classification in the unit shall be included for consideration to provide for selection from among three (3) candidates. If there are no eligible employees within the immediate lower classification below the vacancy in the unit, then the employee(s) determined most qualified to do the work from among the three (3) most senior employees willing to accept the position in the next lower classification(s) shall have the right to be appointed provisionally to that position and so forth until there are not at least three (3) within that unit eligible for appointment.
(2) If there are not three (3) eligible employees within that unit, then the employee(s) with the most classification seniority from the next lower classification in the division who are qualified and willing to accept the appointment shall be included for consideration for selection from among three (3) candidates. So long as one of the candidates is from within the unit in which the vacancy exists, unit seniority shall be the seniority used. If there are no employees qualified and willing to accept the position from within the unit, then the employee who is determined most qualified from among the three (3) employees with the most classification seniority within that Division who are qualified and willing to accept the position, in the next lower classification, shall have the right to be appointed provisionally to that position. If there are not at least three (3) eligible employees within the immediate lower classification, then the most senior employee(s) qualified and willing to accept the position from the next lower classification within the division shall be included for consideration to provide for selection from among three (3) candidates and so forth until there are not at least three (3) employees within that Division eligible for appointment.
(3) If no employee is selected within the Division, the Commissioner of the Division shall notify the Department of Human Resources office of the vacancy. The Department of Human Resources office shall send a notice of the vacancy to all Divisions and to all Union Stewards. The notice shall be posted in all work units. Employees shall have five (5) work days to submit an application to be considered for the position. These requests shall be filed with the Department of Human Resources. The qualifications of the applicants shall be determined by the Selection & Evaluation Section. The Department of Human Resources shall submit the list of qualified applicants to the Commissioner of the Division where the vacancy exists. The Commissioner of that Division shall appoint from this list to fill the vacancy provisionally.
(4) When an employee is appointed on a provisional basis, said employee shall become a permanent appointee in the classified service at the conclusion of the employee's promotion probationary period.
(c) In selecting non-competitive and provisional appointees, consideration shall be given to seniority, experience, work record/performance, attendance, disciplinary record, educa tion/training, demonstrated ability to perform the job and the results of a structured interview and/or other competency examination, if the Division Head chooses to have interviews or a competency exam conducted. A structured standardized process shall be developed by the City to be used in making these selections with input from the Union. However, the City retains the right to make the final decision on the process.
(d) In the event of a vacancy in a Local 2058 bargaining unit classification for which there is no eligibility list and for which the City intends to fill by provisional appointment, the City shall follow the procedure below:
(1) The City shall fill the provisional appointment with any qualified employees within the Local 2058 bargaining unit pursuant to the terms of Article 2105.45, “Provisional Appoint ments”, of the contract between the City and Local 2058.
(2) In the event there are no qualified employees within Local 2058 from which to make the provisional appointment and the procedures set forth in Article 2105.45 have been exhausted, then the City shall make the provisional appointment from among the interested candidates who are members of the Local #7 bargaining unit.
(3) In selecting a candidate for a provisional appointment to a Local 2058 position from among the bargaining unit members of Local #7, the City shall apply the language above.
(4) For purposes of selection to Local 2058 bargaining unit positions, “unit” as used in this section shall be the applicable Local 2058 work unit.
(e) Selection Review
Employees bypassed for selection more senior to the employee selected shall be informed, in writing, of the reason(s) they were not selected by the person making the selection. They may appeal the determination to the Department of Human Resources at Step 3 of the grievance procedure for a determination as to the adequacy of the reason(s) for the bypassing. Said appeal must be filed within three (3) work days of notification of non-selection. Appointment to the position shall not occur until a determination by the Department of Human Resources has been made. For promotions to Local 2058 bargaining unit positions, the determination at the Department of Human Resources level shall be final. For promotions to Local 7 positions, appeal may proceed through the grievance procedure. If the appointment is overturned, the original appointee shall be reinstated to that former position with no loss of seniority.
(f) Promotion Probationary Period
An employee promoted to a higher classification who is found to be unsuited for the work of the new classification, or who desires to return to the former position during the four hundred eighty (480) actual work hour probationary period, shall be reinstated to that former position with no loss of unit seniority. If the employee's former position has been filled, the employee filling that position may be removed and reinstated to their former position, and so forth, with no loss of unit seniority.
(g) Training Credit/Career Pathing
The City may develop training programs using either internal or external resources to enable employees to meet, in whole or in part, experience requirements for higher level Local 7 bargaining unit positions.