Publications

March 30, 2005

Arrested development

AFSCME isn't known as a police union, but Council 31's reputation as a union that works hard for its members was enough to win over a unit of 451 sheriff's police officers from Cook County, Ill., who chose AFSCME in a runoff with the Fraternal Order of Police.

That's a wrap

A unit of 56 clerical workers from the Northampton County (Pa.) court system voted 33 to 13 to form a union with Council 88. This is the fifth group in the county to organize with AFSCME in the last year, boosting the total to 1,375 new members.

Charity case

A referendum urging the Cook County (Ill.) assessor to review the tax-exempt status of Resurrection Health Care will go before Evanston voters on April 5. Council 31 — which is working with 6,000 Resurrection hospital workers who want to form a union — got the referendum on the ballot by collecting about 4,000 signatures from registered voters served by Resurrection's St. Francis Hospital. The company has tripled its corporate profits, given its CEO a 400 percent salary hike (to $2.3 million), overcharged the uninsured, sued the poor to recover debts and received an estimated $72 million in annual tax breaks to provide charity care. Yet Resurrection is actually providing less care to the needy.

Strike at UC?

More than 7,000 service workers at the nine University of California campuses and five medical centers could be on strike in April. The employees, represented by Local 3299, voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. A fact-finding process is now underway. Barring a settlement, workers could be striking as early as mid-April. Talks began last June.

Win some, fight on

New Mexico Council 18 members will receive a 1.75 percent wage increase despite having won an impasse arbitration in February that awarded the union a total 5.9 percent hike this year. The reason: the deal was subject to funding by the legislature, but lawmakers provided only a 1.75 percent hike, outraging members because it's even less than the 2 percent across-the-board raise that the Richardson administration offered when arbitration began. The administration did request sufficient funding to provide for the 1.25 percent raise, however. Council 18 will lobby for a budget veto and, if necessary, seek funding retroactively.

Painful cuts

No more "Band Aid" solutions to Minnesota's budget crisis, insisted some 1,000 Council 5 members at a recent rally on the state Capitol in St. Paul. The members then marched on the governor's office with an oversized Band Aid to drive the point home.

Good grievance

In a state where most public employees don't have a union contract, two members of West Virginia Local 598 (Council 77) have demonstrated the value of collective bargaining. Two City of Huntington maintenance workers won an arbitration decision worth up to $10,000 in back pay when an arbitrator ruled their employer used non-bargaining-unit staff to do their work. The decision directly affects the two employees, but it is a win for all because it shows the city must honor the contract.

Hear them roar

About 50 superior court clerks in Contra Costa County, Calif., rallied and marched through downtown Martinez recently to protest proposed cuts in their workers' comp benefits. The employees — members of Local 2700 (Council 57) — have been working without a contract since September. Injured workers received about 86 percent of their pay tax-free (up to a year) under the old contract. The court wants to reduce that to nearly 67 percent of their salary while on leave. The union is holding out for 80 percent.

Ehrlich, listen up!

Some of Maryland's 4,500 home care providers, who haven't seen a raise since 1986, raised their voices in protest at the capitol in Annapolis recently. They urged support for legislation to increase their daily reimbursement rate. The low-wage, independent contractors called on Governor Ehrlich (R) to meet with them about increasing pay rates and providing important benefits like health insurance. Ehrlich included the first raise in 20 years in his 2006 budget proposal, but the workers — who get no health insurance, workers' comp, vacation or sick days — says it's too little, too late.

Book it

Philadelphia's DC 47 has filed for an injunction to prevent cutbacks in library funding that caused at least 17 layoffs. Twenty libraries have already been turned into so-called "McBranches" that have no librarian or special programs. Pending an injunction, the libraries will run on reduced staffing.

Congrats to Floyd winners

The 2005 Nadra Floyd Memorial Scholarship recipients are Pat Derieg and Rob Trombley, both of New Mexico Council 18. Derieg is president of Local 1461. Trombley is the Bernalillo County local's chief steward. The scholarships are open to all AFSCME members and staff seeking a degree at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md. Applicants must provide an essay on what AFSCME has contributed to the labor movement or social justice movement, a letter of recommendation from a local union president or council director or president, a letter of recommendation from a person in the community, plus a confirmation of enrollment or approved application at the labor college.


 

 

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