Winter 07 MCGEO.indd - UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO

Transcription

Local Link
A Communication of UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO
Vol. 4 No. 1 Winter 2007
Tentative Agreement
Reached With
Montgomery County
See page 4 for details
Make Tax Time Less Taxing
Take Advantage of the
Montgomery County Union Employees Deferred Compensation Plan!
. TAXES. Uncle Sam comes knocking at your door, palm outstretched, to collect
his piece of your financial pie. What’s a hard working, law abiding American citizen to do? You can silently
shrug and continue to pay....You can carp and complain and continue to pay...Or, you can take advantage of pretax contributions to your employer’s deferred compensation plan!
The Montgomery County Union Employees Deferred Compensation Plan allows you to invest for retirement on a
pre-tax basis. Your Taxable Gross Salary is reduced by the amount of your Deferred Compensation contribution - so you may pay less in current federal income taxes to Uncle Sam! The following example is intended to reflect
the general benefits of pre-tax savings:
Gross Salary (bi-weekly)
DCP Contribution
Taxable Gross Salary
FICA/Medicare
Federal Tax* ($28 deferred taxes)
Take Home Pay
Change in Take Home Pay
$1500.00
0.00
1500.00
115.00
245.00
1140.00
$1500.00
- 100.00
1400.00
115.00
217.00
1068.00
72.00
For this employee, it only costs a net of $72 to contribute the $100!
The current tax savings is $28.
In addition to helping you reduce the amount of federal income tax you pay each year, the money you contribute
will accumulate tax deferred until you withdraw it. This means that your contributions - and any earnings that
accrue - are not taxable until the money is withdrawn from the account.
If you are not currently participating in the Montgomery County Union Employees Deferred Compensation Plan,
call your local Hartford representative today to enroll. If you are participating and would like to increase your
contribution, contact your local rep. Remember, the more you contribute, the less you pay to Uncle Sam!
In This Issue
Vol. 4 No. 1
Municipal & County
Government Employees
Organization/United
Food & Commercial
Workers Local 1994
President
Gino Renne
Secretary-Treasurer
Yvette Cuffie
Recorder
Nelvin Ransome
Vice Presidents
Lynette Andrews-Baker
Anthony Chase
Cynthia Carrington
Sean Collins
Craig Longcor
Paulette Dudley
Greg Goebel
Barbara Jackson
Bob Lehman
Sue Smithers
Tony Thomas
Kristine Tuckerman
Staff
Bob Stewart, Executive Director
Jazmin Almonte, Office Manager
Shae Wilson, Administrative
Assistant/ Membership Services
Laura Boatright, Executive
Assistant to the President
Gail Heath, Field Services
Coordinator
Doug Menapace, Organizing
Coordinator
Joshua Ardison Field
Representative/Organizer
Nelvin Ransome Field
Amy Millar Field Representative/
Organizer
Larry Dickter Field
Local Link
Winter 2007
Union Representative of the Year:
Anthony Chase …………………………………………… page 3
Agreement Reached With
Montgomery County …………………………………… page 4
Cover photo: MCGEO’s Montgomery County bargaining team reviews proposals
in the final hours of negotiations. From left: Local 1994 President Gino Renne,
Gregorio Ford (Ride-On), Sgt. Antonio Kindred (Corrections), Local VPs Craig
Longcor (Corrections) and Bob Lehman (Sheriff’s Office), Shannon Songco (Sheriff’s
Office), Terri Miller (Corrections), VP Kris Tuckerman (Public Libraries), Patti
Vogel (School Health Svcs.), Sean Collins (Facilities & Maintenance), VP Anthony
Chase (Hwy. Svcs.) and Victoria Darnell (Dept. of Liquor Control). Standing: Field
Representative Josh Ardison and Gail Heath, Field Services Coordinator.
PGCC Campus Workers Take First Step to Union … page 8
Local Welcomes Cumberland Police ………………… page 9
$23,000 in Back Pay for DOCR Resident Supers … page 10
Deputies Make PGCMLS Safer for All ……………… page 11
‘We Won,’ Now Comes the Hard Part ……………… page 12
Spotlighting Income Inequality ……………………… page 14
Raising the Minimum Wage—Just the Beginning
page 15
Union Focuses on Four Bills in General Assembly
page 16
Justice Denied at Smithfield ………………………… page 18
Spotlight on MCGEO’s Members ……………………… page 20
HOC’s Executive Director Minton Testifies Against
Job Security for HOC Workers ………………………… Page 22
Help the Union Enforce Your Contract ……………… page 23
A New Broom Sweeps Clean ………………………… page 24
Editorial/Design
Kenefick Communications
The Local Link • Winter 2007
1
Looking Up
From the Bottom of the Hill
Renne Report
by Gino Renne, President
We all know that stuff rolls down hill
and down here in Montgomery County we
find ourselves at the bottom of that hill.
A
fter the elation of the
November elections we
went back to the daily
grind of representing
and advocating for our
union’s members. The first weeks of the
year for me were spent plowing through
negotiations for a new agreement covering
some 7,000 employees of Montgomery
County government—our two largest
bargaining units combined.
The presence of a new County
Executive and a County Council with
several new members complicated the
process. The election of Martin O’Malley
and Anthony Brown as the state’s top
executives, and a new direction in
Congress will also have a lasting effect on
what we do and how we do it.
Don’t get me wrong—we worked hard
to make these changes and we look at
the changes—the problems as well as the
opportunities—with a positive attitude.
We have known and worked with Ike
Leggett for many years and hope to do so
for many years to come, but he is in a new
job now and in these initial months he is
feeling his way slowly and carefully. The
O’Malley Administration and the General
Assembly are doing the same and, no
doubt, the new Democratic majorities in
the U.S. House and Senate will make a few
false starts before they get their bearings.
2
One of the most complicated issues we
face is the apparent community sentiment
for so-called “slow growth” which is an
understandable reaction to some of the
excesses in development that we’ve seen
in Montgomery County and throughout
the state. Our roads and schools are
bulging; our health care, public safety
and recreational facilities are having
trouble keeping up. The majority of the
Montgomery County Council supports
curtailed growth to give our infrastructure
time to catch up to the loads. Their attitude
is shared in the General Assembly as well.
But, slowing growth is a two-sided
coin. If you put a cork in the bottle, you
also close off revenues. Some growth is
necessary to fund real improvements in
services. Or, we’ve got to count on help
from other sources.
In years past, revenue sharing was the
answer. In a perfect world, when growth
is held down in one area, it picks up in
another and we might count on the state
to distribute equitably to jurisdictions to
ease shortfalls. But, unfortunately, the
state budget that Gov. O’Malley found
on his desk for the coming year—left to
him by his predecessor—is riddled with
gaps. Bob Ehrlich, it seems, didn’t want to
confront the realities of his own bungling
with the state treasury while trying to
convince voters that he deserved a second
term. Instead, he chose to defer some
hard decisions. Fortunately, he wasn’t
re-elected; but, unfortunately for Gov.
O’Malley, the moment of truth has arrived
for our state and we’re facing some
serious budget problems next year and for
some time beyond that.
In a perfect world, Gov. O’Malley
might look to Congress and the White
House for assistance. There are revenue
sharing systems that funnel federal funds
to the states to pay for Medicare and
Medicaid, housing, transportation and
education. But, this is far from a perfect
world and the federal treasury is stretched
to its limits due to the hundreds of billions
of dollars in spending for the war in
Iraq, not to mention the ill-considered
tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans
and corporations that President Bush has
handed out through his first six years
in office. In 2006 alone, the President
presented America’s “haves” with $70
billion worth of tax breaks. During his
tenure, Bush has demanded and secured
more than a trillion worth of tax breaks for
big corporations and wealthy individuals.
All of which is a long way of saying
that we’re in for some interesting and
challenging times in the years ahead.
Slow growth, declining revenues and
tighter budgets will hit you and your
family in many direct and indirect ways.
The quality of life in our communities will
be tested with smaller or even stagnant
budgets for public safety, libraries, health,
housing, transportation and education.
We’re at the bottom of that hill, so
those of us who work in those areas could
find that our own personal aspirations
for higher salaries, enhanced retirement
benefits and better working conditions
won’t be as easily met.
We don’t have to accept that fate, but
we must be prepared to work together to
devise creative strategies to change it for
the betterment of our families and our
communities.
Anthony Chase Named
Union Representative of the Year
Anthony Chase with co-workers Andrew Berch (center) and Rene Berrios (right).
V
eteran Montgomery
County Highway Services
worker and Local 1994
Vice President Anthony
Chase has been selected
by MCGEO as Employee Representative
of the Year. This is the seventh annual
presentation of this award, which
will take place at the County’s annual
“Montgomery’s Best” ceremony in
March. Anthony’s selection was based on
his consistent, dedicated performance and
his ability to inspire confidence among
the members he serves, while maintaining
credibility and integrity with both the
union and the management officials with
whom he deals.
On those cold winter mornings when
the television news broadcasts a storm
alert and school kids are dreaming of that
greatest of all holidays—a snow day—
there is a small but determined army of
workers lumbering through the county’s
streets behind the wheels of massive
yellow dump trucks with snow plows on
the front bumpers. Anthony Chase is part
of that army.
A 29-year county employee, Anthony
has been a union representative for 18
years. He is also serving his second term
as a Vice President of Local 1994 and as a
member of the Union’s executive board.
Anthony started his career with
Montgomery County in the old Solid
Waste Division of the Environmental
Protection Department. He moved to
Highway Services 13 years ago, to take a
job as a craftsman. In that post, Anthony
might be called upon for a number of
assignments during a routine week.
In the winter, Anthony and his coworkers are on call for snow removal and
road salting assignments, often working
round-the-clock to keep the county’s road
networks clear and traffic moving.
When he’s not on the road, Anthony
supervises crews performing box repair
for leaf containers that are used throughout
the county for leaf collection in the Fall.
Highway Services crews have to be
ready on short notice whenever winter
storms threaten, a task not unlike the job
of a union representative. Where highway
crews are just as active between storms—
keeping equipment repaired and prepared
for the call; Anthony points out that union
reps devote lots of prep time to training
and homework to understand the union’s
contract and to stay abreast of events that
might have an impact on the workers they
represent.
As an official of the Union, Anthony
represents more than 85 workers in three
of the five county Highway Services
depots.
“It’s a communications job. We have
to make sure that union members are
informed about their rights. That is a
constant challenge because a lot of our
senior people have retired or moved into
other jobs and we have a steady stream
of new, younger workers,” Anthony says.
The age range runs the gamut, from nearretirees to youngsters right out of high
school. The youngest worker at the Silver
Spring depot just turned 20.
Local 1994 President Gino Renne
praises Anthony as a role model for his coworkers and other union representatives
throughout Local 1994.
“He understands that the best
representatives are the ones who head
off problems before they happen. We
don’t rate our reps on the number of
grievances they generate, but on how well
they communicate with members and
management.”
Folks like Anthony “earn respect
and set a positive example by acting
professionally and being well-grounded.
With his experience and calm approach,
Anthony sets a high standard of
performance for the union and its
members. We’re proud to have him as a
part of the Local 1994 team.
A native Washingtonian, Anthony is
married with three grown children and
three grandchildren. He attended trade
school in printing, but opted for outdoor
work early on. Before he signed on
with the county, Anthony worked in the
construction industry.
3
Tentative Agreement Reached
with Montgomery County;
Health Care, Retirement Talks Scheduled for Fall
A
fter four months of
intensive contract
negotiations with
Montgomery County
Government, negotiators
for MCGEO and the County have reached
agreement on a new three-year labor pact
covering some 7,000 county workers in
over 20 departments and agencies.
In the weeks ahead, workers
covered by the agreement will have the
brightest employees will be attracted to
highly competitive wages and benefits to
come to Montgomery County, where they
can continue delivering the highest quality
public services that County residents have
become accustomed to.”
While commending the County’s
chief negotiator Carlos Vargas and the
entire County bargaining team for its
“willingness to work hard to find common
ground between the Union and County
MCGEO’s Montgomery County bargaining team reviews proposals in the final hours of
negotiations.
opportunity to review it in detail and
cast their vote at contract ratification
meetings in County work sites. Final
implementation of any agreement is
subject to approval and funding by the
Montgomery County Council during its
annual budget deliberations, which are
generally concluded by the end of May.
“Our bargaining team is very
pleased with this agreement. We are
recommending a ‘yes’ vote to our
membership,” declared MCGEO President
Gino Renne. “We believe this contract
balances the needs and concerns of the
County’s workers, management team,
and residents alike. It provides concrete
wage gains for our members and pay
parity for groups of workers for whom
base wages have been lagging” Overall,
Renne continued, “it is a win-win for all
stakeholders in the future of Montgomery
County—ensuring that the best and the
4
management,” Renne conceded that
this round of bargaining was “by far the
most challenging and expensive set of
negotiations the Union has faced in its
history.”
It also marked the first time for the
Union that binding arbitration was
triggered during negotiations, though the
process was short-circuited only hours
later by a deal struck between the Union
and the County on their own. As a part
of that deal, the Union and the County
agreed to defer final negotiations on
retirement and health care issues until this
Fall.
“The pact also validates collective
bargaining as the best way to address
and resolve workplace issues, bolstering
morale and a sense of involvement
in the process by both workers and
management,” Renne said.
“On behalf of our Montgomery County
members, I want to extend our deep
appreciation to this dedicated bargaining
team. They have all made substantial
sacrifices of their personal time not just
in bargaining, but in the long hours of
preparation and study to developing
proposals and presenting our case to
County Management,” Renne added.
Highlights of the agreement
include:
• General wage adjustments (COLA)
of 4 percent for all merit employees
effective July 1, 2007, and additional
4.5 percent adjustments in both July
2008 and July 2009.
• 3.5 percent service increments
each year of the contract to all
eligible employees, effective on the
anniversary of their hiring date.
• An increase in longevity pay, from 2
percent to 3 percent, for employees
who have completed 20 years of
service with the County and have
reached the top of their grade.
• Special wage enhancements for
Sheriff’s Deputies, Corrections
Officers, and Ride-On bus operators,
to bring wages into line with
industry standards.
• Creation of a county-wide Labor/
Management Relations Committee
to resolve issues that arise during
the administration of the contract
and to address matters that cannot
be successfully resolved within the
Department where they originated.
• A “gain-sharing” program to
encourage and reward ideas from
rank and file workers that would
improve efficiency and productivity.
Continued on next page
The Process is
Frustrating and Rewarding
As members of the union bargaining team packed up after four months of lengthy
and often intense meetings, they offered their views on the bargaining process and its
aftermath:
Patty Vogel, School Health Services,
17 years, first time in bargaining.
“The whole process has been very educational and very interesting. It was great to get
to see all the behind-the-scenes work the union has to do to prepare for negotiations
and to present our issues. It’s been very time consuming. I don’t even know how many
Patty
meetings there have been, but it was a lot, and I was at every one of them. I’ve learned
a lot and I want to make sure our members in school health services know how hard we
fought to make their case.”
Victoria Darnall,
Department of Liquor Control Enforcement Specialist,
20 years of county service, 17 with DLC, first time in negotiations
“I’m always talking to our members about what the union does, and how hard it
Vioria
tries to get what we want. My time on the bargaining team has given me a much
better understanding of bargaining and I want to pass that understanding along to our
members.”
Shannon Songco,
12 years as a Deputy Sheriff, first time in negotiations
“Our members are really together, we’ve got good communications between the
deputies and the union. Even so, the big issue with them is the money—I am asked daily
Shannon
how much we’re going to get. I’ve been surprised about how much work is involved
and how long it takes to develop proposals…and how long it takes for management to
give us responses. Overall, it’s been a great learning experience for me.”
Gregorio Ford, Ride-On,
15 years as a bus operator, second stint on the bargaining team
“At RideOn we take our jobs seriously and we do the best we can. Negotiations are a
Gregorio
process of give and take and it’s difficult for both sides. But, sometimes when we sit
down with management it seems as if they don’t understand that…They act as if we
don’t deserve the things we’re working to get. I want our members to understand how
much effort we expend to try to get what they really want.”
5
Continued from previous page
Terri Miller, Community Health Nurse II,
Montgomery County Corrections Facility,
five years; 20 years in nursing, second time on bargaining team
“Our toughest job in negotiations is to get the point across to members: the more you’re
willing to do for the union, the more the union can do for you. I wish every member
could see how this works. We’re not just talking about a pay raise. We’re talking about
a lot of little and different things for each department. The union works hard to see
that each job classfication is taken care of. As for nursing, the county needs to be more
Terri
progressive about compensation, recognize that they can do lots of different things to
keep good people. We’ve got a tough job in educating management to get them to look
at problems from the employees’ point of view.”
Kris Tuckerman, Local Vice President,
Department of Public Libraries, over 33 years,
Library Associate II, first time on bargaining team
The library system has never really recovered from the deep budget cuts and heavy job
losses it suffered several years ago. Staffing levels at some libraries today are pretty bare
Kris
boned especially in our newly opened “mega libraries” in Rockville and Germantown.
I think our members would be impressed to see how seriously all the input we received
was considered and incorporated into our proposals. Negotiations work best, and
our members get the most out of them, when they take the time to get engaged in the
process.”
Anthony Chase, Local Vice President, Dept. of Public Works,
29 years of county service, second time on the bargaining team
“The union and management are doing the jobs they’re supposed to be doing. We have
Anthony
a responsibility to advocate for the membership, they have a responsibility to look out
for management’s interests. That’s how negotiations work. I’m confident that we will
effectively make the case for our members. We won’t quit until that is the case.”
Sean Collins, Local Vice President, Facilities Management,
seven years with the county, first time in negotiations
“We can’t create action out of nothing. We try as best we can to get members involved
before and during negotiations. Going in, I didn’t realize how much work and how
Sean
many people are involved in bargaining. It amazes me how the leadership—especially
Gino—always looks ahead, knowing when to push and when to lay back. I guess that’s
experience. The work they do is inspiring. The lesson here is that we have to make
members stronger and more involved to win what we need.”
6
Continued from previous page
Antonio Kindred, Correctional Officer,
nine years, first bargaining
“There is a great deal of misunderstanding about how hard you have to fight for what
you get. This experience has been eye opening for me. Every member should see how
negotiations work. Management always seems to want to fight over the little stuff.
Serving on the negotiating team takes a lot of personal time, at the same time it’s a
tremendously rewarding experience. Considering everything I’ve learned, it’s been well
Antonio
worth the time and effort.”
Craig Longcor, Local Vice President,
Correctional Officer, over 11 years,
28 years total county service,
served on three successive bargaining teams
“Compared to two earlier rounds of bargaining this has been very different. The
county’s chief negotiator is new, with a different style. They’re facing different pressure
with a new administration and a new county executive. The spirit of the unions in
Montgomery County has been great. We work well together with the other unions to
Craig
achieve common goals. We don’t allow ourselves to be pitted one against the other.
Overall, our people understand that negotiating is like building a structure, you’ve got
to be patient and take it one step at a time.”
Bob Lehman, Local Vice President,
Deputy Sheriff
12 years, third round of bargaining
“We’ve made adjustments to accommodate the changes that have occurred since the
last round of negotiations. Our members want to know the outcome, and they’re not
too interested in the process. But, the experience allows us to bring issues to light.
The Sheriffs Office has one advantage over some of the other departments at the table
because we’re more centralized and we all do pretty much the same thing. Having been
Bob
to the bargaining table before, I have seen what can be gained by superior preparation
and tremendous perserverance. We are nothing if not determined, that’s for sure.”
Bargaining team members not pictured: Steve Miller, Therapist II, HHS; Justin
Fishbein, Public Safety Communications Specialists, (911); Cathy Maddox, Public
Safety Aide, Police Dept.
7
Organizing
Update
PGCC Campus Workers
Take First Step Toward Union
Step 1: Sign the Card
“Signing a union authorization
card is like registering to vote.
It’s the first step in an eight step
process,” explains Local 1994
Organizing Coordinator Doug
Menapace. “And, just like
registering to vote, the card doesn’t
obligate you to do anything. It
doesn’t make you a member of a
political party. It doesn’t require you
to pay dues. It means what it says:
‘I want an election to see if there is
a majority in this work group who
would vote for a voice on the job.”
However, Menapace is quick to add:
“You can’t move on to the next seven
steps if you don’t take that first step.”
A growing core of workers on the
campus at Prince Georges Community
College have taken that first step and
have agreed to work with Local 1994 to
encourage others to do the same.
Step 2: Filing a
Petition for Election
Once the Union secures a sufficient
number of signed cards it will present
those cards to the Maryland State
Commissioner of Labor & Industry
who acts as a neutral third party. The
Commissioner will verify that the cards
are authentic and adequate to indicate
campus workers want an election to decide
the issue. The identity of those who signed
cards is protected at all times.
8
Step 6: Negotiations
Negotiators from Local 1994
and a group of represented
employees—the union bargaining
team—begin a series of meetings
with management representatives
to work out language and
procedures in a first contract. Each
side will contribute its views and
concerns and the final document
(proposed contract) will be the
product of that process.
Step 7: Ratification
Step 3: Setting the Election Date
Once the Commissioner makes a
determination about the cards, the union
and management meet to select an election
date.
Step 4: The Election
Each individual in the established
“bargaining unit” (the PGCC unit has
been defined as all employees in office
professional and technical jobs, all service,
trades and labor personnel and all law
enforcement personnel) will be given the
opportunity to vote for or against a voice
on the job.
Step 5: Preparing
for Negotiations
Assuming a majority vote for the
union, the next step is to prepare for
contract negotiations. During this
period, employees meet to discuss initial
proposals—deciding what benefits they
need and key areas they’d like to address.
The bargaining team will
report back to you (the bargaining unit)
at a meeting to review the terms of the
contract offer. If a majority votes to
accept the agreement, all the wage rates
and new benefits become effective as of
the contract date. If rejected, the team
returns to negotiations to try to make
improvements.
Step 8: Join the Union
Once the contract is ratified and the
improvements are in effect, you join the
union. This final step takes place on the
31st day after the effective date of the
contract. You are not asked to pay dues
until then.
For more information, you may contact
Doug Menapace at 301-977-2447
Local 1994 Welcomes
Cumberland Police Officers
Organizing Update Continued
Park & Planning Group
Looks to MCGEO
A group of some 350 workers within the Maryland National
Capital Park & Planning Commission has contacted Local 1994
for assistance in organizing. MCGEO already represents a total
of some 650 MNCPPC personnel in a variety of occupations and
trades.
MCGEO Files on Behalf
of Prince George’s Revenue
Authority Workers
Twenty-five employees of the Prince George’s County
Revenue Authority employed at Garden City Garage will be
given the opportunity to vote for union representation in a
National Labor Relations Board election.
Local 1994 Organizing Coordinator Doug Menapace said the
Union has already collected a sufficient number of authorization
cards to warrant the vote. He is in the process of filing the formal
petition with the NLRB.
Frederick City Workers
Press Aldermen
for Union
A rank and file committee of Frederick City workers is
lobbying City aldermen to enact an ordinance clearing the way
for union representation for 260 City employees. Frederick
Mayor William Holtzinger opened the new year with a
workshop where Local 1994 Executive Director Bob Stewart
presented a model ordinance that, if implemented, would grant
city workers the same rights Frederick police officers have
enjoyed for over 10 years.
If the aldermen decide to move forward, the issue would be
put on the agenda for a public hearing and, ultimately, a vote.
Forty-three officers of the Police Department of the City
of Cumberland, Maryland have chosen Local 1994 as their
exclusive collective bargaining representative. The Union will
enforce the officers’ current contract, which expires in June 2007,
until a new one can be negotiated. Talks are expected to begin in
March. Officers selected as Local 1994 stewards include Andrew
Linthicum, Isreal Sibley, Brian Lepley, Eric Rice, Rick Virts
and Korey Rounds. They will also serve as members of the
bargaining team for upcoming negotiations, working with Local
President Gino Renne and Field Services Coordinator Gail
Heath.
Organizing 101 Your Rights
It is important for you as an employee to know and
understand all your rights as a valuable part of your workplace.
When working to unionize, there are certain things your
employer cannot, by law, ask you about, threaten you with, or
comment on. These regulations have been stipulated by law.
Should you become the victim of any of the following, contact a
union representative immediately.
Management cannot:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Threaten to fire, discharge or punish you should you engage
in union activity.
Give employees who speak out against the union special
favors or concessions, and they cannot promise employees
promotions who initially support and then oppose forming a
union.
Bar employee union representatives from talking with
members during non-working hours.
Inquire about confidential union matters, including union
meetings, union representatives or the union itself.
Ask you whether or not you belong to a union or actively
support forming a union.
Alter your work assignments, your work environment, or
working conditions with the intention of firing you based on
your support for unionization.
Threaten or coerce you in an attempt to influence your union
support.
Make threats regarding the discontinuation of benefits,
wages, vacations, or job security should you and your fellow
employees form a union.
9
Union Notes
Grievance Yields
$23,000 in Back Pay
For Eight Resident
Supervisors in DOC
Eight Local 1994 members at the Rockville Pre-Release
Center in Montgomery County’s Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation will share in a back pay settlement totaling
over $23,000 as a result of a grievance over work assignments.
Individual checks ranged from $632.38 to more than $4,300.
The eight Resident Supervisors were routinely assigned
casework duties outside the normal responsibilities for their
positions after they had been asked to “volunteer” to cover
caseloads for Correctional Specialists IIs. Under the terms of the
union contract, the situation entitled the workers involved to full
compensation to the higher class of pay for the entire time that
they performed those duties.
MCGEO Field Services Coordinator Gail Heath, who
pursued the Union's grievance in this case, was commended for
her "tireless efforts" by Resident Supervisor Jasper Ezeigbo.
An appreciative Vasshon McCall said that Heath's "prompt
responses and honest answers to my questions were greatly
appreciated. It is comforting to know that we have someone who
will go the extra mile (or two) for us. Score one for the Union!"
But perhaps Frank Rini, another settlement beneficiary,
summed it up best of all when he exclaimed, "This rocks!"
Talks with
PGCMLS Stalemated
Negotiations for a new agreement on working conditions for
employees of the Prince George’s County Memorial Library
System reached an impasse late last year. Local 1994 President
Gino Renne recently sent a letter to County Executive Jack
Johnson, along with the union’s demands, in an effort to restart
the talks. “We are awaiting a response,” Renne said.
Union Challenge Upgrades
DOCR Principal Admin Aides
Eleven Grade 13 Principal Administrative Assistants who
work at the Central Processing Unit of the Montgomery County
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been
reclassified as Intake Processing Aides and upgraded to Grade
14 as a result of a classification challenge filed on their behalf by
MCGEO. The reclassification and upgrade took effect January 1,
2007.
10
MCGEO Hails New
Jobs Safety Plan
At the behest of union members serving on the Montgomery
County Commission on Health, the County is considering ways
to bolster resources available to better enforce occupational safety
and health programs for workers in the County.
Maryland provides its own OSHA program with grant money
from the federal government and its own funds. However, the
state today has fewer than 100 inspectors in the system to police
all Maryland workplaces. According to international workplace
safety standards the state should have three to four times that
number.
Pointing out that job safety programs at all levels are
hamstrung by a lack of resources, Commission members Jim
Grossfeld, a member of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper
Guild, Silvia Casaro of the Metropolitan Washington Labor
Council and Lee Goldberg of the SEIU are pressing the County
to add resources of its own to OSHA enforcement. Early
indications are that the County government is favorably inclined
to pursue that effort.
Union Initiative Makes Prince
George’s Libraries Safer for All
Last year Local 1994 went to the Prince George’s County
Council with a proposal to assign County Deputy Sheriffs to
provide security for County libraries. The program began in
December for the Bowie Library, a facility adjacent to Bowie
High School and one of the largest in the County’s system.
A recent article in the Bowie Blade highlighted some of the
reasons that Prince George’s County Memorial Library System
personnel were lobbying so hard for the added security that the
deputies provide. The article profiled a typical day for Deputy
Adam Taifouri as he dealt with unruly teens who use the
library as a hangout while others try to study or do homework. It
described incidents involving students with drugs, weapons and
others involving students having sex in the library’s restrooms.
Branch manager Nancy Erskine explained that before the
deputies were assigned, staff had to call county police officers
when situations got out of hand and response times were, at best,
erratic.
“As Nancy said in the article, the deputies have made an
incredible difference. We still take the lead in working with and
handling difficult students, but everything we do is so much easier
now, knowing that we have the deputies to back us up,” said
Bowie librarian and Local 1994 Vice President Sue Smithers.
“I know the other staff members share my appreciation for the
union’s initiative in visiting and lobbying the County Council for
this program.” MCGEO Executive Director Bob Stewart and
Field Services Coordinator Gail Heath accompanied individual
union members in meetings with the Council last year.
Inspectors Scheduled
For Upgrade
Union workers in the Code
Enforcement Inspector (CEI) series are
due to receive a major boost following
an exhaustive review of their work by an
outside consultant hired by Montgomery
County. The consultant is recommending
that CEI III should be reclassified upward
from Grade 19 to Grade 20. While
Inspectors I and II would be retained in
their currently assigned classes at Grades
17 and 18, respectively, the consultant is
recommending that all of their positions
be set at “budget level,” meaning that all
incumbents may be non-competitively
promoted to the “full performance”
CEI III class once their “experience,
proficiency level, and assigned duties
warrant advancement within the
occupational series” all the way to Grade
20.
Once the consultants’ findings
and recommendations are reviewed,
approved, and implemented, all nineteen
(19) Inspectors III will be elevated
immediately to a Grade 20. In addition to
raising the pay scale for these workers,
those in the CEI III group who are still
eligible to receive service increments
will receive an expedited increment on
the effective date of the upgrade, which
will then permanently become their
new increment date. Of the remaining
Inspectors, one (1) CEI I and three
(3) Inspectors III will be eligible to
become Grades 20 through future, noncompetitive “proficiency advancements.”
This classification study, initially
requested by the union, examined
Code Enforcement Inspectors in the
Department of Police/Animal Services,
Department of Environmental Protection/
OPEC, Department of Public Works and
Transportation (DPWT)/Solid Waste
Services, and DPWT/Transit Services.
MCGEO Welcomes
Shae Wilson,
Membership Coordinator
Shae Wilson recently joined the MCGEO staff as
Membership Coordinator. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Shae
relocated with her family to Gaithersburg 15 years ago
and soon thereafter she began doing volunteer work for
Montgomery County government.
Prior to joining the Union staff, Shae worked as an
executive level assistant in various departments and
divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
A die hard fan of both the New York Giants and the
Yankees, Shae describes herself as “friendly, patient and service-oriented; but
most importantly, willing to learn.”
��
��
��
Better Life
The Employee Free Choice Act will
restore workers’ freedom to decide for
themselves—without employer
intimidation—whether to form unions
and bargain for better
wages, benefits and a
voice on the the job.
Take Action
Visit www.ufcw.org and tell your
representative to sign the
Employee Free Choice Act.
Sign the petition today.
11
Correctional Officers and Union Stewards Antonio Kindred and Michael McCullough canvass for union member votes in Silver
Spring. Kindred and McCullough donated more than 40 hours of their own time as part of Local 1994’s Get Out The Vote effort
on behalf of labor’s endorsed candidates. They were joined by dozens of other volunteers from the local, walking through key
precincts to talk member-to-member about the importance of the election.
We Won,
and the Job
Just Got
Harder
H
aving endorsed 101
candidates running
for Federal, state
and county office during last
fall’s election season, Local
1994’s army of political action
volunteers brought home
97 victories on November
7th. That’s an average of 96
percent.
12
“This wasn’t just a victory for union
members, it was a significant vote for
progress from coast to coast…”
Volunteer Honor Roll
Scores of MCGEO members gave generously of their
personal time to help elect union-friendly candidates in
On behalf of the Union’s
membership, Local 1994
President Gino Renne and
Executive Director Bob
Stewart issued a statement
of appreciation to those
“dedicated Union members and
officers who went above and
beyond the call to help make
these wins possible.”
(See Honor Roll—at right.)
“Those of you who
campaigned directly for
candidates, stuffed envelopes,
staffed telephone banks, hand
billed at Metro stations and
canvassed neighborhoods
were a vital part of the effort.
You can take a great deal
of satisfaction in knowing
that you made a significant
difference in races in which the
Union was involved,” Renne
said.
“This wasn’t just a victory
for union members, it was a
significant vote for progress
from coast to coast. Voters
elected public officials and
re-elected many incumbents
who campaigned on promises
to shift the focus to more
responsive government, one
that promises to shift the focus
of our national, state and local
priorities to the everyday
concerns of working families
who form the backbone of our
country.”
Local 1994’s legislative
agenda will include pressing
lawmakers at the county and
state level on their promises
to deal with the priorities they
campaigned on, including
the right of workers to
organize, join unions, and
bargain collectively with their
employers—rights that have
been seriously eroded in recent
years.
Now comes the hard part
for those who the Union and
labor movement in general
helped to elect: translating
campaign platforms into
programs; switching from
running for office to running
an office. “The transition won’t
be difficult for the veteran
incumbents—they’ve already
proven their leadership skills.
We stand ready to help them,
as well as the newcomers we
supported as they settle into
the business of lawmaking
and governing,” declared
Stewart who heads up Local
1994’s political and legislative
programs.
last November’s election. Here are the top dozen, whose
total volunteer time exceeded 600 hours—
˛ Vice President Anthony Chase
˛ Vice President Sean Collins
˛ Vice President Paulette Key Dudley
˛ Vice President Greg Goebel
˛ Vice President Craig Longcor
˛ Vice President Nelvin Ransome
˛ Vice President Susan Smithers
˛ Vice President Kris Tuckerman
˛ Vice President Tony Thomas
˛ Shop Steward Antonio Kindred
˛ Shop Steward Michael McCullough
˛ Shop Steward David Owens
BELOW: Local 1994 volunteers gathered early on a
Saturday morning to walk precincts on behalf of laborendorsed candidates before the November 7th General
Election. Officers, staffers and members from MCGEO
units donated hundreds of hours of their personal time
to support the election effort.
qqq
13
Spotlighting Income Inequality
Legislative Report
by Bob Stewart, Executive Director
H
ats off to newly-elected
Virginia Sen. Jim Webb.
Here’s a guy who means
what he says, and says
what he means. Not long
after he managed one of the biggest
upsets in the 2006 election, Webb wrote
an article published in the Wall Street
Journal in which he laid out his populist
analysis and remedies, saying out loud
what millions of Americans have felt for
a long time.Yes, he said, there is a “class
war” brewing in our country and most
middle and lower-income Americans are
on the losing end.
As Webb pointed out: The top one
percent of American households now
takes in an astounding 16 percent of
national income, up from 8 percent in
1980. The tax code favors them, just as it
protects corporate America, through a vast
system of loopholes.
Meanwhile, he noted, American voters
have been deliberately and cynically
manipulated by the politics of distraction
and division personified by White
House advisor Karl Rove whose all too
successful strategy has been to divert
the attention of hard working Americans
away from the issues that most affect
their economic well-being and standard of
living.
Here’s how Webb said it: “Working
Americans have been repeatedly
seduced at the polls by emotional
issues such as the predictable mantra
of ‘God, guns, gays, abortion and
the flag’ while their way of life
shifted ineluctably beneath their
feet. But this election cycle showed
an electorate that intends to hold
government leaders accountable
for allowing every American a fair
opportunity to succeed.”
The statistics on the distribution
of wealth and income in America
today draw a sharp outline of what’s
been happening, and it’s not a pretty
Off the charts!
497% income rise
$6 million income
Growing Together, Growing Apart
200%
Wealthiest
tenth of a
percent earn 1.7
million a year
150%
116%
98.2%
97.1%
100%
103%
181%
84.8%
63.6%
50%
0%
2.8%
Poorest
20%
12.9%
Second
Poorest
20%
1947-1973
14
23.4%
Middle
20%
1973-2004
38.4%
Second
Richest
20%
Richest
20%
Top
0.1%
picture.
Economists call it income inequality.
You could call it “getting hosed.” Consider
these facts from the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities: From 2003 to 2004, the
average incomes of the bottom 99 percent
of households grew by less than 3 percent.
For the other 1 percent, average incomes
jumped 18 percent. The top 1 percent of
households took 53 percent of the income
gains in 2004.
Only five times since 1913 has the top
one percent’s share risen by as much in a
single year. It should come as no surprise
then to learn that the top one percent
currently receives 20 percent of all income
earned in one year.
At least forty-six million Americans
have no health insurance, and that number
is climbing everyday. Only 19 percent of
us enjoy a guaranteed pension benefit—
that figure was 39 percent 25 years ago.
Over the past five years, poverty rates
have increased steadily. Today, more than
37 million Americans live in poverty, even
though the vast majority of poor people
work for a living.
Once upon a time we were told that
we had to raise productivity in
order to justify pay increases.
Not anymore. In the first three
quarters of 2006, according
to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, real wages for
non-supervisory workers were
stagnant while productivity
continued to rise dramatically.
Over the period from 2000 to
2005, productivity went up 17
percent while median family
income fell 3 percent. Among
the culprits: a rabid, all-out
assault on the right of unions
to organize; the inexorable
forces of globalization
and deregulation; and the
widespread outsourcing of
Top
good jobs in the U.S. to cheap
0.01%
labor markets overseas.
Source: Economic Policy Institute 1979-2001
qqq
Raising the Minimum:
Just the Beginning
All over the nation, minimum wage
workers are anxiously awaiting the
outcome of the congressional deliberations
to add $2.10 to the federal
minimum wage—giving them
a raise for the first time in ten
years. Immediate beneficiaries
are the 5.6 million store clerks,
janitors and housekeepers,
drivers, security guards,
waitresses and laborers who
find themselves with no
bargaining power over their
wages.
Another 7.3 million
workers now make more than
the current federal minimum
of $5.15, but less than the new
projected $7.25 minimum
wage. The increase, when and
if it takes effect in some two
years, will mean an additional
$4,400 in annual income for
the lowest paid—a seemingly
small amount, but a significant
increase over what they are
currently earning. A corporate CEO,
making 262 times what the average worker
makes, could spend that same $4,400 in a
few hours, on a couple of lavish dinners
at a high-end restaurant, or a really nice,
custom tailored suit.
Unfortunately, it won’t take long for
that new minimum wage to be diluted. The
current minimum is already at the lowest
level in 50 years in terms of purchasing
power. How long will it take before rising
rents, escalating health care and energy
costs, and inflation in general consume
that $2.10 raise and then some?
Raising the minimum wage will
ultimately prove to be little more than a
symbolic gesture if Congress
doesn’t index the new rate
to increases in the cost of
living.
On the bright side,
many of the newly-elected
Democratic lawmakers,
like Sen. Jim Webb are
optimistic: “With this new
Congress, and heading into
an important presidential
election in 2008,” Webb
noted, “American workers
have a chance to be heard
in ways that have eluded
them for more than a decade.
Nothing is more important
for the health of our society
than to grant them the
validity of their concerns.
And our government leaders
have no greater duty than to
confront the growing unfairness in this age
of globalization.”
It’s up to us to keep our newly-elected
leaders focused on that objective. It’s our
opportunity. We better not blow it.
qqq
Author/ Librarian
Annette Curtis
Klause
10 Years Later, the Movie
Ten years after she sold the movie rights, Montgomery County Librarian and
MCGEO member Annette Klause is enjoying the experience of watching her novel,
“Blood and Chocolate,” come to life on the movie screen. Ms Klause, who was born
and raised in Bristol, England, has had four of her novels published. Her latest, “Freaks:
Alive, on the Inside,” released in January 2006, like her earlier three works, “The Silver
Kiss,” “Alien Secrets,” and “Blood and Chocolate,” are all written for teen readers.
Ms Klause began writing as a schoolgirl in England—mainly poetry. Her ongoing
fascination with teen fears and fantasies carries on, she says, “perhaps because I went
through so many changes when I came to the U.S. at age 15.”
“I think I’ve stayed in tune with that time in my life. It’s an exciting time period.”
Currently working as the Montgomery County Libraries Children’s Collection
manager in Gaithersburg, Ms Klause says the transformation of a novel into a movie
is a roller coaster experience. She never got a birds-eye look at the production before
it debuted in the theater, so she was a bit surprised and disappointed at some of the
changes. She recently told the Montgomery Gazette that decisions to change the movie’s
setting from suburban Maryland to Eastern Europe was a bit jolting.
Overall, she said, “I thought it was well directed and the cinematography was
beautiful: however, the story deviated severely from mine and was much more
predictable.”
15
Union Focuses on Four Legislative Measures as
New General Assembly Gets Down to Business
M
CGEO is focusing
on four specific
legislative issues
in the coming session of the
Maryland General Assembly.
Two of the measures deal
with Workers Compensation
parity for Montgomery
County Correctional
Officers, while two others
deal with job security
for employees of the
Montgomery County Housing
Opportunities Commission
(HOC) and the Maryland
National Capital Park and
Planning Commission
(MNCPPC).
16
Here are details:
Bill No. MC 705-07: Workers Compensation Parity
for Montgomery County Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation Correctional Officers
Sponsor: Delegate Brian Feldman (D-District 15)
Status: Passed the County Affairs Committee chaired by
Delegate Anne Kaiser, a good friend of the union; passed the
Montgomery County House delegation unanimously.
County Executive: No position
County Council: Voted 4-3 in support with Praisner,
Andrews, and Berliner in opposition.
Summary: The bill will provide parity treatment for
Montgomery County Correctional Officers injured in the line of
duty equivalent to protections enjoyed by county police officers
and deputy sheriffs.
How you can help: Write to your County Council Members
and encourage them to support this measure.
Bill No. MC 706-07: Workers Compensation Heart
Disease and Hypertension Presumption Expansion for DOCR
Correctional Officers
Sponsor: Delegate Brian Feldman (D-District 15)
Summary: Two years ago the union won legislation to
cover DOCR officers under the state’s heart and hypertension
presumption law, but the issue of establishing a date for the
onset of these conditions became problematic because in
Montgomery County, unlike in Prince George’s, officers are
routinely tested during pre-hire health screening to
determine if they have such a condition. The 2005
enactment set a date of December 31, 2005 as the baseline for
crediting Montgomery County officers who are subsequently
diagnosed, meaning that if they had the condition prior to that
date, they could not claim that period for disability. The fix
proposed by MCGEO would move the presumption date back to
the individual officer’s date of hire.
County Executive: Opposed
County Council: Opposed
Bill No. MC 707-07 and Bill No. MC/PG 117-07: Amend
Service Contract and Procurement Procedures as applied to
Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC)
(707); and Maryland National Capital Park and Planning
Commission (MNCPPC) (117).
Sponsor: Delegate Ann Kaiser (D-District 14)
County Executive: Position pending
County Council: Position pending
Summary: Would greatly enhance employment security for
employees of HOC and MNCPPC by requiring the managing
authority of both agencies to first establish that contracting out
or privatizing either MNCPPC or HOC jobs would save at least
25 percent over the current cost of performing this work in
house before any plan to contract out or privatize work can move
forward.
Additionally: (1) Every effort would have to be made by both
agencies to place employees adversely affected by a contracting
out decision in a vacant position at the agency; (2) The contract
itself would have to include a provision giving first hiring
preference to displaced agency employees; and (3) provide an
opportunity for the Union to submit proposals in response to a
contracting plan for the purpose of enabling agency employees
to perform the services described in the proposed contract, while
substantially achieving the targeted savings.
Identical legislation was enacted in August 2006 by the
Montgomery County Council to apply to County government.
This measure incorporated guidelines negotiated a month earlier
between MCGEO and County Executive Doug Duncan. That
action set a solid precedent for extending the same concept to
both HOC and MNCPPC.
“The union’s foresight in getting these requirements well
established in Montgomery County makes it difficult for
HOC and MNCPPC to oppose reasonable legislation that
parallels the practice in Montgomery County,” declared Local
1994 Executive Director Bob Stewart. Nonetheless, HOC
Executive Director Scott Minton recently opposed this
legislation in public testimony before members of the Maryland
state legislature.
*You may mail your letters addressed to individual
Montgomery County Council Members or County Executive
to:
County Council
County Executive
100 Maryland Ave.,
EOB/ 101 Monroe St,
Rockville, MD 20850
2nd Fl., Rockville, MD 20850
Contact Information
County Executive
Isiah “Ike” Leggett
Phone: (240) 777-2500
Fax: (240) 777-2517
[email protected]
Council District 1 (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, Garrett
Park, Friendship Heights)
Roger Berliner
Phone: (240) 777-7828
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
Council District 2 (Germantown, Poolesville, Olney, Damascus,
Montgomery Village, Barnesville, Clarksburg, Laytonsville)
Michael J. Knapp
Phone: (240) 777-7955
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
Council District 3 (Gaithersburg, Rockville, North Potomac,
Derwood, Washington Grove)
Phillip M. Andrews
Phone: (240) 777-7906
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
Council District 4 (Burtonsville, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Aspen
Hill, Calverton, Sandy Spring, White Oak)
Marilyn J. Praisner
Phone: (240) 777-7968
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
Council District 5 (Takoma Park, Wheaton, Kensington, parts of
Silver Spring)
Valerie Ervin
Phone: (240) 777-7960
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
Council At Large
Marc Elrich
Phone: (240) 777-7966
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
Nancy M. Floreen
Phone: (240) 777-7959
Fax: 777-7989
councilmember.fl[email protected]
George L. Leventhal
Phone: (240) 777-7811
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
Duchy Trachtenberg
Phone: (240) 777-7964
Fax: 777-7989
[email protected]
17
Justice
Denied
at
Smithfield
By Susan L. Smithers
I
was one of the scores
of UFCW members from
MCGEO and other local
unions in the region who
descended upon Richmond,
Virginia on August 30, 2006 to
participate in a rally targeting
Smithfield Foods for its
abusive treatment of workers
at its plant in Tar Heel, North
Carolina.
The rally, which was planned to coincide with Smithfield
Foods annual shareholders meeting, began with testimony
from Smithfield workers at the Cedar St. Baptist Church to an
audience of UFCW members and other activists—ministers,
civil rights and community leaders, local and from out of town.
People of all ages, from all walks of life, from different
religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds were reminded that
justice delayed is justice denied; that what happens to one of us
happens to all of us; that workers’ rights and human rights are
one and the same, and that there is still much to overcome.
The service, both powerful and electrifying, was underscored
by moving and familiar music that resonated deep within the
hearts of all those present. The mood generated a connection
to all the people—past, present and future—who fought, are
fighting, and who will continue to fight the good fight.
The rally ended with the UFCW members marching to
Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel where the Smithfield Board
of Directors, CEO, top executives and their investors were
meeting. We got there in time to see company officials
challenged by the same leaders who had galvanized us back at
Cedar Street Baptist.
The UFCW members marched through the streets chanting
powerful messages and slogans, carrying banners and signs
and talking to the passers-by, using this event as an opportunity
to raise the public’s awareness of the abuses Smithfield Foods
heaps on its workers:
• Requiring permission from supervisors before allowing
workers to use the bathroom.
• Workers injured on the job are not allowed to leave the
floor. Injured workers have no choice but to go to the
company clinic, where they often receive inaccurate
diagnoses and inadequate treatment resulting in their
“Meatpacking and poultry workers
perform the most dangerous
factory jobs in the country. Their
employers put these workers at
predictable risk of serious physical
injury even though the means to
avoid such injuries are known and
feasible.”
having to cope with chronic illnesses, life threatening
infections or total disability. (If they go elsewhere, they are
forced to pay for care out of their own pockets.) In many
instances, employees have been accused of deliberately
injuring themselves
• Retaliation against employees who tried to unionize.
A report entitled, “Meatpacking’s Human Toll,” authored
by Lance Compa and Jamie Fellner and published in The
Washington Post over a year ago noted:
“Smithfield threatened to close the plant if workers voted
to join the UFCW. It harassed workers who supported the
union and paid other workers to spy on them. It forced
union supporters to distribute anti-union literature and fired
workers for backing the union. It asked workers to lie during
their testimony to the National Labor Relations Board and
refused to hand over company videos that the government had
subpoenaed.
“During a union election in 1997, two UFCW supporters
were beaten and arrested by security officers and deputy
sheriffs. The chief of security at the slaughter-house, who also
served as a local deputy sheriff, carried handcuffs and a gun on
the job. Between 2000 and 2005 he ran a company police force,
operating in the plant, and staffed with other deputy sheriffs,
that arrested almost a hundred workers including UFCW
supporters.”
Compa, who interviewed many of the workers at the
Smithfield Plant in Tar Heel, one of the poorest regions in North
Carolina, had this to say:
“A recent Human Rights Watch report on the United
States meatpacking industry found ‘systematic human rights
violations.”
“What’s happening there is a ‘modern day version of ‘The
Jungle’,” Compa said. Smithfield’s workers are comprised
of local whites, African-Americans, Native Americans and
“increasingly, immigrants, from Mexico and Central America,
but also from other parts of the world.” Immigrant workers are
especially vulnerable because they are poorly educated, have
limited English skills, are uncertain about or afraid to speak up
for their rights and in many instances are undocumented.
Not surprisingly, considering its track record in other
industries, the Bush Administration, Compa and Fellner pointed
out, “has worked closely with the meat industry to weaken food
safety and worker safety rules and to make union organizing
more difficult. The US Department of Agriculture now offers
a textbook example of a regulatory agency controlled by the
industry it’s supposed to regulate, i.e., the current chief of staff
at the USDA was, until 2001, the chief lobbyist for the National
Cattleman’s Beef Association.”
I will never forget the sad, torn voice of one of the workers,
the broken-heartedness of it borne not just from the injuries
he suffered from his accident but from the callous treatment
he received from Smithfield during its aftermath. On the other
hand, I will never forget the smile that broke across his solemn
face during the march when he heard the roar of the UFCW
crowd protesting against Smithfield. I would like to think that
he did not feel alone anymore.
Rally participants sent a powerful message to the leadership
of Smithfield Foods that workers everywhere should be treated
with dignity and respect, and that workers’ rights—that human
rights—are more important than any corporation’s bottom line.
They will keep sending this message to Smithfield Foods until
it is received and acted upon. I feel fortunate to have been a
part of this extraordinary event and I’m buoyed and exhilarated
by the goodness, commitment and resolve of everyone who
participated. Thanks to this experience, I appreciate more than
ever the many people who have fought the good fight. Above
all, I am proud to be a member of UFCW Local 1994.
qqq
Some other observations
from the report by Compa and Fellner:
“Meatpacking and poultry workers perform the most
dangerous factory jobs in the country. Their employers put
these workers at predictable risk of serious physical injury
even though the means to avoid such injuries are known and
feasible.”
“In 2001, the meat-packing industry had the nation’s highest
rate of serious injury...the rate of cumulative trauma injury
in meatpacking was about thirty-three times higher than the
national average.” Small wonder since “hundreds of people
work at a furious pace, close to one another, wielding sharp
knives” most commonly stabbing themselves or a nearby
worker. In 2002, (the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration) revamped the form that companies use to
report injuries resulting in a questionable 50% reduction in the
injury rate, thereby obscuring the real numbers of meatpacking
workers sustaining injuries on the job. Showing no shame,
the American Meat Institute proceeded to credit the industry
with this “miraculous decline” rather than the government’s
“bookkeeping changes.”
qqq
19
Spotlight
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21
Housing Opportunities Commission
It’s Your Money: Use It Or Lose It
Car Insurance Reimbursement
If you use your personal vehicle for
work and claim the mileage as part of
your automobile insurance, you may be
reimbursed for your insurance coverage
up to $450 the first year of the contract
(July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007). Effective
July 1, 2007, that reimbursement goes
up to a maximum of $550 and it goes
up to $650 on July 1, 2008. How do you
claim it? Submit a statement from your
insurance company to HOC’s Human
Resources Office indicating the portion of
your premium covering business mileage,
or an itemized accounting of your policy.
$1,000 Auto Maintenance
Reimbursement
Once you have accrued 7,500 miles of
travel using your personal vehicle in the
fiscal year you may claim reimbursement
for up to $1,000 for maintenance costs
incurred throughout that year—including
the costs of new tires, brakes, or other
mechanical maintenance related to normal
wear and tear on your vehicle.
Three Pairs of Safety Shoes
Union represented trades and
maintenance workers are entitled to three
pairs of safety shoes or boots over the life
of the current contract—from July 1, 2006
through June 30, 2009. Footwear is now
provided through Saf-Gard Safety Shoe
Company, HOC’s official vendor, through
a voucher system. You can select any
shoe or boot from the Saf-Gard catalog,
22
whatever the cost, as long as it meets
OSHA safety standards.
Although the Union contract clearly
sets no cap on the price of shoes available
to you through Saf-Gard, HOC has been
spending big bucks on an outside attorney
(who gets paid in one day what it takes
some HOC workers an entire month to
earn) in a desperate attempt to overturn
this provision of the contract that HOC
agreed to only last year.
Tool Allowances
All HOC trades and maintenance
workers are entitled to an annual tool
allowance of $300 for the first year
(ending July 1, 2007), $325 for year
two and $375 in year three of the union
contract.
As with all annual reimbursements or
entitlements, money left unspent at the
end of the fiscal year does not roll over or
accumulate in the years that follow. Use it
or lose it!
HOC’s Exec. Dir. Minton Testifies
Against Job Security for HOC Workers
Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) Executive Director Scott Minton
is vigorously opposing Union-inspired legislation currently pending before
the Maryland state legislature that would provide greater job security for HOC
workers by applying a series of constraints on contracting out HOC jobs.
In public testimony before Maryland state legislators, Minton shamelessly
argued against passage of MC 707-07 (see page 17 for details), which would
extend to HOC workers similar protections against contracting out that MCGEO
persuaded Montgomery County officials to adopt for County employees last year.
Contracting out and privatization are among the greatest threats to public
employment today. Without passage of MC 707-07, nothing can stop HOC from
“outsourcing” almost any job, at any time, and handing it over to a contractor.
Maintenance workers, accountants, counselors, and social workers are just a few
examples of who may be at risk.
The union urges members to contact elected officials in Montgomery County
and the state legislature to encourage them to support MC 707-07.
Help The Union Enforce Your Contract
Working Off the Clock is the ‘Unprofessional’ Thing to Do
Don’t Undermine Your Contract or Your Co-Workers
A
re you being compensated
for all the time you work?
In a ringing endorsement
of working “off the clock,”
at least one Housing
Opportunities Commission (HOC)
manager stated recently that “staying
(at work) until the job gets done” is the
“professional” thing to do. She further
stated that it isn’t her job to keep track of
whether or not any Union members she
supervises are working outside of their
scheduled hours.
This manager is wrong on both counts.
There is nothing “professional” about
performing work for free that you should
be getting compensated for, either with
overtime pay or compensatory time.
Workers who “volunteer” their time are
not only shortchanging themselves and
their families, but are hurting the cause
of their co-workers as well. Wherever
working off the clock becomes the norm,
the same standard is then expected of
everyone. Next thing you know, if you
leave to go home at the end of your shift,
you are branded as “unprofessional.”
Unfortunately, working off the
clock tends to create a vicious cycle of
escalating expectations without solving
the underlying problems, including
management’s unwillingness to plan and
budget for overtime needs, particularly
in areas where Office, Professional and
Technical (OPT) workers are concentrated.
Moreover, supervisors who prefer to
look the other way and who claim they
are unaware that union members under
their supervision are working without
compensation are shirking their basic
If you are working
through your lunch
break, before or after
your scheduled shift, or
on your days off, you
should, according to
the terms of the Union
contract, be getting
compensated for that
extra time.
management responsibility to know
what is happening right under their nose.
Ignorance, either feigned or genuine, is
not a legitimate excuse for managers who
are violating the terms and provisions of
the Union contract.
To remove the “ignorance defense,”
however, you should be sure that your
supervisor knows if you are finding it
necessary to work beyond your scheduled
hours. All overtime work must be preapproved by management.
The bottom line is this: If you are
working through your lunch break,
before or after your scheduled shift, or
on your days off, you should, according
to the terms of the Union contract,
be getting compensated for that extra
time. Depending on your position, you
are entitled to either overtime pay or
compensatory time—both at the rate of
time and a half.
If staffing shortages, heavier work
loads, and/or unrealistic supervisory
expectations are putting increasing
pressures on you to work off the clock
just to keep up, please let the Union know
promptly so that we can address the issue
with your management. Just as the Union
learned from its members last summer that
HOC’s Rental Assistance Division was
violating overtime provisions of the Union
contract by encouraging working off the
clock, we depend on you to bring any and
all contract violations to the Union as they
are occurring.
23
Secretary-Treasurer
Report
A New
Broom
Sweeps
Clean
by Yvette Cuffie
M
y grandmother
always said:
“a new broom
sweeps clean.” That is, I
believe, what we intended
last November when we
swept away many of the
tired old politicians who have
done nothing to reverse the
declining prospects of the
American middle class and
those who once aspired to
enter the middle class.
24
You know what I’m talking about—profits are up, real wages
are down; productivity has zoomed, economic insecurity is on
the rise; CEOs make more in a year than any 10 workers can
expect to make in a lifetime. Okay, brooms, do your stuff.
We worked hard all last year to turn out working families at
the polls because we wanted to throw
out the old brooms that served only the
wealthy and powerful. We elected new
and more worker-friendly folks who
understand what it’s like to scramble
day-in and day-out to keep food on the
table and a roof over our family’s heads.
Consider this fact: a full 75 percent
of all Americans no longer believe
that their children will have a better
life than their parents have had. Three
quarters of the population have given up on the American dream!
Why? Because they believe that the odds of achieving upward
mobility under current economic and political conditions are
stacked against their kids. One of the principal routes to a better
life used to be a good union job, but America’s labor laws have
been undermined, abused and simply ignored to the point that
it is almost impossible today to bring union representation to
unrepresented workers. At the same time, protecting the status
quo for those already in unions has become equally challenging.
One of the first tasks facing our new brooms is the topto-bottom scrubbing of America’s labor laws. Get rid of the
cobwebs and dust covering the machinery that determines how
workers secure union representation. Bring on a shiny new
system that allows workers to simply sign a card that says,
“Union Yes.”
Make it as easy to join a union as it is to join AARP, or
AAA, or to get a credit card. And, if a majority of workers in
a workplace sign a union card, make it a requirement that the
employer recognize that union, negotiate in good faith and
implement the terms of a first contract in real time, not in years
or decades.
Make it really illegal to fire workers who try to organize a
union.
Will 2007 be our “lucky year”? With new leadership in local
and state government and in the halls of Congress, can we expect
to see promises fulfilled and new opportunities open up? Our
hard work among working families to get out the vote paid off
at the ballot box; now it’s time to see if that will translate into a
new reality for working families.
An early test facing the newly elected Congress will occur
when the Employee Free Choice Act, which just passed its first
major hurdle in the U.S. House of Representatives, comes up
for final action. If it is enacted into law over George Bush’s
promised veto, this bill would go a long way towards restoring
workers freedom to form unions and to bargain collectively with
their employers.
My grandmother had an adage for just about every event in
life. Much of what I heard from her as a little girl was a mystery
to me until much later in life. The “new broom” was one of those
expressions.
Now, as I watch the newly-elected people take their first
hesitant steps as political leaders, I recall the wisdom of my
grandmother. She was what you might call a “healthy skeptic.”
Another expression she often used: “A man of words and not of
deeds is like a garden full of weeds.”
Okay, new brooms, my grandmother is watching.
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WEB-07/06
Workers Comp Advice
If You’re Hurt on the Job, Make Sure You Don’t Hurt Yourself Worse
J
ob injuries are hurtful enough, but
sometimes workers add to their
pain by failing to follow through
to fully protect their rights under
the law. Anyone injured on the
job must do three things:
First: Report the factual circumstances
surrounding your injury to your supervisor
immediately.
Second: Call the Union promptly
and let your representative know what
happened.
Third: Make an appointment as soon
as possible with an attorney from the
Union’s worker’s compensation law firm.
An attorney there will see to it that a
claim is filed properly with the Maryland
Worker’s Compensation Commission
in Baltimore. This and all related legal
services are provided to you at no cost.
While your employer is required to fill
out a “first report of injury” report, that
report does not initiate a legal worker’s
compensation claim. Do not think
MCGEO/UFCW Local 1994
600 South Frederick Avenue
Suite 200
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
you are protected if you fill out forms
your supervisor gives you. It is your
responsibility, and yours alone, (with the
assistance of your attorney) to file a claim
on forms that are provided only by the
Workers’ Compensation Commission, not
by your employer. If you fail to do this,
you are not eligible to receive the lifetime
medical benefits and 100% coverage for
your injury as provided for under the law.
Another common error that workers
make is to downplay an injury out of
concern that they might be seen as
malingering or “gaming the system.”
Many are just plain anxious to get back
on the job and will tell a supervisor or
an investigator that they feel fine. Do not
ignore continued pain and hope it will just
go away on its own. You also should not
worry if the injury was your responsibility.
Even if it was “your fault” you may still
be covered under Maryland law.
Employers and insurers often retain
investigators to call a worker shortly after
an incident to “make sure you’re okay.”
The caller is usually friendly and sensitive,
and sometimes will ask if it’s okay to tape
the conversation which is little more than
an attempt to get you on the record saying
something that might undermine your
claim. Never engage in a conversation
about your injury with someone you do
not know and never allow any of your
conversations to be recorded. Once you
have filed a workers’ compensation claim,
you should refer all questions about your
injury to your attorney. You are under no
obligation to discuss your case with an
outside investigator, and you are advised
not to, once you have retained counsel.
Please notify the Union if you are ever
injured on the job and we will refer you to
the law firm of Berman, Sobin, and Gross
at (301) 670-7030 or (800) 827-COMP.
Remember it is absolutely critical
you be represented by an attorney from
the outset of your case!
Prstd First Class
U.S. Postage
PAID
Washington, DC
Permit No. 3070

Winter 07 MCGEO.indd - UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO

Transcription

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