THE ORGANIZER

An Official Publication of
The United Public Employees of California
LIUNA Local 777

Spring 2001

Be the change that you want to see in the world.” — Gandhi

 

Linda Jefferson, Dee Galvan, Paul Bechely

Dee Galvan Termination Rescinded

Dee had been terminated for questioning her being forced to sign a “voluntary” agreement to attend an Anger Management program. The arbitrator reinstated Dee deciding that “This could have and should have been avoided. Someone from County Management had the responsibility to take the grievant aside and explain to her exactly what would happen to her if the situation with EAP was not rectified. By not doing so the County improperly terminated a 61 year old woman who was attempting to do her job.”

(With The President Taking A Bat To His [Federal] Employees Along With The Rest Of Working Families)

On with the Presidential “ring” and off with the “kindler, gentler”, mask. Right out of the box on February 17, President Bush signed Executive Orders that included disbanding the National Partnership Council, which required government agencies to try and work together with their unions through labor-management partnerships; revoked “project labor agreements” that have been saving taxpayers dollars by creating labor-management cooperation and stability with large public works projects; and revoked a prior Presidential order that required successive public building contractors to offer a right of first refusal to the previous contractors’ employees, which had protected low wage service workers from being replaced by contractors wanting to bring in non-union, “less-expensive” workers.

According to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, “This violates the President’s own public pledges to consult widely, promote civility and ‘change the tone’ in Washington. His action appears to be pure retribution for the growing voice of working men and women in our nation’s political life.”

In the area of labor-management cooperation the Executive Order rescinds the National Partnership Council created in 1993 that required federal agencies to confer with their employees’ representatives over such topics as staffing levels and work techniques, and which was an attempt at improving labor-management relations throughout the federal government. This order immediately abolishes labor-management relations systems that serve the federal government and hundreds of thousands of federal workers as well.

This approach to resolving workplace issues reflected a steady development in federal personnel relations that began in the Nixon Administration—until now…

First Scholarships Awarded!

On March 31 Local 777 awarded its first $1,000.00 Scholarships to its members and/or their immediate family members. March 31 was chosen because it represents the first year that public (State) employees have been given an additional paid holiday in recognition of Cesar Chavez, founder of the United Farm Workers union. Hopefully Local 777 members will be successful next when their MOU’s come up for negotiations.

The Scholarship winners were: Maureen Barley, Jennifer Ingram, Kirsten Holt, and Ellen Ennis.

A very special note of thanks goes to the leadership of our sister APC Local 1002, who represent 2,000 Counselors

From left to right,(back row), are: Barbara Peterson, Ellen Ennis, Jennifer Ingram, Charles Goetzl, and Christine McCarthy. Seated (from left) are Maureen Barley and Kirsten Holt.

and other academic professionals in the CSU System, and who agreed to judge the Scholarship applicants. In particular we want to thank Local 1002 President Charles Goetzl, Northern V. P. Barbara Peterson, and Southern V. P. Christine McCarthy, who attended the March 31 Awards Luncheon.

Assembly Bill 616 — Let’s Get It Passed!

Assembly Bill (AB) 616, which would provide a P.E.R.S. benefit of 3% at 60 has been sponsored and is making its way through the legislature. If it passes the Senate and Assembly and is signed by the Governor, it will provide a substantial retirement benefit over the current 2% at 55 that “miscellaneous” (non-sworn) local government employees currently are entitled to negotiate.

Assemblymember Thomas Calderon from Montebello, has authored AB 616 in response to Unions requesting some form of parity after the Governor signed legislation two years ago granting sworn employees the right to negotiate a 3% at 50 pension benefit.

If this bill passes both houses and is signed by the Governor, the increased costs would then have to be negotiated between labor and management.

On May 23 and 24 all UPEC/LIUNA Locals will be descending on Sacramento to speak with their elected representatives to ask for their support. We need your support now! A letter you write personally is much more effective than any form letter. You may fax it to Assemblymember Thomas Calderon at; 916-319-2158. If you would like suggestions on the wording of your letters, please contact Kathie Delgado at 909-682-4590, extension 206.

Please contact a Local 777 office near you to ask how you can help with this very important P.E.R.S. retirement goal for a more secure future for you and your family.

Riverside County Regional Medical Center Plant Operations Employees Keep Their Schedule

Recently Plant Operations Crafts and Grounds were given notice that for “efficiency sake” the department needed to change their schedules from Monday through Friday to a rotating schedule that would include weekends.

UPEC called management and reminded them that they have a legal obligation to Meet and Confer (negotiate) before changing working conditions. Meetings with management then took place that included UPEC Representative Linda Jefferson, UPEC Business Manager Fred Lowe, and Plant Operations employees Bob Dahlbeck and Roy Conners.

After a couple of meetings and a lot of arguing, agreement was finally reached that let the employees go back to their old shifts. The presence in the final meeting of the new Hospital Administrator, Donna Matney, really helped make the difference. The unity and resolve of the employees also made a big difference, as well.

Med Cert Rescinded!

Janet Anderson, Communication Support Technician in the Information Technology Department at the County of Riverside was unfairly placed on Medical certification leave. Janet and her UPEC representative filed a grievance and won at the first step! Janet was very happy when she was taken off Med Cert.