 L to r, Mayor Chris Holden, Chapter President Linda Cox and Chapter Board members Tom Hubbard and Rebecca Hernandez |
"There is no more delicate matter to take in hand, nor more dangerous to conduct, nor more doubtful of success, than to step up as a leader in the introduction of changes. For he who innovates will have as his enemies all those who are well off under the existing order of things, and only lukewarm supporters in those who might be better off under the new." - Niccolo Machiavelli
PASADENA UNIONS UNITE AGAINST PRIVATIZATION THREAT
The word "Privatize!" started the new year with a bang in Pasadena with the City informing its unions that it wanted to make two things happen: privatization of the Water and Power Department and asking the employees in meter reading, billing, and customer service if they were interested in "competing" against a bid by Edison to take this work over.
L to r, Mayor Chris Holden, Chapter President Linda Cox and Chapter Board members Tom Hubbard and Rebecca Hernandez |
This affects everyone because if the Department stops its transfer to the General Fund, every department would easily face a 10-20% cut in its budget.
The only hope is to elect a Mayor and City Council that opposes this direction. Organized labor is backing Chris Holden for Major and Joyce Streator, Paul Little, Tim Price and Steve Madison for City Council.
The good news in all of this is that all of the unions are working together for the first time in a sustained, organized manner, The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor is helping coordinate the effort and the Operating Engineers Local 12 has been generously lending their good offices in Pasadena.
Get involved! The job you save may be your own.
The second wave of special adjustments that were negotiated in the Memorandum of Understanding between UPEC and the County of Riverside have been approved by the Board of Supervisors and have been implemented. Almost seven hundred UPEC-represented members have been on the receiving end of the special adjustments after having been neglected for years.
Those classifications and the special adjustments they have received include:
When UPEC began organizing County workers in January of 1997 they told employees it would take five years for real change to be seen. With the County committing to study all 1,700 classifications and implement special adjustments within five years from July 1, 1997 - the date our first MOU was negotiated - change most certainly is in the air...
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A Respectful Workplace
Much has been written on the topic of sexual harassment and the responsibility of all employees to help prevent it. Here are some simple suggestions to help you do your part.
Know your policy on sexual harassment. If you need help finding it, call your union office. Treat everyone with respect and let others know you expect the same of them. Think about your words and actions. Don't assume that others will be comfortable with a joke, comment or gesture.
Don't go along with the crowd by accepting offensive behavior. Make your feelings known and ask that the behavior be stopped.
The truth is sexual harassment never has to become an issue if we treat one another with the courtesy, respect and professionalism everyone has a right to expect.
AFL-CIO Scholarships!
The California Labor Federation's 1999 SCholarhsip Program offers fifty $1,000 scholarships for high school seniors.
Applicants must answer an essay question on either California's labor history or legislation affecting labor.
The deadline to apply is April 30. For further information please contact Rebecca Armstrong at the Center for Labor Research and Education. Phone: (510) 643-2355. Fax: (510) 642-6432. E-mail: rra@uclink4.berkeley.edu
Working Out of Class? Know Your Rights!
It is very important that you document when you first begin working out of class. That is because you may only receive back pay from the date you file a grievance - which might not cover the entire period if you haven't been keeping track.
Send a note to your Supervisor letting them know that you want to establish for the record when your working out of class began to avoid any misunderstanding later on. If in doubt, call your UPEC Representative.
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We will have this Year's Parties on Saturday, December 4 at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, (including hotel package option or same-night round-trip chartered bus from Riverside), and December 18 again at the Regal Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, so mark your calendar now!
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 L to r, Surya Correa and Pasadena Councilwoman Joyce Streator |
Sister Surya Correa was honored for her selfless efforts to assist in the relief efforts that began recently after Hurricane Mitch devastated the people of Central America.
Surya became so moved by their plight that she personally raised more than $7,000.00! Local 777 responded to her plea with a $1,000.00 contribution.
Never forget that one person really can make a difference!
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 L to r, LeRoy Eschete with City of Indio Chapter President Allan Haeberle |
At our Riverside Party we honored member LeRoy Eschete, an electrician with the City of Indio, who saved the life of co-worker Ron McBee, who was accidentally electrocuted while working on the job. More remarkable still was the fact that brother Eschete wears a pacemaker. At the Party he stated, "I just did what anyone else would do." We wish everyone were as selfless...
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Save The Dates For This Year's Parties
Saturday, December 4, 1999 Fantasy Springs Casino Indio In Los Angeles
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Ten Day Suspension Reduced
After receiving notice that he was going to receive a ten day suspension. Lt. David Wolford, Senior Special Officer, General Services, called the Union for assistance. A presentation was made to he Department addressing specific issues such as training, experience and the fact that it had been well over a year since the incidents had taken place. After hearing the facts the Department agreed to reduce Lt. Wolford's discipline in half.
Sandra Miranda Transfer Victory
Sandra Miranda, Custodian Supervisor, had to "win the right" to transfer to another City Department. Sandra had been offered a transfer which paid much more and offered more promotional opportunity when Department management attempted to "block her" by not authoring the transfer. Sandra, well aware of the timeliness, called her Union. Sandra and her union representative worked together to overturn the decision successfully just before the position closed. Thanks to Sandra, no time was wasted, and she now enjoys her new job.
Unfortunately, Sandra's new job is not represented by the Union. Congratulations and Best of Luck, Sandra!
Five Day Suspension Rescinded
After receiving notice that he was to receive a five day suspension, Gerald Henderson, Custodian Supervisor, contacted Local 777 REpresentative Steve Belhumeur. At the Skelly Hearing they argued that the facts surrounding the event in question was not clearly understood by management. As a result of the presentation Gerald's suspension was rescinded and he was given a written reprimand in its place.
Grievance Victory for SPO Lara
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LAPD Sr. Property Officer Vicki Lara recently received good news at the third level after having grieved a Notice to Correct that had been placed in her Personnel File. It took a month of fighting but she finally prevailed.
Vicki reflected, "There are some things you just have to stand up for!"
How right you are...
Steward Training Set for Riverside
As we go to press, 28 members have already signed up (with more on the way!) for the Grievance Handling Skills for Stewards course that will be taught on two Saturdays, February 27 and March 13. The course is being offered through the Labor Center of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and will be taught by Lou Zigman, Esq., a prominent arbitrator who has taught this course before and has written "Grievance Processing for Union Stewards," which will be the text used in the class.
We want to recognize the following members for giving up two Saturdays to attend: Carol Betzel, Howard Boylan, Yvonne Brown, Lola Burns, Tom Carnes, James Davis, Melody Defrates, Ryan Doublas, Karen Elam, Kate Foster, Carmen Franco, Shirley Funk, Lupe Gallardo, Michael Grace, Paula Gram, Ron Hall, Joy Hayes, Dave Klingensmith, Jeff Lythgoe, Roxanne McLean, Jeannette Perez, Sala Ponnech, Victor Ruiz, Grace Sivihok, Jeff Taber, Don Tungate, Mona Villareal, and Shawn Walker. Thank you for helping make Local 777 a stronger union through your commitment.
Impasse in La Quinta
After several months of fruitless bargaining, UPEC declared impasse in the City of La Quinta. It soon became clear that management wanted to send a message to the employees that it had been a mistake to join UPEC, and they were not going to do any better by joining a union. WRONG!
The employees are sticking together and have this message loud and clear to city management. A State Mediator has now been assigned to get the parties to try and reach an agreement. Stay posted for more on this...
Grievance Victory in the Courts!
As we go to press UPEC has just been informed that they have won the grievances filed over how the Courts implemented the special adjustments through reclassifications.
The Courts believed they had the right to reclassify employees and place them on a new probation. They also believed that they could leave some from the old class behind. The grievance decisions clearly ordered the Courts to promote everyone that had been in the prior class with full back pay. The decision also clearly states that when a reclassification takes place a new probation period is totally inappropriate, as the affected individual(s) are permanent and have already been doing the work overtime...
UPEC Offers Free Notary
Beginning April 1, UPEC will offer its members free notary public service at the Riverside office by appointment only. Please contact Teresa Moreno at (909) 682-4590 for further information or to schedule an appointment.