AFSCME Across America
More than 14,000 Washington state employees will soon benefit from a $30-million legal settlement after a Superior Court judge removed the last hurdle in a pay-equity class-action lawsuit filed by AFSCME Council 28 and others.
$30 Million Pay Day
Olympia, Washington
More than 14,000 Washington state employees will soon benefit from a $30-million legal settlement after a Superior Court judge removed the last hurdle in a pay-equity class-action lawsuit filed by the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28 and other parties.
Known as the “Shroll Case,” after one of the plaintiffs, the win will improve pay for some state agency workers who received less than their counterparts working at colleges and universities. Although the state legislature agreed to fund the settlement, court approval was also required.
Organize & Mobilize for Safe Jobs
On Workers Memorial Day, April 28, AFSCME and the entire House of Labor will pay special tribute to the working women and men who die or become injured or ill as the result of their jobs. For details or to order materials, call (202) 429-1228 or e-mail osha@afscme.org.
Organizing for Power
From state to state, workers are organizing with AFSCME for a voice on the job. Here are some recent victories:
Connecticut
Thirty-six behavioral managers at the East Hartford Board of Education, plus eight fire and police dispatchers in the Town of Waterford, voted for representation with Council 4.
Illinois
Through majority sign-up, 566 office support staff of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office formed a union with Council 31.
Michigan
Michigan AFSCME Council 25 won an election on Dec. 15, 2006, at the Detroit Institute of Arts for 18 eligible workers.
Minnesota
Joining Local 648 (Council 5), which represents University of Minnesota employees, are 57 Sodexho food service workers. Also, the St. Louis County Board voluntarily recognized Council 5 as the exclusive representative for 28 assistant county attorneys and eight investigators who completed majority sign-up cards, indicating their desire to form a union.
Pennsylvania
More than 430 employees from various public entities and non-profit nursing homes have recently joined Council 13. Among them: 230 custodial, maintenance, transportation and food service workers employed by the West Shore School District; 95 certified nursing assistants at St. Luke’s Village, a retirement home in Hazleton; 50 Somerset County Area Agency on Aging employees, including dietary, transportation, clerical staff, caseworkers and managers; 28 LPNs at Pleasant Valley Manor Nursing Home; 14 Somerset County sheriff deputies; 11 Bradford city clerical employees and eight road workers and sewage plant operators from Jenks and Conneaut townships.
Washington, D.C.
Thirty-eight caseworkers and office personnel employed by the Justice Department’s U.S. Parole Commission voted to join Council 26.
Wisconsin
Council 40 grew with the addition of 136 employees at the Chippewa County Courthouse — 62 custodians, educational assistants and food service staff employed by the Westfield School District, and 15 Door County community program professionals.
State Senate Recognizes Jeanette Wynn
REPRESENTING THE DREAM | While honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in January, the Florida State Senate recognized IVP Jeanette Wynn, shown here with State Sen. Tony Hill Sr.
PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Florida State Senate
Tallahassee, Florida
While honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have turned 78 on Jan. 15, the Florida state Senate also formally recognized Council 79 Pres. Jeanette Wynn.
An International vice president, Wynn was the first labor leader to be acknowledged on the floor of the Florida Senate. She joined state Sen. Anthony C. “Tony” Hill Sr. (D) as he read an excerpt from Dr. King’s speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” which King delivered April 3, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn., to striking AFSCME sanitation workers and their supporters. The men were fighting to get the city to recognize their union, AFSCME Local 1733. The day after the speech, King was assassinated.
In Memoriam, George Becker
George Becker, former president of the United Steelworkers of America for seven years, died Feb. 3 at the age of 78. A second-generation steelworker, Becker was a friend of AFSCME who often stood side by side with our union in the ongoing struggle to improve the lives of workers. He was elected president of the USWA in November 1993 and served in that position until February 2001. Becker is survived by his wife Jane; three sons, George, Greg and Matthew; 10 grandchildren; and a sister, Jacqueline Straus. AFSCME and working families nationwide will miss him.
Focus on Law Enforcement
Law enforcement leaders from across the country convened last month in Washington, D.C., to map out a plan to increase visibility of their profession, boost organizing and win passage of a federal law that will provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by state and local governments. The initiative is chaired by Connecticut Council 15 Exec. Dir. James Howell. Other members include Paul Ariola (Connecticut Council 15), Gerald Grysko (Michigan Council 25), Wayne Hose (Maryland Council 67), Mark James (Washington Council 28), Robert Jones (New Hampshire Council 93), William Lebeau (New York Council 82), James Lyman (New York Council 82), Christian Mesley (New York Council 82), Susan Miller (Wisconsin Council 24), Mike Oester (Oregon Council 75), Kevin Ray (New York CSEA/Local 1000) and Sean Ronan (Connecticut Council 15).
2007 Joey Parisi Scholarship Winner Announced
EXTRA CREDIT | Erik Larsen will attend the National Labor College
San Jose, California
Erik Larsen, 39, president of Local 101 (Council 57), has won the 2007 Joey Parisi Memorial Scholarship. Larsen will receive tuition toward a bachelor’s degree from the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md.
Applicants must write an essay describing their interest in organizing and how they plan to use their educational opportunity in future organizing efforts. In his essay, Larsen wrote, “I now have some experience in union organizing and I believe that it is the way to our future. But I have more to learn.”
The Parisi scholarship honors the late AFSCME organizer Joey Parisi, who died in October 1995 after working for the International Union for more than 20 years. It is available to staff and local officers of AFSCME, locals, councils and affiliates.
To request an application for the 2008 scholarship, log onto http://www.nationallaborcollege.edu.
Creativity Pays off for Local's Members
Kansas City, Missouri
Although some 2,000 city employees here work under a merit-based system sometimes called “pay for performance,” their union — Local 500 — crafted a creative contract in 2005 that continues to benefit workers through a gain-sharing arrangement that has helped boost their wages by as much as 6.25 percent.
In its first year, the contract increased base pay by 3.25 percent the first year. Last year, workers began receiving an additional 2.5-percent annual increase conditioned upon a satisfactory performance rating.
Thinking “outside the box,” the local — representing employees in public works, parks and recreation, aviation, water, health, corrections, city hall and other city departments — was able to kick up those base pay rates through gain-sharing. That is, the workers would get a bonus if they met certain targets, such as decreasing their overall use of sick leave.
The city also wanted to save 20 percent on workers’ compensation claims, so the union struck a deal: If that goal was met, workers would split the savings with the city, 50-50. When the city did not meet the deadline for conducting the workers’ comp survey, however, union leaders persuaded officials to pay the bonus, plus interest, for a total of $233 per worker.
The contract also called for an extra .46 percent of base pay per worker if the city saw overall improvement on its annual citizen satisfaction survey. It did — but once again, the city missed the deadline for conducting that survey. With the union’s help, the workers got their bonus this February — plus interest.
