Publications

August 25, 2005

Safety first and foremost

President McEntee, addressing the 7th National AFSCME Corrections United Conference in Albuquerque, called for new federal safety legislation for COs in honor of Wayne "Cotton" Morgan, 56, a long-time CO at the Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex in Tennessee. Morgan, who was also treasurer of Local 2173, was slain Aug. 9 by the wife of an inmate he was escorting from a courthouse in Kingston. They fled, but were later captured.

Morgan was not wearing a bullet-proof vest at the time of the shooting; his repeated requests for a fitted vest had been denied. "It is unconscionable that a man's life may have been saved if he'd been provided with the required safety equipment," McEntee declared. Several members of Congress will work with AFSCME to draft the needed federal legislation. The union honored Officer Morgan at the conference and presented his widow and son with a $10,000 check for a memorial fund in his name.

Meanwhile, Tennessee Governor Bredesen (D) said he will try to ensure that all the state's COs are properly equipped with safety equipment.

Growing for strength

Some 80 employees of the town of Farmington, Conn., have voted to organize with Council 4, rejecting two other unions — including the incumbent, whose contract with the town had expired. The unit consists of workers in parks, fire dispatch, public works and the town hall. In Jackson County, Wis., 42 home health workers — nurses, nursing assistants and office workers — voted overwhelmingly to join Council 40's Pine View Care Center bargaining unit. House visits, informational meetings and even a picnic raised awareness of the union. In Puerto Rico, 116 employees at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation voted to join Servidores Públicos Unidos/AFSCME Council 95.

Going to extremes

A three-day campus sleep-in last month, followed by a two-day sit-in last week, have helped raise public awareness of blue- and white-collar employees and police officers at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, who are trying to form a union with AFSCME. The roughly 100-member unit began organizing last summer. They filed for representation in December, but delaying tactics by the university forced more extreme measures. The employees' campus sleep-in involved more than 300 workers, students, faculty and even a state representative. While the university's president would not meet with workers at the sit-in, activists vowed to pursue recognition.

Privatization threatened

The jobs of about 50 health care aides and physical therapists are on the line at the Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette, Mich. The employees, who are members of Locals 885 and 261 (Council 25), are trying to pressure state lawmakers to keep the work out of privateers' hands. They're making their case to the public through "no privatization" ads on buses, and through informational pickets that were joined by local veterans' organizations.

Jobs with Justice Annual Meeting Features Rally with President McEntee + AFSCME Council 72

A major rally featuring President McEntee will highlight the Jobs with Justice national annual meeting Sept. 23-25 in St. Louis, Mo. The rally, on Friday, Sept. 23, will be held at the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center, whose employees — members of AFSCME Local 2730 (Council 72) — have been fighting to prevent Governor Blunt's administration from shutting down the facility. More information about the event will be provided in a future AIM.

Cutting a lifeline

Missouri home care providers and consumers of their essential services got together last Friday with state lawmakers to drive home the human cost of Medicaid cutbacks imposed this year by the Blunt administration and the GOP-led legislature. The town hall meeting in Potosi, organized by the Home Health Care Partnership/AFSCME, gave a human face to the decision to eliminate Medicaid health coverage for some 90,000 recipients, and to cut dental and other health care services for another 339,000 adults remaining on Medicaid. The providers hope to prevent further cuts that could lead to privatization of the workforce.

It's a first

Some 25 support staff employees of the Skagit County, Wash., Prosecutor's Office have won their first contract. The workers, members of Local 176 (Council 2), will see pay hikes of 2.5 percent for both 2004 and 2005, plus another 2 percent in 2006. Also part of the package are additional vacation and sick leave, an arbitration clause and extra pay for those whose foreign language skills are used on the job. The members joined the union in 2003.

Card check approved

Legislation to allow for card check recognition of certain public-sector employees has been approved in New Jersey. Previously, they could form a union through card check only if their employer voluntarily agreed; now it's a requirement. The law, secured with the help of an AFSCME-led coalition of public employee unions, also allows card check recognition — or traditional secret ballot — for certain private-sector employees excluded from the existing National Labor Relations Act. They include those who work in small businesses that are not engaged in interstate commerce.


 

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