Publications

June 4, 2004

'Check' this out

At New Mexico's Fort Bayard Medical Center, 75 percent of the 247-person nursing home staff elected to form a union via card check with Council 18. The state employees are members of Local 3973. They are among the 7,000-plus state workers who have organized with AFSCME since Governor Richardson (D) signed into law a new collective bargaining bill last year.

Home bodies

In Detroit, 11 workers from the Azalea Epps Adult Foster Care Home voted 10 to 0 to join Council 25.

An Olympic tragedy

At the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run near Fort Madison, Iowa, CO Scott Edward Bryant, 36, was struck by a car as he carried the Olympic torch on behalf of Iowa State Penitentiary. A member of Local 2989 (Council 61), Bryant was just 10 minutes into the first leg of the charity run when a Buick driven by an 84-year-old man attempted to pass a state patrol car that was escorting the runners. The elderly driver lost control while straightening out his car and hit both Bryant and running partner Jeffrey Michael Heston, 30, of West Point (also a member of the local). Bryant's last act: shoving Heston from directly in front of the vehicle, saving his life. Bryant, who died at the scene, is survived by his wife and two daughters. A memorial service was held at the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics. Those wishing to help the family donate to the Bryant Children Educational Fund, c/o First Community Bank, P.O. Box 190, Keokuk, IA 52632. The International is contributing $2,000.

Contracts, Contracts!

Ratified in New York City — a deal giving 94,300 members of DC 37 a $1,000 cash payment plus a 3 percent wage increase retroactive to July 1, 2003; a 2-percent compounded increase, effective this July; and a 1 percent hike in the third year, subject to identification of funding through a Joint Labor Management Committee on Productivity Initiatives. The contract, which runs from July 2002 to June 2005, was approved by 89 percent of the voting members.

Ratified in Duluth — a three-year pact covering 650 members of Minnesota Local 66 (Council 96). Assuming approval by the city council this month, their wages will increase by 10.5 percent; that's a likely prospect given that the labor-endorsed majority includes a council staff member. Among the contract provisions: increased employer contributions for health care and improvements in retiree health insurance for currently employed workers.

Signed into law — in Wisconsin, legislation approving a three-year contract for 3,000 state employees represented by Local 2748 (Council 24). The agreement includes a raise of about 1 percent for the second year, ending June 30; plus recruitment/retention increases for about 2,000 members in the second year. The contract, which went into effect May 29, covers fiscal years 2003-05.

Pending at Harvard — a proposed three-year contract that involves 4,800 members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers Local 3650 (Council 93). The employees — librarians, secretaries and other administrative employees — will receive a 4.5-percent wage increase during the first two years plus an additional, compounded, 5-percent increase for the third. Significantly, the deal includes a new, centralized office that will enforce hiring preference for workers facing layoffs. Of the last provision, local Director Bill Jaeger said, "This was the most important policy issue for a lot of people in our union." The ratification vote is set for June 17.

Percolating in Boston — a tentative agreement that would raise by 10 percent over four years the pay of 1,500 city employees. Members of 11 different locals, they will vote on June 9. Two elements of the deal, which runs from July 2002 through June 30, 2006, are especially noteworthy: a provision that loosens a residency law by allowing more than 500 union members to move beyond the city limits; and a city-funded program that would subsidize home purchases or rentals by members still covered by that law.

Two-faced

At first, Republicans called illegal and unfair the Democrats' so-called 527 organizations, formed to raise and spend money for political messages on television and in other media. All along, however, the GOP was playing the same game — and now it has had to confess to the IRS that the largest 527 group allied with Republicans failed to report millions of dollars in receipts and expenditures last year! The Republican Governors Association (RGA), admitted that it misrepresented fundraising and political activities leading up to gubernatorial races in three states plus the California gubernatorial recall. The RGA failed to report more than $3 million (nearly 20 percent) of its fundraising last year, and close to $4 million (25 percent) of its expenditures.

Tussling in Illinois

The legislature missed a May 31 deadline to approve a new state budget as Governor Blagojevich (D) pushed for funding cuts, threatened massive layoffs and even hinted at a state-government shutdown — all against the backdrop of slow-going state contract negotiations in which the administration sought steep increases in pension and health-coverage costs. Some 4,000 members of Council 31 responded with the largest march on the capitol in more than 20 years.


 

 

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