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September 20, 2004It's a deal!Washington state Council 28 has reached a tentative contract this week providing for a 4.8 percent wage increase for the union's 30,000 members over the next two years (a 3.2 percent cost-of-living hike next July 1 followed by a 1.6 percent COLA on July 1, 2006). The development marks the first contract reached since the enactment of Washington's historic collective-bargaining law. About 2,400 workers in 175 job classifications would get additional raises to bring their pay within 25 percent below the average in the private sector as indicated by a state salary survey. They are the first raises for the union members since 2001. The agreement also holds the line on health care costs for state workers. In addition, the deal preserves seniority and other key provisions that negotiators for Governor Locke (D) sought to weaken or drop. Agreement has also been reached on five of six contracts governing Washington higher-education employees. The union has maintained pressure on the governor, holding a series of recent rallies and a workers' march to the capitol, where union members emptied wheelbarrows full of shoes to show they were prepared to walk if talks stalled. A possible strike vote was set for next week. The deadline to ratify the tentative contract is Oct. 1. The legislature will approve funding for any final agreement during its 2005 session, which starts in January. Rollin' right alongA unit of 49 bus drivers from Medina County Transit voted 27 to 16 to form a union with OAPSE/Local 4. The agency involved is Ohio's Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Three for 88By overwhelmingly numbers, three groups of workers in Pennsylvania elected to join Council 88. In Northampton County, 121 clerical support staff from the court system (4-to-1 margin) and 54 domestic relations conference and probation officers (3 to 1) chose union representation. In nearby Berks County, a unit of more than 120 support staff from the Fleetwood Area School District also voted 3 to 1 to form a union with the council. DC 37 prevailsA landmark arbitration ruling in favor of New York City Local 1549 (DC 37) will save city taxpayers at least $100 million a year and change the way the police department does business. The decision affects about 3,000 police administrative aides and senior aides — mostly women and minorities who are members of the local — and follows a grievance filed on their behalf in 1995. The NYPD has assigned their clerical/administrative jobs to able-bodied police officers in violation of the union's contract. An arbitrator ordered an immediate end to that practice, affecting at least 3,500 officers, whose work will be assigned to the civilian clerical and administrative aides. Their wages average $25,000 to $32,000 per year. Attention union shoppersThe AFL has launched a new Web site that will offer an array of union-made gifts, including clothing, computers, games and greeting cards. Next time you're looking for a gift, show your support for American workers and "Buy Union"! Proud to serveMembers of Phoenix Local 2384 have a new reason to be proud: The city employees have received a "seal of approval" from residents in the form of a community-attitude survey in which a whopping 91 percent of the residents said they are very satisfied or satisfied with the overall performance of the city in providing services. That's four percentage points higher than the previous survey and the highest rating since the city began conducting them in 1985. Hurricane victim?Florida victims of Hurricane Frances who also participate in the Union Plus Credit Card, Loan, Auto Insurance and Mortgage programs may be eligible to receive payment extensions or other special help from the program providers. Assistance plans vary. To learn more, disaster victims who participate in any of the following Union Plus programs should call these toll-free numbers:
Defeat the overtime take-awayAfter winning a significant victory over the Bush administration's plans to change federal rules governing overtime, union members are being asked to write letters, send faxes and otherwise make their voices heard in an effort to prevent Bush from carrying out a threat to veto any legislation that blocks his overtime changes. New rules that went into effect Aug. 23 place some six million workers nationwide at risk of losing their overtime pay. A full-court press by union members helped persuade the U.S. House of Representatives to vote 223-193 to block the rule change through an amendment to a health, education and job-training bill. The action also maintains part of the rules that expands overtime coverage to 384,000 low-income workers. The Senate previously voted to oppose the overtime pay take-way. Tell Bush to withdraw his overtime pay veto threat and do the right thing for working families. Back issues of AFSCME in Motion |
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