September 2004:
I don’t know about you, but it’s been a tough couple of months for me. It seems like the thirty FTE reductions in Probation/Parole/Family Court are starting to catch up with us. Seems like we are always trying to catch up on paperwork, “technical” violations seem harder to follow through on, and the people who really need our attention are getting less and less. Put that on top of having to support a family with shrinking salary and benefits, seems to be a recipe for change. Oh, and did I mention that my mother has cancer for the second time? Yes, we all have a lot to deal with, don’t we?
Now for some positive news: On September 14, 2004, the Hennepin County Commissioners passed a maximum levy that is “responsible” at 3.97%. This happened because AFSCME leaders and members put the pressure on our county commissioners. We wrote letters, made phone calls, and had meetings with county commissioners. Over forty of us showed up at the September 14, 2004 board meeting to show our support. This was a great first step, but it is by no means the end of our struggle. In December, the final budget will be approved and the final levy will be set. We still need to keep the pressure on.
I have been a Hennepin County employee since the summer of 1986. The word strike has always been a dirty word around here. Like that embarrassing relative nobody wants to talk about; the word strike has never come out of the closet. As public sector workers, people seem to think we have it too good. For as long as I can remember (remember, my institutional memory only goes back to 1986) we have been settling for less. One percent, 2%, 3%, and a long time ago, I seem to remember one 4% cost of living increase. Then came our 2004-2005 contract. Our Governor, our state legislature and the so-called Tax Payers League all repeated fear tactics started by the Bush administration after the events of September 11, 2001. They said that somehow our salary and benefits packages were too generous, far beyond that of private sector workers. If we did not “share the pain,” we were not patriotic. The fear that the public did not value our services, forced Hennepin County employees to take a 0%-0% adjustment on the 2004-2005 contract.
We all have bills to pay. The idea of walking off our jobs, giving up our salaries and our health insurance coverage is terrifying. However, if we do not have a credible threat that a strike will occur, collective bargaining is like playing blackjack with one card instead of two, a definite losing proposition. Fortunately, organized labor has proven techniques on how union members can survive a strike. The following guidelines were recently published in the Hennepin County AFSCME Local 34 newsletter. Local 552 members, who like me, don’t like to think about a strike situation, should start to follow the guidelines listed below:
This
is the total amount anticipated to cover January or
February 2006 expenses, in event of a strike.
2.
Divide the total by 33-37 pay periods depending on when
you start this process. (re-calculated for September. )
From the example- using 35 pay periods = 79.43
3.
Round off the total. This is the amount you should plan
to set aside each pay period in preparation.
From the example- any of these might be appropriate
savings amounts: $75, $79, $80
The county is counting on over $24 million in state funds, promised by the legislature, that could disappear with a stroke of Governor Pawlenty’s pen due to rising state budget deficits. The myth of the Bush/Pawlenty tax cuts quickly disappear as we open up our mortgage statements and see soaring increases in our property taxes, half of which goes to educate our children. Fees for things like streetlight electricity and school buses are a convenient cover for taxes. If you have children in college, tuition costs are rising much higher because of less funding from the state and federal governments. Health insurance continues to rise far past the level of inflation as well as our ability to negotiate reasonable cost of living increases to absorb health cost increases.
We have all heard President Bush and Governor Pawlenty say, “We need to be better consumers of health care.” They would propose that we all start saving money in accounts to be used for healthcare costs. Much of these funds will go toward increasing co-pays and deductibles for medical care that we have been accustomed to receiving, based on the costs of the premiums paid by us and the county. What does this mean? Well, having people PAY MORE of their own medical costs will, at least for the short term, slow down the increase in health insurance premiums. Whether or not you take more of your money for co-pays, or for contributions to a flexible spending account, or pay an annual deductible, the end of the story is, under the Bush/Pawlenty system, you pay more for health care. If you are thinking that if you stay healthy, you will have a big pile of cash to pass on to your spouse or children, think again. These Bush/Pawlenty style expense accounts have the money going back to your employer if they are not used as prescribed. So if you want to pay more for your health care, pay more taxes, pay more fees, have 0% cost of living adjustment, and reduced pension benefits, etc., then vote for President Bush, and Governor Pawlenty’s friends in the State House of Representatives.
If that doesn’t sound like a good idea, you can help us start some “regime change” here in Minnesota and in Washington D.C. Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as Saturdays and Sundays, there are union members in your neighborhood volunteering their time to help elect union-endorsed candidates who will help us stay a truly middle class. If you want more information, check the Take Back Minnesota website at www.afscmemn.org, or call me, Pat Guernsey, to find out where union members in your neighborhood are working for positive change.
I have been told that Local 552 has the second highest number of registered voters in the AFL-CIO. Yet, recent data from the Minnesota Secretary of State show that over thirty Local 552 members are not registered to vote! If you have moved or did not vote in the 2002 election, you are no longer registered to vote. The upcoming election is too important to sit out. I will attempt to contact all unregistered members in the weeks prior to the election. Any Hennepin County resident can register to vote at the Government Center or any suburban service center.
The county is looking to change car available status, and to limit how much they will reimburse employees for the use of their personal car for county business. The proposal I saw, would only reimburse 100% parking expense if you had ten or more trips per month for official county business with your car. Five to nine trips would mean 50% reimbursement. Details about how this will affect half-time employees are also being worked out. This will be a county-wide policy that will be implemented in January 2004. Obviously, this will impact some Local 552 members more than others. If things were to continue in their current form, the county would likely have to reduce FTE’s. This is something Local 552 members have said they are willing to change if it meant fewer positions would be lost. For those who will not qualify for parking reimbursement, and will still need to drive their cars downtown, you will have the ability to put parking expenses into a flexible spending account for tax savings.
Three of the four Minnesota AFSCME Councils will merge into the newly created Council #5 at a special convention to be convened on October 1, 2004. A new executive board, an executive director, and a constitution will all be approved. At almost every union meeting this year, we have had information on the expanded programming and the additional costs required to finance this merger. For 2005, this will mean a $1.25 increase in the per capita tax the council will charge its locals. In preliminary discussions, Local 552 will likely absorb this increase for 2005. The primary factor in this decision is that under the new constitution, the new council will pay the costs of grievance arbitrations. While few and far between, a grievance arbitration has the potential of costing the local at least $3,000. This did require us to carry large reserves. While a reserve fund will still be necessary, it has been the consensus that Local 552 could afford to absorb this cost for 2005. MN AFSCME Council #65, which chose not to merge with the other councils, will have to raise their per capita tax by $3.00 per month to maintain their current, independent operations. The more we look at it; the merger is looking like a very good deal for members.
The Dignity and Respect meet and confer has agreed to continue meeting past its September 1, 2004 deadline to fine tune new county policy on a respectful workplace. An announcement will be emailed out to all AFSCME employees in the near future. This has been a long process. Other employers have adopted similar programs with excellent results. Stewart, Bobbi Lane and I have attended many meetings to help form this policy.
Diane Ferreria, a Local 552 member and long time county employee, has submitted a letter to this forum asking for our support to get her same-sex marriage recognized here in Minnesota. She is not asking for any money, just our support. This sounds like a reasonable request to me. I think we all need to be adults and support our union sister. This will be on the October 21, 2004 meeting agenda for an official resolution.
During this past summer, many Local 552 members participated in the building a better contract survey. If you participated in this survey and indicated that you are willing to participate in some form of union action, don’t worry, you will be getting a phone call. If you did not participate, and let’s face it, as busy as we are, we could have a perpetual survey and we would never reach everyone, you did not get an opportunity to check off how you are willing to help your union. More importantly, you did not get your very own copy of the 2004-2005 union contract. We want every member and fair-share fee payer to have a copy of the contract. If you have not received a copy, please contact me, President, Pat Guernsey, as soon as possible and a copy of the contract will be sent to you.
Cate Wagner and I attended the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention in Rochester during mid-August. All of the resolutions presented by Local 552 were adopted by that body. It was very fortunate that we were represented at this convention. In a committee meeting, an attempt was made to limit expansion of Probation/Parole/Family Court Officer pension benefits. That was defeated. During the last day of the convention, I made an effective presentation from the floor of the convention so that the AFL-CIO will continue to oppose the use of “Pre Plea” investigations. Overall, Cate and I were able to represent the interests of our local with 100% approval of our initiatives.
I wanted to take the time to commend several members who stood up to high workloads and were awarded overtime pay at 1½ times their normal rate of pay. Since the last newsletter, two incidents of Local 552 members working “off the clock” have been brought to the union’s attention. In all cases, when confronted with the workload, AFS Management capitulated and paid the overtime. Our department will never get back lost positions if our members fill in the gap and work off the clock. If your workload is causing you to exceed the forty-hour work week, you must notify your supervisor.
Local 552 will begin to accept nominations for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chief Steward, nine Stewards and one Trustee at the October union meeting. The process will also allow for nominations at the November union meeting with an election to follow. New union officers will take office immediately after the election is certified. If there are contested elections, volunteers will be needed for an election committee to oversee this process.
Thank you for your support!