Local 207 Organizer
Official Newsletter
of AFSCME Local 207
January 23, 2001
Local 207
Contract Convention
600 W. Lafayette,
Conference Room C.
(Lunch of Pizza and Pop Provided)
From The President
Local 207 members,
The city has asked for early negotiations on the
Master Agreement, which expires June 30, 2001. They feel the pressure of the
election of City Workers for Justice candidates to the leadership of Local 207.
Our election was a reflection of the anger that workers citywide feel toward
the Archer administration and its stalling tactics in the previous contract
fight. We’ve had discussions at local meetings, unit meetings and Executive
Board meetings, and have prepared preliminary lists of contract demands for the
Master and Supplemental contracts. We will be in a serious fight with the city
administration. We will build support among fellow city unions and the
community.
Our Local will be having its own rank & file
Contract Convention on Saturday, January 27, 10am-2pm. This meeting will be of
utmost importance. We will discuss what we need to do to win a good contract.
This is election year for both the Mayor and City Council. Archer is unpopular
and politically vulnerable. If we lead a showdown with him his reelection in
November will be in jeopardy. We must present to the community the real state
of the city, including the damaging effects of service cuts, job vacancies in
city departments, contracting out of city jobs and services and large-scale privatization.
On January 27 we will decide what Local 207 wants in
the contract. We will take the best ideas from our preliminary list of demands,
and the ideas the members bring to the meeting, and vote on them. We will
publish this list of demands and only change them if the members vote to do so
at a later date.
Also on January 27 we will elect a Local 207 Contract
Action Committee. This committee will be responsible for contract negotiations,
and for organizing the members to carry out whatever actions the membership
deems necessary to win our demands. Any members of the Contract Action
Committee can be recalled by a majority of those voting at any general
membership meeting. At all work locations, members and Stewards need to get
ready for this meeting by writing down contract ideas and discussing the
issues. This is our chance to have our ideas discussed, voted on and carried
through by our union.
In Solidarity,
John Riehl, President, Local 207
Preliminary List of Proposed Contact Demands
Master Agreement
• “25 and Out” with full pension and benefits for retirement
• Eliminate “frozen minimums”—no one to earn less than $12 per hour
• $1.50 per hour per year for all members
• Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) folded into base rate yearly
• No step increases to take more than 3 year to reach maximum
• Prohibit management from forcing union members to write statements
implicating themselves or other fellow union members
• Establish discipline for management found guilty of violating contract
• End compulsory overtime
• Whenever the Mayor invokes Executive Order #7 (snow emergency) all
those who work to earn double-time
• Restore 4-hour rule—if you work out of class for at least 4 hours then
you must be paid out of class rates
• Increase tuition reimbursement
• End “merit pay”—no pay to be on based management’s evaluations
• No additional city equipment or tools to be used by contractors
• Promotions and apprenticeships by seniority only—end tests and
discipline hold-backs
• Stop downsizing and privatization of Public Lighting and other
Departments
• If management fails to deduct dues, or sends it to the wrong Local,
then they must pay the union double the money owed
• If out-of-class is not paid within 30 days the city must pay
time-and-a-half for straight hours and double-time for overtime
• Shift Premium—$1.00 per hour for Afternoon Shift, $1.50 for Midnights
• Weekend Premium—time-and-a-half for Saturday, double-time for Sunday
• End co-pays and deductions for health insurance
• Add domestic partners to insurance and health insurance
• All holiday hours should be paid at premium rate, even if past 8 hours
• 2 more vacation days per year
• Add an additional day of vacation per year for each year of service
beyond 15 years
• Prohibit management raises greater than that which union members
receive
• Best 3 out of last 10 years for calculating pension—including
non-consecutive years
• Paid maternity leave with no loss in seniority
• Double the longevity pay
• Free parking for all locations
• Allow voluntary use of sick time, current or reserve, in event of
family illness or parenting leave—end three day limit on family sick time
• End all restrictions on use of reserve sick time
• Full sick time payout upon separation or retirement.
Preliminary List of Proposed Contact Demands
Supplemental Contract With Water Department
• For Sewage Plant Operations—5 crews, 8-hour fixed (“straight”) shifts,
shift preference by city seniority, yearly bidding
• Pay out-of-class weekly
• All hours worked past 16 shall be paid at double-time
• Provide for onsite Steward elections
• Provide Stewards office to do union business at each location
• New Steward positions for Afternoon and Midnight shift Security, and
for
Construction Crew
• At first step grievance hearings provide Stewards with all requested
materials from members’ files, management statements and evidence
• Workers receiving follow-up medical care after returning from job
injury must be released on paid time
• If management doesn’t answer grievances within allotted time, then
they automatically lose
• Management will provide outdoor coats or coveralls and work boots
yearly
• Uniforms to be provided to all members
• Negotiated staffing levels and negotiated job descriptions to reduce
short-staffing and contracting out of our jobs
• Additional light duty work to be made available
• Convert an additional vacation day to comp time each year
• Upon request, convert 2 weeks of sick time to vacation time each year
• All members to receive a minimum of two 20-minute breaks and one
45-minute lunch break for each 8-hour shift, with adequate wash-up time
• If a member decides that a job is hazardous, management must not have
the work done alone, and must provide for safety inspection by the union
• Fully-paid Sick and Accident Insurance
• Two centralized, properly - trained Hazmat teams available at all
times.
History—Made in Detroit
On Jan. 16, at The Federal Court Building (231 W.
Lafayette—2 blocks east of the union hall) the trial on U of M Law School’s
Affirmative Action policy began. This case is bound for the US Supreme Court,
and is likely to be the
key Civil Rights legal case of this generation.
U of M’s administration is defending Affirmative
Action, but only on the narrow and evasive argument that Affirmative Action
promotes a “diverse campus.” But the “student intervenors” who insisted on
being part of this case, will go beyond “diversity” to “put racism itself on
trial”, including
the substandard educational opportunities forced upon black youth, the
biased standardized tests that are used to determine admissions, and the
still-prevalent racist atmosphere on today’s college campuses.Their portion of
the trial will begin on Tues. Jan. 23 at 9am.
A group of these impressive young Civil Rights
activists spoke to the Local 207 meeting on Jan. 10, and the members there
insisted that they be invited back for the Jan. 27 meeting. The Local voted to
donate $500 to their efforts, and other members, stewards and officers donated
over $300 more.
Don’t miss the student interveners’ report on this
truly historic trial at the Contract Convention, Sat. Jan. 27, 10am-2pm. You
will be informed and inspired!
Fight Harassment!
In the short time that we have been in office we have
had to address several issues concerning harassment, in particular, sexual
harassment. You do not have to accept treatment that causes you to feel
threatened, humiliated, patronized, harassed, or which interferes with your job
performance and/or undermines your job security.
We want all members to report any incidences of
racism, sexism, or
harassment based on sexual preference to your steward, or call the
AFSCME Local 207 office @ 965-1601.
Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances,
requests for sexual
favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. It can
be leering or displaying pornographic materials.
This Executive Board is committed to dealing
seriously with incidents of harassment, including assigning an Executive Board
member to investigate each allegation.
It is also the duty of each member to become more
knowledgeable and
sensitive to the problems of sexual harassment. Don’t join in—don’t turn
a blind eye—stand together and make it clear that such abusive behavior will
not be allowed, including by members themselves. Do this before it escalates
out of control. As union members we can also not continue harassing others we
work with, including our own union brothers and sisters. We need to have unity
among our members in this contract fight, and the best way to do this is to
treat each other with respect.
Everybody sees male bosses swarm like bees all over
each new woman hired.
Due to the supervisors’ ability to choose work assignments, etc., behind
this attention there is often an implied threat or unspoken promise of favor.
That is one reason why there is no such thing as a fair uniform policy that
applies to both management and rank & file workers—management’s power is
greater, and their punishment should be greater—they should be fired.
Even when management personnel are not the actual
perpetrators of sexual harassment, they try not to see it, or even sanction it.
When they can no longer ignore it, upper management steps in and often makes it
clear that they are chiefly interested in avoiding lawsuits. They frequently
just throw gasoline on the fire by spreading false rumors or half-truths, while
taking forever to “investigate.” They often disadvantage the victims by putting
them in a situation with reduced opportunities for overtime.
Don’t expect management to help you out. In
harassment cases involving supervisors, management covers for them. The city
has disciplinary guidelines which management eagerly uses on us at every
possible opportunity. However, these same guidelines are ignored when the
supervisors are the culprits. This was shown last fall in the Main Office
Building when Jerry Felczak, a white
Buildings and Grounds Supervisor physically attacked a black woman
Safety Officer. He was only given a three-day suspension. If a black Safety
Officer had attacked a white supervisor, he would have been dealt with more
harshly. And if it had workers, they both would have been fired. Back in 1999
Ruby Daniels, a white female Maintenance Foreman at Water Works Park, grabbed
and pushed a black male member of Local 207 and got away with it.
Some think that racism is not an issue within city
departments because the workforce is predominantly black. But many in
management are white, and treat black workers in a racist manner. Majority
means nothing when the minority controls every aspect of your existence.
Report all harassment, of whatever nature, to your
union steward or to the union office. Let’s stand united and win.