 |
To ASEA Anchorage Chapter GGU Members and Stewards
NEW OFFICE and MEETING LOCATION
We have a new Anchorage CHAPTER office space. The new office is in the basement of the Carpenters Union Hall. The Anchorage Chapter GGU meetings and Stewards meetings will be in the large meeting room on the first floor. We will be moving the Chapter’s files, etc. out of the storage unit and into our office about Feb 1st. Don’t get confused. The statewide staff are still at 626 “F” Street.
The regularly scheduled meetings of the Anchorage Chapter are as follows:
The next GGU meeting will be:
Day: Wednesday
Date: February 9th
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Where: Carpenter's Union Hall/ 407 Denali Street
The next Stewards’ meeting will be at 5:15 p.m. on February 16th in the Carpenters Union Hall.
The Anchorage Chapter Executive Board meetings will be on February 2nd, 5:30pm, at the ASEA office, 626 “F” Street. The Carpenters Union Hall is not available for the Board meetings.
The Carpenters Union Hall is on Denali between 4th and 5th Avenues. There is free parking on the East (toward the mountains) side of the building. The Anchorage Chapter has secured office and meeting space at this location for the foreseeable future. Come check it out.
The February meeting will be extremely important for the future of ASEA and every member is strongly encouraged to attend. A lot of information is going to be coming out over the next few weeks and this meeting will be an opportunity for everyone to hear the latest news and offer their thoughts or suggestions.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE TO DELEGATES AND ALTERNATES:
A short meeting/training for the Biennial Convention Delegates AND
Alternates will be part of the meeting.
RETIREMENT
What does “retirement” mean to you? It is
a subject that crosses most people’s minds, but many do little to
prepare. Many of us start out our careers thinking something like,
“I have a retirement plan, so when the time comes I’ll stop work &
do those things that I haven’t had time for, hobbies, travel, etc.”
That might work if you have the same employer for 30+ years. Don’t
expect the State to plan for your retirement. Figure it out for yourself.
Resources are available to help you.
|
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS
Letter from the Chapter President written January 23, 2000:
A state of “unilateral impasse now exits in the collective bargaining effort between the State of Alaska and ASEA/AFSCME Local 52.” That is an excerpt from the letter sent by our Business Manager, Chuck O’Connell, to Mr. Douglas Hammond, Director of Mediation Services, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. A request for mediation services has been requested. It is time to move to the next step.
The next step for the negotiators is to meet with a mediator in order to determine if “true impasse” has been reached. The next step for the rest of us is to prepare for the possibility of strike. Go to the <asealocal52.org> web site. The web site will be updated with current information. By the time you receive this newsletter, training of Worksite Coordinators will have occurred in many locations throughout the state. The training will focus on strike preparation.
If we do go out on strike all of us will be expected to pitch in &
help. You might want to think about what work you want to do in order
to assure this a successful strike. To be successful we will have
to pull together. We, that’s you & I, will be responsible for
forming and being part of several types of work committees; picket line,
kitchen, hardship, communication, etc. This will be an opportunity
to put your talents to work.
In Solidarity,
Patrick W. Morrow
President, Anchorage Chapter
ASEA/AFSCME Local 52
Bargaining Memo #23/ Jan. 20, 2000
At the close of this three day bargaining session, the Union informed the State that we are at “unilateral” impasse and that we will request the assistance of a Federal Mediator. The State claims we are far apart in our bargaining positions, perhaps 2-3 times outside their current fiscal offer. The Employer’s team admitted that our position of full inflation proofing was reasonable and deserved. They insisted, however, that the package they proposed in December (described in Bargaining Memo #21) is their bottom line. The State implied that since Local 71 and PSEA have already accepted their offer, that we should follow suit and accept a proposal that includes continued losses to inflation.
Both parties have agreed to waive next week’s bargaining dates. The Union has requested the help of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services at our previously scheduled February 7-9 meeting in Juneau.
The three-day Bargaining session began on a contentious note. The Union’s Team was expecting a reasonable response to two one-economic proposals: Layoff and Job Security. These provisions would simply require the State to act within existing law. The State’s spokesman said there was no entitlement to “cradle to grave” jobs and the State was not disposed to respond to our request to expand re-employment opportunities to laid off workers.
At this point in negotiations, both the State’s bargaining team and the Union’s bargaining team have proposed package proposals. Packages are “Take All” or “Leave All” proposals. In a package, each article is linked to the others. If the package is not accepted in totality, then each side is free to alter its proposal. Articles which have already been tentatively agreed to are not part of the package proposal and are generally considered off the table.
The Union’s Team is convinced, after reviewing the way the State has handled the health plan, that an Employee-directed health benefit plan in the best interest of cost effective delivery of quality services. The Health Advisory Committee is meeting next week to explore different designs of health care delivery.
On a side note, the Union bargaining team met with APEA negotiators at APEA’s request. The Teams acknowledged that cooperation between the Unions would be beneficial to both. The following day, APEA broke off talks with the State.
Last week, Regional Work Site Coordinators and Union Staff met and developed a comprehensive strike preparation plan. Strike training for the members begins February 2nd.
Stay Informed! Attend Meetings in your area. It’s time to turn up the heat.
State of Alaska- Employer Package Proposal Highlights
