 |
Hope all of you are enjoying the Holiday season.
As we move into the month of December much is happening at the ASEA level. Our contract negotiations are scheduled to start this month, elections will be occurring shortly for about two-thirds of our Statewide E-Board, and we’re looking for good shop stewards for our Anchorage Chapter.
In talking with our Anchorage Chapter Chief Steward, Judy Morris, there are approximately 112 positions available for shop stewards within our Chapter. Even though applications for shop steward ended on November 30th, chapter members (like you) can still put in for steward. All you need do is contact the ASEA union office (Ph# 277-5200). The Chief Steward will get back with you.
Being a shop steward is a commitment that goes beyond the “super-seniority” issue. It requires attending steward training meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Usually such meetings run about 1 ½ hours. You have to take a yearly test to qualify as a steward. You deal in personnel issues involving our members, ASEA business agents, and supervisors. And, more important, you become the “glue” that holds everything together within our union.
With contract negotiations starting in December, the shop stewards will be that key person keeping the rest of our membership informed of events.
We need good people (like you) to get involved.
Besides shop steward, we need good people on our Statewide E-Board. A Nomination of Elections announcement will occur in December with elections occurring around the March time-frame. Two-thirds of the Board seats will be up for election. This will likely result in a significant change in the composite of our Statewide E-Board come next year. Such is the election process…..
1999 will be an active year for and within our union. Good people are
needed…….Your Editor.
|
ANCHORAGE CHAPTER PRESIDENT’S LETTER
(This is the opinion of Larry Rabideau and not that of the Chapter)
This is the tally on the on-line surveys from the Anchorage Chapter Web-Site.
The hottest 4 topics, in order, were Privatization, Health Care, Pay Raises and Personal Leave Conversion.
Of those responding to the survey on line, 90% favored striking
over Privatization and Job Security.
Of those responding to the survey on line, 80.9% said they would
strike over Health Care Coverage/Costs.
Of those responding to the survey on line, 71.4% said they would
strike for a pay raise.
Of those responding to the survey on line, 37.5% said they would
strike for personal leave conversion.
This was a small sample of people in the Anchorage Chapter, the Statewide Survey from the Bargaining Team got about 1000 people responding. The issues are the same. People are mad about the State contracting out their jobs. People are upset that they are getting less coverage on Health Care and having to pay more and more and more with no end in sight. People are realizing they are underpaid by 33% or more.
When will the State wake up and realize that they have taken and taken and taken too much from the State’s Largest Union? When will they realize that you cannot continuously degrade your workers? When will they realize the potential power of an organization of 7000 people? Will they force us to take drastic action before we are treated with the dignity we deserve?
We are the people who do the work for the people of this State. All the political B.S. aside, we get the job done. Why should people who do so much be ashamed to admit that they are a State Worker? Why should we be paid less than the people in the private sector? Why should we see our wages and benefits slip away?
We are the largest union in this state. If we combine our power with the power of the other unions in this state there is nothing we cannot do.
We can be treated fairly. We can be paid fairly. We could
demand more than what is fair and we could probably force the State to
give it to us and force them to fund it - but we won’t. All we want
is what is Fair. Standing together we can get it.
 |
STEWARDS - DIFFERENT JOB FOR DIFFERENT TIMES by Larry Rabideau
In what will probably become “The Good Ol’ Days” the job of a Steward was actually pretty simple. You represented your worksite. If everything ran smoothly and your boss wasn’t too much of an ****** (booger) you didn’t have too much to do.
You passed out the occasional memo from the union and posted stuff on the bulletin board and that was it. If you were serious about staying a steward you attended the mandatory amount of meetings and the occasional special training. In return for this effort you got super-seniority - meaning you would be the last one fired or laid off.
Now there is a new brand of Steward needed. One that is Proactive. One that actually goes to the people they represent and asks if everything is all right. One that communicates with the people. One that gives and receives information and passes it on.
We are entering a new bargaining window. The Negotiators actually care what the people want and are willing to take it to the bargaining table. We no longer are killing ourselves with 26 people burning up time, money and resources. Six people face the State on our behalf and they want to know what you know.
They want to tell you what is going on. They want you to tell them what you want to bargain for - what you will take - what you will settle for - and what you are willing to strike for. HOW do you tell them? You tell your steward and he or she gets the word to the Chapter President via email or contacts the union office or tells a negotiator.
Your steward unwilling to talk to you? Vote em out and elect someone who will do the job. Your steward doesn’t know and won’t find out? Vote em out and elect someone who will do the job. You don’t know who your steward is? Is that your fault or the stewards? Go and find out. Tell your steward that you expect to know what is going on in negotiations, you expect to have them forward information to the negotiators, you expect worksite meetings to be set up by the steward. Your Steward unwilling to do the job, fire em and elect someone who will.
There are 7000 people in this union. They have a right to be heard and to hear what is going on. The Steward is the Voice of the People. The Steward is the Heart of Communications.
If you want to know who your steward is or how to elect a new one, contact the union office a t 277-5200 and leave a message for the Chief Steward, Judy Morris. The union office will contact Judy and she will contact you.
Strong Stewards build Strong Unions. Strong Unions get Good Contracts.
