Rumor Has It!!!
There are all kinds of ridiculous rumors flying around and folks, rather than going to the sources that know what's going, are choosing to believe them. This is an attempt, once again, to clear the air!
First, hoping your listening, we have heard that we have agreed to anywhere between 3%-5%-well we sit at the table and we have not agreed to any percentage as yet! The Authority did propose, AGAIN, 3%, 3%, 3-1/2%-We Did Not Agree to this!
Second the Authority did propose that everyone in the bargaining unit would wear Authority issued polos. They would issue folks 5 shirts initially with no cost to them, outwear as well depending on a supervisor's approval. This is their initiative! This would not mean you are confined to the building you work out of and it is just the most ludicrous thing I ever heard! I feel silly even having to clarify this!!!!
Now the polo shirts have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with economic package! In Lay Men's terms with or without the shirts the salary percentage that we finally agree to will not be effected by it!! They were not talked about in contract negotiations, they were discussed in a sub committee meeting.
If you heard that there will not be any "Boot/Shoe Allowance"-you are correct! The Authority was not aware that anyone outside of the other bargaining units were receiving boot/shoe allowance. So based on their experience with the other units using the money as part of their salary rather than purchasing boots they said no, and after my own experience in the Money Room as well as Maintenance they are correct! Now they did say that if special boots were needed and justified they would not be opposed to addressing it and possibly issuing them.
Were job titles discussed in a sub committee in an attempt to adjust salaries and job grades-Yes! I would like to know which one of you would not like to see folks whose salaries needed to be looked at and folks who were doing work way out of their grade not be addressed? Yes we justified their titles and with that I mean we did a thorough investigation into what they did! Would it be Nice to get a boost in salary because you want to enhance your retirement or because you know others make more money or just because it is nice to have-Hell Yeah!-but that is not a justification! Does this mean that other titles cannot be addressed down the road? The answer would be NO we can when the time comes address other titles in a sub committee.
Are we talking bi-weekly paychecks-that proposal is on the table and nothing has been agreed to. Both sides are looking at methods of handling where it would not be egregious to folks. Not unlike a lot of you folks I live paycheck to paycheck as well, going without a check for a pay period or two is not acceptable.
Now I said this before many times this whole campaign has not been to benefit one or two people this is for 200 plus people! This should not be looked upon in any way shape or form as a personal endeavor-this has always been for a team!
It has been an attempt to get folks raises they haven't seen, secure benefits, some sense of job security-Fair Treatment! It boggles my mind when I hear people say that they hate the whole idea!
While I understand that there are some people that are just not happy unless they are complaining for one reason or another-get over it! You, unless I am mistaken, are all adults if you have
questions, information or clarification you Do know who to go to. It doesn't have to be me it could be Vance Hultgren, Alex Leventis, Cindy Steger or our committee woman, Karmen. We have a newsletter going out, you have the blog-nothing is a secret! We do try to reach out to folks, but let's face it we can not spend the better part of our day going from desk to
desk-building to building talking to people!
questions, information or clarification you Do know who to go to. It doesn't have to be me it could be Vance Hultgren, Alex Leventis, Cindy Steger or our committee woman, Karmen. We have a newsletter going out, you have the blog-nothing is a secret! We do try to reach out to folks, but let's face it we can not spend the better part of our day going from desk todesk-building to building talking to people!
For those of you who are obtaining green cards so you can sign them to vote no on a contract you clearly know nothing about I say Whatever!-Go For It!
And to those who are taking this to a completely personal level I think Black Eyed Peas sum up how I feel!
Our next contract meeting is June 12th after that there will be an informational meeting scheduled.
Feel free to post comments, questions, concerns and for those of you who can not help themselves feel free to post rumors!
posted by linda adams @ 2:53 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
".....Second the Authority did propose that everyone in the bargaining unit would wear Authority issued polos....."
The above statement is a lie. A certain member of the negotiating team asked for uniforms for "his" employees. Management agreed and stipulated everyone should have to wear them. Without any thought to those who might not want them, the crack negotiating team agreed. The negotiating team also went into the pay grade negotiations with no plan to benefit the most senior of employees. Remember all AFSCME wants is your union dues. They are weak, ineffective, and leaderless. Good and honest professional service employees are being sold out by a small group of opportunists driven to give up integrity (as if they had any) for a pay increase that dwarfs the average increase the Blagojevich friends have received the past 5 years. A minimum 15% for 3 years or you'll never ratify. Also, sombody better check the language and make sure it states..."management will provide AND PAY for employee insurance" all the other contracts make it clear but rumor has it this contract is missing a couple key words..." Check the fine print folks!
hey howard dean why not post under your real name it would give the psycho-blather you just posted a little more credibility!
Linda...as we enjoy your blindness devotion to the AFSCME cult, I find it amazing that your only counter to Howard Dean's comments are in the form of insults and classification of a person's personal opinion to be "psycho-blather", did someone forget to have their EEO training lately. Was he wrong? Why did you not scold “The Shadow” for his comments? Your inept attempt to dissuade people from commenting or having an opinion other then the AFSCME line is laughable at most. Hope you did better against the Tollway's team. Why is the full contract such a secret now...why not let the people that you have spent so much time trying to help see the full contract prior to vote? A “Contract Settlement Synopsis” is what? Would anyone in there right mind sign a home loan prior to reading all of the fine print or would a summary of what it say be ok? Lets get to point here folks…we didn’t get raises for three years so everyone was upset and in comes the Union to the rescue. They as Howard Dean so eloquently stated are only concerned about one thing – money. Has the negotiation team members, none of whom have any substantial financial or negotiation experience, thought this through or is sticking it to the Tollway and the State the main goal? Let think about what a 5% raise does…less union due, less medical and dental insurance, less new khakis. Let’s do the math…$40K per annum plus $2K (5% raise) = $42K…now subtract union fees $360 (estimated at $30 per month), $200 for sharp new khakis from Target and lastly medical insurance (because they aren’t going to pay for it unless it is written in the contract) at $2,400 per annum (at $200 per month and you know that is a low estimate for those families of 4 out there) = $2,960. So now you are making less then before this wonderful union came in…i.e. $42,000 less $2,960 equals $39,040 which happens be less than $40,000. Good stuff.
Or…could it be that all of the 20+ year Tollway veterans, formerly protected in this GOP citadel, are scared to death that they will be canned because they can’t cut it in the new Post-SUN/MAR/BAR world? The union had its days…believe they did wonders for the coal mine workers some 100 years back. Not sure how they’ll help the Tollway except for discouraging real talent from coming to the State.
Thanks again…you guys are doing a great job…truly.
john q again a real name lends credibility to a statement, as far as the shadow goes I am in complete agreement no scolding is necessary!
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