Friday, December 18, 2009

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Press Release: No Confidence in Sheriff Stanek

PRESS RELEASE

The Teamsters Local 320 Union member Detention Deputy and Technicians employed at the Hennepin County Jail have taken a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE against Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek and his ability to run the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Jail Division.

The text of the vote signed by the Teamsters Local 320 union members reads:

LETTER OF NO CONFIDENCE IN SHERIFF RICHARD STANEK
We the undersigned represent the majority of the Teamsters Local 320 Detention Deputies and Detention Technicians employed at the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility. The administration of Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek is anti-union and anti-employee. The Sheriff’s Administration under Richard Stanek has imposed a schedule that has created hardship amongst the Union employees and has repeatedly not abided by promises made during Meet and Confer meetings with Teamsters Local 320 including not abiding by the agreement as to the number of employees allowed off for vacation time, has repeatedly changed posted schedules after employees have made plans without regard for their personal lives or those of their families and has engaged in excessive discipline of Union members. We the undersigned have NO CONFIDENCE IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF RICHARD STANEK and sign of our own free will.


CONTACT: WADE LASZLO
Chief Steward Teamsters Local 320
Hennepin County Jail Bargaining Unit 763/807-6668
Email: steward320@msn.com
CONTACT: TOM PERKINS
Business Agent Teamsters Local 320
612/378-8716

Saturday, December 12, 2009

A Call To Arms

All Teamsters who can come to the assistance of our Teamster police officers in Albert Lea, Minnesota are urged to come to the rally on Monday, December 14th at 5 PM.

The City of Albert Lea is threatening to lay off Teamster police officers even after they agreed to a temporary 50% cut in benefits. Not enough for the City of Albert Lea.

Teamsters Local 320 Business agent Mike Golen said, “This is a public safety issue. The amount of police the city will have left will be below minimums to protect the city.”

Please join in solidarity with the Teamster Freeborn County deputies and correctional officers as well as the Teamsters Albert Lea police at this rally.

Meet at 5 PM at the Moose Lodge in Albert Lea. Burgers will be provided.

6:30 March on City Hall

The Moose Lodge is located at:
328 Main Ct, Albert Lea, MN 56007

For more information contact Mike Golen
612 849-4318

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Teamster Harold Yates has passed on

Retired local Teamster executive Harold Yates died Monday and will be buried Friday. He was 75.

His union career started in 1960, driving trucks for Admiral Merchant.

His first stint as a union official came in 1967, when he was elected recording secretary for Teamsters Local 120. He served as vice president before being elected president in 1972. He was re-elected several times until he retired in 1998.

He also served as a Teamsters international representative and president of Teamsters MN Joint Council 32.

Full Story

Obituary

Visitation at the WULFF WOODBURY FUNERAL HOME, 2195 Woodlane Drive on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 from 4-9 PM. Mass of Christion Burial at TRANSFIGURATION CATHOLIC CHURCH, 6133 15th St. N., Oakdale on Friday, Dec. 4, 2009 at 10 AM. Visitation at the church one hour prior to Mass. Interment Union Cemetery, Maplewood, MN. Memorials preferred. WULFF WOODBURY 651-738-9615

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

You can bank all 11 Holidays!

A brief history of Holidays in the jail.

Prior to January 2000 all Holidays in the jail were worked, and worked at straight time! We began a push in the mid 1990’s to have parity with all other county employees and have an equivalent number of days off.

Sheriff McGowen and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office were sued. Our previous union LELS was decertified and we became Teamsters. Our first Teamsters contract secured the Holidays. This was not without a cost to us. The Sheriff’s Office was concerned about the cost of 11 additional days off (no more then every other county employee) but we gave up the 1.5% inconvenient work schedule pay in Article 3, section 3 of our Agreement to offset this perceived additional cost and get the Holiday benefit. That’s right, we took a 1.5% pay cut to have this.

The contract was very specific, employees who work a designated Holiday “should receive a deferred holiday off for each holiday .” The HCSO under Sheriff McGowan then began to pay us cash equivalent rather then letting us have a deferred holiday off.

A grievance was filed which led to the LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING in our agreement which allowed us to bank up to 24 hours of deferred holiday and the employer to cash out balances over 24 hours.

This LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING is no longer in effect. The Letter states: The parties agree to the following interpretation regarding holiday pay under Article 11 for Detention Deputies who are assigned to a 6-3 schedule of 8.5 hour days

NO 6/3, NO CAP ON DEFERRED HOLIDAYS OFF!

YOU CAN BANK ALL HOLIDAYS WORKED AS DEFERRED!

Further more they must let you take deferred holidays off within six months of earning them. They cannot cash out a deferred holiday on the books. (Article 11, sec. C)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!