AFSCME to Strike?

WorkdayMinnesota is reporting that AFSME may strike.

Who?

The six AFSCME locals representing workers at Hennepin County include: Local 34 (Social and Health Services), Local 552 (Probation and Parole), Local 1719 (Adult Corrections Officers), Local 2822 (Clerical and Related), Local 2864 (Professional Librarians) and Local 2938 (Legal Unit).

This means there will be no clerks or pretrial probation officers at the jail if they do strike.

Why? According to the WorkdayMinnesota article:

"It's take-backs, take-backs and more take-backs," Poehler said, updating the noon-hour rally on contract negotiations. Poehler told the crowd that Hennepin County negotiators are proposing several contract changes:

• making County employees pay more out-of-pocket for health care;

• threatening to cut full health coverage;

• converting some full-time jobs to part-time jobs with reduced health benefits;

• allowing supervisors to take on union work;

• denying some health benefits to future employees.

One interesting note is that hundreds of AFSCME workers picketed at the government center on the 18th and I saw no mention in the main stream press.

Negotiations: Our Initial Proposal

Labor Rally at Government Center

News from AFSCME Local 1719

When: This Tuesday the 18th at Noon in the Hennepin County Government Center Plaza there will be a rally by AFSCME Council 5 Hennepin County employees and others concerned about negotiations. I have been informed that Postal Employee Union Members and Teamsters will be there also supporting this rally by their attendance. Everyone is welcome to help support this rally to show the county board how serious we are in these negotiations.

Issue: After three meetings the county still has not given employees a health care proposal or moved on any issues. There are only three negotiations scheduled until we go to mediation. The more people that appear at this rally will show the county board that this negotiation time is a serious time where they must pay attention. I know in my local union at least 31 people are free that day or not working during the time of the rally. I hope every one of them show up to demonstrate that we as union members are serious about this contract.

Thanks for attending I hope to see you there on Tuesday,

Dean Enge 1719

I would encourage any of our members availabe to attend. What affects them affects us. This is day one of our negotiations.

Wade

RNC Welcoming Video-theirs(funny)

September Update

Contract Negotiations Begin September 18th

The Leather Issue has not yet been resolved

The grievance filed after management unilaterally ended the decades long past practice of having breakfast foods available before shift without negotiating with the union is still headed to Arbitration.

The grievance filed by a member given a suspension for uttering a profanity heard only after the Sheriff's Office was reviewing a 6 month old tape of intake for an unrelated reason is still active.

The Blood Bourne Pathogens bill we wrote is still not being utilized.

Arbitration has been set for October 8th, 2007 at 9 AM. RE: TEAMSTERS LOCAL 320 AND HENNEPIN COUNTY BMS CASE #06PA0844 (HOROBIN #3234)
This is a case involving an SRT cell extraction that resulted in a 10 day suspension. It is the Union's opinion there is no just cause.

You'd call it a lobbyist, The Sheriff's Office would call it a Contract and Grants Manager!

Apparently our drinking and driving lobbyist is being replaced. Yeah, they're calling the position a Contract and Grants Manager for the Sheriff's Office, but read the description and qualifications and tell me what you'd call it!


Job Title:
Contract and Grants Manager - Sheriff's Office
Closing Date/Time:
Fri. 08/31/07 5:00 PM Central Time
Salary:
$56,016.00 - $85,272.00 annually
Job Type:
Full-time
Location:
Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
Department:
Sheriff's Office

This job is closed. Print Job Information
Description Benefits Supplemental Questions

We are one of Minnesota's premier law enforcement agencies, based in Minneapolis. Over 800 men and women of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office invite you to join them in the career challenges offered by our agency which seeks to reflect the diversity of the communities it serves. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is dedicated to increasing public safety through leadership, integrity, and strong partnerships. The vision of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is outstanding public safety through exemplary leadership, collaborative dynamic partnerships, and innovative resource management. The primary duties/responsibilities of this position include:
Develop and implement coordinated face-to-face and written outreach and educational campaigns, related to Public Safety, for the County Board, other elected officials, department heads within Hennepin County, and the public.
Develop relationships with members of the Minnesota Legislature as well as the Governor and his Administration.
Develop relationships and potential legislative programs with Minnesota’s Congressional delegation for the purpose of identifying, securing and maximizing federal resources for coordination and provision of law enforcement services throughout the County.
Develop a coordinated effort among Sheriffs and Police Chiefs throughout the State to promote public safety and to coordinate Homeland Security efforts.
Research policy and legislative bills and advise the Sheriff on official positions with respect to their potential impact on law enforcement and public safety in the County. Make recommendations to the Chief of Staff and the Sheriff regarding such proposals and issues.
Analyze and evaluate departmental policies and procedures and formulate new or revised ones when necessary. The ideal candidate will have:
Juris Doctorate AND
Four or more years of experience in Government Relations work at the MN Legislature. Selection Process: Invitations to interview will be based on an assessment of education and experience.

Agency:
Hennepin County
Address:
Hennepin County Government Center 300 South Sixth Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55487 Map/Directions
Phone:
612-348-2163
Web Site:
http://hennepin.jobs/
E-mail:
HR.Dept@co.hennepin.mn.us

AFSCME Workhouse Negotiaions

This is an update from our Workhouse counterparts. It's where negotiations are with them:


Council 5 Local 1719

8-30-07

To: Membership of AFSCME # 1719
From: Dean Enge, your President D. Enge
Subject: Negotiations and other issues

Negotiations at this Time

Currently the status of negotiations is that the county has given us a proposal that is unacceptable to the union. The county has offered little in pay and a lot of take aways from our current contract. One of the things that they would like to be able to do is have supervisors be able to bump back into the bargaining unit with their seniority from when they started working for the county. So if they laid some off or demoted some they would be protected. While this has never happened in recent memory an example where we would be hurt is a closing of a department unit like the Home School. If the Home School were closed and the students privatized then the Correctional Supervisors there would be surplus. Would our department then decide some of them could replace some of ours at the ACF and if so this language could affect you? Currently once supervisors have passed their probation as a supervisor they have lost their seniority rights in the bargaining unit. The county also would like to deposit your severance pay and stability pay in a health care savings account instead of you getting it. While that proposal has some merits for those close to retirement, it would hurt those you would like to keep the stability pay for the holidays. The county would save a lot in not contributing to FICA and PERA on parts of this proposal. The county has also offered PTO again with take aways of two days a year for current employees and four days a year for new employees. The union’s position on PTO is no as it is currently being offered. After three meetings the county has not yet offered us their position on Health Insurance and is promising to offer one maybe at the next meeting Sept. 10. The only thing on Health Insurance that has been mentioned by the county is to suggest a high deductible plan with a VEBA for 2009. They have stated they want to meet on Sept. 10 for six hours to chat about their various issues and hopefully present the Health Insurance component.

Rally

On September 18, 2007 at the Plaza at the Hennepin County Government Center there will be a rally for all AFSCME members in Hennepin County. This noon rally is to show the strength of your union to the county board and management by expressing our solidarity and objection to what they have offered. If you are off on that Tuesday please join us in the rally so the strength can be shown to the public and the governing board. It was actions like this two years ago that helped to get the contract we did then.

The Eight Hour Day

From Workday Minnesota:

September 3, 1916 - Railroad workers won the eight-hour day. The legislation, called the Adamson Act, marked the first time a group of private sector workers had their working hours regulated by the federal government. It was one of many reforms pushed by the progressive movement of the early 20th century.

The Adamson Act, passed in 1916, provided workers with an eight hour day, at the same daily wage they had received previously for a ten hour day, and required time and a half for overtime. -Wikipedia

UK Prison Workers Strike

Libcom.org is reporting that, Some 20,000 prison officers in England and Wales took illegal unofficial action on Wednesday 29 August against Gordon Brown’s public sector wage cuts and the disastrous overcrowding in prisons.

Their laws are similar to ours in that Prison officers were banned from striking by a court ruling in early 1993, which found prison officers had powers and authority similar to those of the police and subsequently could not strike. That was written into law by the Tories in the 1994 Criminal Justice Act. Just as we are deemed "essential employees."

Why did they strike?

Wednesday's strike came after a pay review body recommended a rise of 2.5 percent this year but the government decided that it should be staged, with an initial 1.5 percent rise followed by another 1 percent six months later.

Big deal you say, they were proposed a low raise and staggered at that. Well the main point applicable to all of us is this:

Brian Clarke, chair of Birmingham POA, told Socialist Worker, “Our pay awards are meant to be according to performance. There is a growth in prison population but not in prison staff, so our performance is increasing.

As we begin our negotiations we need to remind the County that like our UK counter parts there's been an increase in inmates but not a proportionate increase in staff so our performance is also increasing.

While I am not advocating a strike. Philosophically I agree with Brian Caton, general secretary of the POA... “I believe every officer has human rights, and they include the right to withdraw their labour,” he said.

CRS Incorporated

I'm back from Chicago and opened my email to see that CRS Incorporated will be conducting a comprehensive jail staffing analysis. I looked on-line to do a little research and found this PDF of their work. As we all know the jail is short staffed. The primary reason being that the County Board has never funded quads 2 and 3 to be open, but high inmate counts have required their use. I hope this analysis convinces the Board to get us the required staff and doesn't just result in "creative" scheduling as a band aid. Especially with the RNC coming next year we'll need all the staff we can get.

RNC Update

Infoshop News is reporting that "Police attack Minneapolis Critical Mass and arrest around 20 cyclists" Read this article. I will post news relating to the upcoming RNC as I find it just so we know what to expect when it comes.

Photo from Indymedia

Happy Labor Day

Used with the permission of Mike Konopacki

Input Needed

By now you should have received a letter from Teamsters Local 320 asking for your input into the upcoming contract negotiations. This is your chance to let us know what's important to you!

Jeff Grates at the bridge

As we all know on 8/1/07 the 35W bridge collapsed into the Mississippi river. We've heard many tales of rescue workers and people helping out. I asked detention deputy Jeff Grates to write down his story so I could publish it as a testimony of his contribution. Jeff is a detention deputy, a union member of Teamsters Local 320 and also in the Air Force Reserves. This is his story:


On August 1, 2007 at 1800 hours, I finished up my shift at the jail and was on my way home for the evening. As I approached the Stone Arch Bridge, I overheard an excited voice on the overhead speakers at the Lower St. Anthony Falls Damn Lock Master area. I could not make out exactly what the individual was saying and continued on my way. As I reached my vehicle at the north end, I began to see emergency vehicles arriving to the area. I called back to the jail and spoke with Deputy Murto, who informed me that the Interstate 35W Bridge had just collapsed.

Sensing that help may be needed, I went to the area and met up with Minneapolis Police Sergeant, Bill Chaplin, who works out of the 3rd Precinct. I explained to Sgt. Chaplin that I was a member of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and offered my assistance. I will note that from this point forward, I left my work Identification exposed in order to identify myself and proceed to assist where I was needed. Sgt. Chaplin had to leave the area to attend to another detail and left a police reserve officer in his place. Approximately 15 minutes went by and the scene remained chaotic. Vehicles, pedestrian traffic and individuals on bikes were blocking the path of emergency vehicles and personnel from getting to the area. My years of experience and training in the United States Air Force directed me to ask the Minneapolis Police Reserve Officer to find an individual in charge to ensure that the perimeter was secure. Not finding anyone, I took it upon myself to locate Sgt. Chaplin, who was at the rivers edge assisting in the disaster. I explained to Sgt. Chaplin that the integrity of the perimeter was in jeopardy. He took my information and called for additional assistance to the area.

As this was being done, I went to MPD Officer Robert Greer of the 2nd Precinct and requested medical exam gloves so I could prepare to offer my assistance with wounded individuals. Officer Greer was standing off to the side securing the first body recovered from the collapse site. Officer Greer was concerned about his partner and also their police cruiser, as the vehicle was still running and was nearly a half mile away from his location. I obtained a description of his partner and explained to him that I would locate her.

I walked back up to the Stone Arch Bridge and located Officer Greer’s partner, who was securing this entry point to the area. I told her where Officer Greer was located and that he instructed me to find and secure their police cruiser. She could not leave her position and gave me the squad number and general area where I could find the vehicle. I went in search of their vehicle and located it at the far side of Metal Matic. The doors were locked and the car was running. I recognized Minneapolis Police Inspector Skomra, who was my uncle’s partner, approached him and identified myself as a member of the Sheriff’s Office. I explained what I was detailed with by Officer Greer and that I could not gain entrance to Officer Greer’s police cruiser. Inspector Skomra handed me a master key to the squad car. I went back to the car, unlocked it, turned it off, took the key out of the ignition and secured the doors. I returned Inspector Skomra’s keys and returned to the Stone Arch Bridge area.

I located Officer Greer’s partner and explained to her what I did and handed the key to their police cruiser to her. I then went back down the hill to the river’s edge and met back up with Officer Greer. I explained to Officer Greer that I located his partner and their vehicle and that both were fine. Officer Greer was in the process of moving a deceased victim to the corner’s vehicle and asked for my assistance. Officer Greer completed the necessary paperwork requested from the corner and I assisted in moving the victim to the corner’s vehicle. Officer Greer explained to me that this was going to be the staging area for the remaining victims, if any, and asked if I could stand by to assist him. I remained on scene and assisted Officer Greer with the remaining three victims as they were recovered from the wreckage.

At approximately 2200 hours, rescue crews were finishing up their duties for the evening. I explained to Officer Greer that I needed to remove myself from the scene in order to get home and rested for the next days work with the Office. Officer Greer thanked me for my assistance and I cleared at approximately 2230 hours.

Arbitration Date Set

Arbitration has been set for October 8th, 2007 at 9 AM.

RE: TEAMSTERS LOCAL 320 AND HENNEPIN COUNTY BMS CASE #06PA0844 (HOROBIN #3234)

This is a case involving an SRT cell extraction that resulted in a 10 day suspension. It is the Union's opinion there is no just cause.

Protesters Have Lawyers, You Should Too

The Star Tribune is reporting:

A small armada of corporate attorneys, many of them partners in the area's most prestigious law firms, have begun meeting and strategizing ways to defend thousands of protesters expected to flock to the Twin Cities next September. And not for $500 an hour, but for free.

Pro bono, or volunteer, work is common for attorneys, but observers are impressed by this effort, which was mobilized by the Minnesota affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Don't be alarmed, be prepared. All full dues paying Detention Deputy members of Teamsters Local 320 are protected by Team Legal. The fallout from mass arrests could persist a long time after the 2008 RNC ends.

On Vacation

I will be on vacation 8/5 through 8/16. In my absence if you need a steward contact one of these stewards:

Phil Miles
Ted Westerdahl
Ashley Horobin
Mike Nielson

Tech Steward: Rick Kuster

2008 RNC Welcoming Committee-ANARCHIST

This is from a myspace site http://www.myspace.com/rnc2008welcomingcommittee
This is what we can look forward to!

The RNC Welcoming Committee is an anarchist/anti-authoritarian organizing body formed to prepare for the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The RNC-WC, composed primarily of Twin Cities-based anarchists and anti-authoritarians, will function as an informational clearinghouse and organize a spokescouncil for RNC resistance. We will coordinate logistics (food, housing, transportation), and engage in education and outreach.
Without falling prey to the centralized, hierarchical tendencies that have dominated such convergences in the past, we hope that the RNC-WC will maintain a unified, anti-authoritarian presence at the 2008 RNC. Our numbers are huge, and it’s time that our actions reflected that. Following are our points of unity. We invite all individuals and groups committed to these ideas to participate in the Welcoming Committee. Those who work with the RNC Welcoming Committee must agree to:
1. A rejection of Capitalism, Imperialism, and the State;
2. Resist the commodification of our shared and living Earth;
3. Organize on the principles of decentralization, autonomy, sustainability, and mutual aid.
4. Work to end all relationships of domination and subjugation, including but not limited to those rooted in patriarchy, race, class, and homophobia;
5. Oppose the police and prison-industrial complex, and maintain solidarity with all targets of state repression;
6. Directly confront systems of oppression, and respect the need for a diversity of tactics.Though the RNC-WC is focused on a specific event, we hope that our work transcends the convention by contributing to the development of anti-authoritarian movements and mutual aid networks both locally and globally. We are no more opposed to the Republican Party than we are to the Democratic Party. Affiliations and labels aside, we invite all who share our vision to join us in resistance.

These You Tube Videos are meant to educate you about anarchy and for your enjoyment.

Uniform Update

*Important*

Inspector Cooper has issued a memo stating that detention personnel have until "February 28, 2008 to comply with wearing all black leather gear..."

Our contract states:

"Article 32, Section 2.If the basic clothing provided by the EMPLOYER is changed in type, color or style by order of the EMPLOYER, the EMPLOYER will bear any replacement cost in excess of $65.00 per calendar year, the employee to be responsible for the first $65.00 of replacement cost."

The Union's position in conformance to the contract is that the employer is to pay 100% of costs for employees under one year and detention techs, and all but the first $65 for all detention deputies who have completed one year. THIS INCLUDES SHOES! Also note the contract says "replacement," not dye.

While inspector Cooper's memo does not state what the revised policy is, I would advise our members to hold off on switching to black leather until we are sure the new policy conforms to our Agreement with Hennepin County.

Staffing-A Meeting With The Sheriff

We've all been hearing the talk of trimming back staff due to the huge amount of overtime. Over the last week I've had a couple of talks with the Captain, asked them to raise the 16 hour overtime cap to 20 (Inspector Cooper just approved this) and Teamsters 320 has mailed the Administration and the County a letter stating that cut backs in staff would be an officer safety issue.

Today I sat down with Sheriff Stanek and Senior Policy Advisor John Cooney. The talk was productive. I stressed officer safety and I came armed with our schedules which showed exactly why and where the overtime is being used. We have several employees on active military duty and these spots must be covered, this is out of our control. We have a couple of employees temporarily assigned to water patrol, the Sheriff says they're coming back, but one of the biggest chunks of our overtime seems to be "unfunded beds." That's because when the County Board decided to operate two facilities rather then one they never provided the Sheriff's Office with the funds to operate quads two and three. The reality is our counts are above 800 and frequently above the 841 beds we have, including using quads two and three. The solution is not to run thin, but to increase the number of detention deputies to reflect the reality of the count.

I used this example, when you cut the number of cops on the street, crime and incidents go up, and the majority of citizens are not criminals. All of the jail's inmates are criminals, if you cut staff, assaults will increase between inmates, assaults will increase on staff, and liability will increase for the county.

The Sheriff asked me what I would do. I said I'd tell tell the County Board to give us the staff to run quads two and three without overtime. If they didn't, I'd close them down and return to the policy of releasing all non-violent misdemeanors no bail required. Then when the downtown business owner complained that the aggressive panhandler arrested five hours earlier was back in front of his shop I'd direct him to the County Board to provide the funding so we can keep them off of the streets.

The Sheriff is not quite as aggressive as I am on this approach, he's not ready to close down quads two and three, but said he is going to the Board requesting 30 more staff.

All in all I think he and Mr. Cooney were receptive to our concerns. Let's hope the County Board is.