eNewsletter - April 28, 2008
Standing Room Only at First Organizing Meeting
It was standing room only Monday April 21, at the United Steel Workers Hall in Martinez. Nearly 100 unrepresented employees of the County of Contra Costa came out to hear how they could become represented by Local 21.
Over 1100 employees in jobs just like those represented in other public agencies by Local 21 are without any representation in Contra Costa County.
The County Administrator and the Board of Supervisors have announced their intention to impose numerous draconian cuts to benefits including freezing the County's contribution to healthcare premiums, thereby forcing the unrepresented to pay all future increases to medical premiums forever! The same cuts would be applied to employees who retire from unrepresented jobs, as well. New hires into unrepresented jobs would have no retiree medical benefit whatsoever.
Organizing Committee members Evelyn Launius, Leona Hartmann, Roylen Stack, and Cindy Field opened the meeting expressing why the time is now for union representation and why Local 21 is the best choice for representing professional, supervisory and mid-level managers in Contra Costa County.
Local 21 Chapter Leaders Julia Halsne, from EBMUD and Doug Anderson from the Contra Costa Water District, spoke eloquently and on point about their experiences as part of the Local 21 team.
Union staffers Bob Britton, Nancy Ostrowski and Larry Hendel answered many questions about the process of gaining union recognition from the County and what will happen next. At the end of the presentation, several more county employees stepped forward to join the organizing committee. The newly expanded committee stayed over to discuss next steps.
May Day Rally this Thursday in Oakland
We have organized a major rally in Oakland this Thursday, May 1, to mark May Day and to celebrate labor's unity as major events are taking place in Oakland. We have just started bargaining for a new contract and the City is facing potentially difficult budget times.
Join members from all of the City of Oakland employee unions on Thursday May 1, at Frank Ogawa Plaza (directly outside Oakland City Hall), at 12:00 noon for an hour-long rally.
South Bay Chapters: HOLD THE DATE!!!
The South Bay Council voted to hold a joint summer meeting this year with all our South Bay chapters. AEA, SCCEAA, TAEA and City of East Palo Alto will hold the First Annual South Bay Picnic in lieu of their regularly scheduled July chapter meetings. Each chapter will have coordinators assigned to the preparation and cooking for this event. (Volunteers needed!)
The picnic will be held on Thursday, July 17, at Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos. The location is the Gateway Pavilion, beginning at 12 noon. More details to be announced at chapter meetings.
L21 Express is the bi-weekly email publication of IFPTE Local 21. Local 21 represents more than 7,000 Bay Area professional public employees. Main Office Phone: 415.864.2100 South Bay Phone: 408.291.2200
