Shasta Courts Employees Ratify New MOU

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Earlier tonight, members of the Shasta Courts Unit - including Court Clerks, Courtroom Clerks, Court Reporters, Service Officers and other non-supervisory Court employees from the Superior Court of California, County of Shasta voted to ratify a successor MOU after three months of negotiations with the Court.  The MOU, set to last 16 months, includes a one-time payment to all bargaining unit employees, and holds employee contributions for Retiree Admin Fees at their current levels.  Medical, Dental and Vision formulas will continue over the course of the MOU and for the first time, the Court has agreed to pay stipends for Court Reporters providing real-time reporting, Bilingual employees fluent in spanish, and has agreed to create a new Service Officer classification at 5% above the current class - recognizing increased responsibilities for SO’s performing dispatch functions.

Let Public in on Labor Deals

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Sac Bee Editorial: Let public in on government labor deals
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, May 13, 2008
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/932926.html

Peter Scheer, who heads the California First Amendment Coalition, has a novel idea: End the secrecy surrounding local government labor contract negotiations.
You can understand the logic and the urgency behind his idea when you consider the situation in Vallejo. That city is filing for bankruptcy. Why? Local officials approved salary and benefits costs for current employees and retirees that are more than the city can afford.
Scheer’s point is that California law allows local government officials “to avoid public discussion of the true cost and fiscal impact of the pay deals that they have approved.” By the time the public sees anything, a union contract already is a done deal and no changes can be made.
In some states, all phases of the bargaining process, including negotiations, are open to the public (though government officials may discuss strategy for labor negotiations in closed session). Minnesota, Florida, Kansas and Tennessee are examples.
California is at the opposite extreme. The state’s Brown Act not only allows negotiations about salaries and benefits to be conducted behind closed doors, it allows local government officials to vote on a final agreement in closed session. Only after that vote and union acceptance of the contract does the local government have to let the public in on the deal. And only then does the text of the contract become a public record – when it’s too late to change anything.
The situation in Vallejo should cause legislators to revisit this nonsense. At a minimum, legislators should require local governments, before any vote, to publish a proposed contract and prepare a single, authoritative, easy-to-read document listing all parts of the offer, including cost. They also should require local governments to hold a public hearing to consider the financial ramifications of every labor agreement. The vote to approve or reject the contract should be held in public session.
The Vallejo debacle highlights a basic truth: the public that pays the bills should be able to see and question a contract before a vote, not after.

CELEBRATE NATIONAL NURSES WEEK

Monday, May 05, 2008

Last week UPEC, Local 792 celebrated “National Nurses Week” for our represented employees in that field. Spearheaded by Business Manager, Chris Darker and Union Relations Representative, Christine Peery the nurses were honored by radio spots throughout the week in the north-state.

The Union also prepared a barbecue tri-tip dinner for the nurses at Shasta Regional Medical Center. The volunteers began setting up at 8:00 AM and were not done serving until after 10:00 PM that night. Over 120 pounds of tri-tip were cooked and served along with beans, salad, rolls and beverages to our member R.N.’s, L.V.N.’s, and technicians at the hospital.

Numerous volunteer’s stopped by or spent the whole day running this event. I would like to thank Chris Darker, Christine Peery, Executive Board President Mike Cottone, Executive Board Members Holly Pearson, Debra Belstad, and Steve Suske, also Joe Harvick, Allie Lyon, Paul Heckman, Patti Wyatt, Crystal Mair, Danielle Standley, Jerry Stark, Terri Bono and the sons and daughters of some of these members who helped spell their parents late in the afternoon. The hospital would not allow us to have the event in their parking lot so we did the next best thing on a nearby public parkway. I know I probably left someone out who helped during the day and if I did I apologize in advance. Without all of the help an event of this magnitude would not have been possible. Executive Chef, Joe Harvick, was responsible for the excellent tri-tip that was served during the day.

A live radio remote was held from noon until 2:00PM by KSHA 104.3 FM, along with the radio spots that were heard on KSHA, KQMS, and KRDG. It was a family atmosphere throughout the day with a good time had by all. Negotiations updates were handed out and questions were answered for the SRMC employees. Special thanks to bargaining team members Debra Belstad, Tina Vaughn, Robyn Nickels and Danielle Standley who spent time at the event.

Thank you all for making this a success.

Shasta Courts Supervisors to Vote on New MOU

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

The Supervisory employees at Shasta Courts will be voting next week on a potential successor MOU.  Voting will take place by ballot between 12 and 1pm on Monday May 5th, with special provisions being made for Supervisory employees stationed at the Burney Court.  The settlement carries the recommendation of the Negotiating Team and although that recommendation is made, no additional details are available at this time other than those available to members of that specific bargaining unit.  This story will be updated with results of that ratification effort on Monday May 5. 

Family Medical Leave Act Tips

Are your absences for sick leave being referred to in your evaluation?  If you used leave that was qualifying leave under the FMLA/CFRA you should be aware that the law prohibits an employer from withholding a benefit or privilege to you because you’ve taken FMLA leave, and also prohibits an employer from giving you a poor evaluation or denying you (or delaying) a promotion for having taken protected leave.  Specifically, the following are illegal behaviors for employers:  Assigning make-up hours, Reducing Overtime Opportunities, Assigning More Difficult Tasks, Denying Promotions, Issuing Negative Evaluations, and Lectures or Warnings about Improving Attendance (to name just a few).  In California, the California Family Rights Act (and claims of violations of FMLA) are handled by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.  If you have questions or suspect a violation of any of the above rules contained within FMLA and CFRA contact the union for assistance with your issue.

Academic Discount for Union Members

Friday, April 11, 2008

Anne Palmer-Martin of Huntington Learning Center has agreed to give Local 792 Union members an 8% discount on services for individual testing and tutoring in reading, study skills, writing, phonics, and spelling, math, and SAT/ACT preparations.  Additionally throughout the month of April, Ms. Palmer-Martin has committed to give members a $100.00 scholarship to be used towards a diagnostic evaluation; however this scholarship offer does expire April 30th.  For additional information, contact Ms. Palmer-Martin at (530) 221-1415, 940 A/B Hilltop Drive, Redding, CA 96002, or visit http://www.huntingtonlearning.com for additional information about Huntington Learning Center’s services.