Shasta County General Unit Meeting

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Union members of the Shasta County General Unit met on November 29, 2011 at the Union office. Approximately twenty members attended this meeting. The meeting was an open forum for all employee’s to discuss negotiations or other issues. There was lengthy discussion on item’s to present when bargaining begins next year. Health insurance and the ability to opt out of the health insurance for a stipend were discussed.Also discussed was the ability to increase the amount of vacation/comp. that an employee can buy back and open it to twice a year or at any time during the year. There was discussion of having a spokesperson(s) for each Department or Division so the information discussed at our meetings could be disseminated to all Union members.

The employees present would like to see more Union members and less fee payers. The difference in cost is $3.22 a pay period. All employees are represented equally, however, fee payers do not get to participate in any decision making process or Union function, which includes discussion and comment on bargaining and ultimately they cannot vote for any contract.

The employees asked for a negotiation survey be sent to all Union members. They wanted this accompanied by a brief description of the difference between a fee payer and a Union member. They also asked that a breakdown on how the dues are spent also be added. The survey should go out next week and it will have addressed envelope’s inside for easy return to this office. I will also be accepting e-mails if that is easier for some Union members.

The members voted that the next meeting take place in January. Tentatively it will be held on Tuesday January 17, 2012 starting at 5:30 P.M. The members also voted that pizza’s and drinks be available for everyone.

Look for your negotiation survey in the next week to ten days. 

Delegates Appointed To Councils

HEAQUARTERS - Business Manager Chris Darker announced today he has appointed two UPEC Local 792 members to Central Labor Councils.
UPEC’s newest Labor Relations Representative Ellis Miller has been appointed to the South Bay Central Labor Council in San Jose. Ellis will join Santa Clara UPEC Executive Board Member Paul Mullett who has been serving as a Delegate at the SBCLC for 2 years.
Shasta County General Unit member Teri Bono has been appointed to the Five Counties Central Labor Council in Redding. Teri has been a UPEC member for over 4 years and has been a UPEC Steward.for 2 years. 

Special District Employees vote UPEC

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

REDDING - In a special meeting on Monday, November 28th, the Shasta County Mosquito Vector Control District Employees Association members voted to affiliate with UPEC Local 792. The Association formed in April 2011 and wants UPEC to negotiate their first contract and represent their members on grievance and disciplinary matters.
“We are honored this Association contacted us and joined UPEC for our services”, said Chris Darker, Business Manager for Local 792. UPEC represents several Special Districts throughout California and this one will be the first Mosquito District for UPEC. UPEC represents an Airport, Water, Irrigation, hospital districts.

Report:  Public Sector Unions Not to Blame for Deficits

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

UCS News Service - November 2011

A new report seriously undermines the rationale for balancing state budgets by going after public sector workers.

Budget crises in states across the country are being used to justify attacks on public employees, their unions, wages and benefits. But the new report, from the University of California Berkeley Labor Center, finds that the growing state budget squeeze is mainly the result of the bursting of the housing bubble and the ensuing decline in real estate prices—not public sector wages and benefits.

The report—The Wrong Target: Public Sector Unions and State Budget Deficits, by Sylvia A. Allegretto, Ken Jacobs and Laurel Lucia—finds that strong public sector unions don’t add up to higher deficits or bloated pay and compensation packages. According to the study, almost every argument against public sector workers is demonstrably false.

In the 10 most highly unionized states, for example, the report found the average share of the budget spent on compensation was 19.6 percent, just slightly higher than the 18.7 percent in the 10 least unionized states. “The claim that public sector unionization leads to greater deficits does not withstand scrutiny,” the study concludes.

And despite oft-repeated attacks on “bloated” government, the report showed that “The public sector workforce has not been growing relative to the population” in union and non-union states alike. “There is no correlation between the share of public workers in unions and the size of the public sector workforce,” says the report. “This belies the notion that public sector unions are increasing the demand for their product.”

For states to address their budget deficits, “the most important factors are national economic growth and a resolution to the housing crisis,” the report concludes. “Solutions that focus on cutting state and local budgets can be expected to further weaken the economy. Federal aid to the states is essential to maintain the public infrastructure while the economy rebounds. Federal action is also needed to address the housing crisis, which continues to provide a drag on the economy and on state and local revenues.”

Jobless Rate Stagnating at 9.1 Percent

Friday, November 18, 2011

UCS News Service

TheU.S. unemployment rate in September held at 9.1 percent for the third straight month, the Department of Labor reported Oct. 7.

Of about 100,000 new jobs “created” over the month—nowhere near enough to keep pace with the expanding labor force of 150 million—45,000 were in fact those of returning Verizon strikers. Economists say payrolls have to expand by 150,000 positions a month just to keep the jobless rate from rising.

Private employment increased 137,000 during September, a bump up from August’s 42,000, but government payrolls fell 34,000 as employment at the local government level fell 35,000 and the Postal Service shed 5,000 positions.

It offers little hope for the millions of workers looking for fulltime jobs, but the holiday shopping season traditionally opens up a huge number of temporary retail and related positions.

Postal Workers Rally to ‘Save America’s Postal Service’

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

UCS News Serivce

Postal workers and their supporters held rallies at nearly 500 locations nationwide on Sept. 27 to “Save America’s Postal Service.”

The rallies, which were held in every congressional district, were designed to tell the American people the real cause of the Postal Service’s financial crisis and to build support for H.R. 1351, which would restore financial stability to the USPS. They also opposed a bill that would strip union rights and dismantle collective bargaining agreements between USPS management and postal unions. Immediately following the rallies, three postal unions—the American Postal Workers Union, The National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union - launched a new television ad campaign targeting unfair financial burdens imposed on the Postal Service by Congress. The ad exposes “the real reason the USPS is facing a crisis that is jeopardizing the nation’s mail system,” according to the unions. “The postal service is recording financial losses,” according to the ad, “but not for reasons you might think.”

The USPS carries an extraordinary financial burden that no other government agency or company bears, the ad notes. A 2006 law, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees. It forces the agency to pre-fund a 75-year liability in just 10 years, and costs the USPS more than $5.5 billion annually.  This mandate, the unions say, is the reason the Postal Service is threatening to close thousands of post offices, eliminate hundreds of mail processing facilities, end Saturday mail delivery, and lay off 120,000 workers. In addition, the Postal Service is required to overpay billions more into federal accounts.

“Congress created this problem, and Congress can fix it,” the ad concludes. The ad will run until the end of November on CNN, MSNBC and FOX News.
From medical prescriptions to important financial documents, packages, catalogues and newspapers, the U.S. Postal Service is the center of a $1.2 trillion industry that employs 8 million people, including printers, mailers, publishers and other businesses that depend on the Postal Service.