Elissa C. Cadillic, President AFSCME Council 93 Local 1526, Responds to Includes Unfair Attacks on Union Workers

THE FEB. 19 editorial “In crisis, Boston libraries need better board, more private funds,’’ regarding the Boston Public Library’s funding crisis, contained some good suggestions. Unfortunately, it also included an unfair attack on union workers who were portrayed as obstructionists for insisting on sound procedures for using volunteers.

The members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1526 agree with trustee president Jeffrey Rudman’s call for the current board vacancy to be filled by a member of the Legislature or a philanthropist. We also agree with the Globe’s assertion that trustees must do all they can to increase funding before making drastic cuts.

However, we object to the allegation of union inflexibility on volunteerism, especially since AFSCME supports the use of volunteers for initiatives such as English-language courses, tax preparation assistance, and after-school programs. Some of our recommendations included common-sense measures such as criminal background checks for volunteers - a requirement for new employees.

We do not support the misguided notion that volunteers can replace the important, modest-wage jobs our members do to keep the library running smoothly.

Finally, readers should know that AFSCME members - 90 percent of whom live in Boston - continue to do their fair share to help close the budget gap, including agreeing to a wage freeze and significant increases in their health insurance costs.

Elissa C. Cadillic
President AFSCME Council 93 Local 1526
AFSCME Local 1526 represents approximately 270 library assistants, custodians, and clerical and maintenance workers in the Boston Public Library system.

Firing of Central Falls, R.I., Teachers ‘Illegal, Unjust, Disgraceful’

Firing of Central Falls, R.I., Teachers ‘Illegal, Unjust, Disgraceful’ but

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan “applauded” state and local education officials for “showing courage and doing the right thing for kids.”

In the middle of the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, more than 90 dedicated professional educators find themselves put out into the street. On Feb. 23, the Central Falls, R.I., school trustees fired the entire teaching staff of Central Falls High School, supposedly because of declining test scores at the school, which is located in Rhode Island’s smallest and poorest city.

In all, 93 persons were put in the street—74 classroom teachers, plus reading specialists, guidance counselors, physical education teachers, the school psychologist, the principal and three assistant principals. Negotiations over ways to improve the school between teachers and the school superintendent broke down when school officials insisted that teachers add new duties, some without any extra pay at all.

In a rally before the trustees meeting, some 500 union members and community supporters called on the board to reconsider its decision. Rhode Island AFL-CIO President George Nee told the crowd:

This is immoral, illegal, unjust, irresponsible, disgraceful and disrespectful. What is happening here tonight is the wrong thing and we’re not going to put up with it.

McMaster University Academic Librarian Association formed.

"The librarians at McMaster University  (Hamilton, ON) have broken off from the faculty association to form their own union. On February 10, they filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board for certification, followed by a majority vote last week in favor of the certification. The new association is called the McMaster University Academic Librarian Association (MUALA)."


Momentum for the vote seems to have stemmed at least in part from two controversial layoffs of librarians in the Spring of 2009. In particular, one librarian's position was "declared redundant a week before the beginning of her approved [research] leave," according to a letter from three members of the faculty association, including its president, John Berlinsky.

The letter condemns the university's action, and calls "the nature of the termination to be outrageous and the decision itself ill-considered." (A Facebook group includes the letter, as well as other links.)

[Thanks to BGS].

Inside Organizing and Outside Representation

Inside Organizing and Outside Representation
By Carl Finamore at PORTSIDE.

Organizing workers into a union usually brings out the best in labor. Organizers are truly motivated, committed, work long hours and genuinely believe in helping workers.

But not everything is always as good as it appears. We know from watching pumped-up 30-second movie trailers that the full 90-minute release might not actually measure up to its hype. We are sometimes disappointed. It's the same with us in the union movement.

We have to work on closing the gap between how we project ourselves so favorably while organizing and how we sometimes actually perform so routinely while representing....

--read more here.

The Unions of the States

Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)

THE UNION OF THE STATES
February 2010, John Schmitt

Executive Summary

This report reviews unionization rates, the size and
composition of the unionized workforce, and the wage and
benefit advantage for union workers in each of the fifty
states and the District of Columbia, using the most
recent data available and focusing on the period
2003-2009. Pooling data from the monthly Current
Population Survey (CPS) over that period yields a sample
size large enough to look at the experience of even the
smallest states.

Unionization rates vary substantially across the states,
from below 5 percent of the overall workforce in South
Carolina and North Carolina, to over 25 percent in New
York and Hawaii. The unionization rate in the state
right in the middle with respect to unionization is 12.6
percent (the rate in Missouri and Vermont). The absolute
number of union workers in each state also varied
greatly in 2009, from just 20,000 in Wyoming to about
2.6 million in California.

Across all the states, however, unionization is strongly
associated with increases in overall compensation,
measured here by hourly wages and health and pension
benefit coverage. In the typical state, unionization is
associated with about a 15 percent increase in hourly
wages (roughly $2.50 per hour), a 19-percentage-point
increase in the likelihood of having employer-provided
health insurance, and a 24-percentage-point increase in
the likelihood of having employer-sponsored retirement
plans.

See report in pdf here.

UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated / Moline Library Unit AGreement

The City of Moline and the Moline Library Board of Trustees have announced that a wage concession agreement for cost-saving measures has been reached with the UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated. In a Letter of Understanding signed by the parties, the UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated has agreed to the following concessions:

Four (4) unpaid furlough days to be taken by 2011. Two of such days must be taken in 2010

Defer 1.0 % of a scheduled 3.0 % salary increase until 2011

Reduce annual anniversary increases from 2.25% to 2.0% for the years 2010 and 2011

The wage concessions will save the City of Moline $45,000 over a 20 month period, including a permanent savings of nearly $6,000.

The UAW, the Library Board of Trustees and the City worked together to assist in balancing the 2010 and 2011 fiscal year budgets. "I am very appreciative of the willingness of the UAW to work with the City, said Lew Steinbrecher, City Administrator. "I believe this is a good partnership between labor and management to address the financial difficulties the City is experiencing."

UAW Local 2282 Moline Library unit chairperson Clara Kangas said, "The union worked with the Library Board and the City to reach a solution that will help the City during its financial difficulties without losing employees or any library services to the public."

The UAW Local 2282 Amalgamated represents 23 employees who are employed at the Moline Public Library. The current labor contract expires in 2011.

Maryland: The LIBRARYUNION Initiative

In a move to gain collective bargaining rights for all library workers across Maryland, Local 1994, with the help of Delegate Tom Hucker, is introducing legislation in the 2010 state legislative session that will legislate such rights.

The primary sponsor of the bill is Del. Tom Hucker.
Read the bill here.

Cut all librarians before any cop?

To deal with a $242 million budget deficit, Phoenix is planning a series of cuts to all types of city services
. Transportation. Senior centers. Libraries. As well as police and firefighters.

Already the police are fighting back. The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association has sponsored a television spot showing a frightened woman in a darkened house calling 911.

"We'll get out there eventually," the dispatcher tells her. Adding, "We're already down 450 officers, and the city wants to lay off more."

A narrator then urges viewers to call city officials and tell them not to reduce public-safety jobs.

"The bottom line is . . . I love the librarian, but I need the police officer," said PLEA President Mark Spencer. "That's why I'm dialing 911. That ad clearly communicates our issues, and that's why we put that on. That's what it is going to come down to."