Welcome to Council 5

AFSCME Sues City of Duluth to Halt Layoffs

On September 2, the City of Duluth was ready to lay off 24 full-time employees who are members of AFSCME Local 66.  To halt the layoffs, AFSCME asked a St. Louis County judge to issue a temporary restraining order.  A decision is expected within 24 hours.

Our lawsuit accuses the city of violating our union contract, stating “Unlawful acts have been threatened and will be committed, unless the city is restrained.”  Our position is that the city can’t layoff full-time employees without first dismissing all of its temporary employees – that’s 42 non-union employees who work fewer than 14 hours a week.

If we win the restraining order, AFSCME and the city will return to court for trial on Friday, September 5.

“We’re doing everything we can to save good jobs and the services that Duluth residents want and need,” explains Deb Strohm of Local 66.  “The city is violating our contract.  That’s illegal and our case is strong.”

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Bush + McCain + Norm = More of the Same

Labor Day 2008 finds workers in worse shape than they’ve been in years, according to a scorecard released by Rutgers University.  Here are the ugly indicators:

“We’re losing our homes, our jobs and our health care while Bush, McCain and Norm Coleman say the economy is just fine,” explains Eliot Seide, director of AFSCME Council 5.   ‘We can’t afford four more years of fewer jobs and more war."

“This election is about rebuilding the middle class, providing quality, affordable health care for all, and ending the war in Iraq.  By electing Barack Obama and Al Franken, we can make sure our best days are ahead of us instead of behind us.”

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AFSCME BACKS OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT

AFSCME’s International Executive Board endorsed Barack Obama for President on June 19.  As a U.S. Senator from Illinois, Obama has a 100 percent AFSCME voting record.

• Click here to compare Obama and McCain on working-family issues.
• Click here to watch a 6-minute Obama video.
• Click here to watch Senator Obama address AFSCME's 37th International Convention.
• Click here to learn about John McCain.

Working families can’t afford four more years of less jobs and more war.  Vote Tuesday, November 4.

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Correctional Officers Retain Right to Exchange Shifts

The Corrections Policy Committee, led by Tim Henderson, won a hard fought battle this week by standing up for the rights guaranteed by their contract.  As a result of their mobilization efforts, correctional officers will retain their right to exchange shifts so they can spend time off with family and friends.

“When we’re good at home, we’re good at work,” explains Jerry Firkus, a correctional officer at Moose Lake.  “It’s a win-win for everyone.”

Details of the final agreement will be shared early next week.

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Unity & Solidarity

The 38th AFSCME International Convention concluded in San Francisco on August 1.  Nearly 6000 people attended, including an energetic delegation of nearly 200 members from Minnesota Council 5.  Here are links to convention highlights:

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Talking Union at the Crow Wing County Fair

Wayne Fleishhacker and Brian Dosh talked union with folks who visited the Brainerd Trades and Labor booth at the Crow Wing County Fair.  The booth was staffed for all five days by AFSCME Locals 588, 1574 and 2829, as well as Labor 2008 staff and the Central Lakes chapter of union retirees.  Volunteers collected 610 signatures asking Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.  They also received very positive feedback on labor-endorsed candidates, including Barack Obama for President and Al Franken for U.S. Senate.

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Moose Lake & Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center
Hold Informational Pickets

Members of Local 1307 at Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center are protesting layoffs in the Department of Human Services by holding informational pickets.  Layoffs threaten worker safety and public safety.  Locals from around the state are mobilizing because of these dangerous cuts. To watch a short clip of the picket, click here.

Last week Moose Lake DHS Local 1092 held an informational picnic with legislators to educate and talk about the layoffs.  Over 40 members attended, ate and planned for future actions.

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St. Peter Layoffs Threaten
Public Safety and Worker Safety

Local 404 members who were laid off this week at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter held a news conference to share their concern that the cuts put public safety and worker safety at risk.

The facility houses sex offenders and people who are mentally ill and dangerous.  Community members are worried because it’s near this playground and dorms at Gustavus Adolphus College.

After convicted rapist Michael Dale Benson escaped in 2006, Governor Pawlenty pledged that no other sex offender would escape under his watch.  “With these layoffs, he’s given the inmates the keys to get out,” a security counselor told reporters.

Click here to watch the news report: www.keyc.tv.
For more information, visit www.union404.com.

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Bush Legacy Bus Stops in St. Paul

This Bush Legacy Bus visited St. Paul on July 16 as part of a nationwide tour, which will return to Minnesota for the Republican National Convention in September. 

It’s a museum on wheels describing eight years of failed and flawed conservative polices.  The exterior is covered with phrases like "Tax Breaks for the Rich," "Katrina," and "Less Respected in the World.”  The interior includes interactive displays that illustrate how Bush has dragged down our nation.

To read about the Bush-Coleman-Pawlenty disaster team, click here.
Watch the video with AFSCME Council 5 members: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnG81m05OpQ.

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We Are Senior Dining

AFSCME member Carolyne Koller serves noontime meals to seniors in St. Paul.  Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties provides this program where seniors enjoy nutritious meals and socialize with each other. Carolyne makes the dining experience pleasant and comfortable for people so they can enjoy themselves.  The program is designed for seniors age 60 and over and is free with a suggested donation of $3.

Now the program may be on the chopping block after the end of the year.  Carolyne and other workers who provide important nutrition to seniors may be in danger of losing their jobs.  Without noontime meals, the seniors in our communities become even more vulnerable by not having their needs met nutritionally and socially, both important aspects to overall health.

Carolyne and her co-workers are champions of seniors in our community.  We value the elderly and are committed to providing the best service possible.  Healthy seniors are an indicator that we are a healthy society.  Let’s keep it that way.

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We Stock Walleye

Anglers who catch walleye in Minnesota lakes have AFSCME members to thank.  In our land of 10,000 lakes, there are about 16 million harvestable walleye.  Anglers will catch 3-to-4 million of them this year.

After the big one bites on your hook, think of the AFSCME members who work for the Department of Natural Resources in fisheries throughout the state.  This year, they will stock 160,000 pounds of walleye fingerlings that are 3-to-8 inches long.  They will also stock 212 million fry, newly hatched walleye that are about one-third of an inch.

For more information and fun fishing facts, click here.

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Study Looks at the Effect of Unions
Minnesota "Well Above Average"

A new report affirms what we already know—workers who belong to unions earn more than those who don’t.  In Minnesota, nearly 18 percent of the workforce is unionized, compared to about 12 percent nationally. 

The study by the Center for Economic Policy Research finds that unionization raises the wage of the average Minnesota worker by 12 percent.  The lowest-paid workers make 20 percent more; and the highest, four percent.  To read the report, click here.

The report concludes that workers at the bottom of the pay scale benefit most because, without representation, they have the least influence in the workplace.  We know that union membership is the best way to fight poverty.

The benefits of belonging are clear.  Unionized workers earn more than non-union workers.  They’re more likely to have health insurance, a paid vacation and a secure pension. They’re working conditions are usually better. And, they enjoy less-tangible benefits, like having dignity and a voice at work.

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BUST LORI SWANSON FOR UNION BUSTING!

In the face of fear, attorneys in the Attorney General’s Office want to join AFSCME.  In March they courageously wrote a letter asking their boss for recognition of their union.  Soon after, Attorney General Lori Swanson held captive audience meetings to coerce her employees into opposing the union.  She summoned small groups of the attorneys to a conference room.  With two supervisors and two judges watching, the workers were asked to mark an anti-union ballot saying that the letter requesting union rights didn’t speak for them. 

Let’s end the fear and intimidation, so the office can get back to protecting consumers. 

Call Attorney General Lori Swanson immediately at 651-296-6196.  Tell her to stop union busting and recognize the union chosen by her attorneys.

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