Avoid the 21-day grievance cliff!

Questions put to any State MMB-HR staff, about any workplace related matter, are  professionally, accurately and confidentially answered. HR professionals designated as 'confidental employees' face abrupt career shortening should confidences be betrayed. Asking HR about some hypothetical 'what if' -- perhaps no harm is done 'just talking' but if some real issue or concern emerges, at the point information leads to something specific, or exposes a wrong doing, especially if liability to the employer emerges, at that point it will no longer be just talking, because for HR, employer's interests are first and foremost. 

If the exact same questions (by either members or non-members) get put to sworn Local union or Council officers but  after HR in the order of asking, this reduces the number of viable options to fully uphold employee interests. But of course those with rights always have the right to give those rights away.....

AFSCME's State contract states if disciplinary wrongs may have happened, and get put in play because a person felt the need to speak to HR, as there are matters of issue, complaint, violation or dispute that have been put onto an employee, or an employee reports, this starts a clock.  If for some reason matters stay in limbo, if a secret shame remains undisclosed to union representatives or stewards, if something grievable remains unfiled formally for more than 21 days as no call or contact was made to inform the AFSCME council, field rep or Local officer, by day 22, according to statewide contract, the right an employee has for their union rep to fight against the power, against false witness, to make wrongs right.... evaporates. The clock runs out.

Local 695 contacts and trained stewards are spread thinly across a 10,000 square mile area of MnDOT District 1A in Northeastern Minnesota. At contract and other hectic times, only one authorized staff person from Council 5  Field Representative covers all of Northern Minnesota. Covering this large a territory poses just as much challenge to the Council and Local 695 as it does HR in hiring, orienting, training and deploying qualified workers in far away assignments. 

As most applicants avoid unnecessarily commuting great distances from home, long distances to attend union member meetings also daunt and vex Local members.  At some point, distance becomes an deal breaker,  a sound reason not to take a job, or to sever Local membership. The Local fully understands this dilemma.  Members who do show at meetings are eligible for generous attendance awards and travel reimbursement rates that Local policy constantly adjusts to be as generous as legally possible in running a non-profit union Local.

Members are advised to seek, find, meet and personally know face-to-face who currently can serve as their genuine, Local-approved and AFSCME-trained steward, as well as area or shop contacts.  Faces may be the same but does that previously tested and reliable steward still serve with AFSCME? Volunteer contact persons and current elected officials are listed on Local 695’s shingle posted on worksite Union bulletin boards. Voice-call or SMS (texting) contact info (for daytime working hours) is on record (accessed via member account login) at https://members.afscmemn.org/

Council 5 call desk:
    SSP-C5-MAC 651-450-4990, (1-800-652-9791)
    Hermantown-C5-NE: 218-722-0577 (forwards to SSP-C5-MAC)

The State Electronic Device policy 1438 makes abundantly clear anyone who does a contact with personal devices on state networks, or on any state device, must agree they understand doing so they totally forfeit of any expectation of privacy.