Why is Union Membership Important?
This past Sunday evening, I had a great opportunity to help support a former School of Music classmate at a fundraiser concert for him at the McDonald Theater. The importance of this fundraiser was to help Dana with staggering medical bills after a lengthy hospital stay. He is a musician and plays many gigs as a member of the musician’s local, but there is no health insurance in the Oregon market for musicians, unless you are a teacher.
The quality insurance coverage that contracted classified staff is provided under the contract was not just given to us by the Board of Education and management. It took years of this local fighting hard at the bargaining table for the benefits, in addition to the other parts of our compensation package.
If you have friends and family that work for other companies and organizations that are not under a union contract, you will notice a difference in quality, coverage, deductibles and out of pocket expenses.
Today, fellow bargaining unit members that have stepped up to run for an elected union officer position will be officially announced. Union membership is important in this democratic process. Get involved and have a say in this amazing democratic process that improves and protects the work lives of the bargaining unit.
The Weekend – Brought to You By the Labor Movement
When you struggle with the cost differential between Full Membership and Fair Share union dues rates, consider the cost of losing pay and benefits if the local does not stand together and stand strong. Many classified staff live on a very tight budget, but balance that with what standing together can do that has a greater benefit today and into the future.
Our fellow union workers at AFSCME Local 2831 that serve Lane County government did just that with their recent strike. That strike ultimately got them a ratified contract that helps with gender pay equity increases in overall wages and insurance protections. They went without pay for 6 days.
What is that worth? http://www.local2831.org/Documents/BargainingUpdate102417.pdf
Compensation and Classification Study
Yesterday morning, the Compensation and Classification combined team met to kick off the study process. Local Government Personnel Institute (LGPI) from Salem was selected to do the classification development and then run the wage comparisons against our peers in the community college system and other government entities that have like jobs to LCC.
Every classified employee will be provided a Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) to fill out for one of two job areas – Office, Professional, Technical and Lead Positions or for Maintenance, Services and Trades positions. These PAQ’s will be analyzed by the LGPI group in 11 areas from knowledge/education/training, experience, physical demands and responsibility areas that will group all classified jobs into updated or new classifications. Then like classifications will form new or updated job families.
Everyone’s participation is important to get the necessary correct information to ensure everyone is properly placed. No position will come away from this process losing compensation, but it could certainly influence wage increase recommendations for jobs that are out of the market comparisons.
Employee Giving Campaign
The LCC Foundation is in the midst of their annual employee giving campaign. Consider the impact of what a donation, whether big or small, can do to help a student that could really benefit from financial help through a scholarship. Understanding that many hourly-classified staff are also students, you could help a co-worker and student reach their educational goal.
The Gift of Water for Puerto Rico
A month after Hurricane Maria devastated their island, most Puerto Ricans still have no reliable source of safe drinking water.
American citizens of Puerto Rico are facing a massive humanitarian crisis. More than a million people still lack running water—they are forced to find water in contaminated streams, collect it from runoff, even drink from toxic Superfund sites. And the danger is not over for those with running water; because water treatment plants are still not operational, tap water may be tainted with raw sewage.
https://www.aft.org/operation-agua
But we—YOU—can help alleviate human suffering. Through The AFT’s Operation Agua, we are bringing water purification systems to Puerto Rican families and communities who are crying out for help.