Issue # 49: July 13, 2023
Update from the President
Frankie Cocanour
Bargaining:
We started over Article 4 during the bargaining session. After that we had Sue Fahey, our new VP of Finance and Operation, come in and explain the budget to the bargaining team and our members that were available to listen. We didn’t learn anything new, but we were able to get some questions answered that might help when we start bargaining fiscal items in the contract. Next bargaining session we are going to be discussing the new 11, 12, 13, and 14 that discuss personnel policies, layoff, recall, seniority, reclass, reclass appeal, classification system, vacancies, trial period, reassignments, and administrative transfers. All of these items were either packed into a single article or placed into multiple articles in a way that made the contract cumbersome and hard to work through. This is an attempt by the college and the bargaining team to make our contract clearer. So in this bargaining session July 25th, we will be taking two hours instead of one. It will be starting at 10:00 am and both sides of the table will treat it like a work session where we try to work as a team to get it organized and clearer. We will still be bargaining on the items that are listed above.
Appointments To Councils:
It’s that time of year where we need to make appointments to councils. If you are a union appointee to a council and would like to continue with your work please let me know so that I can reappoint you. If you are interested in a committee or council and would like a union appointment, please let me know. Here is the list that I have where we need appointments made. We are making progress in getting these positions filled. Thank you to everyone that has reached out to me!
Diversity Council – 1 appointment
Infrastructure Council – 2 appointments left
Student Success – 2 appointments left
Lowell Mill Women Create First Union of Working Women
In the 1830s, half a century before the better-known mass movements for workers’ rights in the United States, the Lowell mill women organized, went on strike and mobilized in politics when women couldn’t even vote—and created the first union of working women in American history.
An employee’s requested representative, which may be a union steward, business agent or officer, or fellow employee, is often referred to as a “Weingarten representative.” Weingarten representatives are entitled to provide advice and active assistance to employees during investigatory interviews. Employees’ right to request their representatives are frequently referred to as “Weingarten rights.”
The Lowell, Mass., textile mills where they worked were widely admired. But for the young women from around New England who made the mills run, they were a living hell. A mill worker named Amelia—we don’t know her full name—wrote that mill girls worked an average of nearly 13 hours a day. It was worse than “the poor peasant of Ireland or the Russian serf who labors from sun to sun.” Lucy Larcom started as a doffer of bobbins when she was only 12 and “hated the confinement, noise, and lint-filled air, and regretted the time lost to education,” according to one historian.
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Announcements and Reminders
THE SLACK CHAT HAS BEEN LONELY! We’d love to have members use the Slack Chat for questions and observations. You guys are limited to what you can say in the ZOOM chat. We want to HEAR from you!
IF YOU’D LIKE TO RSVP TO BE SURE I GET YOU IN OUR BARGAINING SLACK CHAT PLEASE USE THE FORM BELOW:
RSVP for bargaining Slack chat
DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!
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WERE YOU LAID OFF AND HAVE SINCE RETURNED TO LCC? We’d like to hear from you. Please reach out to me at: colinlccef@gmail.com so I can hear your story.
Vice President of Labor Relations
Buck Potter (2022-2023 Term)
Good Thursday to my colleagues:
Enjoy Your Extended Weekend, and Be Safe!
Vice President of Organizing
Colin Vurek (2023-2024 Term)
Greetings members,
BARGAINING CONTINUES Tuesday, July 11, 2023 AT 11:00AM!
Members are welcomed to observe via Zoom with your microphones and cameras OFF, please. I will be running a Slack Chat to allow observers to chat with me and I can pass ideas to the team at the table. I will actually be at the table also but bouncing into the chat to answer questions you may have. Email me your private email address to: colinlccef@ gmail.com so I can add you to the Slack chat. There is also a link below for anyone to RSVP on a Google form. You will find the link for the bargaining meeting below:
Join Zoom Meeting https://lanecc.zoom.us/j/96183623044
Meeting ID: 961 8362 3044
One tap mobile
+13462487799,,96183623044# US (Houston)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Feel free to use the image below as your Zoom background.
THE SLACK CHAT HAS BEEN LONELY! We’d love to have members use the Slack Chat for questions and observations. You guys are limited to what you can say in the ZOOM chat. We want to HEAR from you!
IF YOU’D LIKE TO RSVP TO BE SURE I GET YOU IN OUR BARGAINING SLACK CHAT PLEASE USE THE FORM BELOW:
RSVP to be added to Slack Chat during bargaining
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THE NEW T-SHIRTS HAVE ARRIVED. WE HAVE PLENTY OF EVERY SIZE. Please email me at colinlccef@gmail.com to get yours!
I also have window clings and stickers for you to flaunt your support for your union! See below!
DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!
UNION STRONG!
Grievance Officer
Claudia Riumallo (2023-2024 Term)
Always Do Your Best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
Treasurer
Linda Reling (2022-2023 Term)
Welcome to our new Grievance Officer, Claudia! We are so happy to have you back on the team.
Records Officer
Tracy Weimer (2022-2024 Term)
Communications Officer
Marleena Pearson (2022-2023 Term)
What a challenging end of FY23! The College has spent a lot of time laying the groundwork for their budget concerns… and now is the time for us to start calculating what makes sense to take care of the classified as we are overworked.
Membership Officer
Skye Nguyen (2022-2023 Term)
Hi everyone! I am figuring out more intricate details for bargaining sessions now. I am hoping to remember my laptop and share screen with the articles being discussed at all future meetings!
Finally, if anyone ever wants to chat about how they can get involved with the union just tag me! 🙂
If there are any questions about membership or someone has interest in joining, they can reach out to me (membership@lccef.org) or fill out the online membership form!
Your Benefit Info of the Week
Did you know that members get some really useful benefits? This week we are highlighting travel benefits. Save potentially hundreds on tours around the different regions of the world. Get out and take some time for yourself! Not in a vacation mood? Don’t forget to take some personal time, our health is the most important thing we have so we should give it a break!
Find out what other benefits you are qualified for as union members by going to AFT.org.
Resources you may need!
- How to update your physical address on Expresslane.
- Complete this form for a Membership card or a new membership card! If you are a new member, one may have already been requested, contact the LCCEF Membership Officer for info.
Submit an Important Life Event for you or another member may have coming up.
Chief Labor Delegate
Mark Jordan (2022-2023 Term)
COPE Officer
Fiora Starchild-Wolf (2022-2023 Term)
Legislative Updates:
At the moment, since we’re between election seasons, you may not be hearing about much going on politically, but there is plenty going on.
One local issue that is in the news is a recall effort by one of Oregon’s largest unions, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555, against State House Representative Paul Holvey, who has historically been a very strong Labor supporter in Oregon. Most other unions represented in Oregon have come out to back Rep. Holvey.
The issue with UFCW is that they represent workers in the cannibas industry in Oregon who work in distribution shops. They submitted a bill to the state legislature which would, among other things, block cannibas employers from preventing their workers from unionizing.
Representative Paul Holvey did not support this bill, and sent it to committee, because he received legal advice that the bill would be illegal under federal law, and open Oregon to a lawsuit if passed.
This is a very sticky subject, of course, because in general, Labor unions want to always support workers in being able to unionize, so a representative blocking a bill that helps workers do so is very problematic. On the other hand, Rep. Paul Holvey is a very well known advocate for Labor-friendly legislation and has a long history of supporting unions and our members in Oregon.
I personally had a petitioner show up at my door to try to convince me to sign the recall petition. I had a good talk with her. I saw her materials she was handing out. To me, what I saw and heard was a young person who was recruited with very little knowledge of who Representative Paul Holvey is or his history in the Oregon Legislature. She was giving “talking points” but did not have any further information, and when I spoke with her about my knowledge of Rep. Holvey, she seemed to waiver a bit on her own beliefs about him. The literature she was handing out looked like it came from a very well-funded group.
While I do not want to tell anyone how to think, I strongly encourage you to learn all you can about this issue, as it feels like an attempt by groups outside of Oregon who may be trying to “flip” our state legislature to be actually less supportive of Labor, by eliminating a strong Democrat and Labor member of our House.
Personally, I refused to sign the petition.
However, the petitioners have very likely got enough signatures that the recall will be on the ballot, so I hope that you will do your research to learn as much as possible.
I will do the same, and keep you updated as we get closer to the election.
Here are a couple of articles for you:
APnews Recall Effort to oust Paul Holvey
Officer At Large
Katie Neall (2023-2024 Term)
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Email address: lccef@lanecc.edu