UNION NEWS

That seems ONE WAY to me.

What are they trying to pull over on us? Is it true that they are only looking out for themselves? It sure seems that way.

OK CHIEF

Because of on-going talks? Isn't that even more of a reason that we should have a meeting? I thought that is what the meetings were for, to update the membership. Or was the meeting postponed because 676 and 634 were scared to hold the meeting alone?

It seems that these two people are not looking out for the membership. They are going to the brass and trying to come up with a shift schedule that suits them, ie. 20 people on 10 hour shift and the rest of road patrol on 12s. That seems ONE WAY to me.

What are they trying to pull over on us? Is it true that they are only looking out for themselves? It sure seems that way.

On us?? You tell em kermit

Could we PLEASE post the schedule recommendations as of now so that before we go to council with our ideas we can vote on an appropriate schedule FOR EVERYONE?[/b][/quote]

WHY DO THAT IT MAKES SENSE

I agree, this should be the time where we have MORE meetings. They should keep us MORE updated and be bringing us options. For example, if they are using the shift change to make the city happy then the membership should vote on what type of shift change... sliding weekends or not. Instead, the union members (all that already have all of the weekend) are making THEIR decisions for us.... Let the majority rule, THEN NO ONE CAN COMPLAIN. (well, I know they will but they won't have a reason to gripe) I certainly don't feel like my best interests are being looked out for. The messed up thing is that the union members MIGHT be helping me. Since there has been no meeting, i wouldn't know.... I can only assume the worst, a bunch of relatively senior guys padding their future. We WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING. You can tell us anything you want.... Open the books, let us see your requests and their responses..... It should not be a secret..... You are swinging ALL OF our careers around, let us have a say, or at least the knowledge of what is going on..... How do we know that the city isn't interested in the sliding weekends (or if they even care) but it's not an issue this contract because YOU don't want it.

LET US SEE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS UNLESS YOU ARE HIDING SOMETHING.

The only secrets you should be keeping is the magic numbers that the union knows that they will settle at.....

in response to the bashing of the union, it is not always in the best interst of the union to come out in a public forum and explain everything. this is why they havent posted any information on this site, is my only explanation i can see.
the union should not be postponing any of the meetings especially when there are negotiations going on. the union board does not settle on the contract. they should have an idea what the members are wanting in the members contract. if this is the case, then they should know the bottom line and when to either bring the contract to the members for a vote for ratification or coming to the members advising that we should go to impasse.
my understanding is that only a few people actually informed the union of what they individually wanted to see changed or added to the current contract. so it seems the board unfortunately does not know what the majority of the membership in fact wants due to the lack of information from the members.

in response to them not representing the membership as a whole and looking out for their own interests, well that has yet to be seen due to the lack of information being brought to the membership. i have personally been advised by a board member that "we will only settle for this or settle for that." i took this as them advising me that as a senior officer, which this one was, they would only settle for the option that best suited them (i.e. weekends off for them).

i know everyone is bashing certain members for trying to come up with scheduling options, but that is what we should be hearing from the board. administration has already pretty much decided on the fact that we will be eventually going to 12 hour shifts regardless of what we vote on. this is called management rights.
the fact that the board is rumored to be thinking of the schedules that best suit them is inevitable due to only senior people being on the board as well as several sergeants.
is the department does have to goto 12 hour shifts, it should be a schedule that benefits THE MEMBERSHIP not the few select that are "senior". the fact that seniority doesnt play a role anywhere else in this department other than shift bid is unfortunate. senioroty should matter when it comes to promotions and specialty units and when it comes to getting overtime. unfortately this has been negotiated away in the past or never have been here in the first place.

either way, the members need to be informed as these negotiations are taking place. this needs to happen or the rumors that are flying about how the board is trying to screw all of us will keep happening and become worse by the day.

just my two cents.

LET US SEE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS UNLESS YOU ARE HIDING SOMETHING.

The only secrets you should be keeping is the magic numbers that the union knows that they will settle at.....[/quote]

The unions requests were handed out at the last meeting(a while ago) so just get a copy of that from someone who went.

. How do we know that the city isn't interested in the sliding weekends (or if they even care) but it's not an issue this contract because YOU don't want it.

LET US SEE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN THE NEGOTIATIONS UNLESS YOU ARE HIDING SOMETHING.

The only secrets you should be keeping is the magic numbers that the union knows that they will settle at.....[/quote]

Judging by your statement of concern, you are a newer employee.We work for a town, not a city. The town is run by the council. They're not interested in our schedules on a daily basis so a "sliding "schedule you may have had elsewhere is irrelevant to them. Also, since you are new here, you must be unaware that we vote as a group after a lengthy negotiation. The board will bring "us" the proposals and "we" will decide. Ask around , you will be informed that in the past, the town was informed of our decisions by unknown sources which caused obvious problems. That is why the rumors start flying and people jump off bridges so to speak. The contract will take months so relax and kick back, it will happen and again, we will vote. If you need immeadiate information, seek out a senior supervisor or officer/detective etc.... that has been here and they will fill you in on the process.

Listen, I was not bashing.... Not complaining...... Just curious as to why we would NOT have meetings during the most important time. When you leave people hanging it tends to breed rumors and fear. Let us know what you are up to. A little bit more than, "MEETING CANCELLED DUE TO NEGOTIATIONS"

Many times that is percieved as "I'm busy trying to make the best contract for ME". This is completly avoidable if you just talk to us, tell us where we are at instead of, "i can't talk about it". That's great for people in the know but it leaves us all out to dry and depending on some people that we don't all have that much trust in.

Why is it that everytime anyone brings up a legitmate concern on the "union information" thread they get accused of complaining and "not knowing anything" Isn't that your job as a VOLUNTARY leader for us, to make it make sense to us. I posted my concern with respect and without name calling or bringing up old dirt on people. ..... Way to show me what being a part of this union means. PAY YOUR DUES, BE QUIET AND I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU GET. That's just not how it's supposed to work.

Again, respectfully.

[DAVIE634]

I have read the threads and would like to address some things. First of all, the things that the union is asking for were suggested by the membership. If you recall, 162 wish lists were sent out. Of those, 28 were sent back with suggestions. Out of those 28, I believe that nearly half were returned by supervisors. At the following meeting, the union's proposals were printed and distributed to those attending the meeting (as pointed out by "old timer"). If you chose not to attend the meeting and become educated as to our proposals, I can't help you. Since I have been on the board, I have tried to keep this union as transparent as possible, because WE as a union should decide our course, not the exec. board. I have always been available to discuss issues with anyone who has approached me. I have taken it upon myself after approval from the pres. to discuss things on this site, for those who cannot attend all of the meetings/pizza parties.

Another thing that I feel needs to be addressed is the process of contract negotiations to give some of you an insight as to why we cancel meetings. The first step was to get the proposal to the town. The town then submits a proposal which outlines what they want to modify in the current contract as well as modifications to our new proposals. We then go back and modify or reject their modifications and address other issues that we both agree on. The town then does the same thing to us... It is a back and forth game that we play with them. To this point, the negotiations have been going well for the most part. There are only 2 main things left to discuss and they are the shifts and raises.

As to the shifts, we welcome any more suggestions. The shift proposal that I submitted (combination 12's/10's)was as a union member, not a board member. As previously stated, anyone can submit a proposal and the town is willing to look at it. I will also be submitting another proposal that has three 12hr shifts per day. If members neglect to submit their proposals then there is no room for *****ing when they get stuck on something that they don't want to work. I will say however, that we are leaning toward permanent days off as a benefit to seniority, as has been in the past.

tsd

[DAVIE634]

I forgot to add that there WILL be a meeting on Tuesday 08/21 at 1800 hours to get everyone up to date.