General Membership Meeting-AFSCME 404
March 21st 2019
8PM Jakes Pizza Mankato
Present:
Adam Castle, Emilio Florez, Ryan Cates, Kurt Crosby, Crystal Kreklow, Antonino Guerrero, Eric Hesse, Jaime Sheppard, Molly Kennedy, Stacy Mueller, Jake Dougherty
1. Secretary Report:
Motion to approve meeting minutes by Molly Kennedy, 2nd by Stacy Mueller. Motion passes
2. Treasurer-Antonino Guerrero:
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR MONTH ENDING: February 2019
CASH BALANCE BEGINNING OF MONTH: $ 82390.39
INCOME FOR THE MONTH: $ 7953.09
EXPENSES FOR THE MONTH: $ 11688.40
CASH BALANCE ENDING OF MONTH: $ 78655.08
SAVINGS: $ 79955.91
Expenses include the past 2 months of officer dues and allowances in addition to negotiations assembly.
SUBMITTED BY: Antonino Guerrero
Motion to approve Treasurer Report subject to audit by Kurt Crosby. 2nd by Molly. Motion passes
MSH Meet and Confer: https://www.union404.com/news/march-2019-msh-meet-and-confer
MSOP Meet and Confer: Postponed
3. Correspondence: Day on the hill is March 26th. SEPC is the 1st Friday in May. If interested, contact Eric Hesse.
4. New Business: Stacy-why are HSSS covering nursing home 1 to 1. Cates-that patient belongs in MSH. HSSS aren’t qualified to deal with her behavior. She is an MSH patient. We have had lawsuits come from this in the past. Cates-we get caught in the middle of it.
Ryan Cates-motion for expenses for lost time and meals as required for negotiations. 2nd by Molly Kennedy. Motion passes.
Negotiations is May 28, 29, and 30th.
5. Old Business:
6. Items from the membership: There are T-shirts for MSOP staff. Eric Hesse would like assistance handing these out to staff. If anyone has ideas or would like to help. Contact Eric Hesse. MSOP will have the opportunity for these shirts, then anyone else who would like one.
7. Good and Welfare:
8. Officer Reports:
President: Ryan Cates- This past month I have:
Attended MSOP Meet and Confer.
Attended the Forensic Safety Committee.
Went to Interest Based Problem Solving meeting. Began discussions about the organizational restructuring and what it will mean to HSSS’s in Transitions program. Will they still be HSSS’s or become SC’s? Will they remain a separate area or will the merge with other areas in the new FMHP? The different options were outlined but no discussions yet about what is going to happen. Local 404 supports the will of our membership and everything we have heard from the HSSS’s is that they do not want to become SC’s. This is what we will attempt to make happen in these meetings.
Attended Forensic Meet and Confer. Were told that Atlas is supposed to be available to other browsers and this is being tested now. The App for Atlas started testing last week and we will be the pilot project for the App. Asked about LPN’s and RN’s being able to mutual- We were told a meeting with MNA is needed first but this is just a stalling tactic by administration. Asked about the incentive bonus for employees that were topped out by more than 6 months but less than a year- Were told this is a decision made at the MMB level. Asked for an additional weekend LPN vacation slot in MSH, currently 1 for Bartlett and low acuity- Management will need to look at the numbers. Asked for an elimination of the parking restrictions at Old Center, at least for 3rd watch MSOP staff, to increase parking availability on lower campus- Carol needs to discuss this with some people first. Asked for jackets, sweatshirts and boots for GMW’s since they are being required to wear uniform shirts- they will get back to us. Asked for clarification about the ability of our members to rescind overtime- Management does not think it is a good idea to allow people to rescind OT shifts but they will talk more about it.
Went to New Employee Orientation.
Attended Weekly check-ins
Filed multiple grievances and sat investigations.
Talked with members in multiple work areas and listened to their concerns.
Presented and argued grievances.
Became frustrated with management.
Communicated information to E-Board members about issues facing the Local.
Chaired the Executive Board Meeting
Chaired the General Membership Meeting.
Matt, Eric and myself attended a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner and MSOP Administration about the budget ask for this legislative session. The budget includes funding for 85 unfunded positions, 33 were from St Peter, and 10 new positions.
VP: Matt Stenger-
VP: Eric Hesse- MSOP’s Labor Management meeting for March was cancelled this month due to having a meeting with the DHS Deputy Commissioner, the DCT CEO, and MSOP Administration discussing the legislative budget ask for MSOP. We discussed messaging towards the legislature to try and get the funding and also asked for a meeting with all parties (administration, HR, and labor) to look at the positions they want and see if they are the right spots to fill.
We went and lobbied again at the State Capitol on March 19th and 20th to try and get the funding for more staffing at MSOP. We met with many representatives and senators about it and also talked to our local legislators about other issues facing this local. I testified at the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee on March 21st for funding for MSOP. From what I gather from our talks with the legislators, it may be a long process to get the funding and if we do, it may not be the full funding ask.
The first date of negotiations for the new state contract is on April 9th. We will be providing updates for members through Member Link. I encourage you all to sign up for Member Link as it is a great place for resources. To do so, please go to https://members.afscmemn.org/ and sign up. When you sign up, when it asks for their street name, only put the name in, so if you live on 2nd St for example, just put “2nd” down. If you are interested in knowing some of the proposals we are putting forth, let me know.
Speaking of the state contract, the Minnesota Senate is trying to put forward a bill to block early ratification of our contract. Some background on this is that when the membership ratifies the contract, it then goes to the legislative Subcommittee on Employee Relations (SER). The SER then votes on whether to recommend approval of the contract to the full body of the legislature. If the majority votes for approval, then our contract will then temporarily go into effect until the full body votes on it, which means the raise we negotiate and all the new contract language goes into effect earlier. If the SER comes to a tie vote, the tie goes in favor of the contract and it will temporarily go into effect. What the bill that they are trying to get to move forward is that if a tie occurs, it goes against the contract and our raises and benefits that we negotiated in good faith with the employer does not go into effect until the legislature votes on it and approves it. This would mean that our wage increases and any other stuff we negotiate would not go into effect until February of 2020 at the earliest. The reason they want to do this is because the SER is split right now with an even amount of members from each party. Please call your local legislator and ask them to prevent this from happening. Our contract, our wages, and ultimately, our livelihoods shouldn’t be held up with political games.
I will be discussing future dates with our Executive Board about getting a Steward Training and a Contract Training set up for people that are interested in attending. An announcement will be put out once we get these dates set in stone.
Here are some future dates to put on your calendar for Council 5 events: SEPC Spring Conference: May 3rd. AFSCME Council 5 Convention: October 2nd-5th.
As always, if you have any issues, concerns, or questions, please feel free to reach out to me.
In solidarity,
Eric Hesse
Vice President – Steward Coordinator
AFSCME Local 404
Executive Board: Jake Schoenecker- Sitting investigations, attending monthly meetings and fielding questions from members.
Executive Board: Chief Steward Emilio Florez- I sat a few investigations this month. I had many grievances this month mostly in MSH building. We received an update that atlas browsers are in the testing stage and the phone app will be starting testing soon as well. We had our LMC meeting, Meet and confer as well as safety meeting. We are still testing livestream for gen membership meetings. I sent another file to arbitration at the recommendation of the E-Board. I have also been involved in the contract negotiation process. Any questions or concerns please reach out to your area Steward or any available.
Executive Board: Chief Steward Steve Wilking- Hello All! During the past month I have attended weekly check-in meetings, interest based problem solving group, safety committee meetings, meet and confer.
Labor and management had their first meeting to discuss HSSS from Transition to become Security Counselors. Some discussion have occurred between myself and various HSSS to gather their input. These will continue to be ongoing.
We continue to have many investigations as well as licensing. Please dot your eyes and cross your T’s. Also, know your rights and that you can, and is recommended that you have a steward with you. If anyone would like to be a steward please contact an elected union official.
Management gave us an update on Atlas. Preliminary testing is being done with a URL as well as initial testing with an Atlas app. The testing is being done by the AODS pool as well as some other disciplines.
I continue to field many calls about in regards to union questions. Please keep those questions coming. I enjoy having an informed workforce.
If you have any issues in regards to atlas please bring them to our attention.
In Solidarity,
Steve Wilking
Executive Board: Chief Steward Molly Kennedy- This month I helped some members with extended leave questions as well as light duty. I was a delegate at contract negotiations and I plan on attending SCPC (State Employee Policy Committee) in April. I was also a part of discussions on intermittent employees and how their class and state seniority should be figured if they return to full time employment after not working enough hours while in intermittent status to be part of the bargaining unit. Also if anyone would be interested in Steward training or contract training please email Eric Hesse and I. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me
Executive Board: Chief Steward Marvin Sullivan-
Executive Board: Jamie Sheppard- I attended MSOP Meet and Confer, Steward Meeting, E-Board Meeting, General Membership Meeting and Negotiations this month. I will also be attending Day on the Hill on March 26th. I answered some questions about seniority, dead bids and interest bidding, the MOU on the Student Loan Reimbursement and FMLA. We also had a 70 minute discussion about intermittent status and we will be looking at what that all entails a little bit more closely. Please remember to forward all of your grievances to me, as well as the outcomes for ALL steps. Also, don’t forget to bring forward Good and Welfare items to myself and Kurt Crosby, so we are aware of what is going on in all areas. If you have any questions about anything please let us know. We cannot help you if we do not know what is going on. And when you bring us issues, please stand up for your issue as we support you. We can’t support you if you’re afraid of confrontation with management.
In Solidarity,
Jamie Sheppard, E-Board
CS Facility Support: Stacey Mueller- Nothing to report at this time
Chief Steward MSH / CRP / Nursing Nights: Kurt Crosby-Sat 3 investigations and filed several grievances. Remember if you accept OT to please try and make sure you utilize that opportunity and do the shift offered. We have had a few people get advanced OT and then something came up and they couldn’t make it in, and it happens to all of us some times, so we understand. I am just reminding all that we get OT based on seniority, and there has been a recent uptick in rescinded OT the day of the shift that was pre assigned. That takes away the ability of anyone below you on the seniority list to get pre-approved OT, and goes straight to availability in building, and potentially (this has happened at least 2x the past week) members have to be inversed.
Supplemental contract negotiations are coming up for 404. I will be at those discussions with other members and we will do our best to get what we need.
Crystal Kreklow: 404 has a trustee that will expire. Nominations will be at next month’s membership meeting. Contact Eric Hesse if interested.
Motion to Adjourn by Cates. 2nd by Kurt. Motion Passes
Adjourned at 934pm