General Membership Meeting-AFSCME 404
March 18, 2021
430 PM Video Conference
Present:
Adam Castle, Ryan Cates, Annie Jakacki, Nick Weertz, Antonino Guerrero, Steve Wilking, Breanna Drummer, Lisa Schilling, Jake Schoeneker, Alex Flores, Eric Hesse, Karla Herzberg, Hans Paulson, Marlowe Grau, Zachary Cisar, Morgan, Erin
1.Secretary Report:
Motion to approve February meeting minutes by Adam Castle. 2nd by Steve Wilking. Motion passes.
2. Treasurer-Antonino Guerrero:
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR MONTH ENDING: February 2021
CASH BALANCE BEGINNING OF MONTH: $ 104228.18
INCOME FOR THE MONTH: $ 8158.73
EXPENSES FOR THE MONTH: $ 3891.27
CASH BALANCE ENDING OF MONTH: $ 108495.64
SAVINGS: $ 125429.37
SUBMITTED BY: Antonino Guerrero
Motion to accept subject to audit by
3. Correspondence: MSOP Meeting Minutes: https://www.union404.com/news/march-2021-msop-meeting-minutes
FMHP Meeting Minutes: https://www.union404.com/news/march-2021-fmhp-meeting-minutes
4. New Business: Supplemental Negotiations will be in May. Lost time pay for anyone who is involved. Motion by Eric Hesse 2nd by Steve Wilking. Motion Passes.
The vacated executive board position was voted on by the executive board. 7 people were interested. Judith Ehrman was voted as the replacement.
Presidents meeting April 16. Per diems requested for those in attendance. Motion by Kurt, 2nd by Hesse. Motion Passes.
5. Old Business: Constitutional Changes were read last month. 3 changes; 1. article 5 section 3. Quorum for this local will be set by international constitution. 2 percent, which equals 20 members.
Article 5 Section 3 shall now read “The quorum for meetings of this Local shall be set by the International Constitution.” Motion Passes.
Article 6 section 1 shall now read “The officers of this local shall be a president, a vice-president administration, a vice-president steward coordinator, a secretary-treasurer, a recording secretary, seven chief stewards and three executive board members and these fifteen shall constitute the local union executive board”. Motion by Emilio, 2nd by Kurt. Motion to call question by Emilio, 2nd by Kurt. Motion Passes. Motion to pass the 2nd amendment passes.
Article 7, section 6 shall now read “ a. The chief stewards shall coordinate grievance activities and report to the vice-president. b. perform such other duties as the executive board may require.” Motion to pass amendment by Emilio, 2nd by Hesse. Motion Passes
6. Items from the membership: Karla-Sometimes we are at work and not responding during the meetings because we cant respond. FYI.
Kurt-Motion to purchase up to a year of ZOOM meetings. 2nd by Emilio. Motion Passes.
Looking at in person meetings in the future but we would also like to have the ability to use zoom as well. Capacity just increased to 75 percent occupancy.
Steve-When do we start developing our negotiations team? Hesse-When master team comes to an agreement, they vote on whether to send it to membership for a vote.
There will be a steward training on the 3rd Monday of the month in may and June. From 10am to 2pm. Anyone interested contact Steve Wilking. May 17 and June 21st.
Hyvee couldn’t do a purchase as large as we needed for the gift cards. There was no contingency plan. Motion to suspend the purchase of holiday gift cards by Adam Castle, 2nd by Hesse. Kurt would like to find another way to give something back. Hyvee didn’t like the idea of taking a check to get cards. They never called Ryan Cates back. Emilio makes a friendly amendment to table the discussion until next month. Castle accepts. Motion Passes.
7. Good and Welfare:
8. Officer Reports:
President: Ryan Cates- Attended Forensic Meet and Confer- Notes are attached to the meeting minutes.
Attended Weekly covid-19 updates.
Attended MSOP Meet and Confer- Notes are attached to the meeting minutes.
Participated in meeting between Labor and HR to attempt to improve the Lead leveling process.
Filed multiple grievances and sat investigations.
Talked with members in multiple work areas and listened to their concerns.
Presented and argued grievances.
Communicated information to E-Board members about issues facing the Local.
Chaired the Executive Board Meeting.
Chaired the General Membership Meeting.
Attempted to work with Human Resources to get management to respect out contract and recognize our voice in the workplace.
Talked to Legislators about issues at MSH.
Attended the AFCME Council 5 virtual Day on the Hill.
Attended negotiations assembly as a delegate for Local 404.
Discussed ways to improve information sharing between Local 404 Executive Board officers and our members.
If any member of Local 404 feels they are not being represented by our Union, please let me know. We cannot fix problems if we do not know there is a problem.
We ask that all members who are interviewed as non-subjects in an investigation, request Union representation. If management refuses, then members should refuse to answer questions. Participation in investigations is completely voluntary and they cannot coerce you to answer their questions. We need to do this to compel management to discontinue their practice of refusing to allow Union representatives into investigations.
VP: Steve Wilking- Hello Everyone. As always I continue to sit investigations. Attend various meetings that include Safety Meeting, Interest Based Problem Solving, Meet and Confer and General Membership. I also field many phone calls regarding union related issues.
Communication
It has been brought to attention that management is trying to coach/conduct investigations without a steward being present. Please remember that anytime you are being asked a question that could lead to discipline or discharge..... REQUEST A STEWARD. If you are not given one. Your answer should be….. I will not answer any questions until I have a steward present.
Rumors
I have heard a rumor that supervisors are beginning to coach/discipline individuals for not having their trainings up to date. So please complete your CBT’S and have classroom trainings scheduled. There is no reason to give management a reason to discipline you.
Information Center
How to file an OSHA Complaint (Link Below)
https://www.osha.gov/workers/file_complaint.html
What is OSHA RECORDABLE?
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1904/1904.7
Union Recourses
In Solidarity,
Steve Wilking
VP: Eric Hesse- First off, I would like to congratulate and welcome Judy Ehrman, an LPN from the CBHH in Rochester, to our Local’s Executive Board.
In the last month we have still been working on continuing issues within FMHP, along with new issues that arise. As I’ve said before, some of the lingering issues will take some time to hopefully resolve.
We are just about to begin contract negotiations, so please log on to Member Link at www.afscmemn.org/members for up to date information regarding what is going on within negotiations.
AFSCME Local 404 will be holding a steward training in May and June. This is a good resource to better learn the inner workings of the union and to help know your rights as an employee as it pertains to the contract. I would highly encourage people to take the training.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me or any other Local officer.
In solidarity,
Eric Hesse
Vice President – Administrative
AFSCME Local 404
Executive Board: Jake Schoenecker- I have attended union meetings, sat investigations with members, took part in NEO.
Executive Board: Chief Steward Emilio Florez- I attended the forensic labor meeting, safety meeting, and interest based problem solving. I also have been busy filing grievances and sitting interviews. Please sign up for steward training as there has been a communication put out about it. Please review minutes and ask questions if you have any.
Executive Board: Chief Steward Alex Flores- This past month I have filed grievances and attended meet and confer. AFSCME masks for CBHH staff have been sent in the mail.
Executive Board: Chief Steward Nick Weerts- It’s been an active month in MSOP. I continue to attend our monthly Labor Management & Union Meetings, as well as the New Member Orientations. We had another joint meeting with MNA & MSOP Health Services Admin, discussing the ongoing staff shortages. With recent job postings & interviews, it’s likely that the department will soon be at full compliment. The transition to Atlas Scheduler is essentially complete, and the bugs are mostly worked out. We will continue with future meetings and communication. I continue to field any other workplace concerns or questions and sit any investigations that might also arise, though it’s been a fairly quiet month on that front.
All Members are encouraged to stay informed of any COVID leave policy changes, as well as the process for obtaining COVID vaccinations if you missed the on-site clinics that were offered. Members are encouraged to reach out with any concerns & questions. Soon we’ll be looking forward to contract negotiations. Communication continues to be key to our success & strength, so Members are encouraged to reach out with concerns/observations. Please see www.union404.com for all meeting minutes.
Executive Board: Chief Steward Marvin Sullivan-
Executive Board: Jamie Sheppard- Nothing new. I continue to track grievances, answer questions from members and attend MSOP Meet and Confer.
CS Facility Support: Judy Ehrman-
Chief Steward MSH / CRP / Nursing Nights: Kurt Crosby- Hello all- This month has been thankfully a little bit slower with investigations. Also, we have had several meetings with leadership including interest-based problem solving and meet and confer. I have files several grievances this month, and all are proceeding to step 2. Please be sure that if you suspect a contract violation that you get all the information to help solidify the grievance, Time, who, what and where, and what violation occurs. Please be sure to get involved in you unit meetings and care plans for the patients. If you cannot be there, please send an email with concerns and possible outcome that you would like to see. We cannot change things without documentation. Be safe, and advocate for yourself and peers.
Annie Jakacki- 826 members out of 878. 94.1 percent.
Motion to adjourn by Kurt Crosby. 2nd Steve Wilking. Motion Passes.
Adjourned at 515pm