UNIT 5
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January 5, 2009
Happy New Year to all. I hope every one had a good holiday season, as well as a safe one.
Last week was our second meeting with Qwest regarding our 2009 local agreements. There are still a few points that need to be worked out. There were few changes overall. One item of contention is the caps put on demand PDPs.
Increase your knowledge! I am sure many of you have heard of Weingarten Rights. These rights are a valuable tool when dealing with management. These rights are not specifically stated in our contract, because they do not need to be. They are Federally mandated rights included in the NLRA. Weingarten indicates that any time the company conducts an investigatory interview, the employee has the right to have a Union representative present. An investigatory interview occurs when management questions an employee to obtain information AND the employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result. An investigatory interview could occur even if the company calls it something else (i.e. Coaching Session). The company is not required to offer Union representation, the employee MUST request it.
Do work in your title. Central Office Techs should not do any work in the field (CDT, POTS, BroadBand) AND outside techs should not be doing any work inside the central offices. We do not take work from other work groups.
As always, feel free to contact one of my stewards (see list on Local 7019 Officers page) or me.
SHammill7019@gmail.com
"How can I become a more involved union member?" I know at one point or another all of you have asked yourselves that very question. One of the privileges of being a member of our Local 7019 is that there are many diverse opportunities to do just that. We have several committees. I encourage you to consider participating in any committee you have an interest in. For current chair/contact information, click o the link below. Further explanations or duties may be found in our by-laws.
Committee on Equity-Investigate workplace discriminatory actions involving members and help with resolutions. Shall provide education to members on current equity issues.
Community Services-In charge of the Defense Fund and all worthy community projects.
Education-Assist in developing training and train the local union representatives.
Election-Shall conduct all nominations, elections and referenda of the local.
Finance-Shall submit a yearly budget for the local. Reviews budget and actuals.
Legislative/COPE-Shall assist in developing and pursuing the programs of the union in the legislative field. To register each qualified voter.
Membership-Shall accept or reject membership applications based on the bylaws, rules and constitution.
Mobilization-To assist the officers and stewards in educating the members on issues and achieve a high level of participation in collective actions.
Multi-Media-Responsible for the publication of the monthly newsletter and covering various events for media coverage.
Organizing-Assist in organizing all non-union workers within the local's jurisdiction.
P.E.I.R.-Assist members who are experiencing problems with substance abuse, chemical dependencies, domestic violence, and other life issues.
Safety & Health-Shall work to improve all safety and health in all work locations.
November 21, 2008
This is the first Unit 5 update from me. Since taking office a short time ago, Cheri and I have been busy getting me up to speed on the ins and outs of this position. We have also been able to visit several yards and central offices. One obvious challenge that is apparent is that generally there are no more than a few you at any one location. Communication and sharing information is very important and will be done via email and this web site. I am looking in to using personal cell phone text messaging and personal home/cell phone voice mail. I already have many of your email addresses, and would encourage you to help me increase that list. Another item I am working on are the Unit meetings. I would like to have one Unit meeting a month, east side one month and west side the next. I am not familiar with the east side, so any suggestions where to have them would be appreciated.
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