Friday, April 14, 2017

Agenda, Forestry Local Statewide Meeting, April 29, 2017

Forestry Sub-Local members are invited to our Statewide meeting on April 29, 2017 at SEIU Headquarters in Salem.  The meeting will start at 10:00 am and conclude at 2:00 pm. For those who want to hear what's going and are unable to attend a call-in number for the first hour of the meeting is available from Mike Bray.

Please pre-register at the following location to ensure a good lunch count and secure lodging if needed:  https://fastfor.ms/792B0   Mileage will be reimbursed according to Local procedures.

Agenda:
Welcome and Introductions
President’s Message
Bargaining Update, Noel Magee, ODOT Coalition Bargaining Team Member
Financial Report
Membership concerns
Bargaining ideas, idea of a “parking lot” how to submit bargaining ideas
Labor/ Management Meeting - Agenda Items
Results of Corporate Vote
Statewide Forestry, organizing plan to be ready for bargaining in two years
Forestry Budget: hiring freeze, futuring
Good of the order
Distribution of promotional items (t-shirts, possibly a buckle drawing)
Next meeting
Reimbursement requests

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Just Because You Can Is It a Good Idea To Do It?

In the last two days I have heard stories of supervisors making sweeping changes in their employee's work duties.

Just because you can is it a good idea to do it?

Our Contract is clear that the Employer (represented by your Supervisor) has specific rights under Article 9. Management rights which are:
  1. Direct employees
  2. Hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees
  3. Suspend, discharge, or take other proper disciplinary action against employees
  4. Reassign employees
  5. Relieve employees from duty because of lack of work or other reasons
  6. Schedule work
  7. Determine methods, means, and personnel by which operations are to be conducted

As a represented employee it is not so much that these rights are implemented but rather how they are implemented.  There is nothing in our Contract that talks about advance notice of these changes (except work schedules), but to have a change made without prior notice just does not seem to value the employee and the contributions they can make to the Department.  I don’t know if what I have heard about are isolated instances limited to one or two supervisors or something more systemic.

That is the purpose of this post to ask if there are more employees who have had complete changes to their work duties and how these changes were implemented.  Generally I believe there has been discussion, where employees can share their strengths and interests and what they can bring to the Department.  If this is the start of a change how we do things I would like to know, for possible inclusion at Labor/ Management.  The L/M agenda is jointly developed and depending on what I hear it would be a good idea to talk about it.   

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Forestry Statewide Meeting, April 29th

The next Forestry Sub-Local 629 Statewide meeting will be Saturday, April 29th beginning at 10:00 am at SEIU Headquarters in Salem.  Noel Magee, ODOT Coalition Central Bargaining Team member has confirmed that he will be at our meeting to provide a bargaining update.  We are currently in the two year wage and benefit re-opener of a four year contract that was negotiated in 2015.  Initial Union and State proposals are quite different and it will be good to hear from someone at the negotiating table to see what type of bargaining year we are in for.  Noel works for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and with Mike Scott, ODOT, are our two bargaining representatives. The ODOT Coalition includes the Department of Forestry, Department of Transportation, State Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Aviation.

If you have other agenda items for discussion please forward them though any of your elected officers or Mike Bray, our Forestry sub-local statewide coordinator.

SEIU 503 Headquarters is located at 1730 Commercial Street SE, Salem, Oregon.