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July 2013Vol 1, Issue 1
Your Voice 
Your Choice 

The Newsletter of OPEIU Local 39
Greetings!
March on the Capital
Welcome to the inaugural issue of the OPEIU Local 39 newsletter!

Madison has seen an unprecedented surge in union activism in the last couple of years. It's pretty heart-warming to "take a walk" with about 100,000 like-minded individuals. In order to continue to fight back against those who want to take away our basic rights as workers, we, the membership, need to be informed and we need to know when to step up.

The intent is to have a newsletter come out every month, highlighting the ways in which being a member of a union benefits you, how you can better use that membership to protect yourself and advance your career, as well as news from the broader union struggle to protect workers' rights.
In This Issue
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PS - OPEIU Local 39 Membership Meeting Notice
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
All members in good standing are invited
and encouraged to attend!

Time: 5:30 pm
437 S. Yellowstone Dr (Union Offices)
Vantage Place II - 2nd floor conference room

 

AgendaLogo

  • Unit updates 
  • Financial Update
  • Executive Board Nominations 

The local will be accepting nominations for four Executive Board positions: President, Recording Secretary, Trustees 2 & 3. (Nominations from members can only be made in person at the Membership meeting.) Please see the duties of each position listed below.

President
  • The President shall preside at all general membership meetings and Executive Board meetings;
  • shall preserve order during its deliberations;
  • sign all checks drawn on the treasury;
  • appoint all committees not otherwise ordered;
  • transact such other business as may of right pertain to his office and which may be necessary to the proper functioning of this Union;
  • shall have such other powers and duties as are provided for in this Constitution and Bylaws.  

Recording Secretary
  • Keep the minutes of all meetings and proceedings of the Union and the Executive Board and shall send out all meeting notices.
  • Keep copies of all agreements at the Union Office (if one exists) so that they will be available for inspection by any member or employee whose rights are directly affected.
  • File a copy of all collective bargaining agreements entered into by this Union with the President of the International Union.

Trustee 2 & 3
  • Review disbursements made by the local.
  • Maintain quarterly audit of the local's finances and/or annual audit by a CPA.
  • Other duties as assigned by the President or Vice-President as needed.

Note:  No person shall be elected or appointed to an office in or as an Executive Board member of this Union unless such person has been a member of this Union in continuous good standing for at least the preceding twelve months.
unions = gym membership 
Unions4Workers

All persons nominated must indicate their acceptance or declination either verbally if present at the membership meeting or in writing within five days after the nomination.

Only Members in Good Standing can be nominated to an Executive Board position.  

All positions on the Executive Board are unpaid.

NOTICE:  Members at the 2013 OPEIU International Convention approved a $1.50 dues increase for all active members.  The dues increase will go into effect October 1, 2013.
When to Ask for a Steward

Every contract negotiated for the various Bargaining Units has provisions for how to handle situations such as worker discipline, whether for conduct on the job or, more likely, for job performance issues. These provisions outline your rights and describe the process that the company must follow to be sure that the results are fair and just.

 

Do you know what that process is? It varies between contract to contract and not every Bargaining Unit has reached the same set of agreements. One thing you should know: the company is under NO obligation to help you understand their particular approach to discipline. Worse, we've heard from several members (usually too late) that, when faced with the discipline process, they were afraid that calling in the union would "make it worse." So they got no help at all as they were forced through a legal process they didn't understand right up to termination.

 

Calling the union is your right. It's expected. The company will not be any less aggressive in their investigations against you if you try to navigate the discipline process on your own. A well-run company wants to take advantage of every opportunity to make sure that discipline is fair and just. Every Bargaining Unit has a steward or access to our business agent to help handle discipline issues and it is your right to call in a steward if you think you're about to face discipline for job performance or workplace conduct.

 

Two things you should know about your Weingarten rights:

  1. The company is under NO obligation to remind you that you have a right to union representation in a discipline investigation. You must request the presence of a union rep, and then sit tight until one is provided to you.
  2. Once you request a steward the company MUST do one of three things:

(I) it can stop questioning until the representative arrives.

(2) it can call off the interview, or

(3) it can tell the employee that it will call off the interview unless the employee voluntarily gives up his/her rights to a union representative (an option the employee should always refuse.)

 

Discipline is just one time you may want to contact a steward, although it may be one of the most important. But if you have questions on provisions of the contract, or issues with other union members or certain issues with your manager, or just want to see how you can help the union in your Bargaining Unit, seek out your local steward (or contact the Business Agent if your unit is too small to have stewards) and have a conversation. That's one of the things stewards are for!

 

CMFG

Karen Maund, Chief Steward, karen.maund@cunamutual.com

Laura Lowry, laura.lowrey@cunamutual.com

Phil Miller, phil.miller@cunamutual.com

Nancy Dietzman-Mills, nancy.dietzmanmills@cunamutual.com

Susan Voyce, susan.voyce@cunamutual.com

Richard Oberle, richard.oberle@cunamutual.com

Stacy Lindsay, stacy.lindsay@cunamutual.com

 

MGE

Cliff Murray - Chief Steward, cmurray@mge.com

Nick Petrykowski, npetrykowski@mge.com

Rachel Rome, rrome@mge.com

Jillian Fowler, jfowler@mge.com

Debi Stolts-Meier, dstoles-meier@mge.com

Monica Neumaier, mneumaier@mge.com

 

North Central State Regional Council of Carpenters (NCSRCC)

Heather Hoemke, hhoemke@ncsrcc.org

 

World Council of Credit Union (WOCCU)

Diane Martin - Chief Steward, dmartin@woccu.org

 

CUNA Inc.

Shawn San Roman - Chief Steward, ssanroman@cuna.coop

 

OPEIU  

Debi Eveland - Local 39 Business Agent, develand@opeiu39.org 

I hope you found this first edition of the newsletter worthwhile. If there are questions you have about the Union you'd like to see in this newsletter, please drop us a line or join our Facebook page.
 
In Solidarity, 
 
OPEIU Local 39
Copyright OPEIU Local 39. Content written and/or edited by David O. Engelstad