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|  Change is in the air! No, I don't mean Wisconsin weather. That's always changing. Issues that impact us, our Local, and our country have been changing at a fast clip in the last few weeks.
Come to the Quarterly Membership meeting this week and be brought up to date on the huge change that will come to our Local because of so-called Right to Work legislation. Changes won't be immediate, but they are on the horizon.
The Trans Pacific Partnership was taken off the Fast Track! Oops, wait, now Fast Track is back on. Hang on: what in the world is TPP or Fast Track and why should I care? More on that below.
CUNA Mutual Group saw the retirement of their Chief Steward in the last couple of months and so nominations were held for all Steward positions, including Chief Steward. Results are below.
I'll see you at the Membership meeting THIS WEDNESDAY! |
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| Quarterly Membership Meeting - New Location! | |
P.S. - OPEIU Local 39 Membership Meeting
Wednesday, May 20th, 2015
5:30 PM
All union members invited and encouraged to attend Come see the new offices! Agenda
- Right to Work and its impact
- Unit Updates
- Financial Update
- Your Questions: on RTW, reviews, Steward elections, and more
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| Trans Pacific Partnership back on the Fast Track |
Nearly a month ago, you received an email asking your help in stopping the "fast track" of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In the latest "White Collar" newsletter from OPEIU, "Vote NO! on Fast Track" was the lead article. Well, this week, there was the first victory. Senate Democrats, in a procedural move, prevented the "fast track" legislation from moving forward. Great news! Then less than two days later, Senate Democrats, after being granted some few trade concessions, allowed the Fast Track bill to go to full debate, caving to the pressure of the Republicans and President Obama. Maybe it's time to try to explain what TPP is. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a proposed trade deal that includes eleven countries along the Pacific Rim, excluding China. This potentially gives the US a much larger economic role in the region. Fast Track is the name given to the TPA, or Trade Promotion Authority, allowing the President (of either party) to make trade deals without input or oversight from Congress.  There are a lot of questions about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and not a lot of answers. Most of the details of the trade deal have been kept secret and lawmakers have been forbidden from revealing the few details they do know about the deal. We have been given broad assurances that worker's rights, jobs at home, and the environment will be protected, but haven't been given any of the details as to how that might be accomplished. The other problem is that two of the three groups that have lined up in favor of TPP have never shown very much interest in protecting workers: currently neither international corporations nor Congressional Republicans have shown much concern regarding what is best for workers. (It has been argued that President Obama, the third major backer in support of TPP, has not always been the best friend to Labor himself, reneging on the campaign promise to promote " Card Check" and the renegotiation of NAFTA). One of the aspects of this that has caused much concern is that, despite knowing almost nothing at all about the deal, President Obama sought -- and Congressional Republicans were willing to give -- what has been called "Fast Track" authority to make this deal. Which raises a few really important questions: what's the rush and why the secrecy? Fast Track would mean that the President would have full authority to negotiate any trade deals, including the TPP, and submit the bill to Congress for an up-or-down vote. No debate, no amendments, take it or leave it. With the vote in the Senate allowing the bill to move forward, the best hope now to slow down the process is -- believe it or not -- in the Republican-led House where many Tea Party members are suspicious of trade deals.
"For more than 20 years, we have looked at trade through the very narrow lens of corporate interests," [Trumka] said. "In truth, our trade deals were not really trade deals-they were investment deals. Their goal was not to promote America's exports-it was to make it easier for global corporations to move capital offshore and ship goods back to America. The logical outcome was trade deficits and falling wages-and that's exactly what we got.
"The wages of working people have basically not gone up a dime since 1997 when inflation is taken into account. Since then, all of the gains from increased productivity-not some, not most, but all-have gone to the people who need it least. We know that our trade policy is a critical part of the structure of our economy-a structure that either is about raising wages or pushing wages down." In short, he argues, trade agreements are bolstering the bargaining power of employers at the expense of workers.
It isn't just industrial workers, either. NAFTA's changes in agricultural protections and tariffs may have been one of the causes for the influx to the US of more than half a million undocumented workers from Mexico and other Latin American countries per year since the late 1990s. Small-scale farming in Japan is similarly threatened if the TPP is more NAFTA-like than we're being led to believe. It would seem caution is a good approach but, at the moment, Fast Track is about to allow potentially disastrous trade deals to again make the lives of US workers all that more difficult.
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| New Chief Steward at CMFG | |
As of Monday, May 11th, CUNA Mutual Group has a new Chief Steward! Mike Pionke from Consumer Sales has stepped forward to take up the vital role. Below is the complete list of CUNA Mutual Stewards:
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| What the Union Does | |
A couple of items on the kind of work that our Union does on our behalf:
- We filed a grievance on behalf of a Member who had a work at home agreement. Unfortunately, this Member got a new manager who decided to reduce the 3 days a week the Member was working from home to one, despite the fact that the Member had been working this schedule for more than 3 years. In fact, they had been recruited into the Company and agreed to the position on the promise of this schedule, since they lived more than 90 minute away from the office. Suddenly losing this promised schedule would add three hours a day to their schedule. So much for work/life balance! Our Union worked out an agreement with the Company and offered the member a severance, which was accepted.
- We were informed that members of the Consumer Sales Department were given an "Agreement to Repay Licensing Costs" form that was to be signed. This form stated that if their employment was terminated they would be required to repay approximately $6,500. However, this form is for WAVERLY Consumer Sales employees only, not Employees represented by our Union.
If you have questions about changes in schedules or new forms you're being asked to sign, be sure to contact a Steward or the Union office. That's what the Union is for!
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| Upcoming Membership Meetings | 
Membership meetings are held the third Wednesday of the second month of the quarter, at 5:30 PM.
May 20th, 2015. This Week!
August 19th, 2015
November 18th, 2015
February 17th, 2016
This is your Union. Your participation gives us the tools we need to face the continued opposition of both companies and politicians. We strive to make the meetings relevant and to the point. Please stop by and participate in the democracy that is your Union.
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| Know Your Rights! |  Weingarten Rights
The US Supreme Court has ruled that the National Labor Relations Act gives workers the right to request union representation during investigatory interviews by supervisors, security personal, and other managerial staff. These are called Weingarten Rights.
An investigatory interview occurs if 1) management questions you to obtain information; and 2) you have reasonable apprehension that your answers could be used as a basis for discipline or other adverse action.
You must ask for union representation either before or during an investigatory interview. Management does not have to remind you of this right. If your request is refused and Management continues asking questions, you may refuse to answer. Your employer is guilty of an unfair labor practice and charges may be filed. If you are questioned in a situation where Weingarten may apply, read or present this statement.
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There have been plenty of changes lately, but the pace of change isn't slowing any time soon. Bring your questions about the Right to Work legislation and its impact on you and the Local to the Membership meeting. And while it looks like Fast Track is going ahead in the Senate, the House is next up to make their voices heard. We'll keep you posted.
Now go out and enjoy that changeable Wisconsin weather. In Solidarity, OPEIU Local 39 |
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