NOTICE: RIO application deadline extended to September 26, 2008 See below for more information on the program
Some Myths and Realities surrounding the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)
The following information was taken directly from the website of the U. S. House Committee on Education and Labor.
You can follow the link to learn more about the work of this important committee:
http://edlabor.house.gov/micro/efca_myth.shtml
MYTH: The Employee Free Choice Act abolishes the National Labor Relations Board's "secret ballot" election process.
FACT: The Employee Free Choice Act does not abolish the National Labor Relations Board election process. That process would still be available under the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation simply enables workers to also form a union through majority sign-up if a majority prefers that method to the NLRB election process. Under current law, workers may only use the majority sign-up process if their employer agrees. The Employee Free Choice Act would make that choice - whether to use the NLRB election process or majority sign-up - a majority choice of the employees, not the employer.
MYTH: The Employee Free Choice Act will increase intimidation and harassment by labor unions against workers.
FACT: Research has found that coercion and pressure actually drop - from both sides - when workers form a union through a majority sign-up process. Beyond this, harassment by unions is not the problem. In a study of a more than 60-year period, the Human Resources Policy Association listed 113 NLRB cases which they claimed involved union deception and/or coercion in obtaining authorization card signatures. Careful examination of those cases, however, reveals that union misconduct was found in only 42 of those 113 claimed cases. By contrast, in 2005 alone, over 30,000 workers received back pay from employers that illegally fired or otherwise discriminated against them for their union activities.
MYTH: The Employee Free Choice Act would require a secret ballot election in order for workers to get rid of a union.
FACT: Under current law, if an employer has evidence, such as cards or a petition, that a majority of workers no longer supports the union, then the employer is required by law to withdraw recognition of the union and stop bargaining, without an election, unless an election is pending. Under current law, the employer can and must withdraw recognition unilaterally, without the consent of the NLRB. The Employee Free Choice Act would not change this.
MYTH: The Employee Free Choice Act would require "public" union card signings.
FACT: Under current law, employees must sign cards or petitions to show their support for a union in order to obtain an election. And, under current law, when an employer agrees to a majority sign-up process, employees must sign cards to show the union's majority status. Signing a card under the Employee Free Choice Act is no different from these card signings under current law. The union authorization card under the Employee Free Choice Act is treated no differently than a petition for election or a card under a majority sign-up agreement. As with petitions for an election, under the Employee Free Choice Act, the National Labor Relations Board would receive the cards and determine their validity.
MYTH: The Employee Free Choice Act's sponsors support secret ballot elections for workers in Mexico, but not in the United States.
FACT: Members of Congress wrote to Mexican authorities in 2001 arguing in favor of a secret ballot election in a case where workers were trying to replace a sham incumbent union with an independent union. The Employee Free Choice Act is consistent with this: it would require an NLRB election in cases where workers seek to replace one union with another union. Indeed, the original framers of the National Labor Relations Act intended elections for precisely those cases where multiple unions were competing - particularly where one was a sham company union and another was a real independent union.
The mission of this committee is simple: Strengthening America's middle class.
Jurisdiction of the Committee:
(from the Labor segment of the "jurisdiction" page)
The Committee on Education and Labor also holds jurisdiction over workforce initiatives aimed at strengthening health care, job training, and retirement security for workers. Workforce issues in the jurisdiction of the Education and the Labor Committee include:
-Pension and retirement security for U.S. workers;
-Access to quality health care for working families and other employee benefits;
-Job training, adult education, and workforce development initiatives, including those under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), to help local communities train and retrain workers;
-Continuing the successful welfare reforms of 1996;
-Protecting the democratic rights of individual union members;
-Worker health and safety, including occupational safety and health;
-Providing greater choices and flexibility (including "comp time" or family time options) to working women and men;
-Equal employment opportunity and civil rights in employment;
-Wages and hours of labor, including the Fair Labor Standards Act;
-Workers' compensation, and family and medical leave;
-All matters dealing with relationships between employers and employees.
You can read more about this committee and the work it does on its home page:
http://edlabor.house.gov/
Here are some additional links with information about the Employee Free Choice Act
http://www.afscme.org/resolutions/2004/r36-105.htm
http://www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/efca/
http://wcco.com/realitycheck/ad.organizing.workers.2.767488.html
(WCCO TV's Pat Kessler's program "Reality Check")
New Officers and Executive Board sworn in at May 21st, 2008 membership meeting
We welcome Nicole Bretall to the West Bank Representative seat on the Executive Board, and welcome Ryan Mattke to the Secretary position! (Ryan was formerly our west Bank Representative.)
Chair Officers:
Ken Holm, VP/Chief Steward
Jason Iversen, VP/Organizer
Executive Board:
Krista Gallagher, Medical Area
Nicole Bretall, West Bank
We still have open seats on the Crookston Campus, Outstate Minnesota, the East Bank, and one in the Medical Area. We urge anyone interested in participating more fully in Union activities to call or write the Local office, and get involved in your Union!!
At the membership meeting of AFSCME Local 3937 on Wednesday, May 21st, the members present voted in favor of an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the University in regard to a Retirement Incentive Option (RIO) for 2008. In addition, the Technical employees in AFSCME Local 3801, University of Minnesota, Duluth, voted in favor of this proposal.
With those votes, we have been given permission by the members of the bargaining unit to bring this proposal back to the University and sign the formal agreement to the proposal.
The window for application for this program will open for bargaining unit employees on Monday, June 2nd. Please check with staff in the Benefits department for information that relates to your own specific situation. Note that as of Thursday, July 31, 2008 the deadline for applying for the RIO has been extended until September 26, 2008. All employees should have received an e-mail from Carol Carrier, University VP for Human Resources explaining the extension.
The University's Benefits staff will be giving information sessions weekly throughout June and July. Visit their website for details:
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/benefits/events/index.html
PLEASE READ THE FULL TEXT of the program before making any decisions! The following link brings you to the University Human Resources office Benefits page - click on the "Civil Service and Radio and Broadcast Technicians" link. The proposal for AFSCME is the same as that one:
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/benefits/
www.umn.edu/ohr/benefits
(Please note that, in the FAQ on the web, wherever it says "former employee", they are referring only to employees who retired under this RIO, not all "former employees.")
The RIO could be a positive benefit for Bargaining Unit employees in some circumstances, particularly considering the high cost of health care coverage in the United States:
If you are 62 years of age or older; if you are eligible under
the rules as stated in the RIO, and if you have considered retiring,
this RIO will give you three full years of health care coverage
under your current plan. (You will continue to pay the employee
portion as you do now; the University will continue to pay its portion.)
If you have considered leaving University employment and you are eligible
under the rules as stated in the RIO, having the three years of
health care coverage may be a good bridge between jobs. Read the
full text (on the web) for information about eligibility; the e-mail
from the University summarizes the eligibility requirements
The last time the University and the Unions agreed on a retirement incentive was in 2003/04. This proposal contains some different options, so you should be aware of these (these are just summaries of the differences):
There will be NO payout for length of service: the last RIO allowed for 1 week of pay for each year of service; this benefit is currently only available if you've received a layoff notice, and is in the MOU on Alternatives to Layoff;
Once you have agreed to this RIO, you have only 15 days to rescind your decision; after that 15 days, you are locked into the retirement option regardless of any circumstances that may arise before your retirement date that may change your wish to participate;
Once you have retired under this program, you may not EVER return to University employment in a benefit-eligible position. You may return to work at the University after 3 months have elapsed between your retirement date and your new job, but you will only be able to work on a 49% (19.5 hours) appointment or lesser appointment.
Please let us know if you have any questions about the RIO. We will answer to the best of our ability, though we urge anyone interested in participating in this program to get in touch with staff in the University of Minnesota Benefits Department at 612-624-9090 or check their website at:
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/benefits/
Do you know of members who are going through hard times?
If so, please let Priscilla Pope, Library Assistant 2 in Wilson Library
know (612-624-3383 or p-pope@tc.umn.edu). Priscilla is the new 'Good
and Welfare' contact for our Local and will be the wonderful person sending
cards of condolence or cheer to members in need of one or the other.
We thank Priscilla for helping us stay in touch with our members through
their difficult times.
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