HOT off the Press!

Union leadership has unanimously recommended that the APL employees union vote to join CSEA. It is the considered opinion of the union leadership that CSEA represents the best fit for the employees of APL. Final vote to be held tomorrow!

Thu union will hold a meeting tomorrow, Friday May 16th, 6:30pm at APLM, to make a final determination about which union to join. You must be present to vote.

If you attend only one union meeting this year, make it this one!

Union Pros and Cons

Prepared for the AFSCME Local 3933 Leadership Meeting, May 15, 2008

AFSCME Council 66

Pro:

• Historical relationship
• New labor rep seems competent

Con:

• No back-end support
• Nearly impossible to contact rep
• Have never seen our representative
• Too Big-Impossible to comprehend dues structure
• Difficult to get out of
• Complex Accounting Requirements
• In-house staff required – ie. President, Vice-President, Treasurer
• Not Local
• Flat dues structure unfair
• Out of touch with our situation/needs, etc.
• Late or no notification of dues increases
• Dues increases on workers who earn the least
• No sign of changing

CSEA

Pro:

• Close to Home
• Keep our Money
• Represent several other Libraries in area. (Guilderland, Bethlehem, Schenectady and soon possibly East Greenbush)
• Eager to represent us-Graduated dues schedule that is easy to understand.
• They say we do not have to pay anything beyond dues.
• The most progressive dues structure of all three unions.
• The transition would be much easier than with UPSEU
• Locally active-Experienced with civil service
• Represent persons of various job classifications
• Any budget votes we need passed could be greatly influenced by the 22,000 members of in Albany.
• They will not neglect us living right next door.
• Back-end support promised
• Reps know how to use e-mail
• A lot of experience, members, political clout
• I kinda like that our dues go to TV ads
• Quickly responded to concerns regarding air quality and workplace violence
• Wants to establish an organization of local library unions

Con:

• Very Large
• Still AFSCME
• Slow to respond to our initial request
• Difficult to leave
• Requires in house staff - ie President, Vice President, Treasurer
• Complex accounting requirements
• Will spend some dues money on television ads and political contributions
• Slow to respond to us initially

UPSEU

Pro:

• UPSEU claims that we would not have to pay for anything beyond dues
• Not AFSCME!
• Easy to Leave
• No Complex Accounting
• No In-house staffing necessary
• Simplest dues structure
• Small & Responsive
• Responded immediately when we called them the first time
• Local & easy to reach
• Very eager to have us as members
• Experienced negotiators
• Promise to be there when we need them
• Many organizations are breaking away from CSEA to join UPSEU
• UPSEU is easy to get out of
• Everyone seems to want to stay with them once they join
• Highly recommended by an expert with extensive union experience

Con:

• Negative reports from union negotiators that work for other unions
• Negative reports from other libraries that UPSEU represents
• Some of the information they have presented us has been either misleading or impossible to verify
• They have not given us the contact information they promised us for other UPSEU shops
• They cannot match the resources that CSEA has to assist us in our upcoming contract negotiations
• Small ( how much clout?)
• Lose our savings (perhaps)
• They don't represent local libraries