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Welcome to the Albany Public Library employees' union blog. We are an affiliate of the Civil Service Employees Union (CSEA). I hope that with this blog, we'll all be able to communicate better within the union. Being scattered over several locations, we don't often get to see each other and discuss our experiences of working at APL. I'd like to see that change and I'd like that change to start here.
8 comments:
One thing that I didn't think about until later, after talking about the CSEA meeting, was arbitration costs. It sounds like CSEA handles the costs of arbitration, but I don't remember hearing anything about that from UPSEU. Just curious as to how that would break down for us.
This is one of the crucial issues that I would like some written confirmation about. UPSEU claims that we would not have to pay for anything. My impression is that with AFSCME we have had to and would continue to have to pay some costs of arbitration. Only our Treasurer, or past Presidents can answer this. Ron? Susan? Marcia? Veronica? Patrice? Jim? Any thoughts?
I think we've only had one gfrievance come to arbitration--way back in the beginning one about full time equivalency.
As I recall, the local and management split the cost ( which was about $1500 each) . One of the reasons for this was to discourage frivolous grievances.
Pros:
1) Not AFSCME!
2) Easy to Leave
3) No Complex Accounting
4) No In-house staffing necessary
5) Simplest dues structure
6) Small & Responsive
7) Responded immediately when we called them the first time.
8) Local & easy to reach
9) Very eager to have us as members
Cons:
1)Lose our savings (perhaps)
2)They don't represent local libraries.
Pros:
small and responsive
Cons:
small ( how much clout?)
evasive about whether they represent all employees at the public libraries listed in their brochure
I feel compelled to say something in defense of UPSEU since I think I am the one that brought them in initially. I still favor them although it looks to me like we are going to end up with CSEA at this point. My friend Michael has been a member of the county legislature and was a union representative in this area for over nearly twenty years and has told me that UPSEU is the only union he has any respect left for. He has worked for AFSCME as well as CSEA and knows them well. He feels strongly that UPSEU would be the best choice for us and would serve us well. Perhaps he has an agenda that I'm not aware of but I feel he is both knowledgeable and sincere in his desire to help us with our selection. UPSEU is smaller than CSEA and does not seem to represent other local libraries but at the same time, they are experienced negotiators and promise to be there when we need them. Sometimes small and simple is better than big and complicated. CSEA is difficult to escape from yet many organizations are breaking away to join UPSEU. UPSEU is easy to get out of but everyone seems to want to stay with them once they join. I will be happy to see us move away from Council 66 and I hope that CSEA will serve us well but my vote will remain with UPSEU.
Pros:
1) Not AFSCME
Cons:
1) I have heard nothing positive from people in workplaces who are represented by UPSEU or from union negotiators that I know who work for other unions such as NYSUT
I was initially in favor of going with UPSEU. They were (and still are) responsive to our particular needs, and many of our requests for additional information. They are easy to work with, and would take a lot of pressure off library staff to administer the union. Their dues schedule is such that any employees who are paid less than $15/hour would pay lower union dues than we do with AFSCME. In all they would represent a better alternative to our current situation, and if they were our only option, I would happily vote for UPSEU.
On the other hand, we have received negative reports from other libraries that UPSEU represents. Some of the information they have presented us with has been either misleading or impossible to verify. They have not given us the contact information they promised us for other UPSEU shops. Furthermore, I they cannot match the resources that CSEA has to assist us in our upcoming contract negotiations. I appreciate the work that UPSEU has done to assist us, but or all of the reasons stated above, I will vote for CSEA.
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