Local 320 Spring Newsletter
Local 320 Spring Newsletter
Local 320 Spring Newsletter
PLEASE NOTE: May 2013 General Membership Meeting and Appreciation Night is set for Tues, May 21 on Third Floor Meeting Room at MN Teamsters Bldg 3001 University Ave S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55414 6:00pm Dinner - Meeting Afterward Door Prizes - Gift for All Members
STEPPING IT UP!
By Brian Aldes
Our Local Union is on the offensive! We are taking every available political advantage to better serve the membership. Local 320 kicked off its founding Lobby Day on February 6th with over 30 Teamsters in attendance and over 40 legislative meetings throughout the day. Every Teamster Local 320 member who participated at Lobby Day had an opportunity to meet with their state legislators. According to our exit surveys, everyone who participated thought it beneficial and had a positive experience. We led critical meetings with important committee chairs such as House and Senate Judiciary, House Public Safety, House Higher Education, and Senate State and Local Government. I led an excellent discussion between Teamster public defense employees and House Judiciary Committee Chairwomen Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL) on the public defense budget. Prior to our discussion, Rep. Hilstrom informed us that one of her grandparents was a striker in the legendary 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike. Rep. Hilstrom made it clear that she is an ardent supporter of the Teamsters Union and Minnesota workers. She assured public defense employees that she is fighting to provide equity for employees within the state judicial system. Teamsters at the U of M and MnSCU met with House Higher Education Committee Chairman Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL) and made the case for adequate funding.
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Law Enforcement Teamsters met with House Public Safety Chairman Michael Paymar (DFL) to discuss protecting the PERA P & F Fund and promoting our Local Unions bill for all injuries of Correctional Officers in jails to be reported to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Among our Local Unions top legislative priorities is to place Security Officers, Probation Officers and 911 Dispatchers into the Correctional Pension Plan. This priority will boost retirement benefits for all the aforementioned groups should it become law at the state level. At present, our Local Unions lobbyist is working the halls of the State Capitol to gather political support and legislative sponsors for the bill. We have been informed that securing this legislation is an uphill battle. Many employers, in addition to some legislators, have raised fiscal concerns. Teamsters Local 320 remains committed to its legislative priorities and will continue to build support for this bill at the State Legislature. Lastly, I was involved in the tenuous negotiations for Assistant Public Defenders and Public Defender Support Staff. Through hours of mediation we were able to forge an acceptable agreement which increased employee compensation by 4.5%. In spite of the current settlement, I must continue to press the importance of public defense employees participating in the political process and future contract campaigns. All indications demonstrate that the Board of Public Defense will continue to play hardball with step increases. We must remain alert and we must be prepared!
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U of M Teamsters view the poster of all 56 contract proposals at the February 19th meeting in Minneapolis. Attendees were able to rank the proposals based on their personal preference. Going forward we intend to publish the ranking data we collect from the membership after the negotiating committees first round of bargaining with the University. We will keep lines of communication open during negotiations with the online message board. Also, as your Business Agent, I always welcome questions and comments as does the negotiating committee. If and when we reach a tentative agreement with the U we will again have town hall style meetings to discuss the aspects of the proposed agreement. The entire process will remain all-inclusive for the membership.
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ONLINE AT WWW.TEAMSTERSLOCAL320.ORG