A friend of mine got a letter in the mail a couple of days ago from the Colorado Labor Rights Coalition that included a really good description of, (as the letter said), "what the State Legislature has done to us so far".
I'm going to quote the letter here:
In the Long Bill the Legislature has appropriated a Cost of Lving Increase (the Salary Survey)which will result in an average increase in pay for all State Employees that will come out to approximately a 2.5 to 2.7% increase in pay starting in July.
At the same time, all State Employees will be enjoying a massive .37% increase in pay to compensate for the fact that over the past 8 years our salaries have not kept pace with the private sector.
There will not, of course, be any funding for "Pay for Performance", again. There will also not be a restoration of any Step Increases, either. This "revenue neutral" program has resulted in 83 million dollars of "savings" for the State in the past seven years.
Three years ago, the State Legislature voted to give us a 2.5% cost of living increase for the fiscal year of 2003-2004. As there was insufficient funding at the time, the payment of this increase was "deferred" until July of 2006.
The Legislature passed House Bill 1256 this year, which eliminated the promised cost of living increase for 2003-2004. State Representative Beuscher sponsored this Bill to screw us over.
At the present time Senate Bill 06-235 is currently sailing through the State Legislature. This Bill, sponsored by State Senator Paula Sandoval, and State Representative Marshall will increase the amount of money we will be paying into PERA. Starting in 2007, we shall all be paying an additional .5% increase from the current 8% level for the next six years. This will result in an incremental decrease in our pay by 3%.
The Bill also does away with automatic cost of living increases for PERA recipients, as it requires the annual COLA to be reviewed by the expanded PERA Board which will include 5 appointees of the Governor of Colorado.
The manner in which our retirement benefits will be determined has also been changed. While in the past employees' benefits were based upon the average salary of the highest 3 years of service, the new formula calls for our retirement to be based upon the lowest salary earned in the last four years. This Bill is the one that is being proposed by the Democrats. Governor Owens presently is opposing this legislation, as it just doesn't srew us over enough.
Just let me interject, here, a great big THANK YOU! WOOOOO HOOOO! High Five! Finally!! someone makes some sense of what's been going on with our wages and salaries! I am so grateful and feel like, now, I sort of have a shot at understanding what the deal is.
Thanks again. Whew!
Mr. Attridge, who wrote the letter, goes on to say,
I have enclosed a copy of the Labor Rights Amendment petition, and I am requesting you circulate it amongst your fellow employees, your friends and relatives. When passed, this Amendment, will, amongst other things, give public employees in Colorado the right to collectively bargain. It will give us the power to require the State Legislature to negotiate our salaries and benefit packages directly with us, and if they fail to come to an agreement with us then the matter would be resolved by a neutral third party arbitrator.
I have received the endorsement of the Colorado AFL-CIO and unions affiliated Colorado Change To Win to place the LRA on the ballot. In order to place this Amendment on the ballot, we shall have to collect 68,000 signatures on petitions by June 30th. Thanks to the financial support we have received from the IBEW and UFCW Local 7, we currently have over 6,000 petitions in circulation and we will have an additional 2,000 more out by the end of this month. If every member of this Local does their part, we should be able to gather at least 30,000 signatures. For those of us who work at the CDLE, I will be dropping off a package to each of you containing petitions, cover letters and envelopes for you to take home and stuff to help me with the final mailing.
Considering how the politicians on both sides of the isle continue to treat us like garbage, I think this is the logical course of action that we should take. If we don't pursue this action, I think we should just consider the option of dissolving the Local. I see no point in us continuing to pay 27 dollars a month so that useless union staff reps. at AFSCME Council 76 can attend political cocktail parties and dinners.
This letter is signed, Solidarity Forever, Jeremiah Michael Attridge.
Wow, Mr. Attridge...this is very exciting! This is an idea whose time has certainly come! We are pleased and grateful that you've put the facts together, understood the solution and are expending the energy to get this done. It's exactly what we need.
Since this was apparently mailed to union members, I think we should all seek out a union member and ask to sign this petition as it goes around. We should campaign for this measure and make sure that it gets on the ballot and then that it wins in the election. Then we can Collectively Bargain with our employer about wages. Without this, we're going to get nowhere...or somewhere only temporarily...this is a major long term fix. I'm excited. I think this is BIG NEWS!!
If you want to get ahold of the Colorado Labor Rights Coalition, you can email them at ColoLaborRights@aol.com or their phone is: 303-433-3138.
Just Darned Exciting! don't you think?
Comments since last post on Inspiration, Dead Horses, Treatment Failure!!, There's a Storm Coming....gosh, I think that's all...hope I haven't missed anybody! Great blogging, everyone!!
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8 comments:
Why do you continue to filter what we send you when we disagree with the Fly or whatever... Souds alot like administration huh...
The best supervisor ever has left us... I'm not sure we will really make it... god or anyone help us..
FYI, bloggers. I NEVER filter what is said in comments...I am, in fact, unable to do so. I only have the option to post or not to post. I have posted every comment that I have received. If you don't see your comment, perhaps you're looking on the wrong page..comments go to the page you're on when you click on "comment".
g.f.
Yesterday I heard on the radio that when asked, the average joe, thought the nursing profession was the most honest. I was surprized. I took an impromptu survey of my co-workers, and the results were a little different.Not surprizingly, the exterminator/bug man, was thought to be more honest than the average nurse. I have worked at many facilities, and I would have to agree with the folks that I questioned. Nursing administrators are known for not answering simple questions. Nurse managers, follow suit, and go even further my hinting one thing, that might seem plausible, but then resorting to the politically correct, standardized answer. And what about floor nurses? They, for the most part enable the whole process because they lie to themselves and each other by the processes known by denial, ommission and ignorance. Yes, job protection is important, but so are initiative, innovation and honesty. If the administrator lies to the manager, the manager lies to the staff nurse, then who is staff nurse gonna lie to. It might just be the patient!!! because it is a vicious circle. And I'm not saying the nurse tells the patient he can't draw/color unless he votes for chocolate milk as the numer one beverage across the nation. Maybe a lame example, but I am trusting that the message is clear. I do not really want to use any other more "patient or employee specific" example, because I believe enough confidentiality issues have been breached, and not by a blog, but in the day to day work space. I end with this thought - Good thing nurses have a fly swatter to use, because, as we all know, no nurse is gonna call the bug man to the unit, because he'll end up doing a better job and looking better then she does, at least when it comes to answering questions and getting a fairly simple job done, unless of course, again, she has delegated the job to an MHC, then she'll just take credit of it!!!
What an insightful piece. And how true. Enough said.
ohbHello, I have just been watching CNN and the Senate investigations of the theft of the Vererans records,on it are the Assistant Inspector General for Audit,the Information Security Issues Director and the information Security Officer. They referred to management as being a "Critical Problem" and the atmosphere and culture. It made me think of the kind of grandiosity and narcissism it would have to take,for someone to be taking off grounds vulnerable information about patients and staff,total disregard for the sort of danger this places others in and thumbing ones nose at important safty measures put in place by the State HIPPA regulations for just the kind of protection vulnerable populations need.Obviously this has actually been going on for more then this one incident,years even with no awareness,no sensitivity,no regard for the violation to other people.I personally am shocked at the culture that supports and produces and Protects and undermines the safety of staff and patients. No significant consequence has come of this transgression,and yet many people are put at risk needlessly and will be for years to come. Who will be there for any of them when the consequences come due..........and it will..............and what about all the very private patient information about the course of ones mental illness is now public information,these clients especially are easy targets unable to protect themselves . The way this is being handled is really a referendum on the leadership and culture at CMHIFL. There is no question that morale is deeply affected by this issue,and especially about the non comunication and secrecy surrounding how this is being handled.Where is the Denver Post when we need them? Where is the follow up,the interviews with Staff...........I dont understand why the Director hasnt come and talked with the staff personally and why everyone is behaving as though its business as usual.......This is their sucess strategy I supose.......O.K. then......there ya have it. A gruesome story about the culture at CMHIFL on a daily basis.
Souds.................is that a word??huh
All I can say to the last diatribe about nurses and fly swatters and MHCs is Hogwash,any intelligent person cant even follow the thought process..........or was there one?
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