National AFSCME News
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U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Union Busters — For Now The nation’s public employee unions received a bit of good news on Monday, Oct. 7, when the U.S. Supreme Court turned down a joint request by two national union-busting organizations to hear a case that would decide whether states can designate unions as the exclusive representatives of groups of public employees. “Exclusive representation” means a duly chosen union is the sole voice for all workers and source of worker power. It is the basis on which our union is organized and the way we bargain for meaningful change. Through the process of collective bargaining and exclusive representation, DC 37 members — and AFSCME members across the country — earn fair wages, safe and reasonable working conditions, job security, health benefits that cover us when we are sick, and retirement benefits that provide us with dignity as we age. Attacks on public employee unions have been have been relentless since the Trump Supreme Court last year broke 40 years of legal precedent and ruled against public employee unions in a landmark case Janus v AFSCME. But in refusing to hear the latest case, Inslee v Harris, the Supreme Court has let stand a decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals [...] — Oct 15
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Agreement Provides Pay Equity for Head Start Educators with Public-School Teachers By GREGORY N. HEIRES The pay of more than 2,650 Head Start teachers will be boosted to match the salary of public-school teachers under a tentative agreement by the city, union and the Head Start Sponsoring Board Council. The agreement, announced Thursday, affects workers at more than 200 centers throughout New York City. It follows a similar deal reached in July for 4,000 early childhood educators represented by Local 205. “Head Start is critical to educating our youngest New Yorkers and uplifting entire families,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With this agreement, we’re ensuring our kids have the very best teachers during their most critical stages of development.” The tentative agreement runs through Jan. 31, 2022. The agreement requires the approval of Head Start workers in Local 95. “This agreement once again demonstrates that by working together, great things can happen,” DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said. “Not only does it provide our Head Start members the long awaited wage parity that they deserve, it also creates an education career ladder that is vital to establishing the next generation of leaders.” Under the agreement, Local 95 certified teachers will receive four salary increases over three years. The base pay [...] — Oct 4
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Public-Sector Training Partnerships Boost Job Satisfaction, Productivity and Unions By GREGORY N. HEIRES All too often, employers set up training programs without the help of those who know the best way to improve the workplace — workers and their unions. A new report from the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, highlights the key ingredients of successful public sector training partnerships between unions and governments. “The benefits of public sector training programs are clear: Workers gain the skills they need to be successful in good, middle-class jobs, while city and state employers are able to obtain and retain the highly trained, diverse workforce they need,” said Karla Walter, director of employment policy at the Center for American Progress and author of the report. She added: “Moreover, training partnerships provide a tangible example of the benefits of unionization to workers and thereby help to sustain public sector unions, in spite of attacks by corporate interest groups.” One of the case studies highlighted by the report is a fellowship program for entry-level information technology workers that DC 37 developed with the City University of New York and the city. The program helps participants become full-time permanent employees by covering the cost of civil service exams and placing them [...] — Oct 4
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Meet DC 37’s New Chief Negotiator By GREGORY N. HEIRES Rose Lovaglio-Miller, the union’s new director of research and negotiations, is a union baby. And having grown up in a union family, she brings a deep passion to her job as the chief enforcer of DC 37’s many contracts. “I feel a great responsibility to the membership of the union and want to do the best job I can to help all members,” Lovaglio-Miller said. “Whether we are looking to increase our wages or improve our benefits, the bottom line is, that this is all about fighting for dignity and respect.” DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido appointed Lovaglio-Miller to her new position after her predecessor, David Paskin, retired this summer. “We are confident that Rose will be a key force in strengthening our voice at the bargaining table and strengthening the contractual protections members have,” Garrido said. Lovaglio-Miller joined the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Department in 2015. She came to the union after seven years cutting her teeth in the art of negotiations as vice president of research and negotiations at SSEU Local 371. “Rose is a committed, talented negotiator and unionist,” said SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells. “We will all benefit from [...] — Oct 2
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Union Explains Statewide Tenant Reforms at Workshop By MIKE LEE The hard-won, historic changes to New York’s rent regulation laws have raised many questions about the new rights and benefits tenants now have under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 passed by the state Legislature. DC 37’s Municipal Employees Legal Services (MELS) stepped up to help answer these questions at a recent workshop attended by more than 100 members. “There are more than a 100 pages of changes in the new law,” explained supervising attorney John Bart. “These are changes that benefit our members.” Tenant rights activists and organizers Michael McKee and Anita Long briefed the audience on the efforts to push Albany to pass these reforms. This effort reversed a decades-long trend of legislation wedded to big-money real estate interests. Among the legislation’s many reforms: Ending “vacancy increases,” which landlords used to raise rents on rent-regulated apartments by 20 percent. Requiring landlords to notify tenants on non-payment, thus creating a defense for tenants if the landlord fail to provide notice. Protecting tenants who are given notice of non-renewal or rent increases of more than 5 percent. Courts may now issue stays on warrants for up to one year in landlord-tenant proceedings, including stays [...] — Sep 30