Bargaining Teams Deserve Our Thanks

Sisters and Brothers,

Never has a bargaining team faced the adverse conditions that our current bargaining teams are trying to overcome. The state budget conditions are well known to all of us. It is daily on the news. The economic times have forced devastating decisions on the Governor, the legislature, and many of us personally.

My hats off to each of the bargaining team members who have met these challenges with courage and determination. Although General Government team has completed a tentative agreement, other teams are still hard at work. Please encourage them. Your messages of support and solidarity mean a lot to them and help them face these difficult days.

The General Government team was amazing. I have served with the teams at each of our bargaining sessions. They all deserve our respect and our thanks. Each have given us the best they had to offer. This team, faced with the toughest challenges, was the most cohesive I have ever seen. The decisions they had to make were very difficult. The team, comprised of many points of view, took votes that sometimes were made by very narrow margins. They were thoughtful in their deliberations, respectful in discussion, and accepting of majority votes. They were the epitome of solidarity. They exemplify the word "union". I am so proud to have been with them through this time.

The Higher Education bargaining teams still face many challenges. With a couple of exceptions, they are facing employers who seem far less interested in coming to agreement. We must rally around them. We are all in this together. We are the union. We stand together and we stand strong. When we are called upon to act on their behalf, we WILL be there.