AFSCME/WFSE Language Interpreters Rally For Senator Patty Murray

Our AFSCME/WFSE union family turned out at University of Washington Tacoma campus in support of Senator Patty Murray on Friday. Our newest members, Interpreters, came out to support the legislators that support working families. They heard from Representative Adam Smith, Senator Maria Cantwell, Governor Christine Gregoire, and Vice President Joe Biden. They sent a wonderful solidarity message when they joined their state employee brothers and sisters. We STAND STRONG when we STAND TOGETHER!

DSHS Additional Furlough Days - NO Agreement

At the end of a third day of "bargaining" - how could anyone call it that? - there is NO AGREEMENT. Yesterday morning, the union presented a proposal to address the 6.287% budget cut ordered by the Governor. Management failed to respond to that proposal until after 8pm last night. Undaunted and determined to save 160 DSHS jobs, the team met at 10am to submit another proposal. The union's proposal contained language designed to protect our membership from the abuses that we all know occur in worksites with too few staff and too heavy a workload. We submitted yet another proposal today. We were asked to submit the proposal electronically. Our bargaining team delivered it in person and discovered that the management team wasn't even there. They had to scramble to get people to the table. Before 4pm management told the union team they didn't want to talk anymore today and may get back to us next week.

It appears there will be no agreement on furloughs in the month of October for state employees not covered under 6503. While some of us are furloughed October 11th, the state employees not covered under the bill apparently will be working.

Throughout these three days, members of the union team well acquainted with the disarray in DSHS were nevertheless surprised and appalled by what they witnessed yesterday and today.

The promised flexibility in scheduling did not prove true. The commitment to "reset" expectations of the workforce with fewer work hours to accomplish the increasing work demands did not prove true. Even the statement that it would save jobs is now in doubt. We have asked repeatedly for the list of job classes that would be saved and have received nothing. In addition, WMS positions are being actively recruited by DSHS. When the issue was raised, management said they would be federally funded. Really?? Many of our jobs rely in some part on federal funds. That is why we must meet standards or lose those funds. Secretary Dreyfus's words and management actions at the table do not pass the straight face test.

We are asked to maintain an ever increasing workload with fewer staff and fewer work hours, asked to care for our families on wages frozen for 4 years, asked to give up pay we have more than earned, and now we are asked to pretend that negotiations occur. Really??

And The DSHS Furlough Saga Continues Another Day

Believe it or not, DSHS managers in various areas have been announcing the additional furlough days and telling our members it is this date and that date. Then it is changed and sometimes rescinded. What is the truth of the matter and why is it so confusing???

Our Union and DSHS Management just spent the second day in these negotiations. The Union provided a proposal at 10 am. At 4pm, management announced that they needed more time to develop their counter-proposal plan. Throughout the day, members contacted their team to announce that they were being told one thing and then another. We heard that institutions can do it and then that they cannot. This institution can do the furlough day and that institution can't. Field offices can close entirely for the day and then they can't. Members can work with supervisors for flexibility in determining the day or days but then no-the day is selected by management. On and on it goes.

The fact is there is no agreement at this point. Management said they were directing managers to rescind the October 11th furlough day. At this point, I can't say what will transpire. I can only ask that members continue to directly report what is being done in the various areas of DSHS. You may report it to this blog, send an e-mail to Carold@wfse.org, or Sueh@wfse.org, or report to your Union Council staff so that we, at the table, can track what is being said and done while we attempt to negotiate the important protections our members require in these difficult economic times.

DSHS Furlough Bargaining

Monday was the first day the bargaining team met with management to discuss the management proposal to further furlough state workers. Union representatives asked a series of questions to determine whether there were other ways to meet the budget reduction ordered by the Governor. Discussions ensued. Among them, a number of suggestions were made that management said they would take a look at.

The union representatives were looking for the flexibility in scheduling that Secretary Dreyfus previously stated was in her interest as well as ours. Instead members were reporting to their team that the dates had been decided and managers were already working on implementation. In addition, there were reports that managers were planning to use on-call employees to replace furloughed workers. There were questions as to whether the plans would actually achieve the stated savings.

State workers need protections in the agreement language. We want to allow workers to work with their managers to determine which hours will be furlough. If workers can opt to take a day of a pre-scheduled vacation period, it relieves the staffing issues in 24/7 facilities where short staffing is unsafe. State employees who are furloughed should not have their probationary period extended. We want to make sure a furlough day is no more than 8 hours for a full time employee and that less than full time workers are treated proportionately. We would like to protect workers who earn the least money. We want to insure that overtime exempt employees are not forced to carry the same workload in a furlough period as they are during a regular work period. These are just a few of the many issues that were not resolved on Monday.

We will go back to bargaining tomorrow and are hopeful that an agreement can be achieved. The team was deeply disappointed in the outcome on Monday and know that their sisters and brothers are counting on them to bring an element of fairness and reasonableness into the process.

Thank you to the members who are working on this issue. Due to management's declaration that the furloughs will prevent 160 employees from joining the ranks of the 380 they say will be laid off, and realizing that these furloughs result in a wage reduction to a workforce that is already struggling financially, this team is under a lot of pressure. Your comments are welcome.

DSHS Budget Cuts Announced Today

Greg Devereux and I met with Susan Dreyfus, Secretary of DSHS, and her staff at 8 am this morning. We were given a very brief overview of the announcements about the budget cuts she was about to make to all who work in Department of Social and Health Services. I will not repeat here in detail what I know you have probably already heard.

Those of you who have already been subject to furlough will face an additional 2 days of furlough that are not part of the bill the legislature implemented. Those of you who were exempted from that bill will now face furlough days totalling 9. DSHS plans to implement these beginning in October.

This new furlough scheme does not fall under the same protections as the legislatively implemented furlough bill and the previous negotiations related to it. November and May are months at issue for those already affected by the existing furloughs. All 9 days are at issue for those not already affected by furloughs.

A Demand To Bargain is immediately being sent by our union to management. We have asked that the bargaining begin as early as next week.

We were told the cuts to DSHS equate to a 6.287% across the board cut or in other words 280 million dollars. DSHS, we were told, is unlike any other state agency. Most agencies get one general state fund appropriation DSHS receives multiple specific appropriations and provisos and, we were told each of these had to be cut by the same amount.

Susan Dreyfus said that the additional furlough days will save 160 state employee jobs. That said, we were told state employees within DSHS will face 380 lay offs total for the 6.287% across the board cut.

We were told one ward at Western State Hospital will close, one cottage at an RHC will close based on census numbers, Maple Lane School will downsize and these events will take place prior to June 30th of next year. Long term care services, TANF, and food assistance for non citizens and naturalization services will be hit hard. Mental Health RSNs will also be hard hit. The impacts of these changes will reverberate throughout the human services network.

This is difficult news to hear and our members will hear a lot of speculation about it. I am committed to making sure you know what I know as much as possible. Please contact me or your local Council Representative if you have news to share about these cuts and furloughs.

By the end of this week we can expect to hear about a further 10% cut being considered in DSHS. This 10% cut is being considered for the 2011-2013 biennium. Some of the 6.287% cut already being discussed will go forward as part of the 10% so we don't know at this point what any of that means.

The most important action you can take right now is to assure your brothers and sisters that we are all in this together as a union. We will stand together and we will bargain the impacts of these cuts as early as possible and protect them in every way we can under the current contract. Please commit to helping each other as much as possible. Local union meetings are a great place to give and get information that will help arm us for what we all face together. If you are reading this message, you are already leadership in this union. You are in touch and you are informed. Your brothers and sisters need you. I'm counting on you to Stand Union Strong!

WFSE Celebrates The Legislative Win Of Collective Bargaining Rights For Interpreters

Thursday, April 1st will long be remembered as the day Governor Gregoire signed the bill granting collective bargaining rights to Interpreters. These workers provide invaluable assistance to citizens at medical appointments and have been passionately pursuing bargaining rights in the hope of joining our union family. Congratulations to them and to the organizing and legislative staff on their success. It was such a joy to accomapny them to the Governor's office where their children were given a keepsake card picture of the Governor and her dog and the parents received commemorative pens to mark the occasion. To hear them speak of what the union means to them and how very important it is to have voice at work, reinforced all the hard work we do everyday to keep our union moving forward. This is a first in the nation. They are already getting calls from interpreters in other states to find out how they did it. Brothers and Sisters, they did it with the Green Machine! We have every reason to be proud of them and proud of our union. Congratulations one and all!

Corrections Lay Off Grievance Approved

The Department of Corrections implemented a lay off of several members. In reviewing the actions taken by the department, errors in the process were discovered. WFSE staff and the members filed a grievance. Some of the errors were corrected - others were not. The grievance was today approved by the statewide grievance committee and the union will press forward in efforts to insure that the rights of our corrections members are upheld.