Present:
Scott Grefe, Chuck Hottinger, Tim Headlee, Connie Anderson, Molly Kennedy, Shannon Pech, Marvin Sullivan, Jamie Sheppard, Eric Hesse, Ryan Cates, Luke Frederick, Adam Castle, Amanda Mathiowetz, Mary Wolfe, Stacey Mueller, Stephanie Goettl, Deb Waus, Brett Christiansen, Cindy Blaschko, Danielle Weckop, Deb Burger, Brooks Schmit, Sheri Saltzer, Mike Homer
1. Secretary’s Report: No changes to be made on August’s General Membership Minutes. Motion to accept by Rich Delestre, 2nd by Luke Frederick, motion passed.
2. Treasurer-Connie Anderson: STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR MONTH ENDING August 2014 CASH BALANCE BEGINNING OF MONTH: $ 84085.34 INCOME FOR THE MONTH: $ 22513.61 EXPENSES FOR THE MONTH: $ 42.70 CASH BALANCE ENDING OF MONTH: $ 84085.34 SUBMITTED BY: Connie Anderson Motion to pass by Eric Hesse, 2nd by Chuck Hottinger. Motion passed
3. Correspondence: • There will be Steward Training Friday October 19th from 8am – 4pm. Please email Molly Kennedy if you are interested. Motion by Chuck Hottinger to cover the usual expenses, 2nd by Jamie Sheppard. Motion passed • Anyone interested in being a delegate for negotiations please contact union leadership. There can be up to 17 total elect delegates. There is an assembly on January 30th where everyone’s proposals are gone through. There is another meeting March 13th. Supplemental negotiations aren’t usually until spring. **The rest of this meeting was dedicated to Contract Proposals for the 2015 – 2017 contract negotiations. Please see the minutes from September’s MSH & MSOP Labor Management Meetings.
7. Officer Reports Presidents Report:
VP- Chuck Hottinger Of all the union activities and work actions I have participated in over the last 25 years, the Safety picketing action on the 11th is the one I will always take the most pride in. The members who participated in any way deserve the whole Locals thanks and appreciation. Unlike other work actions centered around contracts and layoffs, there was no personal gain to made by any of the participants. Everyone there was making a stand in support of their co-workers and demonstrating to management that our safety concerns are not the opinion of the easily silenced few. While the September injury totals aren’t out yet, I expect that they will easily surpass the August numbers. The work action wasn’t the endgame; it was a piece of a continuing effort to force management to make effective changes that impact employee safety. Requiring PCT training for staff and sprinkling cameras around the building that aren’t monitored does not provide for increased staff safety- the problem isn’t staff. While MSH is the epicenter of employee injuries within DHS, it is far from being the only facility with an unacceptable employee injury rate. Our picketing could have been performed at many of the DHS worksites with AMRTC in Anoka being a prime example. While I was at the Council 5 Convention we were approached by other Locals to coach them in OSHA complaint procedures and workplace actions including picketing. At the September Steward and General Membership meetings we presented the contract proposals submitted for the 2015- 2017 Master Contract negotiation. There were several proposals that addressed issues that either duplicated by another or provided an option with the same intent. If you forwarded a proposal and wish to know if it is included in the approved proposals, please contact Amanda to get that information. We will be electing delegates to Negotiation Assembly next month with the first meeting in January 2015. I attended multiple Labor Management meetings during past month and have been placed on a couple committees with notable one being the SOFS Conditional Term 9 Committee. This committee will address the possible waiver of rule 36 or formulation of a new law to apply to the MSH High Acuity Units (700,800,900). Safety is not the only issue on the table; Overtime and staffing levels will remain an issue as during September as there was 7989 hours of Security Counselor OT, 1806 LPN OT hours, and 957 hours of HSSS OT hours. We do not have a report for number of mandated OT shifts but the number is sure to be significant. The number of heavy handed disciplines remains an issue with several Third Step grievances yet to be presented and we successfully argued the withdrawal of four suspensions during the Loudermill hearing process during August/September. Random Unit Observations – We made the point last month that requiring RNs to report on other units has the potential of creating a rift between direct care staff that are expected to work in concert. Management’s solution was to now require that Security Counselor Leads perform random observations too. I personally fail to appreciate the rationale behind that decision as the union views this task as a management/supervisory function. It is within their rights to do so despite our objections. Vacation availability within all SOFS programs will be increasing problem as the management reaction to OT and staffing will always be to restrict if not eliminate availability to maximum extent possible. If you feel that you have been unreasonably denied vacation, please contact a steward. If you see Eric Hesse, be sure to congratulate him for his recent election to the Executive Board of Council 5 at the convention. His election is testament to the growing strength and respect for Local 404 at the state wide level. In Solidarity, Chuck Hottinger - VP Administration
VP- Molly Kennedy:
Executive Board: Luke Frederick
Executive Board: Adam Castle
Executive Board: James Hemshrot I have been working with HR about bids and how HR are not getting all the names on the bid list.
CS MSH/Transition: Ryan Cates .
CS CBHH / CARE & MSOP: Matt Stenger
CS FACILITY SUPPORT: Mike Homer I have sat one investigation this month.
CS Nursing Home: Eric Hesse Been a busy one with grievances this month. I won a non-certification grievance in MSOP, but the person decided to not come back. I lost a couple third steps, one for a one-day suspension and one for not making a temporary employee into a permanent employee sooner. We did not meet with Forensic Nursing Home management this month due to the AFSCME Council 5 Convention in Bloomington. I encourage any FNH staff to contact me with any issues they may have that I can bring up at the next meeting, which is set for Thursday, October 9th. I did attend the Council 5 Convention this month and got elected onto the Council 5 Executive Board, so I think my schedule is about to become a bit more busy, but I am looking forward to the challenge and the new position. I would also like to give a big “Thank you!” to all that joined us at the informational picket on September 11th. It was good to see that we as staff are not going to put up with unsafe working conditions and joined together in solidarity in support of this. In solidarity, Eric.
CS MSH / CRP / Nursing Nights: Shannon Pech
Motion to adjourn by Luke Frederick at 12:05 am, 2nd by Eric Hesse