Council 2 Newspaper		Winter 1996

Agreement reached after almost a year

It took quite a while, but it was worth it. After nearly a year of negotiations, the Snohomish County Master Agreement, covering 16 bargaining units represented by Council 2, was ratified in November.

"These were long and tough negotiations," Council 2 Staff Representative Tom Michel says. "I think everyone is relieved that they're over."

"Part of the reason for the lengthy process is that each bargaining unit negotiates its own addendum, each of which must be ratified before the Master Agreement itself can be ratified.

The "Master" portion of the agreement covers the terms and conditions of employment common to all of our Snohomish County members (for example, cola, medical, and leave policies). The addenda, meanwhile, deal with aspects specific to each individual department.

For example, bargaining units negotiate different seniority rights and layoff procedures. In addition, aspects such as tool allowance, standby pay, uniforms and car allowance are negotiated differently in each addendum.

"It's a complicated system," says Michel, "but we think it combines the strength of numbers-approximately 1,200 members now come under the Master Agreement-with the ability of the individual units (ranging from four to 180 people) to make decisions autonomously.

"It can be hell when you're going through it, but the finished product justifies the effort." Apparently, the members agree.

The Master Agreement was approved by an 88-percent-to-12-percent margin.

In addition to significant gains in many of the addenda, the Master Agreement negotiations achieved:

• A three-year agreement with cost-of-living increases of 3.15 percent for 1995-retroactive to Jan. 1. For 1996 and 1997, the cost-of-living increases will be 90 percent of the consumer price index for each year.
• The employer will pay all increases in medical premiums for the 1996 plan year, which starts in April 1996. Payments for the 1997 plan year will be decided on the basis of a formula.
• Use of non-represented temporary employees will be limited. Such workers, often brought in to do work that union members should be doing, now will be prevented from replacing or supplanting bargaining unit members.

Council 2 also negotiated a union-scale wage for these employees and obtained an increase to $75 in the temporary service fee that they pay to the union.

• A better process was negotiated for consideration of requests for alternative work schedules (such as flex time and four 10-hour days).
• Project employees are now union members with full rights under the contract.
• Significant improvements were obtained in union rights, including time off with pay for local presidents to attend union conventions.
• Increases were gained in paid leave for those who are subpoenaed to appear in court.

In separate contracts (not under the Master Agreement), District Courts (Local 1811-CA) and Juvenile and Family Courts (1811-JPD) both ratified their economic agreements with the County. For District Court clerks, improvements were obtained in out-of-class pay while pay increases were won for all Juvenile Corrections Officers.

Also tentatively agreed was an addendum for 160 members in the newly organized Planning and Development Services Department. Included is a provision for overtime pay for the County's planners, who were previously denied this benefit because of their exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. When the addendum is ratified, Planning and Development Services will also fall under the Master Agreement.

Michel was the lead negotiator for Council 2 in the bargaining.

These union members represented the four different locals under the agreement:

David Burke (President, Local 109); Bill Garhart (Vice President, 109); Tony Stigall (President, 109-E); Sam Mutt (Vice President, 109-E); Cammy Hart-Anderson (President, 1811-CA); Howard Ware (Vice President, 1811-CA); Tanya Schulz (President, 1811-C).

Joe Parisi made working hard a lot of fun

by Chris Dugovich
The most important aspect of this business and the reason all of us are involved in it are the individuals along the way whom you help get a fair shake. One individual who spent a career making sure our members got a fair shake passed away October 11 while awaiting a liver transplant.

Joe Parisi, hailing from New York and many points in between, was extremely hard working and made working hard one heck of a lot of fun. I first met Joe in December of 1987 in the cold winds of Anchorage, Alaska. I had been sent up by afscme along with other Council staff to assist the drive to organize the Alaska State Employees into what now is asea, Local 52. Joe had been assigned to the campaign as a member of AFSCME's staff. With a strong New York accent, Joe always was on the run during the short one-week period I was in Alaska. He was the kind of person you don't forget and from that first meeting he was a friend.

On occasion, he used to compare his job as an area director for AFSCME with that of a paratrooper. "Ya know, Chris, I drop in-fix the problem and get out." You couldn't usually call him because you didn't know what part of the country his latest assignment was in, but he'd always check in from Albany, Columbus, or wherever, every couple months. I used to kid him about how he was assigned to Iowa or New Jersey, but was working in Maine or New Mexico.

His stamina for traveling and hotels was an attribute that amazed me. But what obviously kept him at it was the true enjoyment he got out of the people he met! Not only did every member know him, but every hotel and restaurant worker knew Mr. Parisi by the time his stay was completed. When he returned, even after a long absence, they certainly remembered him. People wanted to know Joe and he wanted to know them and once you did he went out of his way to make sure you knew you were important. He was that type of individual.

His natural strengths were his personality and his uncanny common sense approach to whatever problem you might encounter. Joe always had a sort-of street- smart rule for dealing with any situation and how people should be treated. He always lent others the benefit of the doubt. When he came in to work in an election, or a strike, and someone crossed that line, Joe could fix the situation with just a look and a few words. With his New York accent and his Italian heritage, a real need to be tough was unnecessary. It also was contrary to his character! Others didn't know that immediately, however, and Joe had a lot of fun with it! I, and the members of our staff, used to laugh about the reactions he would receive from some of us westcoasters who didn't know him that well. It was all part of the Parisi persona and what made him a success.

From the time I first met him he traveled out to assist Council 2 many times and usually on a minute's notice. During an attempt to remove the City of Yakima employees from the Union, he spent weeks talking to the members of Local 1122. In June of 1993 he traveled to the Spokane County strike and in November he spent 10 days in Renton assisting with that strike. He came out last June to our SeaTac convention and again went out of his way to talk to everyone.

Joe Parisi truly was a unique person and will certainly be missed by all the members he assisted not only in Council 2, but around the country. Although he left at the young age of 47, he left us with a lifetime of laughs and good memories.

"Hold firm" is theme for short session

We've got to try to hang on to what we've got: That will be the main emphasis for labor in the 1996 legislative session.

With unions under attack , the session promises to be a tough one.

"It's important to focus on not losing ground and making gains where we can," Pat Thompson, Council 2's Legislation/Political Action Director, says.

Among the issues of importance to be monitored by Council 2 in the session:

• Proposed amendments to the retirement plan for government workers.

  This is the major issue being watched right now by Council 2.

• Contracting out and bidding requirements for counties and cities.

  Council 2 will be watching carefully-and opposing-attempts to increase the amount of work that has to be contracted out to the private sector, Thompson says.

• Health-care reform efforts.

  Council 2 will monitor efforts by the legislature to revisit health-care reform.

  "We will watch this to ensure that our rights to bargain health care are maintained," Thompson says.

• Attacks on unions.

  Generally, unions were under attack on most fronts in the last session and that may be repeated this year. Council 2 will move to rebuff any such attacks.

The session is a short one, scheduled to last only 60 days. The brevity of the session means that union members who have questions for lawmakers should raise them as soon as possible so they can be addressed in time, Thompson says.

Huge workers rally planned

Fed up and don't want to take it any more? Here's your chance to show your feelings.

A Rally for Working Families is being planned for President's Day, Feb. 19, in Olympia. And Council 2 is taking part.

Thousands of union members are expected to attend the rally, which aims at drawing legislators' attention to workers demands for family-wage jobs, job security and retirement with dignity.

"The rally was inspired by the success of the building trades rally held on President's Day last session," explains Pat Thompson, Director of Legislation/Political Action for Council 2. Five thousand attended.

"That was a great event and this one will be even bigger. We are working with the State Labor Council for our members to participate in the rally."

Council 2 will provide details of how to take part in the rally to members once they become available. Mark your calendar now. This is one event you won't want to miss.

4,000 expected at AFSCME convention in Chicago

More than 4,000 delegates representing some 1.2 million union members are expected to attend AFSCME's international convention in Chicago in June next year. The convention will set the agenda for the next two years. Local credentials will be forwarded by the international union in the Spring of 1996.

5 Tacoma City workers win 3 years back pay

Five City of Tacoma computer professionals have been awarded an average of $5,000 to $6,000 each because over three years they were not fully paid for the work they were doing.

"They were functioning in a higher classification," Rob McCauley, Council 2 Staff Representative in Lacey, explains. "They were doing the work of system analysts or programmers and were being paid at a lower rate."

The employees had to keep the computers running, acquire hardware and software, and keep the computer budgets up to date. The grievance dates back to January 1993 when the City reorganized its computer operations and decentralized. On Oct. 6, 1993 the City and the workers reached an agreement. The agreement said that the grievants would receive back pay when a study was concluded. The study, which took about two years to complete, was held because many of the job descriptions were obsolete, McCauley says. This was particularly true for computer professionals.

"The study was a joint effort by the City and the union to rewrite the job descriptions," he adds. "Part of the problem was that the people were working out of class and were not being upgraded because the job descriptions were mushy."

The study committee consisted of computer technicians and managers. Council 2 selected the members who sat on the union side.

The grievants, members of Local 120, are: Celeste Suliin Burris, Planning and Development Services; Claudia deVries, Tacoma City Light; Veronica Dykas, Tacoma Fire Department; Susan Kunkel, Finance; and David Wittenberg, Public Works.

Local presidents meet to learn

Nearly 100 union leaders gathered in Wenatchee in September to learn more about handling union matters. Called the "President's Conference," the meeting is held annually.

The conference began on the evening of Friday, Sept. 15 with a welcoming reception. The following day was devoted to training sessions led by Council 2 staff: General Counsel Audrey Eide; President and Executive Director Chris Dugovich; Deputy Director John Cole; and Director of Legislation/Political Action Pat Thompson. The seminar helps union leaders deal with grievance handling, legal issues, and contract negotiations in their local unions.

Legislative weekend slated for February

Council 2's annual legislative weekend will be held at the Tyee Hotel in Olympia on Feb. 1, 2 and 3. The weekend starts with a legislative reception on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 1. A tour of the Capitol will be held on Friday. During the tour union members will have an opportunity to speak personally with their legislators. On Saturday, Feb. 3, meetings of the Legislative Committee and the State Executive Board will be held.

Proposed new retirement plan marks switch in philosophy

For three years, a new retirement plan for government workers has been discussed. It even has been presented to the legislature. But nothing has happened-yet. Now the changes, called PERS III (which stands for Public Employees Retirement System, plan three) are up for discussion for the 1996 legislative session. The changes mark a major philosophical switch for the retirement system.

"It would change the system from one that largely benefits career employees to a system that will benefit short-term and transitional employees," explains Pat Thompson, director of Legislation/Political Action for Council 2.

He points out that plan II is a defined benefit-you put your money in and the benefit is guaranteed based on a formula. Therefore under PERS II any risk is borne by the employer. But PERS II creates two half-pensions, one a defined benefit and the other a defined contribution.

"The defined contribution is the new wrinkle," Thompson says. Any risk is borne by the employee who chooses among a few options on where it should be invested. Under the proposal, new hires would be forced to take part in PERS III. Those who are members of PERS II will be given the choice of receiving an additional 20 percent of their contribution if they transfer during the first 18 months.

"The closer you are to retiring under PERS II, the less likely that PERS III would benefit you," Thompson explains.,P> Members who are under PERS II will not be forced to fall under PERS III, Thompson explains. But those members cannot ignore PERS III. "If, in fact, it passes and doesn't create a better system, any hope of improving plan ii will be lost," Thompson says. "They won't try to fix the old one."

Among the reasons the committee favors the new plan is that it enables employees who move to the private sector to take their defined contribution with them. From the day three years ago that the plan was first outlined to Council 2's executive board, its reception has been lukewarm, at best, Thompson says. The benefits of Plan III are outweighed by the negatives.

News from around the state has only strengthened the opinion expressed at that first meeting. The major concern is about the retirement age of 65, Thompson says. Many union members would like that age to be lowered to enable them to retire at an earlier age. Indeed, many members have said they would be willing to invest more in the retirement plan to improve the plan in that way. But the new plan does little or nothing to change that.

The current joint membership of the Joint Committee on Pension Policy believes that union members truly want plan III, Thompson says.

"But the proposals were not passed in the last two sessions, so now they are aggressively trying to sell this plan across the state," he says.

The positive aspect of the plan is that the employee gets to keep the money if he or she leaves the public sector. That could be seen as beneficial by some members, Thompson says. But the problem with this aspect is that the investment decisions will be left to the individual. And research has shown that decisions made by individuals when they are given access to their retirement money are poor ones, he adds. The new plan has little by way of education for members to make informed decisions.

In addition, Thompson points out, a significant number of Council 2 members are taking part in deferred compensation plans that allow them to invest their own money. Therefore they already are doing what PERS III is attempting to do. Thompson points out that it is important for union members to express their views to their representatives.

"It is my guess that if I were a legislator and if the state actuary tells me this plan is cost-neutral to the state and I have public employees telling me that they don't like it, why would I vote for it?"

Plan III put on hold--for now

At the time of going to press, the Joint Committee on Pension Policy (JCCP), responsible for drawing up the new plan, has voted to put pers iii on hold for now. Council 2 hopes that they truly will listen now to the concerns of pers members in drafting a new plan. Council 2 is participating in a coalition of groups that represent more than 100,000 pers members. The jccp is indicating that they are willing to work with the coalition to create a better plan.

Sweetser is unfair to labor, says Council 2

Council 2 has asked the Spokane Labor Council to place Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser on the "unfair to labor list" and has filed a formal complaint with the Spokane County Democratic Party. The charges stem from actions taken by Sweetser since he was elected County Prosecutor in November, 1993. Council 2 President/Executive Director Chris Dugovich says it is ironic that Sweetser used to boast proudly of his membership in Council 2. "Now he totally disregards those values that he used to be part of," Dugovich adds.

Since Sweetser was elected he has been the center of a continuing turmoil in the Spokane County Prosecutors Office. Among the events the union says have taken place are these:

• Sweetser has fired six people for no justifiable reason, says Bill Keenan, Council 2 Staff Representative in Spokane. That is more people than any other Spokane County prosecutor in history has fired," Keenan adds.
  
• Council 2 has filed five unfair labor charges against Sweetser. Four of the charges were filed by Local 1553-PA and one by Local 1553-S. In addition to the five unfair labor charges filed by Council 2, four different unfair labor charges have been filed against him by other unions, Keenan says.
  
• Local 1553 has filed six grievances against Sweetser; Local 1553-S, has filed another two--both are at arbitration.
  
• One demotion has taken place without just cause or access to representation.
  
• Sweetser has filed a unit clarification with the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) attempting to remove 29 percent of the current bargaining unit as exempt.
  
• Two people have been suspended without just cause, one without access to representation.
  
• Three disciplinary transfers have taken place without just cause, two without access to representation.
  

When Sweetser was running for office, he committed himself to just-cause termination and said the unions would have a contract within two weeks of his election, Keenan says.

"They still don't have a contract. Negotiations began in November 1992 and they are still further away from a contract than they were 12 months ago. He made all these commitments and now he has backtracked on every one of them."

The next election for Spokane County Prosecutor is in November 1998.

Scholarship Winner

Winner of a 1995 scholarship from Council 2 is Christina Marie Smith, the daughter of Roger and Rosemarie Smith. She was a senior at Sumner High School and planned to pursue a career in business

List of 1996 state legislators by district

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