Dear Member:
As I write my first letter of the New Year, I find myself reflecting on the progress we made in 2007. We all should feel proud of the work that we did together. Our union grows stronger everyday because of the dedication of our members and staff working together to create a better life for working men and women. With this thought my letter looks back to 2007 as I discuss the opportunities and challenges in 2008.
2007: Fully Staffed, Growing Membership, and Fiscally Responsible
Last year many members expressed their concerns about staff turn over and unfilled positions. I am pleased to report that we are on track to be fully staffed. Through the implementation of succession planning, cross-training and team building I feel we are developing a team that will rise to the occasion and be able to deal with any challenge.
In 2007 we saw the first significant membership growth from new organizing in years. With the affiliation of the City of Calexico, the Working Supervisors in the County of Imperial, and the Community Development Corporation in National City gaining recognition, we will have over 200 new members in our union! At New Employee Orientations we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of new San Diego County employees joining the union. We will continue this trend into 2008 and grow increasingly stronger.
Last year one of my priorities was for Local 221 to be fiscally sound with clear financial controls and transparent practices. The Board and I wanted an independent assessment of the Local’s financial health and the development of controls and process changes needed to assure that Local 221 was fully compliant and operating within the Constitution and Bylaws adopted at the SEIU 2004 Convention.
After thorough discussion with the Executive Board, Local 221 hired Lindquist LLP to audit our financial statements, and to evaluate the effectiveness of our financial controls. Lindquist, LLP was selected because of their reputation and experience auditing unions. The outcome of the audit showed that there were problems with the segregation of financial duties, record keeping, and the security of our financial systems. Lindquist provided an assessment and suggestions of what we should do differently. It was suggested that we hire an experienced accountant to ensure compliance with the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the California Franchise Tax Board requirements.
On November 4, 2007, I hired Dan Marks to serve as the principal financial officer for our Local. Dan has close to 30 years of experience in financial and operations management, including call center management, project management and service as a Chief Financial Officer, Director of Finance, and Controller in corporate and non-profit environments. Dan immediately started working on the 2008 Operations Budget, which was approved by our Executive Board on December 11, 2007.
In 2007, we started to reduce our fixed costs by paying off the remaining mortgage on our building (saving over $24,000 in interest payments per year), pushed hard to meet our 2007 COPE goals, and met our capital obligation to SEIU for the Member Resource Center (see below). We will continue to focus our efforts toward the short-term and long-term growth of our member base by fully funding and staffing our Organizing teams and Worksite Organizing teams for the first time. We’ve substantially increased our training budget to make sure that we train and retain the best of our Organizing candidates, and hold all staff accountable for growth in union membership.
Last year came to a close with a budget fight (the first of many) in the City of Chula Vista. The City had a shortfall and wanted to take away salary increases outlined in our 5 year contract. Over a period of a month, our Government and Community Relations Department worked with our Bargaining Department and Worksite Organizers to turn back threatened layoffs by combining the strength of our members in the streets with political pressure on City Council members. Massive lay-offs were averted, we protected our contract, and we developed an alternative budget plan that gained recognition by the Union Tribune and members of the Chula Vista City Council.
2008: The Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
We have many challenges to face: a looming state budget crisis to another ballot initiative aimed at cutting public employee pensions. In 2008 we will begin preparing for the 2009 County contract, negotiate a contract in The City of La Mesa, and re-openers in most of our schools. This year is also an election year when we will decide on the next President of the United States, and other state and local offices. We need to do all this and more while we continue to organize new workers into our union and maintain a high level of service to our existing members. We will continue to increase our involvement in the communities in which our members work and live. This is no small feat but by working together we can do all of it.
Membership Growth
Our strength is in numbers. Our collective voice makes an impact and as we grow the union our voice magnifies. Throughout 2008 growth will be a vital component of everything that we do. Our goal is to increase our membership through New Employee Orientations, conversion of fee-payers, and new organizing. We will continue to grow our ranks through affiliations in the Imperial Valley, but the richest area of growth is within the jurisdictions our union already represents. By working together to maintain a strong organization that meets our members’ needs and develops new avenues for involvement, we will grow significantly.
Member Resource Center
One way we will provide a high level of service to our members is through the Member Resource Center (MRC). After listening to our members and their recommendations for better service we are ready to initiate the MRC. “Tele worksite organizers” called Member Resource Center Organizers (MRCO) have been hired. Their job will be to take your calls throughout the day. They will work with your Worksite Organizer to make sure they have the most recent information regarding contracts, activities, meetings, and campaigns. Stewards will have a hotline directly to the MRCOs so every member’s concern can be handled immediately. Worksite Organizers (WSO) will now be more accessible to you at worksites and will be able to better help to grow our member leadership to build a strong union.
Grievance Center
In a perfect world every worksite problem can be handled without having to file a grievance, but as we all know the world is far from perfect. That is why we have established a grievance center within the local union. Currently, we are in the process of centralizing all active grievances. Our aim is to settle as many disputes as possible at the lowest level. Kay Ryan will be managing our onsite grievance department and will work directly with the MRC as problems arise. Kay will collect all grievances either from WSO, Stewards, or the MRCOs and work to solve these disputes. As many of you know, Kay Ryan is uniquely qualified to carry out this role. Kay not only worked for the County of San Diego for 40 years, she helped affiliate the County Employees Association (CEA) with SEIU. Without her efforts our local may not have existed today. Kay has held every role in your union and we are happy she has agreed to continue serving our members.
Union Governance
Local 221 is a Provisional Local, governed under a temporary set of by-laws established and approved by the International Executive Board (IEB) under a charter signed by President Andy Stern. Our Executive Board was established by the IEB and its members (including my position as President) were appointed by President Stern.
We can remain a Provisional Local until 2010 or we can forge ahead with the development of a new set of by-laws that will establish Local 221 as a free standing local, wholly governed by our members. I believe there is no better time than the present to start moving this process forward. My goal is to have a new set of bylaws established and voted on by December 2008. Once established, the bylaws will allow for the election of the Executive Board and President by the spring of 2009.
I will be asking the Executive Board to establish a bylaws committee that will consist of five Executive Board members and five members of the general membership. This will be the most important standing committee in our local. What this group decides to bring forward to the membership will chart the course of Local 221 for years to come. If you are interested in being considered for one of the bylaw committee member positions please contact Alecia Bacon, Program Manager, by February 15th and she will submit your name for consideration. Alecia may be reached at 858-560-0151.
County Contract 2009
Our contract with the County of San Diego expires in June 2009. Over 75% of our union is affected by this contract and we are already gearing up now to make this is a winning contract. In addition to our current staff and leaders, we are arranging for several interns to join us to assist with everything from field work to a media plan.
In the first part of the year county workers should expect to receive a “mini-survey” of issues in the mail. The results of this survey will craft our major issues going into the negotiations in 2009. It is important that when you receive this survey you fill it out and send it back to the Local office immediately. Your input will be crucial in helping to establish our demands for the County.
Throughout 2008, we will be preparing not only our issues, but our field campaign as well. What happens in the worksites and in the streets is just as important as what happens at the negotiation table. We need every County worker to get involved. We especially need you to get involved in the contract action team (CAT) when it forms in July. In August we will be hosting a bargaining conference and a longer, more complete survey will go out to our members, shaped by the “mini” survey that you will have received in the mail. We will hold elections to select our negotiations committee on November 15th and the committee will work to prepare our proposals for ratification by the membership.
Once our proposals are ratified the negotiations officially begin. March through June, 2009 will be devoted to negotiating a new contract with County management. Our goal is to ratify a new contract that wins for County workers by the beginning of the new fiscal year.
Looking ahead to 2008 and beyond I am excited about what we will accomplish. While there is a lot to do, and it will not always be easy, the rewards will be immense. Together we will grow our union, establish how we are to be governed, create new avenues for leadership development, increase the service we provide to members, and negotiate strong contracts that raise the economic well-being of our members and their families. As your President I look forward to the year ahead and I look forward to working with you every step of the way to achieve great things. You are what makes our union great!
Sincerely,
Sharon-Frances Moore
President