eNewsletter - November 7, 2008
Labor-Endorsed Candidates and Measures WIN!
Election Day was a great day for Local 21 members! The election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden as our next President and Vice President begins a new chapter in the American story. Locally, a majority of the candidates and ballot measures we supported were successful.
Nearly 100 Local 21 members walked door to door and talked to voters, made phone calls, distributed voter information, and worked at polling places during the campaign. Together, we had the biggest turn out in Local 21's history! Most members were first-time volunteers, and were joined by virtually all of our staff.
Special recognition goes to Dean Coate, Local 21's Vice President for Legislative & Political Action, who took off all of Election Day and the day before to get out the vote. Oakland Supervisors & Managers Membership Director Tom Manley and Bonnie Bompart, Local 21 Secretary, were invaluable for their help in recruiting volunteers. Congratulations to Larry Griffin and Local 21 Executive Director Bob Muscat, who won raffle prizes at a pre-election phone bank.
Three candidate races and two ballot measures have not been finalized. In San Francisco, our candidates for Supervisor, Eric Mar (Dist 1), David Chiu (Dist. 3), and John Avalos (Dist. 11) received the highest number of votes, but due to the City's ranked choice voting practice, we won't have a final count for several days. San Francisco's Measure O (funding for emergency services - 911) and Santa Clara County's Measure B (extending BART) were hovering just below the 2/3 vote threshold required to pass. As soon as all of the votes are counted, we'll let you know.
Congratulations to our winners!
President Barack Obama*
Vice President Joe Biden*
San Francisco
Board of Supervisors
District 1: Eric Mar 42.4%**
District 3: David Chiu 38.95% **
Dist. 5: Ross Mirkarimi 77.6%
District 11: John Avalos 30.12% **
**In first place but not all votes tallied and ranked
Ballot Measures
Measure, our position, and vote % for our position
Prop A-Save General Hospital YES 84.3%
Prop C-Prohibiting City Employees from Serving on Charter Boards and Commissions NO 63.18%
Prop D-Financing Pier 70 Waterfront Development Plan YES 67.63%
Prop E-Changing the Number of Signatures Required to Recall City Officials YES 60.6%
Prop G-Allowing Retirement System Credit for Unpaid Parental Leave YES 63.3%
Prop J-Creating a Historic Preservation Commission YES 56.5%
Prop K-Changing the Enforcement of Laws Related to Prostitution and Sex Workers NO 57.6%
Prop M-Changing the Rent Ordinance to Prohibit Harassment of Tenants by Landlords YES 61%
Prop N-Increase transfer taxes on properties worth more than $5M YES 69%
Prop O-Emergency services funding (911) YES 66.3%*
Prop P-Changing the Composition of the SF County Transportation Authority Board NO 68.24%
Prop Q-YES Close tax loopholes 74.2%
Prop R-Renaming the Oceanside Water Treatment Plant NO 69.1%
Prop S-Policy Regarding Budget Set-Asides and Identification of Replacement Funds YES 54%
Prop T-Free and Low-Cost Substance Abuse Treatment Programs YES 62.81
Prop U-Policy Against Funding the Deployment of Armed Forces in Iraq YES 59.76%
Prop V-Support Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Programs in High Schools YES 53.2%
*Requires a 2/3 vote. More votes to be counted.
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Ward 1: Lesa McIntosh 52.9%
Ward 5: Doug Linney 64.7%
City of Oakland
City Council, At-Large: Rebecca Kaplan 61%
Santa Clara County
Board of Supervisors
Dist. 3: Dave Cortese 55.4%
Ballot Measures
Measure A-Retrofit Valley Medical Center 77.9%
Measure B-Extend BART 66.30%*
*Requires a 2/3 vote. More votes to be counted.
City of Richmond
City Council
Nathanial Bates
Ballot Measure
Measure T-Tax Chevron YES 51.3%
Unfortunately, Richmond City Council incumbents John Marquez and Harpreet Sandhu were not re-elected. We wish them future success after their hard-fought campaigns. We opposed Oakland Measure OO (Restricts funding during budget crisis), which passed with 52% of the vote, and San Francisco's Measure F failed with only 42.2% of the vote, which our union supported.
*National endorsements by International union.
Union Officer Elections - Ballots are Mailed Next Week
Elections for Local 21's eleven Local Union officers (also known as the Executive Committee) are almost upon us. A secret ballot will be sent to each member at their last known mailing address on November 14, 2008. To be counted, your ballot must be received no later than 8:30am on Friday, December 5, 2008. Ballots will be counted in Local 21's San Francisco office later that day.
Please note that ballots and booklets containing candidate statements and photos will be mailed separately.
Election information, including candidate statements, are posted on our website's Union Officer Election page.
Berkeley Schools Administrators Ratify New Contract
Members at the Berkeley Unified School District ratified a new contract in late October. The two year agreement, which still needs to be approved by the School Board, expires in 2010. The MOU contains a "me too" clause to match any COLAs approved for Berkeley teachers in 2009 and 2010, and also has two retroactive COLAs for 2007 (4.32%) and 2008 (1%).
Santa Clara County Members Prevail on Performance Appraisal Battle
Local 21 members employed by Santa Clara County recently won a major battle concerning the content of employees' personnel files. During negotiations in the summer of 2007, the County proposed a change to the performance appraisal process, where appraisals would be included in an employees' personnel file. Although Local 21 rejected the proposal, the County attempted to unilaterally adopt the proposed changes over a year later.
The union immediately fought back, maintaining that performance appraisals cannot be used by the County in disciplinary processes and must be separated from personnel files. In mid-October, SCCEAA chapter President Ron Johnson and Local 21 Senior Representative Nancy Ostrowski met with the County's Labor Relations Director, who finally confirmed that Local 21's position was correct and in line with all previously bargained policies.
Local 21 Bargains over Impact of Layoffs, Shutdowns in City of Oakland
On October 30 the City of Oakland sent layoff notices to over 100 employees, including more than 30 Local 21 members. While many of these members will be reassigned to other positions or revert to previous classes, some individuals will be laid off as of Friday, November 14. Unions do not have the right to bargain over the City Council's decision to lay off employees and shutdown the City once a month, but Local 21 has exercised its right to bargain over the impact and implementation of these decisions. Two impact bargaining sessions have already taken place, with a third meeting scheduled for November 7.
On October 29, Local 21 put over 15 proposals on the table to mitigate the impact of layoffs and shutdowns, but was met with little more than a high level of insensitivity and ineptness on the part of the City. To date, the City has delayed sharing complete and accurate information with unions and impacted employees, shown their own confusion about layoff and shut down procedure, and has had a gross lack of direction and coordination from City management. Draft shutdown dates were shared, but are still under negotiation. The City has stated that it has every intention of honoring all paid holidays surrounding shutdowns, and will make an effort to smooth out the pay impact of holiday shutdowns. In the meantime, the City is hosting briefings for employees impacted by layoffs through November 10. The Briefings will provide an overview of the layoff process and opportunities for job search support. Additionally, impacted employees are entitled to a Skelly hearing with the City and a Union Representative, as well as a review of the City's calculation of seniority points, and should file for both immediately.
Local 21 is hosting a series of all-membership meetings to share detailed information on layoffs, bumping, shutdowns, and contract negotiations. The first meeting was attended by close to 80 members on November 6. Subsequent meetings will take place on:
- Friday, November 7, Noon at City Hall, Hearing Room 3
- Monday, November 10, 11:30am at Edgewater Drive, Ready Room
- Wednesday, November 12, Noon at City Hall, Hearing Room 3
Union responds to San Jose's Responsible Charge / Control Signing and Sealing Plan
In response to the City of San Jose's proposed changes to the Public Works Department's "Responsible Charge / Control Signing and Sealing" requirements, the Local 21 Association of Engineers and Architects (AEA) organized a meeting with all senior-level engineers and architects to discuss the impact of the proposed changes on City staff, workload, and Senior-level licensed professionals who would be effected.
In late October, a majority of Local 21's Senior-level AEA members filled our South Bay office to express their concerns and share input about how to respond to the City's proposed policy changes, as well as to identify the union's next steps, including addressing legal concerns and workload issues.
The AEA Board also invited guest speaker Jim Foley, P.E., from the California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors to their general membership meeting on October 24. Foley shared a dynamic presentation on rules and regulations for professional engineers as they apply to "Responsible Charge and Signatory Authority." As a previous City employee, he also shared information about San Jose's former process and private organizations. Any Local 21 members interested in receiving a copy of Foley's presentation should contact Senior Representative Nancy Ostrowski.
Union Benefit: MAP Coming to an End
Local 21 currently offers free, confidential counseling sessions for union members and their families through the Membership Assistance Program (MAP). At the end of December 2008, the MAP will be closings its doors and going out of business. Any Local 21 members who wish to utilize the MAP's broad range of counseling services before its closure should contact Richard Epstein at Work Life Support Services, 800.810.1815. For more information on the MAP, visit our website's Member Benefits: Counseling Services section.
Save-The-Date: South Bay Holiday Party, Dec. 12
Local 21 members from the City of San Jose's Association of Engineers and Architects, Santa Clara County's Engineers and Architects Association, the City of East Palo Alto, and Valley Transportation Authority Engineers and Architects will be hosting a holiday party at 5pm on Friday, December 12 at Mayuri Indian Cuisine in Santa Clara. Stay tuned for more details about the event! An email and mailing home will be sent to all South Bay members later this month containing details on cost for members' guests and how to RSVP.
L21 Express is the weekly email publication of IFPTE Local 21. Local 21 represents more than 7,000 Bay Area professional public employees. Main Office Phone: 415.864.2100 South Bay Phone: 408.291.2200
