Unions Wins Major Arbitration in Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County chapter member Raymond Neuman had a reason to celebrate this month when the ruling of his arbitration came in. Neuman, who has received a myriad of awards and letters of appreciation over the years for his commitment to his work in the field of Mental Health, was demoted in May 2009. Neuman has been an employee of Contra Costa County's Mental Health Services for 32 years and has been in his current classification of Mental Health Program Manager for 22 years.

The County alleged that Neuman failed to properly supervise his employees, specifically in regard to mileage reports, Medi-Cal billing, and the Department's progressive discipline policy which resulted in the demotion. The Union argued that the County did not follow progressive discipline policies and did not meet the standards of just cause. The County failed to acknowledge there was an increased workload due to a staff shortage, and that Neuman had excellent performance evaluations throughout the duration of his career.

At the time of the discipline Local 21 was informally recognized by the County. Based on the County's Employer-Employee Relations Ordinance, informally recognized unions have a right to a grievance procedure and binding arbitration.

The arbitrator ruled in Neuman's favor on all counts, and concluded that the County did not prove it had just cause to demote Neuman based on the facts presented. As a result, he was returned to his former position, and made whole with interest for all pay and benefits he may have lost as a result of the demotion. The initial written reprimand regarding this issue was removed from his file and he is to be made whole with respect to his disqualification from the County's Management Long Term Disability Leave Program and Retirement Buyback Program.

Neuman's experience demonstrates the importance of a grievance procedure that includes binding arbitration. Currently, Local 21-represented employees in the County who have a grievance are only entitled to appeal to the Merit Board. This Board is appointed by the County and is certainly not neutral. There are many reasons why settling our first contract in the County is important, but getting a grievance procedure with binding arbitration for our members is high on the list. We need to ensure all employees have the right to appeal the disciplinary actions the way that Neuman did.

Labor Launches Campaign Against Wall Street-backed
"Arnold Adachi" Measure, Invite Speaker Pelosi to Stand with San Francisco's Working Families
On Tuesday, a coalition of San Francisco city unions including Local 21, emerged from a unity summit to announce their opposition to a sloppy initiative that will force thousands of city workers to have to decide between family benefits and putting food on the table.

The measure, sponsored by Jeff Adachi, would require the City's lowest paid workers to contribute more than they can afford in order to provide health care benefits to their families. This initiative comes on the heels of repeated and consistent voluntary pay cuts and concessions offered by City workers that total in excess of _ of a billion dollars over the last 9 years.

The Stand up for Working Families coalition also released facts about Adachi's funders and political allies, and, significantly, Adachi's strong ties to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Wall Street financiers. Labor leaders also reached out to long time friend of working people, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and invited her to join them in their opposition to Adachi's political climb on the backs of working families.

Read more at the Union's Stand Up for Working Families webpage.

Oakland Faces Unprecedented Cuts, Takes Unilateral Action to Cut Employee Parking
The City of Oakland has been hit with an economic tsunami that deserves a political response similar to the Federal stimulus package. The times are unprecedented. City Council members have not come up with a strategic plan and actually finalized the FY 2010-2011 budget without balancing the budget since there is still approximately a $13 million dollar deficit. The Council approved the layoff of 80 cops and cuts to other city services including major cuts to Systems Analyst III's in DIT, more cuts to the City Attorney's office, elimination of Neighborhood Service Coordinators, and more cuts to different departments around the City.

The City Council also spent a great deal of time debating a proposal to eliminate free parking for City employees, a plan which saves the City minimal dollars and violates a long standing practice. The City failed to meet and confer before arbitrarily implementing this plan so Local 21 immediately filed a grievance and is filing an Unfair Labor Practice Charge with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

Council members have called a Special Meeting on Thursday, July 22, to debate which of seven revenue measures should go on the November ballot.

South Bay Chapters Celebrate 3rd Annual Picnic



The South Bay barbecue was held on Thursday, July 15 at Hellyer Park in San Jose. It was well attended with over 250 members showing up for a fantastic lunch. Chef Paul and Co-Chef Khoa from the Santa Clara County Engineers and Architects Chapter grilled tri-tip, ribs, chicken sausage, and veggie burgers for all to enjoy. Every year this event grows in attendance and reputation. Our members enjoyed networking with their colleagues from the seven South Bay chapters and winning raffle prizes.

Special thanks to chef Paul Pascoal (SCCEAA); Co-Chef Khoa Vo (SCCEAA); Meat Cutters John Mukhar (AEA), David Montenago (AEA), David Boyd (SCCEAA), and Rudy Castello (SCCEAA); Salad and Fruit Prepper Dianna Butcher (AEA); Photographer Bill Lee (SCCEAA); Sign-in Table Volunteers Cay Denise McKenzie (CAMP) and Cameron Cleland (CAMP); and Raffle Operators Ananth Prasad (SCCEAA & Local 21 South Bay VP) and Medi Sinaki (AEA).

Visit our website's Latest News section to see photos from the event. (Photos by Bill Lee)

The Nation Highlights War on Public Workers
"The Nation" magazine recently ran an article by Amy Taub about the growing assaults on public employees from the right, and how the scapegoating of public employees and their unions is a way to divide public and private sector workers who share many of the same interests, and strategically erode benefits and pay for everyone.

Conservatives have declared a new class war, but it's not on bankers earning seven-figure bonuses. Instead, as Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels told Politico recently, the "new privileged class in America" is government employees, who "are better paid than the people who pay their salaries." We have to escape "public sector unions' stranglehold on state and local governments," agreed Mort Zuckerman, billionaire editor of U.S. News & World Report, "or it will crush us." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal's Paul Gigot ominously predicts "a showdown looming across the country between taxpayers and public employee unions over pay and pensions," while the Heritage Foundation warns that "the more the government taxes, the more it can pay its unionized workers."

Read the full article here.

17th Annual LaborFest Connects Labor History to Present Struggles thru July 31
LaborFest 2010 takes place in the midst of devastating economic conditions for working people in the San Francisco Bay Area, nationally and internationally. We now have the highest unemployment since the 1930's. Since the last LaborFest, millions of workers have lost their jobs, healthcare, and homes. Furloughs, cutbacks and layoffs are a daily experience for working people in the Bay Area and around the country. The history of working people in San Francisco is one of tremendous struggle and solidarity to defend our unions and living conditions. In the midst of the 1930's depression in San Francisco, workers defeated union busting efforts in the 1934 general strike and formed unions not only in longshore, but among hundreds of thousands of workers, making San Francisco one of the most unionized cities in the US.

Since 1994, LaborFest has institutionalized the Bay Area's history and culture of working people in an annual labor festival. This year's event is commemorating the 76th anniversary of the 1934 San Francisco General Strike and 75th anniversary of the Works Progress Administration. The event begins on July 3 and continues through the end of the month, and features a variety of documentary films, historical walking and bike tours, speakers, and art exhibits. Many of the events and activities blend art, activism, politics, and history, and examine labor struggles, past and present, across the globe.

IFPTE Local 21 is a proud sponsor of LaborFest 2010. A full schedule of events can be found on LaborFest's website.

Save-The-Date! Alameda Labor Council's 2010 Labor Day Picnic
The Alameda Labor Council and Local 21 invite you to the Labor Council's 2010 Labor Day celebration. Please save the date on your calendar for Monday, September 6 from 3 to 6pm at Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline Park, Oakland. Join friends and community leaders for BBQ by the local firefighters union and a number of children's activities.

Local 21 is a proud sponsor of this event and has a limited number of tickets available on a first come first serve basis for members interested in attending. For tickets, please contact Mandy Bratt at mbratt@ifpte21.org or 415.864.2100.

• Monday, August 9 from Noon to 1 pm at the Alameda County Law Library, Conference Room #3, 125 12th St., Oakland (brown bag lunches are permitted).


• Wednesday, July 28 from Noon to 1 pm at the San Francisco Public Library at 100 Larkin St., Paley Room, 3rd floor (no food allowed).