The union seeking to take over two bargaining units from MCGEO, the National Corrections Employees Union (NCEU)/United Public Service Employees Union (UPSEU), has emailed a set of questions and answers to Montgomery County employees. One of those question and answer pairs is:
Question: What, if anything, will NCEU/UPSEU say about the arrest of Local 1994 President for allegations of assaulting his wife?
Answer: NCEU,UPSEU will not base its campaign on this issue. The allegations speak for themselves, and many employees of the county have expressed outrage of these despicable acts.
Ouch! Following is the entire email, which was sent to government email addresses in defiance of county government policy.
Dear Montgomery County Employee,
Please note that the informational meetings scheduled for Wednesday, July 14, 2010 and Thursday, July 15, 2010 have been postponed. New meetings will be scheduled shortly.
Here are the answers to some questions asked by Montgomery County Employees:
Question: If we change unions what happens to our contract?
Answer: It remains in full force and effect under law and NCEU,UPSEU is simply substituted as the bargaining representative.
Question: What, if anything, will NCEU/UPSEU say about the arrest of Local 1994 President for allegations of assaulting his wife?
Answer: NCEU,UPSEU will not base its campaign on this issue. The allegations speak for themselves, and many employees of the county have expressed outrage of these despicable acts.
Question: How will NCEU,UPSEU’s structure and hands on representation approach improve the level of representation we receive?
Answer: Both the OPT and SLT units will have their own elected unit officers and elected stewards. No unit officers and stewards will be appointed. They will be trained in all aspects of representation and most importantly will work side by side with NCEU,UPSEU field staff professionals who will be at every stage of the grievance process. UFCW has gone the other way, and only recently in a publication stated that because they are so spread out all your representation will be provided by your co-worker shop stewards. Many employees speak of waiting for weeks, months, and in some cases years for return phone calls from MCGEO.
Question: How quickly will NCEU,UPSEU take over as our representative?
Answer: First, we need to secure enough confidential blue authorization cards to file a petition for elections. The law provides 30%, however we will be seeking a majority. Elections would then be held in both the OPT and SLT units.
After winning the elections NCEU,UPSEU would be certified as your representative. (7 days after the elections in accordance with law). Under Montgomery law an election must be held by October 21, 2010. We anticipate filing petitions in early September (September is the window period) with an election held in October and certification immediately following.
Question: Will our dues go up with NCEU,UPSEU?
Answer: No. In fact, NCEU,UPSEU will guarantee your dues at $10.00 weekly for a minimum period of five (5) years and the only way dues could be raised after that, would be by a secret ballot vote. ($9.00 for agency fee payers)
UFCW is currently contemplating a dues increase that will be effective in each of the next four years for all of its affiliates, of which Local 1994 is one. That increase would be passed along to you without your right to vote.
Question: How can NCEU,UPSEU provide such an extensive staff to be assigned to our units and UFCW Local 1994 can’t?
Answer: Nearly 35% of Local 1994’s revenue goes to the UFW International Union. The UFCW uses your money for their representation of its grocery store members. This leaves less available resources for MCGEO to provide adequate staff levels.
Question: I’m an agency fee payer. Can I sign a card and vote in the election?
Answer: Absolutely. All bargaining unit members are eligible and entitled to participate in the election process in accordance with law.
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We hope the answers to some of your questions about the process of dumping MCGEO and voting to join NCEU,UPSEU are helpful, as you deliberate your future representation.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP IN JOINING NCEU,UPSEU TODAY BY SIGNING A CONFIDENTIAL BLUE AUTHORIZATION CARD
(The cards are necessary to secure an election)
NCEU,UPSEU IS A UNION THAT WILL WORK DAY IN AND DAY OUT FOR YOU!
THE TIME FOR CHANGE IS NOW!!
Mail your card today to:
NCEU,UPSEU • PO Box 86169 • Montgomery Village • MD 20886
Click Here to see What Members of NCEU,UPSEU receive
Kevin E. Boyle, Jr., President UPSEU
NCEU, UPSEU