Democratic Legislators Release Budget Proposal
The leaders of the legislature's Democratic majority recommended suspending the state's public-financing of elections for 2016, cutting social services, and retreating from two major initiatives on transportation and municipal aid. The suggested cuts are part of continuing negotiations with Governor Malloy and the Republican legislative minority over how to eliminate growing deficits projected for this fiscal year and the one that begins July 1.
Comptroller, Treasurer Developing Alternative State Pension Fixes
State Comptroller Kevin Lembo announced today he is developing an alternative plan to restructure Connecticut’s payments into the cash-starved pension fund for state employees. Unlike the plan Governor Malloy offered last month in which Tier 1 pension costs would be separated from the pension fund and paid for as a pay-as-you-go budget line item, Lembo's proposal would not split the pension system into two components (Tier 1 and all others).
Perth Amboy Literacy Convention 2015
Republican Legislators Propose Labor Concessions
Republican Legislators suggest the following concessions be pursued in upcoming contract negotiations:
Repubican Budget Proposal Would Offer Early Retirement to State Workers
Republican legislators laid out a vision for closing a $350 million budget gap that includes an early retirement incentive for state workers. The proposal contemplates that 1,600 state employees would accept the offer.
Are You Subbing?
If you are subbing in a classroom, full day classroom coverage, let us know! This is a huge problem in our schools with support staff subbing. Due to the 170+ teacher vacancies throughout the district, administrators are putting SSA's in the place of teachers and subs. Support Staff is not compensated for this work and students are not receiving adequate instructional time for learning.
If this is happening at your school please call 835-2699 or email detroitparasdj@ameritech.net. We need to shed light on this problem and fight back.
Membership Meeting Saturday, November 14
This is a reminder of the membership meeting tomorrow. Please plan to attend. Saturday, November 14, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the union office: 14191 Greenfield between Grand River and Schoolcraft.
Hope to see you there.
Lunch and Learn at Thurgood Marshall
Today I met with the Members at Thurgood Marshall for Lunch and Learn. It was nice to meet all of them. The conversation was engaging and a lot of information was shared. Secretary Treasurer Rose Kirtz-Adridge was there sharing information to to keep them informed.
Thank you Thurgood Family for sharing the hour of your lunchtime with Rose and I to get information, get involved and to commit to building a stronger union.
Special thanks to Building Rep. Theresa Rolland for getting all members together to be informed.
In Solidarity,
Donna Jackson
President
Weingarten Rights
One of the most vital functions of a Union is to prevent management from intimidating employees. Nowhere is this more important than in closed-door meetings when supervisors attempt to coerce employees into a confession of wrongdoing.
The right of employees to have the presence of union representatives during investigatory interviews was announced by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1975 in NLRB vs. J. Weingarten, Inc. Since that case involved a clerk being investigated by the Weingarten Company, these rights have become known as the Weingarten rights.
Unions should encourage workers to assert their Weingarten rights. The presence of a union representative can help in many ways. For example:
· They can help a fearful or inarticulate employee explain what happened.
· They can raise extenuating factors.
· They can advise an employee against blindly denying everything, thereby giving the appearance of dishonesty and guilt.
· They can help prevent an employee from making fatal admissions.
· They can stop an employee from losing his or her temper, and perhaps getting fired for insubordination.
· They can serve as a witness to prevent supervisors from giving a false account of the conversation.
WHAT IS AN INVESTIGATORY INTERVIEW
Employees have Weingarten rights only during investigatory interviews. An investigatory interview occurs when a supervisor questions an employee to obtain information that could be used as a basis for discipline or asks an employee to defend his or her conduct. If an employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result from what he or she says, the employee has a right to request union representation. Investigatory interviews usually relate to subjects such as:
· absenteeism
· accidents
· damage to company property
· drinking
· drugs
· falsification of records
· fighting
· insubordination
· lateness
· poor attitude
· sabotage
· theft
· violation of safety rules
· work performance
If an employee has determined that disciplinary action may result from the investigatory interview, a simple statement such as:
“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative, officer, or steward be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions.”
would be enough to enforce their federally protected rights.
WEINGARTEN RULES
Under the Supreme Court’s Weingarten decision, when an investigatory interview occurs, the following rules apply:
RULE 1: The employee must make a clear request for union representation before or during the interview. The employee cannot be punished for making this request.
RULE 2: After the employee makes the request, the employer must choose from among three options. The employer must either:
- Grant the request and delay questioning until the union representative arrives and has a chance to consult privately with the employee; or
- Deny the request and end the interview immediately; or
- Give the employee a choice of:
1. having the interview without representation; or
2. ending the interview.
RULE 3: If the employer denies a request for union representation, and continues to ask questions, they have committed an unfair labor practice and the employee has a right to refuse to answer. The employer may not discipline the employee for such a refusal.
