9/26/13 This is the Federation Hotline updated Sept. 26. BULLETIN! Health care bargaining resumes Monday Bargaining on your health care benefits amount article continues Monday, Sept. 30. That’s when the Federation-led Health Care Coalition of state employee unions sits down with state negotiators. This is because we couldn’t reach agreement last year on a full, two-year health care article. The terms and conditions of the old agreement stay in effect until June 30, 2014. We are now bargaining over premium share, co-pays and deductibles for ONLY the plan year starting Jan. 1, 2015. CALL TO ACTION: Continue your messages to Gov. Inslee. Call Gov. Inslee At 1-800-562-6000 or (360) 902-4111 E-mail (https://fortress.wa.gov/es/governor/) Or go to wfse.org and look for the flash link to this action. Tell Gov. Inslee to stand with our values for a fair state employee health care agreement with cost protections and true collaboration on any wellness program. (Use your own equipment and your own time when contacting the governor.) BULLETIN! Help stop the federal government shutdown The U.S. Congress is taking us to the brink of another fiscal cliff. Especially the U.S. House of Representatives. In this state, the Employment Security Department has alerted employees to watch for details later this week from the U.S. Department of Labor about how to proceed. This because Employment Security is funded primarily with federal dollars. Employment Security Commissioner Dale Peinecke yesterday told employees “we hope to keep all of our offices open, even if Congress does not act by the end of the month. We don’t have enough information yet to make a firm decision about potential furloughs, but we will communicate with you as quickly as possible as we learn more.” THERE’S SOMETHING WE CAN ALL DO AFSCME has sent out a call to action from President Lee Saunders and Secretary-Treasurer Laura Reyes. It says: “Our country and our economy are held hostage. “House Speaker John Boehner and radicals in Congress are ready to shut down the government and prevent the government from paying its bills in order to force deep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. “They are also trying to defund Obamacare, taking away affordable health care from millions of Americans and making deep cuts in education, law enforcement and vital services--and they’re willing to sacrifice our fragile economic recovery, America’s credit rating and essential government services if they don’t get their way. “And while they are ready to take the economy and all of us over the cliff, they still refuse to ask millionaires and big corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.” Take action! Go to: wfse.org and look for the STOP THE SHUTDOWN flash alert at the top of the page. Or go directly to: wfse.org/take-action-stop-the-shutdown/ Tell your representative it is wrong to hold our country and our economy hostage to an extreme agenda. BULLETIN: Grocery workers in Puget Sound are vote to strike Grocery store workers in the Puget Sound area this morning voted to authorize a strike against Safeway, Fred Meyer, QFC and Albertson’s. A strike could come as soon as Sunday after a mandatory 72-hour notification period. Some 30,000 workers in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties could walk off the job. Our allies in UFCW 21 want our help if we shop in any of those four counties. GROCERY WORKERS NEED YOUR HELP! Grocery Bargaining between unionized workers (UFCW 21, Teamsters 38, UFCW 367) and the grocers (Safeway, QFC, Fred Meyer, Albertson’s) has ground to a halt. Union Bargaining Committee unanimously recommends a strike. The vote results are in. The Strike authorization was approved by 98%. We are looking for a list of allies who pledge to adopt a store. This involves leading delegations to speak with store management about settling a fair contract. In the event of a strike this could include: walking pickets, food drive for workers, cash donation, etc. We are launching a website and facebook page where we will be posting updates as the Bargain progresses. Please like and share this page: https://facebook/standwithourcheckers Also, if people have favorite grocery workers, when they do their shopping if they could take a picture and email it to us at [email protected] with one-two sentences on why they are supporting that worker, that would be great. Put SELFIE in the subject line.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 18:53:07 +0000
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