State Contract Negotiations Begin • City IT Members Meet ... - Local 17

Professional andTechnical Employees,Local 172900 Eastlake Ave. East, Suite 300Seattle, WA 98102 www.pte17.orgPeriodicalsPostageP A I Dat Seattle WADid you move? Change your address online at:http://www.pte17.org/address.phpHossein BarahimiLocal 17 TrusteeExecutive BoardPoint of ViewDear PTE Local 17 members:I am dedicating this column to you. Yes, all 8,000plus members working in more than 500 professionalclassifications in a wide range of state, county and city agencies.Why, you may ask? Because you are public servants and Ibelieve serving the public deserves special recognition.I have no doubt that your jobs have a huge impact on thelives of many citizens in both Washington and Oregon. I amalso certain that every one of you has made sacrifices duringthese down economic times. For example, you have tried todo more with fewer resources; you have accepted lower paythrough furloughs; you have worked longer hours to get yourwork done; you have accepted payment of higher premiumsfor your healthcare; and you agreed to forfeit your cost-of-livingadjustment (COLAs) to help balance the budget at your agencies.I know that rarely people take the time to say THANK YOU foryour sacrifices and for all the important work you do.So, on behalf of all those Washingtonians and Oregonianswho have been the beneficiaries of your sacrifices and services,I am dedicating this column to you, PTE Local 17 members andour partners at COPPEA, to just say THANK YOU.Thank you to all of you nurses, educators, biologists,nutritionists, health and environment specialists, pharmacists,social workers and other public health professionals. Because ofyour dedicated work, people who are sick and in need of help arewell again, our environment and the air we breeze is cleaner, therestaurants we eat at are cleaner and the food they serve is safer.Because of your dedicated work, systemic food and air-relatedproblems have been prevented. What would our society dowithout dedicated professionals like you?Thank you to all of you planners, engineers, supervisors,managers, project managers, appraisers, auditors, IT, lawenforcement/patrol, judicial/municipal court professionals,administrative support, and other professional and technicalemployees of local 17. Your hard work keeps our society safe andtraffic moving; places safe buses on the road; plows snow offour roads; gets potholes fixed and debris cleared from trails andbike paths. Your dedicated work preserves our environmentand improves the quality of lives. You are the reasonbehind citizens going about what they do in a safe anduninterrupted manner. It is hard to imagine what kind of lifewe would have without functioning transportation, utilities,law enforcement, or judicial systems!And yes, thank you PTE Local 17 staff/members.You have negotiated contracts that protect our members'wages; you have filed grievances on our members' behalf;and you have represented our members when their rightshave been violated. During this economic downturn, youhave ensured the preservation of all the benefits andwages that members have earned over the years and areincluded in their contracts. Most importantly, you helped ourmembers as they were being laid off. By looking at placesthat do not have dedicated people like you on their side,one can quickly realize the importance of your jobs.So, on behalf of all who just do not have the time(or a meaningful platform) to say it or are busy with theireveryday challenges, I thank you. Also, on behalf of thosewho don’t realize or appreciate the good work that you do, Itruly appreciate you.I have found great satisfaction in knowing what I dohelps others or makes a difference in another person’slife. (I have been proudly serving the public since 1988)Even though I don’t expect to be thanked every time Ido something for others, I realize that what I do makes adifference, and that by itself, has encouraged me to want todo more.It is my hope that by dedicating this column to you,thanking you and acknowledging your hard work, yourealize how important the work you do is to others and,therefore, you feel encouraged and appreciated. Youdeserve it.In Unity,