Engineers News - December 2015

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Public Employee News By Rick Davis, director 'He's making a list ...' It’s the end of the year, and another year further from the Great Recession of 2008. Politicians say we are better off and things have turned the corner, but how much of that is really true? Whether or not you believe the recovery is happening depends on your point of view. Some of our members have started to get some of the money back they lost over the past seven years, but the increases are small and slow in coming. Gas is cheaper, but housing prices are climbing every month, and rent and food is more expensive. The working middle class continues to slip downward. I try to stay positive, and look forward to a better 2016. This is the time of year when I recognize certain public entities as deserving a Christmas card for doing a good job or a lump of coal for not. The El Dorado County Civil Service Commission definitely gets a Christmas card for doing an outstanding job. They are fair, impartial, look at all the evidence and make intelligent decisions. On the other hand, the administrators from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department and the El Dorado County Road Maintenance Department get big lumps of coal in their stockings for treating our members like second-class employees. These people need to take a class on “How to be a Better Administrator,” although that might not be enough! They need to go to a full-blown course. The next lump of coal goes to the Plumas County Board of Supervisors, who make Ebenezer Scrooge look generous. They keep giving themselves cost-of-living raises year after year, while giving their employees nothing. The Rio Vista City Council also gets a lump of coal, as they still have not learned how to properly handle a city budget. The mayor of Stockton gets a Christmas card for the support he has given OE3 this year. Former San Jose mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego City Council member Carl DeMaio, two dead-beat politicians who have twice failed to qualify their anti-public-employee ballot measures attacking retirement benefits, have made my list again. They have filed another anti-union measure, which should be certified for petition signatures around the first of this month. (They are like a dog with a bone; they just can’t give it up.) So, they get a lump of coal in their stockings this year. (You might also want to hand a piece of coal to anybody who is trying to get you to sign their nasty petition.) The biggest lump of coal goes to the Solano County Board of Supervisors for giving a county executive a $375,990 yearly pension. Yes, you read it right, $375,990 a year in a county that has less than 500,000 people. It is because of this kind of abuse by a public entity that politicians like Reed and DeMaio get any press at all. In what world is this ever justifiable? In the press, some are blaming unions for the inflated pension, even though this county executive is not represented by a union! He is represented by elected board members, who should be voted out of office. Solano County voters, remember this in 2016. I wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy and safe new year. Remember, take the time to enjoy the season, your friends and your family. See you in 2016. 8 | Engineers News Happy holidays from Northern Nevada By Scott Fullerton, business representative The District 11 office in Northern Nevada wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year. We hope you are able to reflect on what you have and look forward to what you would like to achieve. After writing articles about political attacks, negotiations and staying involved, it is now time to encourage you to enjoy this season with your family. What you are able to provide for them is the result of your hard work. The issues haven’t gone away and will meet us head-on again next year, but spending time with family and friends may be the way to stoke the fire needed to face the battle. Our families and the lifestyles we create for them is what it is all about – a roof over their heads, food on the table, good schools, safe neighborhoods and anything else that provides a good life. That is what you have fought for. Don’t take it for granted; take it to heart. This holiday season, we celebrate these gifts, and with the new year, we renew our resolve to protect them. Along with taking the time to wish everyone a happy holiday season, we thank those who put so much time and effort into recent negotiations: Pershing County: Rachel Craspay, Vonnie Hemp, Tim Ricketts, Darlene Vonsild and Leslie Stewart; Incline Village General Improvement District (IVGID): Supervisors Jeff Bendorf and Dave Jenks; city of Sparks: Supervisors Dave Brant, Nancy Owens, Larry Kolstrup and Maureen Dyette, and non-supervisors Lori Howard, Maurice Holmes, Les Lorber, Shawn Dixon, Darlene Turner, Mark Reynolds and Cindy Ingram; city of Ely: Ed Bell and Dave Berky; city of Ely Fire: Pat Stork; city of Carlin: Steve Wilkinson; Elko Central Dispatch: Kathy Baker and Karrie Hunton, and McGill-Ruth Water District: Amy Garcia. To all of you who walked door-to-door, filled out comment cards to your local leaders and participated in meetings, thank you as well. (There are too many to list!) The Local 3 staff appreciates your support and wishes each and every one of you a safe and happy holiday season. From left: Rachel Craspay and Vonnie Hemp work for Pershing County. City of Sparks employees include, from left: Non-supervisors Maurice Holmes and Darlene Turner and Supervisor Larry Kolstrup.
Why join a union? By Allen Dunbar, business representative 1. Better wages and benefits. In most cases, wages increase by as much as 20 percent when you join a union, and access to health care and retirement benefits also increases. According to a recent compensation survey published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, some 93 percent of unionized workers are entitled to medical benefits compared to 69 percent of their nonunion peers. Unmarried domestic partners also have access to medical benefits more often if one or both partners are unionized. Unionized workers enjoy 89 percent of their premiums paid by their employer for single coverage and 82 percent for family coverage, while non-union workers only receive 79 percent and 66 percent, respectively. About 93 percent of unionized workers have access to retirement benefits through employers, compared to 64 percent of their non-union counterparts. A lot of other goodies, like paid vacation, holidays, sick pay, overtime premiums, shift differential, etc., are generally better in a union shop, while some of these don’t even exist without a union contract – another reason companies resist being unionized. 2. Job security. If you belong to a union, bosses can’t just walk up and fire you because they want to give your job to their wife’s nephew. Nor can they lay you off out of sequence, demote you arbitrarily or prevent you, without sufficient cause, from promoting to the next higher job. 3. Leadership opportunities. As a union member, you have the opportunity to become a shop steward and represent your fellow workers, if they choose you. Being chosen steward is no glorified popularity contest, however. (It’s not like being elected class president or homecoming queen.) People on the floor pick a person they deem best qualified to represent their interests, so it is your responsibility to speak for the whole. 4. Seniority. Rules differ among collective bargaining agreements, but in the event of layoffs, employers are usually required to dismiss the most recent hires first and those with the most seniority last, sometimes called “last hired, first fired.” In some cases, a worker with a union job who has more seniority may receive preference for an open job. Seniority can also be a factor in determining who gets a promotion. The idea is that seniority rewards experience and commitment, while eliminating favoritism in the workplace. 5. Politics. This is where we all join forces to get legislation passed or bring in the right person to address our membership needs. We volunteer to phone bank and leaflet neighborhoods to promote labor-friendly initiatives or endorse the right candidate, who, if elected, supports our cause. If you would like a respectful, powerful union that represents its membership 100 percent, please contact me at (510) 748-7438 to help you join OE3. Long-time shop steward retires By Art W. Frolli, business representative Richard “Rich” Gurbisz recently turned his last wrench in as a Senior Heavy Equipment Mechanic (HEM) for the county of Siskiyou, where he worked for 23 years and served as a shop steward for the past 10. Gurbisz is no stranger to service, as he completed a second career with the U. S. Armed Forces, serving in active duty for eight years and as a National Guardsmen for 18 – that’s 26 years of military service. I want to thank Gurbisz for his service to our nation and this union. He has been a huge asset to me as a shop steward and is truly missed. I offer him my best wishes on his retirement. Members with the county of Siskiyou, include, from left: Jeremy Snure, Jim Cooley, recent Retiree Richard “Rich” Gurbisz and Mario Burch. Some city of San Jose members may see increases By Mary Blanco, business representative Currently, OE3 is in negotiations with the San Mateo County Harbor District. These members include harbor workers, deputy harbor masters and assistant harbor masters. They provide maintenance work for docks and piers; conduct searches and rescues; fight fires on sea vessels; enforce district rules and regulations; inspect vessels for seaworthiness, and do landscaping. It was difficult to conduct a salary survey for these members, as they don’t have comparable classifications at other harbor districts. These members are looking for cost-of-living increases and equity adjustments. They would also like to maintain the current level of employer funding for their medical benefits and transfer their longevity health insurance premium payment to the OE3 Trust Fund. Hopefully, we will complete negotiations by the time I write my next article. In San Jose, city officials recently conducted salary surveys for classifications that the departments submitted as being hard to recruit for and retain. The majority of the city of San Jose classifications are not being paid wages comparable to other government agencies. This is the city’s attempt to address that as officials work to maintain current employees and recruit for positions that are needed. Human Resources made the final determination on which classifications were proposed for an equity adjustment based on the findings. The OE3 classifications in this group and their percentage increases include: Park Ranger: 10.41 percent; Heavy Equipment Operator: 9.5 percent; Senior Heavy Equipment Operator: 9.5 percent, and Senior Maintenance Worker: 2.18 percent. The proposed increases should have gone to the City Council for approval by the time you read this. If approved, the members should see increases in their next paychecks. December 2015 | 9
Page 1 and 2: Operating Engineers Local Union No.
Page 3 and 4: A brief rundown of 2015 Many of us
Page 5 and 6: Speed up? Sit down! In 1934, the U.
Page 7: Pension Trust Fund for Operating En
Page 11 and 12: The year in review Each new year pr
Page 13 and 14: Retiree Association Meetings The en
Page 15 and 16: Jim Wagner works on the downtown de
Page 17 and 18: utah I A 'Jolley' Local 3 career Ha
Page 19 and 20: nevada I 1290 Corporate Blvd., Reno
Page 21 and 22: fresno Rohnert Park I I 4856 North
Page 23 and 24: Kenneth A. Mallar Robert L. Malone
Page 25 and 26: James “Corky” Donovan Melvin J.
Page 27 and 28: Announcements Honorary Membership R
Page 29 and 30: Operating Engineers Local Union No.
Page 31 and 32: Swap Shop ads are offered free of c

Engineers News - December 2015

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