Come talk about the Union...

Curious???

You've probably heard talk around the office cooler about the movement to form a staff union. This is your chance to ask questions and share your thoughts.

We will be on the 2nd floor of the Farmer's Market
tomorrow
Thursday 29th May
12:00 noon until 3pm.

Please stop by for a few minutes and talk union.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Can I form or join a union?

This is an extremely common question and so, just to set minds at ease...

Article 23, paragraph 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states

Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his/her interests.

http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Role of Staff Unions

Although it mostly mentions SEIU, I thought folks might find this short article worth a read.

http://www.labornotes.org/node/1290

In Solidarity

Charles

Next Meeting a Hassel?

The Laundry List

What improvements would you like to see in your job? What are some of the concerns you are hearing from your co-workers? Here is a "laundry list" (in no particular order) of what we've come up with so far:

1. NO ROLLBACKS (ex: Pension & Health, 401K)
2. Better (eh-em) "merit increases", or more accurately described as cost of living increases
3. More vacation days
4. Better physical working conditions
5. Grievance/Arbitration system in place
6. Better evaluation process
7. Management accountability (ex: see #6, above)
8. Paid maternity leave (congrats Sarah and Johnny K. --too bad you have to use your sick time when the little bambino arrives. As discussed, go ahead and schedule her for a weekend arrival time.)
9. No at-will employment
10. No salary freezes (aka "RED-CIRCLING")

Add to the list by posting comments, or if you would like to remain anonymous you can send an email to the blog website: fairfaxandthirdunited@gmail.com Let your voices be heard!

Upcoming Events:

LUNCH TIME Q & A
Thursday, May 22nd, 12pm-3pm, Farmer's Market, 2nd Floor Dining Area: If you or someone you know have questions about the Staff Union, or if you have nothing else better to do on your lunch break, then come and join us right outside the Farmer's Market Community Room.

STAFF ORGANIZING MEETING
Tuesday, May 27th, 6pm-7:30pm, Farmer's Market Community Room, 2nd Floor: Bring a friend! (Preferably someone that works at the guild).

Meet Me at Third and Fairfax

Today's meeting will not be postponed. We're meeting today after work upstairs at the Farmers Market. Also, you may have heard that there's some special HR task force committee that's going to reevaluate the policy manual and try to implement a more standardized application of Guild policy. This development should lend a sense of urgency to our efforts. The only way we can have a say in this process is by making our collective voices heard.

"The important role of union organizations must be admitted: their object is the representation of the various categories of workers, their lawful collaboration in the economic advance of society, and the development of the sense of their responsibility for the realization of the common good."

- Pope Paul VI

I'm usually not one to go about touting papal teachings but that quote sounds pretty darn infallible to me.

Today's Meeting Postponed

I've been informed the meeting tonight has been pushed tentatively to next Tuesday. I'll let you know when I find out more.

Number Knowledge

Did you know that the Consumer Price Index (cost of living) for Los Angeles rose by over 4.165% from December 2006 to December 2007? That means that even if you received the Guild's maximum 4.25% "merit" increase at the end of the year you were only able to beat local inflation by less than .085%. Everyone else, including those at other "Exceeds Expectations" levels (3.75%-4%), was actually rewarded with a merit PAY CUT in real wages. With our union we can negotiate contract language that sets the local Consumer Price Index as the BASE rate for our merit increases.

We Meet Again

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 13 at 6 PM at the Farmers Market in the upstairs dining area. Please come to get the latest on our effort and to make your voice heard. Also, bring a friend. We want to involve as many people as possible as we move forward with securing our union. No one gets left behind!

A Union For Us

This blog is meant to serve as an added source of information (info on the next meeting will be posted here) and as a forum where we can discuss the issues facing our fledgling union.

We've been talking at length about the various reasons why each of us is interested in starting a union for staff at the WGA. We've talked about the cost-of-living raises disguised as "merit increases". We've talked about inflexible hours, the exclusivity of bonus compensation and the nonsensical and dreaded "red circling". I think the most important reason, as it's tied into every other reason, is our status as at-will employees. "At-will" means that we enjoy our employment at the Guild subject to the will (or whimsy as the case may be) of management. It means that management can roll back any of our benefits, salaries and even our very jobs at any time simply because management says so. Because of this, we need our own union. We need to protect what we have right now and we want to win us a better future. I am prepared to stand together with my fellow cube and office dwellers to take the next step. The timing is never going to be better than now.