Hello Everyone,
This is the monthly communication for December 2018. The next general meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 5th, 2018. The meeting will be held at the Local Lodge Union Hall inside Building 4313 on Aberdeen Proving Grounds. New time, 4:45 PM. This is a temporary change to accommodate members that leave work around that time. A permanent time change would take a change to our Local Lodge By-Laws, and will may take that step if this change is helpful.
I expect one motion to be submitted to expend funds above one hundred ($100) dollars for this month. The first will be to spend four hundred dollars ($400.00) to buy a subscription to AdobeSign, a program to sign documents digitally. Also, we have been notified of a monthly dues increase by the International Lodge and District Lodge. I expect that Executive Board will make a recommendation of what the monthly dues will be for 2019 and bring that recommendation to the general meeting.
Hopefully most of you saw the report that nominations for Local Lodge Officers were held at last month’s meeting. All nominees had no competition for office, so there is no need for an election. Two officer position remain open, Recording Secretary and Trustee, and those positions can be appointed by the Local Lodge President to fill out the term, which would be a full term at this point. I’m sure I speak for all officers that will take office January 2nd, 2019 when I say thank you for the honor to serve you, the members of this lodge.
CBA negotiations seem to be the topic on everyone’s mind. We have three contracts due for negotiations before the end of 2018. Each contract has a negotiations team doing prep work. I think our preparations are outstanding for this CBA cycle. We are an outstanding workforce and we deserve an outstanding deal. We need all members to be ready to support your negotiations team. More to come on that topic as we get closer to actual negotiation dates.
One interesting item to bring to your attention is working outside your job classification. I have heard from members arguing both sides. Some have said this lodge needs to go “old school” union and focus on protecting turf, others have expressed a desire to save jobs by working across job classifications to prevent further lay- offs. Let me explain we should focus on the middle. Lodge 2424 is a labor union, not a trade union. Trade unions protect trade turf, one job skill. Labor unions protect wages and benefits across many trades and job skills. We are a labor union that defends you getting paid properly for what you do, no matter what duty you are assigned. On the Federal Workforce side of our local lodge, we defend those workers rights in the work place, not their wages and benefits. On the contractor side, we can bargain for wages, benefits, and working conditions, but the US Government sets the need and amount of any classification of work. So we focus on the middle ground where we protect your rights to be paid for what you do.
But what we have to protect against is working outside our job descriptions. All of us understand that we belong to an important team, and team work and extra effort are a job requirement. But if you perform work that is not in your job description, you actually hurt yourself because the rules are set up to pay you correctly – not to require you to do more and not be paid. But if we do more and perform work outside your job description and nothing is said, it becomes the new norm, and then it becomes harder to get you paid for doing it.
We had a recent grievance where members were being asked by supervisors to work on equipment two levels above what was in their job description. They asked for work across pay as set up in their CBA, and the language is actually in line with the rules and laws covering US Government contract work. The company refused to provide work across pay. The employees contacted the union, several meetings happened, and it was agreed that the members would stop doing the work that was outside their job description. That agreement lasted only a short time because it became very clear that the work being done was mission critical, so eventually the Government acknowledged the mission, which allowed the company to open positions for the upper level in the classification. It took time, it was stressful, but eventually the members won by doing it the right way. We have other members in the same situation, but in those situations the Government has not agreed the work is mission critical. This becomes very frustrating. The best course of action is to contact a steward and make detailed notes of who assigned the work to you that is outside your job description and to document what you actually do. But members must also realize that it is acceptable for workers that have the same skills in a different classification, that pays more per hour, may also do work that uses those same skills, but normally pays less. You get the higher rate, even if you are assigned less demanding work that may also be part of another classification. A labor union protects you getting paid for what you do, not for protecting a trade skill set.
That may be frustrating to some members, but if we discuss issues openly and honestly we can find the common ground. And it is in our interests to find common ground among our members, because that is the way for us to stick together and stand up for each other when needed. And we will need that going into negotiations. Thanks, and on behalf of the local lodge I wish each of you and your families a very happy and blessed holiday season!
Respectfully and Fraternally,
Bill Harkum
President, IAM&AW Local Lodge 2424
