City of Dallas Employees Steelworkers Newsletter July 2005

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North Texas Association of Public Employees

Steel Workers Local 9479

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Is it our turn yet?

Numerous times, I have heard council agonizing over the need to increase Dallas taxes. The mayor has continually mentioned how county and school taxes are creating a heavy burden on the tax payers, and how the city needs to find more cuts so it can avoid adding to that burden. I am glad to hear they are concerned about this, but wish they could spare a little of that concern for their employees who have also been wrestling with this same problem for the last five years.

Face it, with stagnant wages and the increases in the percentage we pay for health care, we have employees that can barely make ends meet. We have employees that have their children on C.H.I.P.S because that is the only way they can afford to insure them. We have employees who are running bare with no insurance for their spouse or dependents. We have employees who are filing bankruptcy. Oh, and we also find a way to stretch our dwindling purchasing power to pay those county and school taxes. Guess what? They go up whether I get a raise or not.

We have had the same problems that the city has had over the last five years, with two exceptions. We cannot shift costs to the city unlike what has happened to us and we cannot decide that tax increases will be spent to fund our priorities.

Civilian employees have been hit on all sides with increases. Gas, electric, insurance housing…. all of these costs are escalating. Also, just when you think things are really bad, they get worse. Civilian employees will also be hit October 1^st with a 2.53

Percent increase to our pension fund contributions. And exactly when are these planned capped, delayed merit raises going to be given to us? Are we again looking at May? That would be fun, eight months of increases before we even have a chance at any kind of a pay raise. And then only some of us will be given enough of a raise to even cover the pension increase. All this while other costs continue to rise. Is there something wrong with this picture?

This is not about being greedy, this is about being fair. During these troubled years when the city needed money to keep parks open, provide raises for the uniformed employees and maintain needed services, they got a large chunk of that money from us through cost shifting and wage freezes. Is it our turn yet? Isn’t it time for the city to focus on our needs? Do our elected officials even care? Does administration?

We need the Mayor, the Council and the City Manager’s office to face the fact that they are running a service industry with employees who are besieged on all sides. It is hard for these employees to focus on their jobs when they are worried about mounting bills and decreasing security for their families. We need help, and we need it this year. We need enough of a cost of living adjustment to allow us to actually live. Not exist, not hang on to solvency by our fingernails, not to be one paycheck from bankruptcy, but to live. We need this increase in October, when other pressures upon our paycheck will occur, not eight months later. And, we need enough assistance that we can stop worrying about our finances and refocus on our customers, who are the citizens of Dallas . Is this too much to ask? Is it too much for civilian employees to expect a little breathing space? We will find out over the next few months won’t we? – M.R. Frey

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Budget Meetings to Start soon! – Please start thinking about attending the upcoming budget meetings to get your voice heard. As soon as the schedule is confirmed you need to gather up your family and make your voices heard. Not sure which council district you are in? You can call the office (214-760-7422) and we will look it up for you, or you can check on line at http://maps.dallascityhall.com/

Dr. Elba García - Dist 1 Ph: (214) 670-4052 Fax: (214) 670-1815 egarcia@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Pauline Medrano Dist 2 Ph: (214) 670-4048 Fax: (214) 670-1816 pauline.medrano@dallascityhall.com

Ed Oakley Dist 3 Ph: (214) 670-0776 Fax: (214) 670-1833 edoakle@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Dr. Reese - Dist 4 Ph: (214) 670-0781 Fax: (214) 670-5117 mtreese@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Donald W. Hill - Dist 5 Ph: (214) 670-0777 Fax: (214) 670-3409 dwhill@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Steve Salazar- Dist 6 Ph: (214) 670-4199 Fax: (214) 670-1833 ssalaza@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Leo Chaney, Jr. - Dist 7 Ph: (214) 670-4689 Fax: (214) 670-1819 lchaney@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

J. Fantroy - Dist 8 Ph: (214) 670-4066 Fax:(214) 670-1834 jfantro@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Gary Griffith -Dist 9 Ph: (214) 670-4069 Fax: (214) 670-5117 gargrif@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Bill Blaydes - Dist 10 Ph: (214) 670-4068 Fax: (214) 670-1843 bblayde@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Linda Koop - Dist 11 Ph: (214) 670-7817 Fax: (214) 670-0765 debra.brown@dallascityhall.com

Ron Natinksky - Dist 12 Ph: (214) 670-4067 Fax: (214) 670-5650 ron@ronnatinsky.com

M. Rasansky - Dist 13 Ph: (214) 670-3816 Fax: (214) 670-1831 mrasans@mail.ci.dallas.tx.us

Angela Hunt - Dist 14 Ph: (214) 670-5415 Fax: (214) 670-1847 angela.hunt@dallascityhall.com

Please note that we do not yet have Council Member Natinsky's official email address yet.

Letter Assistance Needed?

Do you want to send a letter to council but aren’t sure what to say? Is your Aunt upset about what is happening to her favorite nephew but unsure how or who to tell?

It is hard sometimes to know what to write. J But when you read something from someone else, it helps you realize what you want to say, “This is close, but I think ____ is more important to mention.”

We have several sample letters posted on our web site about this year’s topic list. Go to our site and click here or on the LETTERS link on the left-hand side of the screen. Can’t access the internet, but still want some help to get started? No problem, you can call or fax or write us at Ntape - Steelworkers, 3626 N. Hall St .- Suite 411, Dallas , Texas 75219. (214) 760-7422 Voice, (214) 760-7423 Fax, email comments@ntape.com to have the letter samples sent to you in disk or in printed form.

What do the employees think?

Apparently, no one *really* knows. A few years ago, the city surveyed us, but those results were never tabulated. Why? Depends on who you ask, we have been told that H.R. didn’t have time to do a tabulation. We have also been told it wasn’t *really* a survey. Word is the results were scathing. Mary Suhm says they are going to do another one, sometime in the future. When? Asking what?

Let’s help them out. What kind of questions should they ask? Send us the questions *you* think the survey should ask and we will try to get them included in a real survey that will actually get finished, published and present to council and the public. Examples? “How do you rate the city as an employer?” “Do all your dependents have health care?” “Do you have a second job to make ends meet?” Inquiring minds want to know.

We want to include your questions, you can call or fax or write us at Ntape - Steelworkers, 3626 N. Hall St .- Suite 411, Dallas , Texas 75219. (214) 760-7422 Voice, (214) 760-7423 Fax, email comments@ntape.com

Steelworkers International Election Notification

The Steelworkers/PACE will be electing international officers this November 22^nd2005 . This means we have some dates we have to discuss. And no, we are not talking dinner and a show.

July 13^th – We have to provide notification of the upcoming election deadlines. This will be posted at our office, placed on our web site and of course this newsletter.

September 10^th is the deadline if you want to nominate someone, Send to Recording Secretary Linda Perez. You can mail, fax or email them to her using our main addresses at the top left of this page.

September 12^th We will hold a nomination meeting right after our normal membership meeting. We will also be electing “Tellers” for the November election. Tellers are like poll watchers. If you would like to be nominated for this position, please let us know.

November 22^nd 2005 , we will open the hall for people to vote by secret ballot all during the day, exact times will be announced as we get closer to the date.

December 13^th the election results will be presented to the membership at our normal monthly meeting, and of course posted and placed in the newsletter.

So mark your calendars. We will of course be reminding people of dates as they approach and post it on our web site on a separate election info page. We will also be gathering and dispensing information on the various nominees as it becomes available. Since we are a new association this will be our first time participating in this, so it is all a bit strange to us. But we will work it out together. – M. R. Frey

Retirees Meeting on Health Benefits

The Dallas City Retired Employee Association will be having a business meeting for their members at the end of July. They plan on having several guest speakers, including David Ethridge from Human Resources, Carla Brewer from the Retirement Fund and a rep from AARP’s insurance group. They have also invited some city management and elected officials, but no word yet on who is or is not attending. We have also been graciously invited to monitor the meeting so we can get a heads up in case anything new on the health benefits front is presented.

As you may recall the Retirees (Civilian and Fire) are recommending to council that a three to five year plan to bring health benefits for active and retired Dallas city employees back in line with other Texas cities be initiated.

Below are a few items which they have pointed out for the Audit & Finance Committee, which we employees may want to consider when writing or calling the city council.

In 2003, 14 Million dollars was permanently removed from health benefit subsidy and used elsewhere in the budget.

In 2005, the number of employees who waived coverage was 1829, and this number is going to increase if the benefits don’t improve.

The current costs make insurance unaffordable for lower paid employees and retirees and a burden for many others.

The increased passing of health insurance costs from the city to the employees has created low morale, with feeling unappreciated and disconnected.
2005 Subsidies Per Employee for Area Cities: Houston : $8,086, Ft. Worth : $6,725, Austin : $6,653, Dallas : $3,740
Monthly premium Examples for Dallas retiree aged 62 and spouse. In 2002: $395, 2003: $521, 2004: $807, 2005: $1,145

The Retirees point out that nothing however will get done if the Council does not direct Mary Suhm that she needs to include health benefit increases in this years budgeting priority list.

EBS Privatization Fight Continues

As mentioned in our report on the city Managers Meeting, EBS is again in danger of having their work outsourced. Some at EBS take exception to Ms. Suhm declaring that “it was her duty to put it out for bid based on what council had decided a few years ago about letting Fleet keep it.” Apparently, there were only two who felt this way, council members Rasansky and Blades. Two out of fourteen.

As you know, last time EBS was directed to model their service under the Target, Non-Target system that the vendors were bidding. Bummer, since it makes it a bit more expensive since so much of our old fleet comes under the non-target pricing model. But, it does make it easier to outsource. Word is that using this model EBS did reduce their costs compared to what the vendor would have charged, but apparently that wasn’t good enough.

EBS is currently waiting to see the details on the bids to determine if any cost savings exist that would justify the risk of eliminating our own department and staff. Apparently, Purchasing extended this bid five (5) times.

Finally there is a feeling this outsourcing thing is just another attempt to weaken or eliminate Civil Service. The city gets rid of a department, sees that privatization is not working. (Duh) City then spends millions to build a new department. Oh, but this time, let us put it under the city manager for…. Accountability. Oh, and by the way, those departments are non-civil service. Planned??? No, not at all.

Snipletts!

Medicaid Deduction Screw up? Please check your stub to make sure that incorrect Medicare payments are not being taken out. While some newer city employees have Medicare deductions, most of us don’t. Check your stub, and if you find the deduction, look at a stub from last year. If it has only been deducted for the last few months… it is most likely incorrect. If it is being taken out incorrectly, notify your Payroll person to get it refunded.

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Shout Out! – Steelworker Billy Gowan of Flood Control has been off work for quite awhile due to complications on an old workers comp injury. Billy sends a big shout out to all his friends and former co-workers. Anyone wanting to drop spread a little cheer can drop him a line at 1810 Dewitt, Irving Texas 79062 or call 972-255-5073. If you don’t know Billy, but want to let him know someone is thinking of him, cards and notes might be nice.

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Workers Comp Changes - For those of you who are following the details on workers' compensation, the Texas Department of Insurance, which will have new jurisdiction over workers' compensation, had a stakeholders' meeting on Tuesday, July 12, to discuss implementation of health care networks and other issues of importance. Texas AFL-CIO Legal Director Rick Levy will represent the state federation at the meeting. If you want more info on how the proceedings went their site is www.tdi.state.tx.us.

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Henderson’s Chicken is Back! – Okay, so this is not union news, but it is of importance to a lot of us who work in South East Dallas! As a lot of you know, Henderson ’s has always been very nice in letting us post notices and newsletters at their facility in the past, so we are happy to assist them in getting the word out. Their new location is 3103 Grand Ave , 214-421-1777 – Welcome Back, we missed you!

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Roy Robinson Our New Staff Rep – Many of you already know our new staff rep, as our former head organizer. Roy started with the Steelworkers Union in the early 1990’s as a shop steward filing grievances and appeals for co-workers in his department. In 1994 he was elected to the office of the treasurer at his local and then also served as vice-president and president. In 1999 the Steelworkers requested that he serve as an organizer, so it was out on the road for Roy as a casual organizer for District 12 and he has been organizing ever since.

Our own campaign was Roy ’s first taste of municipal organizing, but he went on to organize sections of Dallas County and is now, along with Jerry Storm the local expert in municipalities. To lessen the burden on our former rep Jerry Storm. Roy has been given the City of Dallas , Dallas County and Tyler County to represent. He will also be assisting in organizing as needed. While we will miss Jerry Storm, we applaud the foresight in our district leadership in securing another municipal expert as a Staff Rep.

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What have unions done for me? - The American concept of the weekend has its roots in labor union attempts to accommodate Jewish workers who took Saturday instead of Sunday as their Sabbath. The first five-day workweek was instituted by a New England spinning mill for just this reason. Despite a boost from the Ford Automobile company closing their factories on Saturdays, it wasn't until 1940 that the two-day weekend officially began nationwide.

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Daily State of Texas Updates Available Want to know what is happening in Texas that affects us from the labor point of view? If so, you can receive a daily update from Ed Stills who is the AFL-CIO Austin Information Chief. Just send your *personal* email address to comments@ntape.com, put “updates” in the subject line.

The Time to Join is Now!

Don’t forget about the 30 day waiting period on certain services for new members. We don’t want anyone to miss out on assistance should they need it. The time to join is now, so you will already be a member before any problem that you need help with occurs.

Meetings Times

Join us on the 2 nd Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m.

Oakwood Towers - 3626 N. Hall Street - Suite 411, Dallas Texas

Don’t forget Parking is free in the attached garage after 5 p.m.

The attached garage has ample casual parking for stopping off during the day to pick up paperwork and is convenient for evening meeting parking. All the attached parking at this location has a clear view of the lobby door. We have numerous maps and directions on our website. http://www.cityofdallasemployees.com/codeMap.htm

Get the Fax!

If you have a fax you can be the first to know what is happening. Simply fax your name and fax number to 214-760-7423 to be put on the fax info list. Want to be notified at home when a new newsletter is published? Email your home email address to newsletter@cityofdallasemployees.com or fax it to 214-760-7423. Or you can always just check on our website.

Help your Association by helping yourself.

You can help grow your union and get paid at the same time. You can earn $10.00 for each member you sign up!. And they get a hat and the knowledge that they taking a positive step towards creating a better workplace.

Best yet? You don’t even have to stop in the office to turn in the cards. All you have to do is put your name at the bottom of the new members card and then mail or fax it into the office. It is that simple.

As soon as that new member appears on our membership rolls, you can pick up your check at the next meeting.