EMS Pilots Ratify New Contract
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) helicopter pilots, members of Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 109 and employed by Air Methods Corporation based in Denver, have ratified a new agreement. The 1,000 pilots operate in 45 states and transport nearly 100,000 patients a year. AMC is the nation’s largest provider of air medical emergency transport services and systems.
The agreement–reached after two and a half years of talks that included mediator from the National Mediation Board—was ratified by a wide margin. Says Local 109 President Dan McDade:
I’m pleased with the results and look forward to working cooperatively with the company. This agreement demonstrates an improved cooperative relationship between the company and the union.
AMC recently acquired Omniflight, which employs more than 300 helicopter pilots. Discussions will begin soon on providing those pilots a voice in the AMC bargaining unit.
OPEIU Local 109 is affiliated with the Professional Helicopter Pilots Association (PHPA), a council within OPEIU.
Minor League Umps Sign with Minor League Baseball
Play ball! So says the Association of Minor League Umpires (AMLU), whose 200 members voted earlier this week to accept a contract negotiated with Minor League Baseball. AMLU is affiliated as Guild 322 of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU). The pact marks the first contract negotiated by the league and the union since the one that settled the nearly yearlong strike during the 2006 season.
AMLU President Shaun Francis noted the importance of the 2006 strike and the union’s OPEIU affiliation in arriving at the deal with team owners:
It is exciting to have such a good contract and get it done before the December holidays. In this deal we have more money and a better overall contract than what we were able to get last time after a strike. It’s clear to me that this union’s solidarity and determination in 2006 was one of the driving forces behind getting a deal done this time around. And our affiliation with OPEIU gave us the strength and the resources we needed to get a deal done.
OPEIU Backs Allstate Agents in Suit Challenging Terminations
Insurance giant Allstate is terminating profitable long-standing agents who aren’t meeting arbitrary performance goals according to a lawsuit filed in a New Jersey court by the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents (NAPAA).
In August, NAPAA voted to affiliate with the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) and OPEIU is supporting the agents’ fight with a pledge to match dollar for dollar contributions from individual, up to $25,000.
NAPAA Executive Director Jim Fish says that after decades of happily taking the profits that its agents generated, and terminating agents only for compliance issues or egregious conduct, Allstate has upped the ante by demanding more and more production from its agents in recent years. Read the rest of this entry »
Allstate Agents Vote to Join OPEIU
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Members of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents (NAPAA) voted overwhelmingly today to join the AFL-CIO-affiliated Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU).
Ballots were mailed to all 1,200 members of NAPAA and, when they were tallied, more than 94 percent had voted in favor of affiliating with OPEIU. The vote was administered by the American Arbitration Association.
The NAPAA Board of Directors is expected to meet in the near future to formally approve the affiliation. Once the agreement is approved, NAPAA members will become members in OPEIU, the AFL-CIO and all state federations.
Union Plus Helps Pay Union Families’ College Costs
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With the already high cost of college growing each semester, working families are finding it hard to afford higher education for their children. Union Plus, part of Union Privilege, the consumer benefits arm of the AFL-CIO, is helping union members reach their education savings goals with Union Plus college savings grants.
Gary Rothman of Laguna Niguel, Calif., a member of Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 277, received a $500 college savings grant to help pay for his son’s college education.
He says:
The $500 Union Plus education grant is just one more way my union is helping my family. To get this extra money is a big help and it’s one more reason to start saving now. ‘Do it for your kid,’ I tell people.
1,600 Interpreters Win First Contract—and More Bargaining News
Washington State interpreters have a first pact with the state, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,400 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
AFSCME, State of Washington: 1,600 independent contractor interpreters, who help non-English-speaking Medicaid patients communicate with doctors, have won a first contract with Washington State. The workers are members of the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE/AFSCME).
Tell BlueCross BlueShield to End N.Y. Lockout
Since April 26, nearly 400 members of Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 212 in Buffalo have been locked out by BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. You can help in their fight for justice and a fair contract by telling parent company HealthNow CEO Alphonso O’Neil-White to “Do the right thing—stop the lock out.”
New York State AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes urges people who support working families to back the locked OPEIU members and send a message (click here) to O’Neil-White that says:
Your not-for-profit company has long enjoyed attracting business from other union employers because your workers are represented by organized labor. But now that is all in jeopardy because of your shameful attacks on these hard working individuals.
BlueCross BlueShield wants unlimited rights to outsource the workers’ jobs, says Local 212 President Caroline Muszynski.
Our members recognize that the attack on working families and the middle class is in full swing and our management has joined the battle to steamroll over union members to get whatever they want, but our members refuse to accept having our jobs outsourced and dehumanized, so we will stand strong in protest of this lockout.
IAM Ratifies Pact with Army Fleet Support—and More Bargaining News
The Machinists (IAM) approved a new contract with Army Fleet Support, and more news from the “Bargaining Digest Weekly.” The AFL-CIO Collective Bargaining Department delivers daily, bargaining-related news and research resources to more than 1,300 subscribers. Union leaders can register for this service through our website, Bargaining@Work.
SETTLEMENTS
IAM, Army Fleet Support: Members of Machinists (IAM) Local 2003 at Ft. Rucker, Ala., ratified a new three-year contract with Army Fleet Support earlier this month. The 3,800 IAM members are trainers, test pilots and mechanics at the Army’s largest helicopter base.
‘They Woke a Sleeping Giant’
Hundreds of enthusiastic working people continue to march at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison. In addition to carrying signs and chanting, many people are signing recall petitions for Republican state senators who rigged a vote to take away public employees’ right to collectively bargain. Here are some more tweets from the rally:
His signs read: “More stable than Walker!” #WIunion #weareWI http://plixi.com/p/85263737
BUFFALONYUSNEWS 2:15pm via web
RT @ArrestRoveNow3: RT @SeleneMSC Sign, with Walker’s photo: “Does this Ass make my sign look big?” #weareWI http://plixi.com/p/85256741
“You may not remember me Walker, but I can recall you.”
Stillholding 2:12pm via Facebook
RT @smwia: They woke a sleeping giant. #wiunion #wearewi #1u #p2 #statesos http://fb.me/WO0jqlq1
Workers Rally in Wisconsin
Working people in Wisconsin continued to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-worker agenda with a march and rally at the state capitol in Madison. Iraq war veterans and union members, especially from the Machinists (IAM) and OPEIU are circling the Statehouse. Check out these tweets from the rally:
Iraq vet-”Scott Walker, you don’t need to call the National Guard, cuz we’re already here!!” #wiunion #wearewi
Pretty good #wiunion turnout today at the State Capitol. http://twitpic.com/4b3slb
