When do we start Bargaining?

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Tonight I sent out over one hundred emails to stewards. I will enclose the body of the letter in this post. If you know a steward that did not get an email it was because either there was no email listed, a bad email was listed, or the only address was a Maine.Gov address and I won't abuse the system the same way some of the decert people abused the email in 2007. This is not just my idea, the last negotiations team unanimously endorsed early bargaining. A Union official said publicly that bargaining would start early. Bargaining before all the money is gone. Bargaining with time to collect all the bargaining proposals and do the research. Time to answer members questions about proposals. We need time. If you know anyone that was P.O.ed about their proposal not being included in the last contract or someone that wants to know what we can do to try to head off the attempt to make MSEA-SEIU members pay for the budget deficit with no raises and cuts in benefits tell them to start asking when the bargaining teams will be elected. Unless we start NOW we will be in the same boat again.

Here is what I sent out. Pass it on.

I am sending this email to as many stewards as possible. If you know anyone, steward or member that might be interested please pass this on.

My name is Thomas Maher, a steward from Bangor. I am a member of the Pro-Tech unit. I have been involved in contract negotiations for the MSEA-SEIU for several contracts as both a negotiations team member and as a bargaining committee member. Most members don’t know that the negotiations team last year voted unanimously to start bargaining as early as possible this time around. The reason is that the State always puts us up against the wall saying that time is short and if we don’t have a contract members will go without step raises, we could see shut down days, and more scare tactics of that type. I am trying to contact as many stewards as possible to get involved and to get bargaining going early before the legislature has taken all the cash and we are reduced to collective begging in place of collective bargaining. Another effect of this would be for all members to get their proposals in early so every proposal has a chance to be read and studied if research is necessary.

I will be putting up articles about early bargaining on my website, address included and I have already collected a number of bargaining proposals. Please drop by if you have a minute. My site is not Union sponsored or supported. I am doing this on my own. If do not want me to email you again just reply with “Do not Email” in the subject line and I will not email you again.

In Solidarity,

Thomas Maher

E.T.I. 2009
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