Speaker after speaker said they continue to try to serve the public well, in spite of fewer resources and diminishing financial rewards.
“We’re doing a lot more with a lot, lot less, to the point that it’s getting dangerous” said Dale Blom, of Local 1719, a corrections officer at the county jail. Other speakers criticized the county for once again trying to solve its budget problems on the backs of workers, instead of raising revenue.
“We’re the front line, not the bottom line,” said Doug Graham, a child support officer in Human Services Local 34.
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| Hennepin County workers rallied to support a fair contract. View more photos at the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation Facebook page. Photo by Steve Share |
The county’s contract proposals would implement huge shifts in health-insurance costs and completely freeze wages for two years: no raises, no steps, no stability pay. That would make it four straight years of no general pay raises. Meanwhile, county employees continue to work harder – the result of 500 jobs being slashed since 2008.
“The county’s offer of nothing, nothing and nothing is an insult,” said Pat Guernsey, of Probation and Parole Local 552.
The crowd -- AFSCME members and supporters from other unions – greeted speakers with chants of “We are one!” and “Who does the work? We do!” The chants echoed off 20 floors of windows that overlook the atrium where members gathered for their noontime rally.
Guernsey noted that county employees assist residents for their entire lives: from their birth certificate to their death certificate and everything in between. But that’s getting more difficult, he and others said.
The service center where he works “is short-handed today, short-handed tomorrow, and short-handed as far as we can see,” said John Christensen, of Clerical Local 2822. The county calls its contract proposals “the new normal,” Christensen pointed out. In reality, he said, “It’s the new poverty.”
The county’s pay policies are breaking the promises employees received when they were hired, Christensen said.
“I wanted a job with meaning,” Local 34’s Graham said. “I certainly didn’t take this job for the pay.” But Graham didn’t expect that he’d have to take a second job to make ends meet for his family.
But the county is also discouraging talented younger workers from joining its workforce or staying with the county, said Local 34’s Heather Hemmer.
The Hennepin County contract covers more than 4,100 workers in six locals: Human Services Local 34, Probation and Parole Local 552, Adult Corrections Local 1719, Clerical Local 2822, Professional Local 2864, and County Attorneys Local 2938. It expires Dec. 31.
This article is reprinted from the AFSCME Council 5 website.
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Speaker after speaker said they continue to try to serve the public well, in spite of fewer resources and diminishing financial rewards.
“We’re doing a lot more with a lot, lot less, to the point that it’s getting dangerous” said Dale Blom, of Local 1719, a corrections officer at the county jail. Other speakers criticized the county for once again trying to solve its budget problems on the backs of workers, instead of raising revenue.
“We’re the front line, not the bottom line,” said Doug Graham, a child support officer in Human Services Local 34.
|
| Hennepin County workers rallied to support a fair contract. View more photos at the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation Facebook page.
Photo by Steve Share |
The county’s contract proposals would implement huge shifts in health-insurance costs and completely freeze wages for two years: no raises, no steps, no stability pay. That would make it four straight years of no general pay raises. Meanwhile, county employees continue to work harder – the result of 500 jobs being slashed since 2008.
“The county’s offer of nothing, nothing and nothing is an insult,” said Pat Guernsey, of Probation and Parole Local 552.
The crowd — AFSCME members and supporters from other unions – greeted speakers with chants of “We are one!” and “Who does the work? We do!” The chants echoed off 20 floors of windows that overlook the atrium where members gathered for their noontime rally.
Guernsey noted that county employees assist residents for their entire lives: from their birth certificate to their death certificate and everything in between. But that’s getting more difficult, he and others said.
The service center where he works “is short-handed today, short-handed tomorrow, and short-handed as far as we can see,” said John Christensen, of Clerical Local 2822. The county calls its contract proposals “the new normal,” Christensen pointed out. In reality, he said, “It’s the new poverty.”
The county’s pay policies are breaking the promises employees received when they were hired, Christensen said.
“I wanted a job with meaning,” Local 34’s Graham said. “I certainly didn’t take this job for the pay.” But Graham didn’t expect that he’d have to take a second job to make ends meet for his family.
But the county is also discouraging talented younger workers from joining its workforce or staying with the county, said Local 34’s Heather Hemmer.
The Hennepin County contract covers more than 4,100 workers in six locals: Human Services Local 34, Probation and Parole Local 552, Adult Corrections Local 1719, Clerical Local 2822, Professional Local 2864, and County Attorneys Local 2938. It expires Dec. 31.
This article is reprinted from the AFSCME Council 5 website.