IF you ever agreed with 1 of my pro worker posts, please read this

Omaha Steve

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Wed Sep-09-09 08:10 PM
Original message

IF you ever agreed with 1 of my pro worker posts, please read this

Edited on Wed Sep-09-09 08:11 PM by Omaha Steve

I'm asking for help from my many friends here. I've sent the letter below to my friends with pro worker attitudes. Please keep this story kicked through the weekend. I know many DUers only get here in that time frame.

OS

I'm short on time with a lot to do. I'm running for the full time VP office of my local, AFSCME local 251. Three other candidates are nominated on the ballot. The current VP is retiring. Of all the candidates running, I have the most service to the union. We have just gone through an ugly renegotiation of our contract. After being offered and accepting 2.75 percent for 2009, 2010, 2011, the City Council after two readings voted to kill the contract. We ended up with a second offer of 0% for 2 years, and a reopen in 2011 on wages only. It was a close vote. The offer was accepted. We still have a large number of unhappy members. One Executive Board member recommended rejecting the offer. That means the three other candidates are facing a split vote. That puts me in a hard place. Below is the letter going out to the membership. It had a limit of 1 page in word format, so some information wasn't included.

Dear AFSCME Local 251 Members:

I am honored to announce my candidacy for Local 251 Vice President, and I am asking for your vote. As a long-time union member, and as a lifetime advocate for union and worker rights, my qualifications for the position are unique and will benefit Local 251 and its members in a number of ways. My wife of 34 years, Marta, was a member of CWA Local 7400 for the 18 years she worked at the local phone company. She walked the picket line in the 1983 CWA strike which lasted three weeks.

I was first employed by the City of Omaha in 1983 as a seasonal clerk messenger with Public Works. From that time until 1992 I worked in various locations within several Departments. In 1992 I accepted a full-time position with an outside company. My full-time position with the City of Omaha began in December, 1997, as a Park Caretaker at Brown Park. I continued in that job until moving to the Missouri River Treatment Plant in 2006, where my current position is Waste Water Treatment Operator.

During my full-time employment with the City, I have been a member of Local 251. I have served as steward since 2003, and was elected to one term as Trustee. I currently serve on the Appeals Board of the union. I was elected to the Executive Board of Local 251, and have served as delegate to the Omaha Federation of Labor for over two years. I twice served as delegate to the State AFL-CIO convention representing Local 251. I help organize and regularly attend rallies for union activities and benefits, including the latest activities for health care reform. I was asked to initiate the monthly newsletter in November 2008. The first issue was in members' hands in January and I research and provide 80% of the content for the newsletter.

I have served as an advocate for unions and worker rights for thirty years, and have been involved in union affairs and gatherings during those years. My organizing history includes a nearly successful attempt to organize a print shop for the Graphic Arts Union in 1980, for which I was fired by the company just as I obtained the necessary number of signed union cards. I took this illegal dismissal to the National Labor Relations Board (Case No. 17-CA-9763) and won the case, though it took four years. I was once fired by the City of Omaha and looked to Local 251 for help, which was given and was successful, so I understand your job related concerns.

I feel that Local 251 must take a leadership role in local and national AFSCME and AFL-CIO activities and events, but we must educate and motivate our members on how and why they should participate. We have the ability to influence city politics and we should be doing it. For City of Omaha members, that means mobilizing and using our influence for becoming the bargaining equal of the Police and Fire unions. As your Vice President, I pledge to work for these things and to strengthen Local 251. I will also continue to advocate on behalf of its members in public forums, and work tirelessly for your rights and benefits.

Please cast your vote for Steve Dawes for Vice President at the union meeting on September 22, 2009.

Steven L Dawes

I've done a lot with labor over the years. I'm asking labor for help now. If you don't mind sending a snail mail endorsement I would appreciate it.

Please consider sending a letter to:

*Local 251 *
1941 South 42nd Street
Suite 120
Omaha, NE 68105

When I was fired for organizing in 1980, my former employer made it almost impossible to find work. In 1982 I did work 10 continuous weeks as a paid picket in the Hinky Dinky (UFCW) strike of 1982. I started the Labor Forum on the Democratic Underground. I've forgotten about a lot I've done over the years.

Steve