Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The location for our upcoming General meeting on July 19, 2011 at 4:30pm will be held the Machinist Building, 4349 NW 36th Street, Miami, FL 33166.
Please mark your calendar!
Fraternally:
Keith Love
Business Agent
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Dear Brothers and Sisters:
DCSMEC is sending out a package by mail to all effected members who chose to take a 20% pay reduction in lieu of a layoff. You will be given the opportunity to suspend your union dues while you remain in a reduction of salary. You must read and fill out all forms in the package and return them to the DCSMEC as soon as possible (a pre-paid envelope has been provided for your convenience). If you do not receive a package by mail during the next 5 days, please contact the DCSMEC office immediately and request one. The officers of DCSMEC will continue to look at any and all available ways to offset this financial hardship while protecting your employment with the District.
In solidarity,
Keith Love
Business Agent
July 2011
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The DCSMEC Union has been made aware that approximately 144 of the affected employees who interviewed for the NIST job position have been selected. We congratulate these employees and have already began work on an addendum to the original LOU (Letter of Understanding) to bring in 50-60 additional employees to achieve the original target of 200. However, the additional 50-60 employees will be offered a temporary NDCS (Network Data Computer Specialist) position. This position pays $37,217.00 and is a 12 month position with no steps and you will qualify for the same vacation pay, holidays, etc., as all DCSMEC members. I.T. will begin new interviews maybe as soon as next week, we encourage everyone to seek one of these
If you have any questions contact your Steward or call DCSMEC (305) 477-6002.
Fraternally:
DCSMEC
June 2, 2011
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Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The location for our upcoming General meeting on May 17, 2011 at 4:30pm has changed to the Machinist Building, 4349 NW 36th Street, Miami, FL 33166.
Please mark your calendar!
Fraternally:
Keith Love
Business Agent
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Dear DCSMEC members and colleagues:
We have to stop this madness! The level of anxiety, hostility and frustration are off the charts which does not improve the situation. Members ratting out their brothers, the insane rumors and misinformation have to stop, so let’s cut to the chase. Your union, DCSMEC did not create or conspire with Management to create the lay-off list (our input was to make it as fair as possible), we brought all the information we had back to the Executive/Negotiating teams to make decisions (we had them talk directly to the District Superintendent of Human Resources) and we have not lied to the membership about anything. The unacceptable and unfortunate truth is that we at DCSMEC are aware that much of the misinformation is being distributed and promoted by our Managers and Administrators. We have already contacted upper Management and requested they take action against those employees for their unprofessional behavior.
If you are a union member and need accurate information about what is going on, then talk to your Steward, Yard Representative or call the union (305) 477-6002. We have nothing to hide and nothing to gain by hurting our members. Ask yourself, why would you’re E-Board and Negotiating Team vote unanimously on this temporary pay reduction if they did not believe that this was the only way to save jobs? The budget crisis is real, the threats to our jobs are real and they were really going to lay off over 300 DCSMEC maintenance employees! If you have not already had the opportunity to read the letter I wrote to the membership on April 7, 2011 then I encourage you to please take the time now. It is posted on our web site at www.dcsmec.org
In closing, let me say that this has been the most difficult decision that our union has ever had to make. We had a small window of opportunity (two days) to figure out how to save our jobs in maintenance or we could have taken the cowards way out, and did nothing, blamed it all on management and watched our members hit the street. Those were our choices but we chose to fight for our members jobs (knowing that no matter what we did we were dammed). We wish there could have been more time and better choices but considering the situation, we still believe we did what was best for our members.
Yours in solidarity: Joe Cortese
This newsletter has been reviewed and distributed with the consent of Keith Love.
May 2011
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Brothers and Sisters the new N.I.S.T. job description is done and the district is moving forward as we have discussed previously. I have included both the job description and the signed letter of understanding for all of you to view.
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Brothers and Sisters this is the signed letter of understanding that explains the terms and conditions of the reduction in force / layoff as agreed to by the district and the union. This letter of understanding pertains only to the DCSMEC trades groups.
Click here for Letter of Understanding.
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Brothers and Sisters the following are the letters that will be sent out to the employees that will be affected by the reduction in force / layoff. The first letter explains the options that the employee may choose. The second letter or letter of intent must be filled out and returned to Abby Walker in Human Resources Facilities Operations on or before May 9th. Failure to return this letter may result in termination of your employment with the district.
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Brothers and Sisters the following is the list by trade group and the number of affectted employees in those trade groups as provided by the district to the union.
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Dear Members:
I have had the honor of being your representative for going on ten years and I am very heart-sick and concerned about the reports we are receiving after last nights emergency General Membership meeting (April 6, 2011). Unbelievably only 176 of our 600 members showed up and therefore it is no surprise that there is a great deal of misinformation being circulated throughout the system. So I ask you to please let me try to explain the facts as best I can. On March 28, 2011 Keith Love (your Business Agent) and I received an urgent request from Enid Weissman, Executive Superintendent of Human Resources to meet with her. Keith and I attended this meeting with her and the entire Superintendents’ Cabinet later that afternoon where we were told there would be a Board Agenda, Item (D-25) on the next School Board meeting April 13, 2011 to reorganize and balance the Capital Budget. In this item were the RIF (Lay-Off) of approximately 300 DCSMEC positions from the Maintenance Department, 129 in OIT and several more in the Capital Task Force. The initial impact to DSCMEC was over 500. Although this was shocking news to Keith and me there was a glimmer of hope offered. We were told that if in the next two days if DCSMEC could come up with ideas or suggestions to help save 5 million dollars of funds from our unit that the Superintendent would reallocate 10 million dollars to keep from laying off the maintenance workers. He has said many times publicly that he needs to keep the boots on the ground and the employees with tool belts working and he was standing by his word by giving us this chance.
DCSMEC called an Emergency Executive/Negotiating Board meeting the following night. Every scenario was explored, we consulted our Attorneys’ who strongly cautioned against opening the contract (which was not actually offered by the District) and in the end the decision was unanimous to use existing contract language which would allow the employees who were already scheduled for layoff to “Transfer to a Lower Pay Rate in Lieu of Layoff”. Fortunately we already had a lower pay rate in the contract and we could therefore produce the 5 million dollars and save the jobs of virtually all of the Maintenance and Capital Task Force employees. This allowed us to meet the two day deadline without opening the contact which in the current environment could have exposed us to far greater threats. Additionally we were able to get a written agreement with Management that this is a temporary salary reduction only effective through the 2011-2012 fiscal year, and that any of the affected employees would not be subjected to any other School Board financial cuts, plus if an employee at 100% leaves the system that opening will be back filled by one of the employees on 80%.
I believe that our Officers have tried to mitigate the circumstances (that were not caused by us) in the best way possible and make the best of a horrible situation. This was not an easy decision for me or any of your elected Officers but we feel our job is to protect your job and this Union.
I know that many of those who are affected by this temporary pay reduction are upset but I ask you to not forget that without the intervention of DCSMEC YOU would have lost your job!
Yours in solidarity: Joe Cortese
This newsletter has been reviewed and distributed with the consent of Keith Love.
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DCSMEC NOTICE
To:DCSMEC MICROTECH EMPLOYEE MEMBERS ONLY!
You are hereby being notified that your DCSMEC Union will be holding an Emergency General Membership meeting on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at the FIREFIGHTERS HALL, 8000 NW 21ST STREET, MIAMI, FL 33122 from 5:00 pm until 7:30 pm. The reason for this meeting will be to discuss an impending layoff.
Please have your DCSMEC membership card with you.
Fraternally:
Keith Love
Business Agent
4/4/11
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