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12/15/09 AFGE Local 12 Executive Board Meeting Minutes- 3:15 p.m. Room# C-5515 Room C- Francis Perkins Building
The December Executive Board meeting was called to order by President Alex Bastani and Secretary Paris called the roll of officers. Including late arrivals, the following officers were present: Bastani, Lauderdale, Vena, Paris, Hershfield, Burke-Lee, Clark-Neal, Keeling, Starrett, and Washington while Kavanagh, Butler-Fennell, El-Bassioni, and Taylor, were absent.
Agenda Adopted
Eleanor Lauderdale initiated and Scott Paris seconded a motion to adopt the agenda which was approved unanimously.
Minutes Approved
Alex Bastani called for the minutes from the 11-17-09 E-board meeting to be approved. The motion was brought to the floor by Scott Paris, seconded by John Vena and approved unanimously with two minor changes.
Contract Negotiations
President Bastani discussed the attached letter from Mr. H. Joseph Schimansky, Executive Director of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP). The letter details the process that will occur as the FSIP decides whether to honor our request for their assistance in this appeal. Bastani said that he was optimistic that the FSIP would make a decision on whether to hear our appeal by March 2010.
By-Laws Committee
There was also a discussion regarding the letter that was sent to the National AFGE informing them of the December 3rd changes to our By-Laws. The changes are regarding the breakup of the Employment Standards Administration (ESA) into four different sub-agencies and its’ implication on the number of Agency Vice-Presidents (AVPS) at DOL.
Election Committee
The Local needs a fifth volunteer to complete the election committee for the upcoming elections in February and March of next year. There will be a three page report sent by the committee to the home addresses all of Local 12 members during the first week in January detailing the dates and locations of these elections.
Obama Executive Order The Obama Executive Order denying government Unions B1 bargaining was discussed. Although the Order said that Agencies could choose B1 bargaining, the consensus was that management was never going to agree to it in its entirety. John Vena discussed the possibility that the Order could help management by allowing them the option to bargain on the points that may help them while denying the issues that may help the bargaining unit members.
Comments for the Good of the Local
The Holiday party was deemed a success by any measure as members had a good time; in addition seven new members were recruited.
The reconciliation of the membership rolls continued this month as 50 people who are no longer Union members were removed from the membership list. This effort saved the Local a lot of money.
Adjourn
Scott Paris introduced a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Sarah Starrett. The motion passed unanimously.
Minutes submitted respectfully by Scott A. Paris AFGE Local 12 Secretary. |
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12/3/09 AFGE Local 12 General Membership Meeting Minutes- 12:00 p.m. December 3, 2009- MSHA- Room# 2539/2540-Arlington, Virginia
The November General Membership meeting was called to order by President Alex Bastani and Secretary Paris called the roll of officers. Including late arrivals, the following officers were present: Bastani, Lauderdale, Vena, Paris, Kavanagh, Burke-Lee, Clark-Neal, El-Bassioni, Starrett, and Washington while Hershfield (annual leave), Butler-Fennell, Keeling, and Taylor were absent.
Agenda Adopted
John Vena initiated and Salwa El-Bassioni seconded a motion to adopt the agenda which was approved unanimously.
Minutes Approved
Alex Bastani called for the minutes from the 10-22-09 General Membership meeting to be approved. The motion was brought to the floor by Scott Paris, seconded by Anita Clarke-Neal, and approved unanimously.
Contract Negotiations
Alex Bastani discussed some of the issues that were raised during a meeting that Local 12 officers had with OASAM Head, Michael Kerr. Bastani said that Local 12’s effort to return the core hours to their pre- 2005 status were received with indifference. In addition, Executive Vice-President, Eleanor Lauderdale discussed the Union’s numerous attempts with management to get impending cases heard by an arbitrator. Bastani added that our efforts to get our concerns heard by the Washington Post have been unsuccessful.
Executive Board Action Item
The Executive Board voted seven in favor and one against to approve the recommendation of the By-Laws Committee (see attachment) to keep the number of Agency Vice President’s at the current level of 12. The vote also sought to rearrange the three enforcement units of DOL into one AVP and slate members of the benefits offices under another AVP. The committee was formed to decide what to do with the number of Agency Vice-Presidents (AVPS) since the Employment Standards Administration was split into four different parts.
There was a motion introduced by Salwa El-Bassioni and seconded by Milton Warfield to accept the By-Laws Committee and Executive Committee recommendations. The motion was passed by a unanimous vote.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Peggy Kavanagh reported that expenses are ahead of income several months into the current fiscal year. In addition, she performed a monthly bank reconciliation report.
Reports of Committees
2010- Election Committee- Election Committee Chief, John Shortall, informed the Local that there are currently four members of the committee and that he needed one more volunteer, preferably from MSHA. The possibility of getting retirees to volunteer was raised during the discussion. The committee has had four meetings.
Contract Negotiations- Alex Bastani informed the Local that an appeal had been filed with the Federal Services Impasses Panel (FSIP) in November regarding ground rules in reopening the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Some of the issues in dispute concern the number of members on a team as DOL Management wants Local 12 to have 8 members instead of the 10 that we had in the past.
Core Hour Initiative- Local 12 is circulating a petition that would require DOL to restore the core hours back to their pre-2005 levels. Alex Bastani would like as many people (both members as well as non-members) to sign.
Green Light Report- Eleanor Lauderdale discussed her disappointment in the number of cases that had recently been resolved via ADR. She indicated that only two or three cases had been resolved.
Comments for the Good of the Local
Alex Bastani voiced his support for the Community Services Association (CSA) which is one of the charities that people can donate to during the Combined Federal Campaign. The CSA helps families of Union members during difficult times. He indicated that between five and 10 Local 12 members have used their services in the past year.
The Holiday Party is slated for December 10th in the Great Hall in the Francis Perkins Building. There will be two separate servings of food at 12:00 p.m. and at 1:00 p.m.
Adjourn
John Vena introduced a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Scott Paris. The motion passed unanimously.
Minutes submitted respectfully by Scott A. Paris AFGE Local 12 Secretary
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10/22/09 AFGE Local 12 General Membership Meeting Minutes- 12:00 p.m. Conference Room# 7- Postal Square Building-BLS
The October General Membership meeting was called to order by President Alex Bastani and Secretary Paris called the roll of officers. Including late arrivals, the following officers were present: Bastani, Lauderdale, Paris, Kavanagh, Hershfield, Burke-Lee, Clark-Neal, Starrett, and Washington while Vena (annual), Butler-Fennell, El-Bassioni, Keeling, and Taylor were absent.
Agenda Adopted
Peggy Kavanagh initiated and Jeff Fisher seconded a motion to adopt the agenda which was approved unanimously.
Minutes Approved
Alex Bastani called for the minutes from the 9-24-09 General Membership meeting to be approved. The motion was brought to the floor by Sarah Starrett, seconded by Anita Clarke-Neal, and approved unanimously.
Reports of Committees
Audit- Jeff Shomer discussed the results of the audit and reported that the Local was in good financial shape as there was a $7,000 surplus from fiscal year 2007-2008.
Election- There was a motion by Jeff Foster and seconded by Gwendolyn Bridgett to approve a slate of nominations from the floor for election committee members to serve in the February 2010 election for officers and the March 2010 election for agency AVPs. The motion passed unanimously and included the following new committee members:
Kevin McCarron Paul Kononchik Phillip Board John Shortall Richard Jackson
By-Laws- Paul Kononchik discussed four different possibilities regarding what action the Local should take in determining a potential new number of AVPs that might be elected in response to the breakup of the Employment Standards Administration (ESA) into four different agencies.
The committee was charged with providing a recommendation to the Executive Board within two weeks to be voted on at the December General Membership meeting.
Dues Increase There was a motion by David Hershfield and seconded by Dino Drudi to accept the E-Board’s recommendation with regard to a January increase in dues. The motion passed unanimously.
Ground Rules Team at Impasse
Sarah Starrett reported that the Ground Rules Team was at impasse and that mediation would be requested in the near future.
Holiday Party
The Union’s Holiday Party is slated for December 10th at the FPB’s Great Hall from between noon and 2:00 p.m.
Adjourn
Sarah Starrett introduced a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Scott Paris. The motion passed unanimously.
Minutes submitted respectfully by Scott A. Paris AFGE Local 12 Secretary. |
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October Membership Meeting Notes |
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November Membership Meeting Notes |
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December Membership Meeting Notes |
