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  Local 12 Weekly Update
The names identified are Local 12 Representatives who volunteer to represent you, Local 12 Bargaining Unit employees, in these issues. They are the foundation of this Union! Want to get involved? Please contact the Union Office, 476-4334.
 
Date: 3-06-2006
Here’s a quick update on recent Local 12 activity. The rep listed next to an activity bullet is the POC for any questions you have on the issue. Feel free to contact them. Also, thanks to Elaine Wrightson (our business manager) for all her hard work in developing and maintaining the Local 12 web page.
Employee Advocacy:
We are currently assisting an employee on disability retirement with a benefits overpayment of approximately $10,000.
Bargaining:
  • CIA Cell Phone Use in a Vehicle John King (rep): Cell phones can no longer be used while driving a personally-owned or government vehicle on a DOD facility. Cell phone use while driving a government vehicle is also prohibited off-station. Signs will be posted at all entrances to both installations, and there will be training in the form of news articles in both the PSNS and IMF newsletters. Cell phones can be used if they are not held and the speakerphone is engaged. This exception does not apply if you require an earpiece to use the phone. Violators will be cited and have the right to appeal in traffic court. This change is already being enforced at other NW DOD commands.
  • USS Alabama Move Beth Bachtel and Larry Mabe (reps): The project’s move has been successfully negotiated./li>
  • Building 1106 Building Policies Beth Bachtel (rep): Local 12 successfully negotiated with the employer to remove new and restrictive building policies created for Building 1106.
  • E-mail from Home Bob Steinmetz (rep): Some supervisors were under the impression employees could no longer use e-mail for notification of illness. Local 12 investigated and determined employees can use their home e-mail accounts to contact supervisors if they are going to be late or will not be able to make it to work.
  • Temporary Housing Ian Laughlin and Don Iosty (reps): Local 12 successfully negotiated temporary housing for new C/120 employees.
  • C/120 Project Housing at IMF Ian Laughlin and Bill Westby (reps): Currently proposals are being exchanged between the employer and Local 12. The primary concern is workspace size.
Department Activity:
  • San Diego has four permanently-stationed Local 12 reps. who recently completed basic rep training. From this training we discovered bargaining unit issues requiring corrective action. Discussions with C/900 to resolve these issues are ongoing, and several corrective actions have already been taken. The issues under discussion are related to moves, hours of work, and alternative work shifts. In general, their evolution was the result of San Diego management’s unfamiliarity with our contract. To demonstrate our positive working relationship, C/900’s Deputy Production Resource Manager will be traveling with me this month to San Diego to review our contract with the San Diego management.
  • C/2300 has been working on exit survey. Local 12 reviewed the survey with comments offered to the code. The union is concerned about, and actively participating to assist in C/2300’s retention issues.
  • C/2300 rep Lesley Busch has been selected to take Jeb Parr’s position in the employer’s NSPS implementation team. Congratulations, Lesley! This position is a management position, and Lesley can therefore no longer act as a rep for Local 12. We thank her for the hard work she has done on behalf of our employees, and wish her well.
  • C/130 is over budget; however, career ladder employees can still be promoted from inside the code. Local 12 was alerted to an issue in which an employee’s division misunderstood the promotion policy. We notified the department head, and immediate action was taken to remedy the misunderstanding.
  • C/106 welcomes the addition of the GS 1100 hazardous material and waste management specialists to the code from Shop 90. The move will give employees greater career development and promotional opportunities.
Other Activity:
  • Parking - Steve Hatzenbihler (rep): Management and labor continue to meet with NBK to resolve issues surrounding parking violations. There is some headway that has been made. Minutes of parking meetings with NBK are now being posted on the IFPTE web page
  • Government Employee Cell Phone Discounts - Kurt Nordberg (rep): Thanks to Kurt for bringing this to our attention. Info on how to get the discounts for the various companies offering them has been placed on our web page.
  • NSPS - Beth Bachtel (rep): If you haven’t heard about last week’s court decision, visit our web page (www.IFPTE12.org ). We are keeping a close watch on the evolution of the NSPS in order to be prepared for whatever version of it we end up with. Union reps have been strategically placed for active participation on all five NSPS implementation teams. ). We are keeping a close watch on the evolution of the NSPS in order to be prepared for whatever version of it we end up with. Union reps have been strategically placed for active participation on all five NSPS implementation teams.
  • Rep Training - Local 12 reps will be attending “Labor/Management Relations for Supervisors” the first week of April.
The Membership Should Know:
  • Local 12 believes that jobs are our number one priority, and the protection of jobs must be the focus of most of our energy and resources. Membership survey results support this conclusion.
  • We believe responsibly encouraging the increase in productivity and the lowering of costs protects jobs.
  • We believe a satisfied employee is a more productive employee.
To advance this end, the Local 12 rep program has a two-pronged mission:
  1. To develop the rep as a professional who can prioritize, initiate, lead, and negotiate.
  2. To utilize that rep in the most effective manner possible to bring the best possible outcome to the bargaining unit.
Many of our reps have and will move into management some day, and training for Local 12 reps is the same training received by HRO professionals and shipyard supervisors. The bar to being a Local 12 rep is high. They are focused and well-trained professionals who take an interest-based bargaining approach to labor-management problem solving. Local 12 reps enjoy a good working relationship with both management and HRO while maintaining a high standard of care for the employees they represent. Overall, Local 12 reps have:
  1. The ability to work collaboratively and professionally with the employer,
  2. The commitment to attend mandatory rep training once a month and specialized training as it is offered, and
  3. The ability to prioritize bargaining unit issues.
There have been some recent promotions of Local 12 reps out of the bargaining unit, and I am seeking reps to fill these vacant positions. Please contact me if you are interested (and qualified) in being a Local 12 rep.
Have a safe and happy week! Katy

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