Afscme

When I received my state employee paycheck recently, I assumed that since we no longer are subject to service reduction and furlough days I would have slightly more money. That, however, was not the case. Instead, I am making less money than last year because AFSCME, the state employees union, negotiated a sweet deal for the Democrats and themselves while claiming to fight for us. Our prescription co-pays were increased, as well as our portion of health insurance. The union also negotiated a 2 percent retirement increase that goes to the General Fund.

Ernest B. Crofoot, a former labor organizer who later headed Council 67 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, died Friday of complications from cancer at his Annapolis home. He was 88. "Ernie was one hell of a trade unionist," said Ed A. Mohler, who went to work for Mr. Crofoot at AFSCME in 1968. "He put together a first-class staff at AFSCME and had people from the United Auto Workers, machinists, building trades and other unions who had a variety of experiences.

The executive board of a union that represents about 10,000 state and university workers in Maryland has dismissed its executive director, but he is contesting the decision. Ron Bailey, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 92 for the past two years, confirmed yesterday that the union's executive board voted not to renew his contract at a meeting Oct. 11. The contract expired Tuesday. Bailey said he will take the issue to arbitration because the board failed to honor a clause requiring that he be given 90 days' notice before termination.

I was reading about some American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees getting retroactive raises back to July 1. How nice. By way of this letter, you're welcome. I say this because Gov. Martin O'Malley and AFSCME thought it would be more fair if non-union members were forced to pay union dues. I don't belong to any union, yet because of the Fair Share Act, $13.80 is deducted from my paycheck as union dues. The reasoning is that non-union members benefit regardless of membership.

The firing of the controversial executive director of AFSCME Council 67 two weeks ago has been overturned by the national union president, who ruled that one of the executive board members voting for the change was ineligible.The decision retains Glenard S. Middleton in the top staff position of Council 67, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 14,000 municipal and county workers in Maryland.The nine-member executive board voted April 11 to replace Mr. Middleton, and his supporters appealed to National President Gerald W. McEntee.

An internal panel of the AFL-CIO has ruled that the American Federation of Teachers can't compete with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in union elections at the state's public universities. AFT had been vying with AFSCME for the votes of professional, nonfaculty employees under a new state law allowing bargaining by nonfaculty at the state's public campuses. But the internal board found that the employees were a more natural fit with AFSCME. More than 4,000 service and office workers have voted to be represented by AFSCME.

By a vote of 435-205, professional staff at the University of Maryland, College Park voted yesterday to form a bargaining unit with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The unit will consist of about 1,000 counselors, coordinators and other employees. Nonprofessional staff at the campus voted to join AFSCME last year and have been fighting for higher pay and lower parking fees. The election represents a major victory for AFSCME, coming at the state's largest university and among employees who were initially wary of the union.

POLITICS IS NEVER far from the mind of Maryland's governor. Parris N. Glendening proved that again last week when he ignored the General Assembly's wishes, and the wishes of the largest state-employee union, and the "fundamental policy reservation" of the state attorney general, by issuing an executive order for limited collective bargaining tailor-made for a union that has been a prime Glendening supporter.He delivered on an early pledge to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which poured money and manpower into the 1994 Glendening-for-governor campaign.

Only one union submitted petitions to the state yesterday showing it is eligible to take part in elections to represent state workers under a limited form of collective bargaining granted them by Gov. Parris N. Glendening.Under Glendening's executive order giving an estimated 40,000 state employees collective bargaining, yesterday was the first day competing unions could submit petitions to the state -- and the first step in a long, complicated process that will culminate in elections later this year or early next.

Ernest B. Crofoot, a former labor organizer who later headed Council 67 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, died Friday of complications from cancer at his Annapolis home. He was 88. "Ernie was one hell of a trade unionist," said Ed A. Mohler, who went to work for Mr. Crofoot at AFSCME in 1968. "He put together a first-class staff at AFSCME and had people from the United Auto Workers, machinists, building trades and other unions who had a variety of experiences.

A Baltimore County union representing about 800 public employees filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the county Thursday, asking for an independent investigation after working for five months without a contract. Members of Local 921 of the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees have been without a contract since July and say the county administration has not negotiated in good faith to reach an agreement. The union's members include heavy-equipment operators, truck and snowplow drivers, and sewage workers.

When union members gathered outside the Baltimore County courthouse recently, many waved signs depicting County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, some referring to him as a bully or cheater. They were protesting a bill proposed by Kamenetz that would have cut overtime wages from AFSCME workers' retirement benefits - an outcry that last month helped deal the county executive the first legislative defeat of his term. More than a year into his tenure, Kamenetz has had an uneven relationship with Baltimore County's public employee unions as his administration seeks new agreements with several labor groups.

A bill from Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz that could have reduced some workers' pensions stalled in the County Council Monday after pressure from unions that complained the bill undermined labor rights. The 4-3 vote to table the legislation came after union members and state labor leaders rallied outside the county courthouse, saying the bill sidestepped contract negotiations for members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The bill would have stopped AFSCME members from using overtime in their pension calculations, which they have done for more than 30 years.

Public-employee unions are urging Baltimore County Council members to reject a proposal by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz that would cut pension benefits for some workers, saying it sends a bad message to labor leaders and undermines negotiations. The legislation, discussed Tuesday by council members, would end the practice of using overtime to calculate retirement benefits for members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union represents employees in the Department of Public Works, the Department of Recreation and Parks and other agencies.

At their work session this afternoon, Baltimore County Council members plan to discuss a proposal by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz that would end the practice of using overtime to calculate pensions for members of AFSCME, the union that represents workers in the Department of Public Works and other agencies. Last week, AFSCME threatened to file an unfair labor practices complaint , saying that the issue is being discussed in negotiations.   Kamenetz's administration calls the proposal a way to save taxpayer dollars, saying that AFSCME workers are getting “an arbitrary perk that sweetens pension benefits for a single class of employees.” The administration says the bill would save $502,000 a year, based on the amount of overtime worked by AFSCME members.

A union that represents hundreds of public workers in Baltimore County is threatening to file an unfair labor practices complaint against the county, saying a pension bill introduced by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz attempts to sidestep ongoing contract negotiations. The bill, pending before the County Council, would end the practice of using overtime wages to calculate pension benefits for members of AFSCME, whose members include laborers in the Department of Public Works and other agencies.

In the first major showdown between Mayor Martin O'Malley and the city work force, it appeared as if the workers blinked first. But as union officials, workers and observers this week assessed the damage, some say O'Malley's first union scuffle was more a draw than a victory. The 5,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 44 settled this week for a 2.25 percent pay raise - far less than the 10 percent they had sought - and agreed to start paying more for their prescription drugs.

The Maryland Classified Employees Association, the oldest organization representing state workers, boasts a strong record of achievement for public employees: sick leave in the 1930s, pensions in the '40s, a credit union in the '50s, longevity pay in the '60s and retirement after 25 years in the '70s.But two years after it was rejected by state employees in elections to choose a collective bargaining agent, the 64-year-old labor organization is fighting to survive the 1999 General Assembly session.

Workers at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup held a rally Wednesday to urge state lawmakers to add more jobs at the troubled mental facility where three patients were killed in a 14-month span. Gov. Martin O'Malley has included 93 additional jobs in his budget proposal, but workers and hospital leaders worry that that number might get pared down by nearly 30 as the state faces fiscal pressure. The workers, members of the American Federation of State and County Municipal Employees, rallied in front of the hospital waving green signs that said "Budget for Safety.

Earlier this year, Baltimore County promised job security through 2014 for members of three public employee unions, but county officials say they can't make the same guarantee for other labor groups. The Kamenetz administration is in talks with the Baltimore County Federation of Public Employees, the police union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, whose contracts expire in June. Together, the unions represent about 4,300 employees, more than half the county's workforce.