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Open Letter to AMHS Bargaining Unit |
| Posted by Darryl (darryl) on Apr 29 2008 |
| News >> AMHS BU |
This has led me to believe that even though the State was adamant in their desire to get a contract, they would not have been adverse to having us go on strike. All the wrangling in the media over the past 6 months has in my opinion been to paint the IBUP as “those greedy ferry workers”. Comments by persons in the Administration, MTAB, etc. seem to bear this out. A good example of this is the belief that annual and retiree passes were “costing” the state 1.5 million per year. This is one of the biggest issues dealt with by your negotiating team. Passes are more of a benefit to our members than most people realize. Low seniority members use passes for vacations, to go shopping out of their home towns etc. This is a definite low cost way to get around, especially for those whose income has not yet become “year round”. Retirees use the passes to get around due to their “fixed income”. Loss of such would have been a major blow to all our members especially in this time of increased travel costs. In my opinion this was the major issue in the negotiations.
Another big issue has been the Personal Leave switch. I believe this was directly tied into the pass issue. One or the other. Considering that many believe this was a loss of benefit, I submit that looking at how many of our members give back vast amounts of hrs. in sick leave when they quit or retire, this was a benefit that was not as important as the Pass. The ability to have 40% used as Personal Leave which then becomes a true Cash benefit in my opinion far outweighed the loss of Sick Leave accrual.
Give and take are part of getting a new contract. However, this Administration wanted to just take and take again. Considering the current political climate towards the ferry system and general view by the Administration and the Legislature that most everything that is wrong with AMHS can be laid at our members feet, I feel that this was the best contract that we could get after 2 years at the table. I know that some of you will not be happy. Perhaps it will motivate you to become more involved in the Union and to what is going on in state government. Even if it just makes you take the time to Vote, it will be a positive step. Everyone in the process tried their hardest and gave in my opinion their best effort. Now it is up to you the members to read the T/A, think about it and come to an informed decision. Yeah or Nay, the ball is in your court.
Sincerely,
Karl J. Ashenbrenner
Deck Dept.
Last changed: Apr 29 2008 at 5:43 AM
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