Gilbert's New MOU and You

It's a tough budget year for public service employees all over the country.  But Town of Gilbert employees represented by SEIU Arizona fared well in the negotiations that resulted in our new 2010-11 Memorandum of Agreement - which you can download here.

First, there was no 3% wage cut.  The Town decided to use reserve funds to balance the 2010-11 budget after SEIU, Police and Fire unions proposed to take furlough days equivalent to a 3% pay reduction (rather than accept permanent pay cuts).

Our new agreement also calls for a Step Pay Schedule for SEIU-represented employees.  Once the Town's finances improve, we'll see predictable pay raises within the salary range for each job classification.  See Article 7, Section 5 of the MOU.

Vacation Accrual is improved, and you can find out how in Article 8, Section 5.  Employees will also accrue two Floating Holidays in the pay period which includes January 1.  Read about that in Article 8, Section 4.

Because we have a union, Gilbert employees now have a say on job reclassifications.  We can now work on this issue with Human Resources before an reclassifications take place.  See Article 7, Section 7 of the MOU.

Seniority now carries equal weight in the matrix used in the retention process in case of layoffs.  See Article 5, Section 4.

And should employee rights covered under the MOU be violated, we now have a process to file an appeal.  See Article 11 for that information.

Congratulations to the Gilbert Chapter Bargaining Team for making important improvements and additions to our agreement that will help all of us in the years to come.

Hey, Gilbert: LET'S VOTE!

Elections for Gilbert Chapter Union Representatives are coming up next week!

Because Chapter leaders have received quite a few nominations for Union Representatives, three separate votes will take place to make certain that our members have enough reps available to them.

The number of Union Reps is determined by the number of members we have in a given area, with one rep for approximately 10 members.  If you want to elect a member who is not on the ballot, there will be space available on the ballot for write-in candidates.

Voting locations and times:
 
Tuesday, August 17
11:30 am - 1:30 pm:  Courts lobby (Civic Center)
 2 - 4 pm:  South Yard Parking Lot
 
Wednesday, August 18
11:30 am - 1:30 pm:  Town Hall lobby
2 - 4 pm:  North Yard Parking Lot
 
If you can't make it to any of these places at the times listed, please email Mike Potavin or call him at (480) 347-5421 and he'll get a ballot to you.
 
Join us at 4:30 pm Wednesday, August 18 at the Fieldhouse to count the votes and congratulate our new reps!  Come celebrate with your union brothers and sisters.
 

Gilbert Show of Strength at Town Council!

Gilbert Members showed their strength at the July 27 Town Council meeting when council members voted unanimously to approve the Memorandum of Understanding negotiated by our fine Bargaining Team.  Congratulations, Gilbert!

Download the 2010-11 Memorandum of Understanding between SEIU and the Town.