UAW Local 2322 4 Open Square Way Holyoke, MA 01040 413-534-7600 www.uaw2322.

org

October, 2013

Vol. 2, Issue 10

Upcoming Events!
Member, Activist, Stewards Trainings Tuesday, October 8 6:008:00 PM UAW 2322 Holyoke Office 4 Open Square Way #406, Holyoke, MA and Thursday, October 10 11:00 AM1:00 PM UMass Amherst Campus Center room 162-75 UAW 2322 Joint Council Meeting Thursday, October 24 6:008:00 PM UMass Amherst Campus Center, room 904-08 UAW 2322 Unity Brunch Saturday, November 2 10:00 AM12:30 PM Media Education Foundation 60 Masonic St., Northampton, MA For details, see page 2

Sharing Our Victories

By Jocelyn Silverlight, President Over the past few months, I have gotten to meet many of you and hear about the work you do and the kind of union youd like to see. It has been a great opportunity for me to hear your ideas and experiences. Over the coming months, you will see more and more opportunities to get involved with UAW 2322. We will be holding regular meetings of all of our Standing Committees (also keep an eye out for Finance & Bylaws soon!) In August, I was lucky enough to attend the UAW Womens Conference in Black Lake Michigan where I met many wonderful women activists who are fighting every day for workers rights, and especially for women in the workplace. Please keep an eye out for a kickoff meeting of the UAW 2322 Womens Committee. We will continue to have more events such as our Solidarity & Education Movie night as well as a general Membership Meeting/ Holiday Party in December. This month we will be holding two Member-Activist-Steward trainings both here at the office in Holyoke (Tuesday, Oct 8th from 6 to 8 pm) and at UMass Amherst, Campus Center room 162-75 (Thursday, Oct 10th from 11 am to 1 pm). This training is an excellent opportunity to meet workers across UAW 2322, as well as gain valuable skills as a union activist in the workplace. We will also be holding a meeting of members from across the local to engage in teaching about our experiences as workers and planning for a stronger union in November. There are many exciting ways to get involved with UAW 2322, after all this is your union. We know that through education and action, we get a lot accomplished. The union is as strong as the members, and I know how strong you all are! Keep fighting for justice in your workplace and remember to share your victories with each other. Please feel free to contact me at any time, I would love to hear about your ideas and how we can incorporate them to make our union as strong and effective as possible. In solidarity, Jocelyn Silverlight jocelyn@uaw2322.org UAW 2322 President

Raise the Minimum Wage!

By Brooks Ballenger, Servicing Rep. The minimum wage in Massachusetts is currently $8.00 per hour for most employees, and even less for tipped employees and student workers. For the 800,000 or so workers in Massachusetts who make at or close to minimum wage, its been a full five years since theyve seen their wages go up. Many higher paid employees havent done much better. A 2012 report from the Economic Policy Institute showed that by increasing the minimum wage to $10 per hour, more than a half a million Massachusetts workers would benefit from the raise, and create thousands of new jobs. While no UAW 2322 Union contracts allow for the minimum wage, many hourly rates are less than $12 per hour. Raising the minimum wage would stimulate the economy, and probably result in higher wages for many UAW members, many of them parents with children to care for. It would also reduce the need for food stamps, housing assistance, or other government programs just to survive. Full-time work should pay a living wage! Many Massachusetts legislators are proposing a bill which would gradually raise the minimum wage from $8 to $11 an hour by 2015, and then adjust it for inflation. A full-time worker at minimum wage earns $16,000 a year. Most must take a second job or depend on government subsidies to get by. Should someone who works 40 hours a week be in that situation? said Representative and bill sponsor Antonio F.D. Cabral. They should be able to feed their families without relying on public assistance. A single adult in Massachusetts needs to make almost $13 an hour just to keep up with basic expenses such as housing, healthcare, food, transportation, and essential personal and household items without relying on any public or private assistance While some small businesses support a higher minimum wage, major opposition will come from the retail and restaurant industries, which say the increases are too costly. What can you do to advocate for a higher minimum wage? Call your state Senator and Representative directly or click on http://www.progressivemass.co m/raise_up_massachusetts_fig ht_for_minimum_wage to support raising the minimum wage.

UAW Local 2322

The Local Pulse

413-534-7600, uaw2322.org

Cutchins - Residential Bargaining Update

By Nancy Fish, Servicing Rep. The UAW -Cutchins Residential bargaining committee has met eighteen times with senior management. Management Representatives from the SpringfieldThree Rivers campus and the NCCF campus in Northampton meet with us regularly. We alternate between Holyoke at the UAW Local 2322 office and the Northampton Cutchins office. This was our first day of bargaining since April 8, 2013. We have a mutual agreement to extend the contract week by week. All union members are covered 100% by the current expired contract even though the contract expired March 31, 2013. The core Union committee members (in alphabetical order) Asma Abdur-Rahman, Nancy Fish, Jody Pelletier, Kinard Montgomery, and Erin Wilson have been at the table for six months and there is more work to do. Unfortunately, we are still far apart on many economic proposals, especially wages. We have tentative agreements (TAs) on all non economic proposals at this point. Some proposals were presented by the union and some were changes to the current contract submitted by management. The UAW membership understands that times are tough and the future is uncertain in residential treatment programs. There is uncertainty, politics, and changes within the Department of Mental Health (DMH) due to the merge with Department of Children and Families (DCF). The bargaining committee recently asked other UAW members from Cutchins to join us at the table with management. The committee encouraged everyone to tell their stories and testify to the realities for themselves and their families. Workers talked about the financial difficulties and hardships they experience as a low paid Residential Counselor at Cutchins. The bargaining committee would like to thank all of the Cutchins union members who came to the September bargaining meetings and shared their stories and their disappointment with managements economic proposal of only 1.5%, 1.5%, and 1.5% for a three year contract. Workers talked about how dedicated they are to the program, to the clients (children), and their co-workers. Many workers have second and third jobs, care for their own children and families, and go to school. It is extremely challenging to juggle work, family, and college. The average hourly rate is $12 per hour, and the average length of service is nine years. So, after nine years of dedication to the Cutchins program, a worker can expect to be paid $12 per hour.

DOMA and the Supremes

By Court Cline, Servicing Rep. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court made a historic decision that struck down part of one of the most discriminatory laws on the books, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that was signed into law in 1996. By ruling section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional, the Supreme Court guaranteed federal recognition of marriages granted in one of the 13 states that have legalized equal marriage, the District of Columbia, and five American Indian tribal areas that also allow equal marriage. This change has had a huge impact on same sex couples living in the parts of the US where their marriages are recognized, and ultimately, it is likely to have important effects on all gay and lesbian working people regardless of where they live. Fundamentally, this ruling allows all of the federal benefits, privileges, and special treatment (including tax penalties) afforded to opposite-sex married couples will now be extended to same-sex married couples in states, territories, and tribal areas where equal marriage is recognized. Spousal and Social Security survivor benefits, and more than 1,000 federally recognized benefits that are tied to marital status, will be extended to same sex couples in these states. It will take some time for the huge federal bureaucracy to change all of its rules and regulations in regards to marriage, but the Obama Administration has guaranteed that this decision will be implemented swiftly and smoothly. Most of these changes will have a positive impact on the lives of gay and lesbian working people. Some additional important changes include immigration protections for same-sex married couples that mirror those of opposite-sex married couples. You are now able to sponsor your non -US citizen spouse for resident alien status and US citizenship. Also, military spouses are now recognized by the federal government and entitled to all of the military benefits and privileges that their heterosexual counterparts have availed themselves of for decades. Finally, the majority opinion, authored by Justice Kennedy, offers up some powerful legal statements that will be used to carry on the fight of marriage equality in states where it is currently prohibited. His arguments about how DOMA violates the 5th Amendment by depriving samesex married couples liberty, due process, and equality under the law can be used to help gay and lesbian workers in states without employment, housing, and civil rights protections. The struggle for equal marriage is far from over in the United States, but an important victory has been won for all workers regardless of sexual orientation.

UAW 2322 Unity Brunch! Saturday, November 2, 10 AM 12:30 PM at the Media Education Foundation, 60 Masonic Street in Northampton, MA (the community room is located on the left side of the Wood Star Cafe building; parking is by meter only, so please come prepared!) Come have brunch and meet members from all across UAW 2322. We will be exploring the differences and commonalities between our workplaces and working on ways to better support members throughout our Local. Please RSVP to info@uaw2322.org.
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UAW Local 2322

The Local Pulse

413-534-7600, uaw2322.org

UAW 2322 Supports Immigrants Rights

Photos and story by Santiago Vidales, GEO Steering Committee Member-at-Large On Saturday Just Communities/Comunidades Justas, an immigrants' rights organization from Springfield, MA., hosted a rally to support immigration reform at the national and state level. Here in Massachusetts we are pushing the legislature to approve two very important pieces of legislation. The Trust Act aims to eliminate the fear immigrant communities have of the police by ensuring that the police is present in our communities to protect and to serve and not to deport and harass. The other piece of legislation seeks to grant undocumented people access to drivers' licenses to make sure parents can take their children to school without fear and have access to car insurance. Members and leaders from UAW 2322 were at the rally to support immigrants and their families in their effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform. As union members we know the importance of fair and equitable work opportunities and conditions; that is why we stand with the immigrant community of our Commonwealth in calling for state and national lawmakers to support and protect immigrants and their families.

UAW members and allies hit the streets for Immigrants Rights! From left to right: Barry Silverlight, Jocelyn Silverlight, Elaine Silverlight, Danielle Allessio, Brian Callaci, Eric Hoyt, Enku Ide, Jeff Shurke, Luke Pretz, Allison Baldree Pretz, Zach Kimes, Kevin Henderson, Ember Kanelee, Sonny Nordmarken, Alyssa Goldstein, Yalcin Ozkan

UAW Local 2322

The Local Pulse

413-534-7600, uaw2322.org

UAW 2322 Members Stand for Walmart Workers

By R.M. Quinn, Servicing Rep. On September 6, 2013, UAW 2322 members joined about 100 other local labor activists to rally outside the Walmart on Memorial Drive in Chicopee. The event, organized by Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice and OUR Walmart, was one of more than a dozen protests across the country that week, representing the largest action taken by OUR Walmart since Black Fridaythe day after Thanksgivingin November 2012. OUR Walmart (http:// forrespect.org/) is an organization of Walmart associates supported by Jobs with Justice and the United Food and Commercial Workers. OUR Walmart calls for a $13 per hour minimum wage, affordable health benefits, and improved working conditions for Walmart employees. In addition to those demands, the September 6 rally called for the reversal of discipline for some 80 Walmart employees who participated in a previous strike, including the firings of 20 workers. Several local Walmart workers spoke at the rally, including Aubretia Windy Edick, who told the assembled activists that, like many Walmart employees, she is not able to afford the insurance offered by Walmart on her pay there. Other Walmart employees shared similar stories to the crowd while a contingent went inside to attempt to give flowers to Walmart associates as a Labor Day thank you. Management did not permit the distribution of those flowers. Members Jocelyn Silverlight, Eric Hoyt, Luke Pretz, Ryan Quinn, Johann Raatz, and Ron Patenaude attended. There will be another action in support of Walmart workers on Black Friday this year. We will let UAW 2322 members know the details when we get them.

UAW joins OUR Walmart, Jobs with Justice, and United Food and Commerical Workers to stand up for the rights of Walmart workers! From left to right: UAW 2322 members Luke Pretz, Eric Hoyt, and Western MA Jobs with Justice Organizer Patrick Burke