News

2007 Local 1359 Contract Update

The union sent a letter to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations on January 16, 2007 requesting that negotiations on a new contract commence and that dates to begin those negotiations be established. Despite several follow-up requests, the union is still awaiting a formal response to our demand.

In fact, it is now the middle of March and the Governor has yet to appoint a director for his Office of Employee Relations. All other state unions are similarly affected in their inability to bargain. Unfortunately, it does not appear that contract negotiations with his own employees is yet a priority with the Governor.

While some delay in commencing negotiations would be considered reasonable in light of the change in administration, the amount of time that has now passed raises cause for concern. The union is hopeful that this delay has resulted from the overwhelming tasks faced by the new Governor and his team since taking office on January 1, 2007.

Regardless, our contract expires on April 1, 2007 and there is a critical need to begin negotiations to extend our collective bargaining agreement. We will exercise patience, but we will not delay indefinitely.

Further updates on the state of Local contract negotiations with the employer will periodically appear under the "News Headline" section on the home page.