tea » tea times: September 19 2005 email: teaseattle  

T E A

T i m e s

September 19 2005


September Meeting Schedule

Sept 21 TEA Regular Meeting (12-1, 8th floor conference room, King Street Center)
Sept 22 WTD Contract Negotiations (8-12; Contact Roger Browne with questions)
Sept 22 Board Business Meeting (12-1, Conf. Room 4G, King Street Center)
   
Sept 26 TR Contract Negotiations (9:30-1:30; Contact Dave Crippen, Elizabeth Morgan or Nancy Gordon with questions)
Sept 29 WTD Contract Negotiations (8-12; Contact Roger Browne with questions)
Sept 29 Board Business Meeting (12-1, Room 4G, King Street Center)

Other important upcoming dates

Sept 28 Nominations close for Board Positions (Treasurer and 2nd Vice President)
Oct 19 TEA Annual Meeting & Election

Regular Meeting Agenda (Wed., September 19th in 8th floor KSC CR)

  1. Call to Order
  2. Treasurer's Report
  3. Update on Wastewater and Transit Negotiations
  4. Upcoming Election of Officers and Annual Meeting (October 19)
  5. Proposed Amendments to TEA Bylaws Expanding Board (Introduction)
  6. Issues for the Good of the Order

Duncan award update

Employees were notified last week of award settlements, if qualifying, and checks were mailed out as well. Please visit the website if you have questions on this at http://www.metrokc.gov/legal/robertsduncan/default.aspx (also available at the bottom of the King County website home page). Should you not receive a check by September 23, 2005, please call the Roberts Duncan Hotline at (206)205-1365.


Health Benefits Fair

All King County employees have been invited to this event on Wednesday, September 21st, which will run all day. TEA members are in a unique situation because we are one of only a couple labor groups that are not part of the joint labor coalition that have agreed to the new Wellness Plan. Thus, we are currently in negotiation about medical benefits along with other contract issues. However, the Board suggests that members may wish to attend this general info fair which will have many different health aspects and activities for you to learn about, not just the Wellness Plan. (Group Health, Aetna, WDS and several other company representatives will be on hand to talk about the current benefits offered, which some members have.)

Although you are unlikely to be requested to do so, please DO NOT give out any personal health information that may be part of the Wellness Plan assessment. (You may see a mockup of the proposed survey at the Harris-sponsored booth.) TEA will be given Plan specifics before members see them as required by labor law. At this time the County does not have any specifics to share with any labor groups; the details are still being developed and we will share them when they are proposed.


Contract/Wage Bargaining Status

This is just a reminder to ask that you come to the monthly meeting to get information on the progress and status of the negotiations for both Wastewater and Transit contracts. For obvious reasons, we do not publish this in the TEA Times, but we do want to keep you informed. You can also contact your respective Negotiation Team members, who are listed on the TEA website www.teaseattle.org.


Introduction of Proposed Bylaw Amendments - Changing Number of TEA Executive Board Officers and Revising Duties

Based on proposals from members, the Board is recommending amending the Bylaws to create some new positions to share workload and more accurately reflect the reality of separate negotiations between the two Divisions.

Essentially, the current 2nd Vice President office would be abolished and replaced by two new officers that would be Chair of each Negotiation Committee, one each for WW and Transit. In addition, the current Council of Representatives position would be "elevated" to an actual Board position.

We will discuss the proposal that will be formally introduced at the September monthly meeting, as it represents a significant change to the Bylaws and current TEA Board structure.

Because the change impacts many parts of the bylaws (since they reference current Board offices), rather than posting them here in the TEA Times, the full version of both the current bylaws and the proposed amended versions will be up on our TEA website (www.teaseattle.org).

The most substantive changes can be found in

  • Article VI Section B (Council), Section C (Board), Section F (deleting Second Vice-President);
  • Newly added Article VI Sections H (WTD and Transit Negotiations Chairs) and Section I (Council Of Representatives Chair)
  • Article VII Section D (Bargaining Teams and Committees) clarifying the new officer roles on the negotiation teams and the larger advisory committees for each Bargaining Unit

New Officer Nominations close September 28th

Under the existing Bylaws, the 2nd Vice President and Treasurer TEA Executive Board officer positions will be up for election at the Annual Meeting, planned for October 19th this year. Duties for both can be found in the Bylaws link at the TEA website, but for clarification, the 2nd VP heads the Negotiations Committees. (Even if the Board is expanded per the above item, this person would head the Negotiation Committee for their Division.)

We encourage all our members to consider running for these positions - it is the most direct way to have an impact on the direction and operation of our organization! Note that current 2nd VP Dave Crippen will have fulfilled two terms and thus will not be eligible to run again for this position. We welcome new energy and ideas - please consider running!

Nominations should be submitted to the Nominating Committee (including Gary Ikeda, Ken Madden, Lee Miller, and Robin Robinson) or any TEA Board officer.


Donation of Sick or Vacation Leave Requested

The following TEA employees are in need of donated sick or vacation leave. Your help would be greatly appreciated. If you are interested in helping these individuals, please check with your work groups' administrative staff.

Linda Anderson - Linda's daughter is in the Pediatric Intensive Care at Harborview Hospital. It is unlikely that Linda would be back to the office for a period of time until Mari's very serious condition is stabilized. If you would like to donate sick leave and/or vacation leave to Linda, please fill out a donation form and send it to Lisa Krohn.