tea » tea times: June 12, 2000 email: teaseattle  

TEA Times

Reorganization of Transit Planners
The Department of Transportation has begun a reorganization as a result of Initiative 695.  Five transit planners have been reassigned to the Transit Design and Construction Section until funding for their positions runs out later this year.  These planners are currently Local 17 members under the 17E contract for transit planners.  This group chose to affiliate with Local 17 at the time of the merger.

TEA is evaluating several actions with our attorney and will soon take appropriate steps to protect the positions and budget of D&C workers.  All jobs in Transit Design and Construction are part of the "body of work" petitioned for by TEA.  If there are layoffs, TEA positions can not be taken by Local 17 members.

May 9th Meeting held in Renton
The general membership meeting for May was held in Renton to accommodate the Renton Construction staff.  The meeting was held on May 9th at a local restaurant.  Eleven members attended.  Rotating the location of the general membership meeting to the various work sites of TEA members was a goal set by the new board members earlier this year.  The Renton meeting is a good example of the commitment the board has made toward member involvement.  Thanks to all who attended.

Court Actions
TEA has a pretrial conference is set for July 14, 2000 in Thurston County Superior Court.  The purpose of the meeting is to review pretrial briefs with Judge Christine Pomeroy.  This trial will force PERC (Washington State's Public Employment Relations Commission) to conduct evidentiary hearings on the original petitions that TEA filed.  PERC has held these petitions in abeyance for several years without taking any action.  A court date will be set at the pretrial hearing.

Contributions Needed
TEA's attorney is currently preparing to file an injunction against PERC (Washington State's Public Employment Relations Commission) for their failure to proceed with hearings on our original petitions.  The filing and court appearances will take additional financial resources.  We are requesting $10 per month to help with the effort.  To make a contribution, please contact the TEA Treasurer, Ken Madden.

GREAT VICTORY!!!
KING COUNTY SETTLES WITH FORMER CONTRACT WORKERS
For those who haven't heard, Ron Sims announced on June 7th that the County had agreed to a 16+ million dollar settlement with the Clark Case plaintiffs.  The settlement includes vacation and other benefits (including State retirement) that were denied a class of employees now called "permatemps" and "common law employees" by the courts.

If you know that you are or think that you might be one of this group you can obtain information at the web site of Bendich, Stobaugh and Strong:

http://www.bs-s.com/kc.htm

Next General Membership Meeting
You are invited to attend the next monthly meeting on June 14th during lunch at the Elliott Bay Bookstore Cafe.