T E A

T i m e s

All members are encouraged to attend the Monthly Meeting on Wednesday, September 18.

Based on input from members who are concerned about TEA's buget, lunch will not be provided. You are encouraged to support the Elliott Bay Caf‚ as a thank you for the use of their reading room for TEA meetings.

Nominations for TEA officers closed on August 28th. The nomination committee is please to present the following list of candidates:

Ballots will be distributed to work-group representatives on September 5th for distribution to TEA members. Completed ballots can be returned to your work- group representative, sent to the TEA Secretary, Severne Johnson, or hand delivered at the Annual Meeting on September 18th.

Candidate statements will be posted on the TEA website: www.teaseattle.org

TEA has successfully negotiated an extension of our existing medical benefits. TEA members in Transit Design and Construction and the Wastewater Treatment Division will be protected from the changes that other employees will experience. TEA members will save money and keep their current doctors.

King County finally admitted that they cannot change our working conditions during the contract bargaining process. While other King County employees will have the new medial benefits plan imposed on them, TEA members will keep the existing medical benefits, care providers and prescription programs.

On July 29th, Don Theiler held an All-Hands meeting to announce the findings and recommendations of the Productivity Incentive Fund Committee. TEA has three representatives from WTD working on this committee. Mr. Theiler told employees that everyone in the WTD would be receiving a check from the Incentive Fund; TEA members, however, would have their checks withheld until a labor contract was approved or another agreement, such as an MOU (Memo of Understanding), was reached.

This action on Management's behalf may be illegal; management cannot circumvent the negotiation process by communicating directly with TEA members regarding negotiation issues. TEA may need to file an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) complaint against King County for this breach of negotiation protocol.

The TEA Wastewater bargaining team has tried to negotiate a settlement with the County that would provide TEA/WTD members their productivity checks and avoid a ULP. Unfortunately, after two WTD negotiation sessions, these discussions have broken down and TEA may have no other choice than to move forward with a ULP.

In order to document the history behind the Productivity payout, we need your help. Anyone who attended the July 29th All-Hands meeting and heard the statements by Mr. Theiler regarding Productivity and TEA should contact TEA off in order to provide a written account of what transpired at the meeting.