T E A

August 31 2004

September Meeting Schedule

WTD/TEA Contract Approved by King County Council

Congratulations all around!! On Monday, 8/30, the King County Council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2004-0386, which contains the TEA contract for members in the Wastewater Treatment Division.  The LOT (Labor, Operations and Technology) Committee had previously approved the proposed Ordinance on 8/24.

The terms and conditions of the new labor contract will become effective under the Ordinance in approximately 10 working days.  King County payroll staff and WTD HR staff are already working on the wage adjustments (based on COLA), the retropayments (due to previously withheld COLA) and License/Certification pay as appropriate.  WTD/TEA members should begin receiving these adjustments within about 30 days.  Members will get an update on the contract implementation and payouts at the Annual Meeting September 15th.

Labor Contract Training

The Board has scheduled several training sessions on labor contract issues to be provided by TEA's attorney, Jim Cline.  The training will be held at the King Street Center from 12 to 1 p.m. as follows:

Mon. Sept. 13 - Rm. 3D/E - Rights of the Predisciplinary Process
Thurs. Oct. 21 - Rm. 2A/B - Just Cause
Fri. Oct. 29 - Rm. 2A/B - Rights and Responsibilities of Labor Organizations
Thurs. Nov. 4 - Rm. 2A/B - Rights to Collective Bargaining

These brown bag training sessions are primarily directed to the needs of members of the Grievance Committee, Board Officers, Negotiating Teams and Council of Reps (work-group representatives).  However, the training sessions are open to any TEA member who wants to learn more about labor issues as they pertain to contract management.  TEA Supervisors in particular are urged to attend.  Please feel free to join us.

Proposed Bylaw Amendment - Election of TEA Officers

In accordance with Article XII, Amendments and Revisions, the following Amendment to the TEA Bylaws is proposed and will be voted on at the September 15th Annual Meeting.  The current Bylaws provide that amendments or revisions to the Bylaws can be made by a majority vote of those members present at any Annual, Regular or Special Meeting. Proposed new language is underlined.

PROPOSED ACTION:  Modify Article IX. Elections, Section A, 4 "Ballots" to include a new sub-section allowing for the election of officers by hand vote if all positions are unopposed.  The current language specifies distribution of a written ballot even if only one candidate is nominated for a given office.  Current language also specifies that no write-in candidates are allowed.

4. Ballots
5. In the event that all officer positions are unopposed, no written ballots will be distributed to members, and the election of these officers shall be by hand vote at the Annual or next Regular Meeting.

Vote Scheduled for Board Officers

In accordance with the Bylaws, TEA conducts elections for Board Officers at the Annual Meeting (3 Officers one year, 2 the following year).  This year, the Annual Meeting will be held on September 15th and the positions of President, 1st VP and Secretary are up for election.  Nominations were to be presented to the Nominations Committee by August 24th.

The Nominating Committee has identified candidates for each of these positions and is presenting the following slate of candidates.

           President: Eric Mandel
  1st Vice President: Roger Browne
           Secretary: Patty Overby

Because there was only one nomination made for each position, no ballots will be distributed.  A hand vote, to elect the above slate of candidates will occur, provided the bylaw amendment above passes, at the Annual Meeting on September 15th.  If you are unable to attend the Annual Meeting and want to make sure that your vote counts, you can request a proxy form.  To obtain a proxy form, contact Patty Overby (263-5006).