SEIU Local 888 Spark, June 2013

7/28/2019 SEIU Local 888 Spark, June 2013

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June 2013

Parents, Teachers Rallyto Save Head Start

Concerned parents and teachers of the Montachu-sett Opportunity Councils Head Start programjoined forces at a recent rally in Fitchburg to opposecuts that have already ended the school year ahead of

schedule and could see a delayed start to school in thefall. Head Start, which helps prepare young childrenfor kindergarten, lost five percent of its budget due toautomatic budget cuts known as the sequester.

Mary Hernandez, a member of SEIU Local 888and a lead teacher for the Head Start program at theHosmer School, credits Head Start with changing herlife. Speaking to the crowd, Hernandez said she firstgot involved with Head Start as a parent 16 years ago.She went on to become a Head Start teacher and willsoon graduate from Fitchburg State with a BA in earlychildhood education.

Said Hernandez: My story isnt unique. Many HeadStart teachers and workers were once Head Startparents and have similar stories to mine. We made im-portant changes and strides in our lives thanks to theHead Start program.

Mark DelloRusso, president of Local 888, was onhand to show support for the teachers and expressedconcern over Head Start teachers losing pay whenthe program closed early. He said that the union willcontinue to urge Congress to put a stop to pendingNov. 1 budget cuts that would take an additional five

percent from the program.

Time to Celebrate!

On Saturday, June 22

youre invited to help celebrate

the ten-year anniversary of Lo-

cal 888 with a free family

barbecue and golf tournament

in honor of the founding of our

local.

This is a chance for mem-

bers to get together in a fun

family environment, says Local

888 Executive Board member Greg Barry, who

is spearheading the golf tournament. Because

we work in chapters all across the state we rarely

get to meet fellow chapter members. Were mak-

ing some real progress as a union and what bet-

ter way to celebrate than a family get-together in

a beautiful setting?

The golf tournament begins at 8:00 AM and

the free BBQ starts at noon. In addition to food,

there will be games and rides, face painting, cot-

ton candy, popcorn and Snow Kone machines,

along with a bouncy castle and obstacle course

for the kids.

The celebration will be held at the Bay Pointe

Country Club, 19 Bay Pointe Drive in Onset, Mass.

The facility has just been completely remod-

eled and its absolutely beautiful, says Barry.

Head Start teacher and Local 888 member Mary

Hernandez at a rally against cuts to the program.

TenYearAnniversaryPartyHelp uscelebratewithafreefamilybarbecue,rides,golfandmore...When:June22Where:BayPointeCountryClub,Onset,CapeCod

PleaseregisterbyJune14.Formoreinformationandtosignup,call617-241-3300or

visitwww.seiu888.org
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The Spark June 2013 www.seiu888.org

Coming AttractionsCity of Boston Employees: Share Your

Concerns

When: Thursday, June 6th andJune 20th, 11:30 AM2:00 PMWhere: Conference Room 624, 6thfloor, City HallFor more information, call theLocal 888 office at 617-241-3300.

Committee on Political ActionWhen: June 18, 6:00 PM7:30 PMWhere: Local 888 union hall, 52 Roland Street,Charlestown, MA

Walk for PeaceLocal 888 member Tom McCeever is organizinga Walk for Peace to raise funds for the Richardfamily, whose son Martin was killed in the Mara-thon bombings, and whose daughter was injured.All proceeds will go to purchase a prosthetic legfor the Richards daughter. For more informationand to sign up, visit www.active.com and searchfor Walk for Peace 2013.When: Sunday, June 23rd, 11:00 AMWhere: Cedar Elementary School, Hanover, MA.Following the 2.2 mile walk, participants are in-vited to gather at Squires Pub for free appetizersand a raffle.

Local 888 Executive Board MeetingWhen: June 26, 10:00 AMWhere: Local 888 union hall, 52 Roland Street,Charlestown, MA

Regional Steward TrainingsAre you a Local 888 steward? Do you want to beone? Training for stewards is being offered at the

following times and locations:When: July 8, 6:00 PM-8:30 PM (part 1) and July 15,6:00PM-8:30PM (part 2)Where: Local 888 Worcester office

- and -

July 20th, 9:00 AM-2:00 PMWhere: Local 888 Holyoke officeSpace is limited. Members are encouraged to regis-ter in advance with Lisa Field at (617) 435-8837 [email protected].

Political

Update

Dont Forget to

Vote on 6/25The special Senate election will be held on Tuesday,

June 25th. Polling hours are between 7:00 AM and

8:00 PM. For information about where to vote visit:

www.wheredoivotema.com.

Support Candidates Who

Support Working FamiliesSEIU Local 888s political action committee (COPA)

has done the research and is recommending Senate

candidate Ed Markeyas the best choice for working

families. For more information, contact Local 888 at

617-241-3300 or visit www.edmarkey.com.

SEIU Members Were Key in

Close Senate RaceMore than than a dozen SEIU member political orga-

nizers or MPOs worked for 35 days in Mattapan andDorchester knocking on more than 9,000 doors tohelp get votes for Representative Forry. Local 888sCOPA committee interviewed both candidates, thenendorsed Forry on April 5th. Did SEIUs effort makea difference? You be the judge. Rep. Forry defeatedRep. Nick Collins by just 378 votes! If you want to be-come an MPO please contact Dan Hoffer at [email protected].

Make Your Voice Heard on

Extending OSHA ProtectionsMassCOSH is hosting a phone briefing for unionmembers on the proposed legislation that will extendOSHA protections to state employees.When: June 6 at 12:00 PM.The conference call number is: (857) 232-0300, thenenter the code number: 615402. If you call in, be sureto identify yourself as a Local 888 member!
http://www.seiu888.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.edmarkey.com/http://www.edmarkey.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.edmarkey.com/http://www.seiu888.org/


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Award Winning

When Mary White received a letter from

the Boston Archdiocese informing her thatshewas being honored for outstanding faithfulness and

commitment, she could hardly believe her eyes. Iread it three times and thought to myselfyou knowwhat, Im going to have a cup of tea and come back,just to make sure it says what I think it says!

White, who works as a crossing guard in Somer-ville, teaches Sunday school and sings in the choirat St. Josephs in Union Square. She was honoredalong with 75 other parishioners from across themetro area at a ceremony at the Cathedral of the

Holy Cross in Boston. The ceremony was absolutelybeautiful, says White, who was accompanied byseveral members of her church choir.

The award is the latest sign that things are look-ing up for the 68-year-old White. Just three yearsago, she was laid off from her job as an administra-tive assistant. She began to fear that she would nev-er work again and, out of desperation, emailed theCity of Somerville with a simple plea: I need work.The crossing guard position was a life saver, saysWhite. I absolutely love it. Working with the kidsbrings me such pleasure, and I also get to be part of

a union. Crossing guards in Somerville and Spring-field have recently become part of Local 888

Congratulations to Mary on her award from the

Archdiocese!

If you or someone you know would like to be

featured in the Spark contact us at:

[email protected].

Crossing guard and

Local 888 member

Mary White has been

recognized by the

Boston Archdiocese

for outstanding

faithfulness andcommitment. White,

who lives and works

in Somerville, says she

was stunned by news

of her award.

MemberSpotlight

Beating the Boss

Local 888 shop steward Paula Nute has workedfor the Town of Carver for over nine years asAssistant Tax Collector. She also took on the re-sponsibilities of the Assistant Treasurer for almostsix years.

After receiving her Massachusetts CollectorsCertification, Nute felt like she could improve theprocedures of the Treasurer/Collectors departmentand bring them up to the Department of Revenuesstandards.

Working with the elected Treasurer/Collectorevery day, I could not shake the feeling that I couldactually do a much better job, said Nute. So Idecided to run against him!

Nute enlisted support from her unions politi-cal program, the Committee on Political Action orCOPA.

SEIU Local 888s COPA program gave me theresources and expertise I needed to run for office.Thanks to Local 888 and many other supporters,

on April 27 I beat the boss 1,442 to 703! And thatswhy I give to COPA, so other members can havethe same opportunity that I had.

For more information about COPA, visit www.

seiu888.org/copa or email SEIU Local 888s political

director Dan Hoffer [email protected].

Brian, Corey, Paula, and Amber Nute at Corys

graduation. Local 888 member Paula Nute was

recently elected as Carvers Treasurer/Collector.
http://www.seiu888.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.seiu888.org/


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Chapter ReportsChelsea City HallMembers at Chelsea City Hall ratified a new three yearcontract through June 30, 2016 with wage increases

each year of 2.5, 2.5 and 3 percent. The uniformallowance for Animal Control officers, who wearuniforms similar to police officers, was increased to$1,000. Members were also successful in convertingBunker Hill Day to a vacation day. The contract wasachieved because of the determination of the nego-tiation team to reach the best contract possible. Themembers on the negotiation team were MargaritaFranco, Richie Zullo, Scott Bridges and SusanDeSanti.

New Womens Committee FormedMembers kicked off the new Local 888 WomensCommittee last month. In attendence were Local 888Secretary Treasurer Brenda Rodrigues; Field RepMari Cooney, Bianca Pierre, Tiffany Skogstrom,Veola Green, Boston Public Health; Charlotte Kil-lam, Boston Water & Sewer, Susan Winning, UMassLowell, Organizer Christina Villafranca, and LornaPleas, Boston Elderly Commission. The new committee

will be meeting regularly.

Community Action Agency Girds for

Tough TimesMembers from the Community Action Agency ofSomerville held a membership meeting on May 29 todiscuss the early closing of their Head Start classroomsthis year due to sequestrations cuts (see cover story).

Members raised concerns about possible layoffs if thebudget continues to be in a deficit. Members reportedthat these are the worst financial conditions theyveseen.

Boston Public Health CommissionAll four of the bargaining units at the Boston Public

Health Commission have ratified new six yearcontracts (the contracts are retroactive for three years).The four units total nearly 400 members. Yearly wageincreases were 0, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3 percent. Everyone alsoreceives a one-time 2.5 percent base salary lumpsum for taking a wage freeze beginning in mid-2009.Local 888 Reps Bill Storella and Mari Cooney assistedthe following bargaining teams: Tiffany Skogstrom,Sheila Jackson andVeola Green (Programs);LaTonya Williams and Walter Milliken Jr. (Clerksand Techs); Rocky Gillis, Peter Cavicchi, LeighaEarl and Josephine Madrazo (Homeless Services

Coordinators); Charles Mays, Shellie Lewis andSean Derbyshire (Homeless Services Counselors).Thanks to all for your hard work!

Helping Hand in HaverhillCongratulations to City of Haverhill employee PhilLakaszcyck. With assistance from chapter chairFred Simmons, Local 888 Field Rep. Bill Storella andunion attorney John Magner, Lakaszcyck was ableto fight off a change in his job title which enabledhim to maintain his current ranking until retirement-- thus preserving his higher pension.

Members of Local 888 at Chelsea City Hall.

Members at Somervilles Community Action Agency

have been hit hard by budget cuts.
http://www.seiu888.org/http://www.seiu888.org/

Documents

SEIU Local 888 Spark, June 2013