RE:
Keene City Employees , NHFT, AFT Local # 6288, AFL-CIO
and the City of Keene
(Declaration of Impasse and Notice of Mediation)
Dear
Mr. Mitchell:
The Keene
City Employees declared impasse yesterday and will be proceeding
to mediation. The Keene City Employees request the
assistance of the PELRB in this matter. We would request
a list of mediators from the PELRB. Attached please
find the completed Mediation Form.
I f
you require any additional information, please feel free to contact
my office .
Thank
you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
/s/
Teresa
D. Donovan, Esquire
NH Bar
ID #2823
TDD/
tbs
Enclosure
cc:
Attorney Thomas Flygare (via email)
John
MacLean, City Manager (via email)
Sherri
Beckta , KCE , President (via email)
STATE
OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE
LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
MEDIATION
REQUEST FORM
To be filed
in duplicate with Public Employee Labor Relations
Board, GAA Plaza, Building No. 1, 153 Manchester Street, Concord,
New Hampshire 03301. Agency web-site WWW.NH.GOV/PELRB
. Please forward a copy to the Respondent
REQUESTING
PARTY :
RESPONDENT PARTY :
Name: ____
Attorney Terri Donovan _____
Name: __ John
MacLean, City Manager ___
Organization:
Keene City
Employees, NHFT, AFT Local 6388 Organization:
_ City of Keene ________
DESCRIPTION
OF ISSUE(S) TO BE DISCUSSED AT MEDIATION PROCEEDING :
(List
all issues in dispute) :
This
is a first contract for this bargaining unit and there has been
no agreement on any issues. The Union has proposed the following
categories of proposals : Preamble, Unit Description, Management
Rights, Employee Rights, Union Rights and Responsibilities, Non-discrimination,
Stability of Agreement, Uninterrupted Service, Dues and Agency Fee
Deduction, Disciplinary Procedures, Evaluation and Personnel Files,
Hours of Work, Overtime, Call-Back and Working Conditions, Professional
Affiliations/Licensing, Uniforms and Required Articles of Clothing
and Equipment, Compensation (including retroactivity to July 1,
2004), Insurance (medical, dental, life, disability, and vision;
section 125), NH Retirement System language, Worker's Compensation,
Holidays, Vacation, Sick and Personal Leave, Bereavement Leave,
Paid and Professional Leave, Unpaid Leave, Family Medical Leave
Act, Civic Duty Pay, Military Leave, Seniority/Layoff and Recall,
Vacancies, Promotions, Transfers, Education , Grievance Procedure,
Labor Management Consultation, Notice, and Duration of the Contract.
The
Union proposal can be provided if this would be helpful in further
identifying the issues for mediation.
Additional sheet
of paper may be used for listing if necessary)
Number of positions
in unit 59 (approximately) Number of employees in unit: 59 (approx.)
Dated
this 15th day of April
, 2005 .
/Teresa D. Donovan/ , Attorney for KCE (Signature & capacity of requesting party)
Cc:
Attorney Thomas Flygare
John
Maclean, City Manager
Sherri
Beckta, KCE President
PELRB Mediation
Form Rev. 10/14/04
Keene
employees vote to unionize:
Nonunion
workers to join Federation of Teachers
Article from SentinelSource.com
BY:
BENJAMIN YELLE
Roughly a half of Keene's nonunionized city employees voted to unionize
Monday. The group includes 55 jobs in several departments. Of that
number 52 employees were eligible and voted 26-19 to join the N.H.
Federation of Teachers, according to Donald E. Mitchell, executive
director of the state's Public Employees Labor Relations Board.
"We're very excited and anxious," said Teresa D. Donovan, the federation
lawyer who is overseeing the organization of the new local. "We
look forward to a cooperative relationship" with the city. It's
too soon to know what the step will mean to the city, said Assistant
City Manager and Human Resources Director Jane E. Gile.
"The city will continue to respect the city employees' decision
to unionize and will continue to negotiate in good faith," she said
this morning. The city has roughly 250 employees, Gile said. She
said about 50 will remain unaffiliated. Donovan said those numbers
are common for cities in New Hampshire. "This is, actually, from
a union point of view, a fairly large group to be unaffiliated,"
she said of the group that voted Monday. That group includes secretaries
in several departments, maintenance workers, mechanics, parking-enforcement
officers, employees in the public works, parks and recreations department,
and several other jobs. Determining what positions would be included
in the new local "was like putting a puzzle together," Donovan said.
The process to organize began in February, with a petition to the
state's labor relations board. That board held Monday's election.
Votes were cast secretly. Donovan said she's heard interest about
organizing from city employees for more than a year. She said three
issues dominated their concerns - wages, health insurance and job
security. "Most people (in Keene) are very satisfied with their
job," Donovan said, but they want the security of a union. The N.H.
Federation of Teachers is part of a national organization that represents
school and college employees, health care workers and government
workers. It also represents the Keene Police Officer's Association.
John Stewart, president of the officers' union, is vice president
of the local federation. The teachers' union is different from the
National Education Association and is an AFL-CIO member. The next
step for the new Keene union will be an organizational meeting to
elect officers. Donovan said she expects that election to be held
within the next two weeks. From there, the group will meet with
officials from the city manager's office to begin negotiations.
Donovan has already sent City Manager John A. MacLean a letter of
intent to begin negotiations. "We've done our part," she said. MacLean
was out of the office today, and couldn't be reached for comment.
When contacted this morning, Keene Mayor Michael E.J. Blastos said
he didn't know the vote had been held. "Last I heard, they were
having a briefing," Blastos said this morning. "John (MacLean) handles
negotiations" with the unions. Sheryl A. Beckta, a secretary for
the police department, said she voted to join the union because
she was unhappy with changes to her health-care plan passed last
year with what she described as very little notice. She said her
health insurance costs twice that of unionized police officers,
and the city changed her carrier with less than two weeks notice.
"That was a huge concern," she said. Beckta said she didn't want
her decision to join the union to be seen as a dig against the city.
"The city of Keene is a great employer," she said. "Basically, we
wanted professional representation like the other city employees."
