It's official! Our own Ecology Local is approved.

By Paul Pickett

Last fall a group of Ecology union members petitioned AFSCME for our own Local. Last month Ecology WFSE members got exciting news. We received a letter from AFSCME International President Gerald McEntee, who told us “the Department of Ecology request is granted.”

This is an historical event for our agency. With our own Local we’ll have more autonomy in the union, our own budget, the ability to choose our own delegates to WFSE committees and to conventions, and other direct and indirect benefits.

This is an important step, and now there’s lots of work to do. Over the next month we’ll work on fine-tuning the new Local Constitution, developing the structure of our new Local, and resolving other transition issues. Then later in the summer we will formally receive our Charter and hold elections for officers.

We need to determine our share of the reserves in Local 443. The result of this effort should be a healthy bank account balance when our Local starts up. A group of members are collecting data and developing a proposal.

There are several issues with the Constitution that need resolution:

• How many members constitute a quorum at a Local meeting?
• What Executive Committee officers will we have? How are they selected?
• How many Local meetings do we hold every year?
• How will elections be held?

We need to decide what Committees we’ll need to have in place to begin with, and find members to participate. Some committees we’ve discussed include:

• Finance Committee – support the treasurer and develop the Local budget
• Stewards Committee – support stewards training and problem resolution
• Grievance Committee – review grievances and recommend them for further action
• Communication Committee – communicate with members; manage the newsletter, website, email communications, mailings, etc.
• Political Action Committee – make endorsements for local elections
• Election Committee – a group trained in best election procedures to run our elections

In general, we’ll need to develop a set of policies that will be ready for adoption at our first official Local meeting, such as committees, standing rules for meetings, and other essential business functions. We want to start this new Local on the right foot, so we are spending some time thinking through how to organize policies to be useful, transparent, and effective.

Behind all this is the question: what are our values that we want to support and codify in our Constitution and policies?

We’ve had a lot of discussion about openness, inclusion, good communication, accountability, and responsibility to members. What do you care about? We need your input.

Please join us and be part of this new era! If you can’t make it but would like to help, please contact me, Elena Guilfoil, or any other steward. “Many hands make light work.” Pick a topic that interests you and decide how much time you have to offer – anything you can do will help!

Ecology Union Members--HELP PLAN THE NEW LOCAL!

Two special meetings are scheduled: Wednesdays, June 13 and June 27

Ecology Lacey building, Room R1D-16/17
Meetings start at 5:30 pm
Dinner is provided—Everyone is invited!