Page 11 - Work Force November 2018

Meeting Officer Reports
11
Denise Berkley, Statewide Secretary
We win when working people come together
Bill Walsh, Statewide Treasurer
Everything we do must be for our members
GWreetings, brothers and sisters!
hat a wild ride this year has been. We have run the gamut of emotions from feeling vulnerable to now understanding we are stronger than ever coming out of this!
Our work this year has been dominated by re-examining ourselves and refocusing
our fight against a 40-year decline in union membership to build power, rise up and make our members’ lives better.
Brothers and sisters, we must not lose sight of the facts that the labor movement created
a strong middle class and continues to boost our economy. Through equal rights, economic justice and social justice, we
have had a more responsive
and inclusive democracy
building bridges to progress
and lifting people out of
poverty.
has taught us how important it is to listen.
As I travel the state, I listen. What I hear is that the CSEA membership is diverse. It is as economically diverse as it is politically diverse.
I also hear influence of the national discourse sending my main thought back to the old adage, “when someone tells you who they are, you should listen.”
Every day, I hear news presenting the soaring stock market as the true indicator of the health of our economy. I am conflicted because as I listen, I hear that many people are working more than one job to make ends meet. State and local government members,
ASisters and Brothers,
s you know, we are dealing with unprecedented challenges to our Union
and to the labor movement as a whole now that the U.S. Supreme Court sided with corporate interests and wealthy CEOs in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31.
This decision, which overturned
the court’s own 40-year precedent, is disappointing, but our Union is staying strong. However, it is more important than ever to stick together and stick with our Union. We have been around for 108 years and have faced tough, and maybe even seemingly impossible, fights before and have prevailed. We will not only win, but be stronger than ever, but it
will take an effort from all of us to make that happen.
and you may use in your free time. As your Statewide Treasurer, I am responsible for ensuring that our members’ dues money is spent wisely on resources that benefit all of our members. We have been cautious in our spending, but the outcome of Janus makes managing our resources wisely more important than ever.
In addition to managing our spending
to ensure that we can continue to bring you important union services, we are ensuring that all of our Union’s treasurers are also able to manage resources at the Local and Unit levels. Not only must our treasurers make the right decisions about spending our members’ dues money, they must know how to correctly document and report our expenses. To help our treasurers in this process, we have recently
In the 1960s, Dr. King
said, “The labor movement
was the principal force
that transformed misery
and despair into hope and
progress. Out of its bold
struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old age pensions, government relief for the destitute, and above all new wage levels that meant not mere survival, but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome.”
We must not lose sight of this as it is still true today.
I have been recently reminded by the Janus case that ‘progress doesn’t move in a straight line.’ It’s more important to continue building our union, raising economic awareness, inspiring others and remaining laser focused on what is important, no matter which threats or lack thereof are in front of us.
Our work this year reconnecting with each other through one-on-one conversations
try to trick you into giving up your rights and protections, but you have not been fooled. You all know it is Better to be Union; that your pay, health care, workplace safety protections, retirement security and much more are protected by your continued union membership.
One of the greatest things about our union is the many resources we provide to our members, including an in-house Legal Department, Occupational Safety and Health, Education and Training, Member Benefits, Field Services and more. These services are among the many union services that work every day to protect your contracts and health care, fight for your rights on the job, keep you safe as you do your job and even save money on goods and services that your family
doing well and what we could do better to train our treasurers. After extensive discussion and input, we developed a new Treasurer Training course that is more educational and interactive. Our new course now includes
a mock annual budget, complete with the proper forms that our treasurers must fill out so that they get a better understanding of their responsibilities. This training is designed to make our treasurers feel comfortable in their roles, including putting their own budgets together and properly accounting for our union’s money.
Over recent months, region treasurers, staff members and I have been traveling across the state to bring our new Treasurer Training to our elected treasurers. While this course is a
Treasurer, continued on page 15
“Never Quit until every member understands the value of being a union member and feels the protection and the fellowship of working together for a better, more inclusive future.”
Ever since the Janus decision, I have been encouraged by our members’ support and dedication to Staying Union and Staying Strong. Anti-union groups have contacted members to
“We must always remember why we are here — we are labor leaders who always must put our members’ interests first.”
revised our Treasurer Training course.
Following our 2016 convention, Region Treasurers and I met to discuss our Treasurer Training course to evaluate what we were
and especially our private sector members, aren’t feeling it and it makes me think, ‘What about people’s paychecks?’ The data does not show this bigger more important picture of wage growth. It is corporate profit focused.
The economic boom that we keep hearing about means nothing to our members in
any real sense. Yet, many hardworking CSEA members accept this news as their families struggle. We know, without labor you can’t fight for wages or benefits and without action, you can’t affect change.
Addressing CSEA Private Sector members directly: you have not been forgotten as we focused more on the Public Sector Janus threat in front of us. You have so much to teach all of CSEA with your understanding of what it means to be union, memory of what it means to NOT be union. Your grit, your perseverance and love for CSEA grounds us. We will be looking to your strength as we move forward building power for all.
I recently had the honor of working as Chair of AFSCME’s Racial, Social and
Secretary, continued on page 15
November 2018
The Work Force