AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

Back from South Carolina
"Shrinkage" is the Word of the Day

This past weekend was the annual meeting for representatives of AFSCME 3357. I did not take detailed notes of the meeting, and I don't have time now to get into it in depth, suffice it to say that in the past few years, the Plan and local 3357 membership has seen so much shrinkage that it makes George Costanza look like Mr. Ed. The shrinkage in the unionized U.S. auto industry has resulted in a corresponding decrease in the number of UAW Legal Services attorneys.

We're down to 104 attorneys in our local, about half of our peak. There are lots of offices that serve only retirees. Some offices are down to one or 1/2 a staff attorney. Like never before our members need to be jacks of all trades. Soon it may be the norm rather than the exception that each attorney needs to be able to handle every problem code.

While some things that were discussed can't be disclosed as a matter of competitive intelligence, all of the issues that are hot button in my office were raised and discussed. Quite a few attorneys with high seniority are now commuting long distances thanks to being laid off and bumping into new offices. It is becoming apparent (if it wasn't already) that "bumping" is no substitute for severance pay or buyout packages.

I also want to point out that almost all of the area reps at our meeting were high seniority folks. Low seniority attorneys need to get more active in the union for their own self-interest. Under the last contract, we received only a minor raise due to a new retiree healthcare plan. Given that you have to have 15 years seniority and an attained age of 61 or 62 to qualify, it is unlikely that the majority of our members will ever benefit from the retiree healthcare. You will be getting a questionnaire in the mail early next year asking you what issues you think are important going into the negotiations for next year's contract. You should take this questionnaire seriously. Take time and fill it out.