President Update May 03,2023
Dear Members of Local 883,
As we turn the page on April and look ahead to May, I want to take this opportunity to update you on the significant progress we have made in addressing our ongoing issues with corporate management. Thanks to the tireless work and dedication of our union representatives, we have successfully closed out and resolved 74 grievances. While we still have 21+ open grievances to discuss with corporate representative Chris Ryan on June 13th, we remain confident that we can continue to make strides in resolving these outstanding issues.
Moreover, the Executive Board is planning to arrange a sit-down or Zoom call with Leblanc to discuss proposed changes to our CBA bylaws. We believe that it is crucial to seek input from our executive and international members before presenting these changes for a vote at the upcoming General Membership meeting on June 22nd.
I would also like to take a moment and address some concerns presented by membership and supervisors concerning how we operate our volunteer overtime program. When volunteering, please be sure to only select the posts that are open and available, and be clear on what post you are selecting. Putting down breaks is not a post, and they can decline your selection. A more appropriate selection would be Roving Escort Officer (RE). Also, when wanting a watch, be specific on what type – either Constant Watch (CW) or Suicide Watch (SW). Feel free to select both if you want. Also, as always, be aware that only those who volunteer get to select their posts, and you cannot select to volunteer after being mandated. You need to sign up beforehand just like the other volunteers. Additionally, there is no restriction on the number of posts you can select, so feel free to put multiple selections based on your preferences.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that we are pursuing arbitration on a job classification issue, and we eagerly await the results of this arbitration. While we have experienced some challenging times, I remain optimistic that our ongoing efforts will yield positive results.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our union.
In solidarity,
Oliver