This is a very difficult piece for me to pen. How do we (AFSMCE/CEC7), as an employee organization - THE UNION - express our disappointment, frustration and outright anger, if not disbelief, in the legislative outcome on TDCJ’s Correctional Officer Comprehensive Pay Package and the Adjusted Pay Package for non-corrections officers, Industry workers, clerks, and others . If we felt like we were the weak link we could apologize, say we were sorry and let it go at that. But, that did not happen. For sixteen months prior to the Legislative Session beginning January 2009, we put together a long-range strategy to maximize a favorable outcome, including securing permission for correctional officers to wear their uniforms to the Capitol on three major and one minor Lobby Days; rented vans to convey hundreds to the capitol; fed and watered them while they were there; held countless meetings on how to maximize their efforts while lobbying; published numerous newsletters on expectations; handed out legislative blue books and answered countless questions. NO, the break down did not occur with AFSCME/CEC 7 or employees of TDCJ; it falls squarely on the legislative body, in spite of everything that was done.
To all AFSCME/CEC 7 Staff, members and volunteers: THANK YOU! To all of the correctional officers and non-corrections employees who used their precious accrued time and holidays by taking off whenever possible to travel to Austin, give yourselves a “well done.” You deserve it and we applaud you for it.
There was good reason for us to expect a better-than-average outcome for TDCJ employees. After all, most legislators and senators were aware that TDCJ Correctional Officers are ranked 47th out of the fifty states in pay compensation. And, in January 2008, Brian Olsen, Executive Director of AFSCME/CEC 7, to his credit, penned a letter to the Governor regarding shortages, turnover rate and working conditions, recommending an emergency 10% across-the-board pay raise for uniformed correctional officers. Weeks and months followed without any acknowledgement by the Governor’s office and, suddenly, we were advised that a 10% pay raise was authorized for COI’s and COII’s effective May 1, 2008, which did not include the veterans. Although disappointed we came to understand this 10% was to address primarily the officer shortage and turnover rate, etc.
This action was followed by Brad Livingston, Executive Director of TDCJ, and his administration recommending a comprehensive pay plan of 20% for Correctional Officers and around 10% for all others. Now, let me tell you folks, that took a lot of brass for your Executive Director to put forth a recommendation of 20%, especially since it is one of the largest political subdivisions of state government. We supported the recommendation.
Well, as you probably know by now, the senate Budget included a 10% pay raise for uniformed Correctional Officers while searching for the other 10%, and was sent to the House of Representatives. The House budget recommended a 5% pay raise for uniformed Correctional Officers - if they could find it. All of this political posturing makes you wonder if the Senate could find 10% for a pay raise, why couldn’t the House. They are all looking at the same dollars. In the end, a 7% pay raise was agreed to for uniformed officers assigned to prison units, and an $800 one-time bonus for all other state employees.
There was another amazing development associated with this session. For the first time TDCJ Correctional Officers were the focus of a pay raise to the exclusion of all other state employees. It is apparent that Correctional Officers found their collective voice and their way to the Capitol by the score. And, if not for your persuasive presence, what percentage of a pay raise do you think the House would have volunteered?
Lastly, when you see AFSCME/CEC 7 Executive Director Brian Olsen and TDCJ Executive Director Brad Livingston you just might want to express your appreciation to these guys; the results were positive. And we, as an organization, are already preparing for the 82nd Legislative Session in January 2011. We all have the same goal in wanting the 13% that was left on the table.
Legislature 2009
When we learned that corrections was going to get a 7% pay raise we were obviously disappointed, but we were also realistic. Because we also learned other state employees (as well as the teachers) were to receive little or no pay increase. In the current political climate and economic condition Corrections was still at the forefront of the legislatures mind. This is the first time in Texas history that Corrections was not just an after thought, but; the focus of legislature attention. It must also be noted that in many other states CO's rarely received pay raises this year and in some pre-service we are now seeing CO's from other states coming here to work. California laid off 50,000 state workers recently and other states have had to lay off some CO's.
We are not trying to gloss over our disappointment but we also see the troubled world around us and we appreciate the hard work it took to get this raise by the men and women of AFSCME.
There is no question we will be back in the next Legislature to get the other 13% we now feel is owed to us.
Stay tuned for further information about the few bills we have left in the legislature we are following.
Resolution honored by Lois Kolkhorst
March 12th
81R2700 CBE-D
By: Kolkhorst
H.R. No. 586
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Corrections Council 7 in Huntsville have distinguished themselves through their generous assistance to correctional officers affected by Hurricane Ike; and
WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the hurricane, union members began coordinating efforts to help correctional officers located in the devastated Gulf Coast region; they collected and prepared a variety of essential goods, including food, ice, water, and hygiene kits, and distributed them to officers in Beaumont, Dayton, Texas City, and Angleton; and
WHEREAS, The contributions of these caring public servants remind us that many individuals working together for a noble purpose define the best sense of community and that the strength of a society can be judged by its response to those in need; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas Legislature hereby commend the members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Corrections Council 7 for their Hurricane Ike relief efforts and recognize them for their commitment to their fellow officers; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Corrections Council 7 as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.
New Letters Sent To Lois Kolkhorst and John Whitmire
Letter sent to Lois Kolkhorst
March 17, 2009
The Honorable Lois Kolkhorst
Texas House of Representatives
P. O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910
Re: AFSCME/CEC 7 Lobby Day
Dear Lois:
The AFSCME/CEC 7 Group of Texas wishes to express their gratitude to you and your entire capitol staff for all you did for the Correctional Officers of Texas, especially our membership, on their Lobby Day of March 12, 2009. Your arrangement for the House Resolution and your speaking at the noon pray vigil was superb. Welcome to the Corrections Committee; it is great to see you up there. Our only question is how did you manage to avoid being on this committee for so long? Please let us know when we can be of service.
Most sincerely,
Toby Tobias, Special Representative
AFSCME/CEC 7 - Huntsville
Brian Olsen, Executive Director
AFSCME/CEC 7 - Huntsville
Letter sent to John Whitmire
March 17, 2009
The Honorable John Whitmire
Texas Senate
P. O. Box 12068 - Capitol Station
Austin, TX 78711
Re: AFSCME/CEC 7 Lobby Day
Dear Senator Whitmire:
Please accept the genuine appreciation of some 400 or so Correctional Officers for your support on their Lobby Day, March 12, 2009. You really made those officers feel good about themselves with your comments at the noon prayer vigil, as only you do so well. Thank you for filing the bill you handled in their behalf. It is great to know that someone of your Senate stature and capability is willing to step up in their behalf. Please let us know when we can be of service.
Most sincerely,
Toby Tobias, Special Representative
AFSCME/CEC 7 - Huntsville
Brian Olsen, Executive Director
AFSCME/CEC 7 - Huntsville
Correctional Pay Raise Message Sent to Texas Senators
"Thanks so very much for your steadfast position on the TDCJ Correctional Officer comprehensive Pay Package of 20%. We know it required a great deal of courage and soul searching to hold the line against the House panel's position. It is nice to know there are folks like yourself who really and truly understand the plight of our state correctional officers."
"March 12, 2009, is a major Lobby Day for our organization (AFSCME/CEC 7) membership and non-member alike to call on the House of Representatives and Senate members, and we look forward to dropping by your office to pay our respects."
"Thank you again for your support."
"Toby Tobias, Special Representative"
"AFSCME/CEC 7 - Huntsville"
I have been in Austin since the beginning of the year, even though the session didn't start until Jan 15th. Myself and many of our staff and member activists have been busy in and around the capitol trying to get a handle on the corrections pay raise. The reason we started so early was to get a pulse to see where to put our efforts. We worked all of 2008 with state politicans to get our point across.
It came out that TDCJ was only allotted 22 million this year for pay raises, UNTRUE. It is still to be determined and we really won't know until May. Thus it is important that our lobby day of March 12th 2009, have a great turn out. We will start the day at 9am at the AFL-CIO for our briefing. Do not park at the AFL-CIO as those spaces are already designated. Park at a parking garage or use a parking meter. We will then move to the Capitol to lobby our Senators, and House members. Some time between then and 12pm the House of Representatives will Honor AFSCME for all we have done for TDCJ employees after Hurricane Rita, and Ike. We would like everybody to move to the gallery to hear this acceptance. We will then move to the South steps for a brief prayer vigil for all of TDCJ employees killed in the line of duty. We will have a couple of brief speeches then disburse to lobby some more and go home. We hope to see you all there. The more people that show up the stronger we are.
PS: We will have our trailer on the west side of the Capitol giving out hotdogs, water, and sodas for FREE to all.
AFSCME/CEC7 Political Agenda
20% pay increase for correctional officers
10% pay increase for non-security and UTMB
Career Ladder for Maintenance Industry, Ag, and Truck Drivers
Tuition Reimbursement
Comp. Time Bill-Reimbursement of time before loss, or carry it for 2 years, then roll into sick leave
CO6 Position, 10 year veterans would have additional step
Met and confer, unit access
Grievance Procedure revision bill
Free Pre-K to all correctional officers
Hr 413 Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act Introduced
During the last Congress a version of this bi-partisan bill passed the US House with a veto-proof majority. The Senate failed to reach cloture falling a couple of votes short according to the bill's sponsor Senator Grieg (R-New Hampshire). It is expected to pass.
Upon passage and being signed into law it will mandate that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice among other criminal justice agencies and jurisdictions begin a federally directed collective bargaining process with their employee union as set out in this law unless the State of Texas passes implementing legislation.
What Is The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act?
The act would require all state and local governments to collectively bargain with public safety employees'-correction officers, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel-by creating a federalized collective bargaining system for public safety officers.
PSEEC allows the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether a state's collective bargaining arrangements meet the standards as defined by the act.
States and localities must collectively bargain with public safety employees.
They must permit bargaining over wages, hours, and all terms and conditions of employment.
They must provide a dispute resolution mechanism, such as binding arbitration.
They FLRA will have considerable authority to enforce the act, including:
Determining the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation.
Conducting hearings and resolving complaints of unfair labor practices.
Supervising or conducting elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majoriy of the employees.
States would be granted the authority to pass laws more expansive than those the federal government imposed.
States would not, however, be allowed to pass narrower laws than those contained in the act.
As the head union official for AFSCME/CEC7, I am requesting that the agency allow sealed water to be taken into the prison units. Officers are not always near water to get a drink, and we do not want the good CO's to suffer. Even with "unit water", officers rarely get a break to get the water. I understand the problems we now face on the units due to the recent contraband found, but as I first stated "I do not want the good officers to suffer because of a few bad apples". We will work with you the best we can to get through this tough time, but; I must state, in order to get hiring standards in place the correctional officers will need a realistic professional salary to draw other professionals into this agency. I also believe the tuition reimbursement bill sponsored by AFSCME and Rep. Lois Kolkhorst will go a long way to professionalize this agency. This bill will help this agency to develop the managers of the future and it is sad that Governor Perry vetoed this visionary bill.
We have spoken with Senator Whitmire about allowing the water back into the units and he said he would look into it. Please help the hard working CO's who work so hard for this state.
Signed:
Ray Stewart
President AFSCME/CEC7
Brian E. Olsen
Exe. Dir. AFSCME/CEC7
Press Release
Immediate Release
8-12-08
Contact: Brian E. Olsen/Executive Director AFSCME/CEC7
Huntsville TX
936-295-5265 Main
936-661-4610 Cell
AFSCME/CEC7 applauds the aggressive pay raise proposal from TDCJ to the TDCJ Board of Directors. We feel this type of increase will go a long way to stop the massive turnover rate of correctional officers and professionalize the agency. This shows Director Brad Livingston and his staff, "Get It", and understand the precarious position the lack of pay has put this agency in. We also are in hopes the agency will adhere to the SB 909 and negotiate with AFSCME on internal issues that will make TDCJ an even more professional place to work. The ball will now be in the legislatures court. AFSCME/CEC7 will also ask for a 10% increase for Non-security.
On June 4th 2008, in Austin Texas AFSCME/CEC7 was invited to testify in front of the Criminal Justice Legislative Oversight Committee. AFSCME was the only employee organization to be invited to give testimony.
This Committee was formed because of SB 909 which we helped sponsor and pushed to get it passed. This is a far reaching bill that does many things but allows Committee testimony off session to look into TDCJ activities. The House and the Senate have a joint committee made up of House and Senate correctional committee members on this committee. Representative Jerry Madden is the committee chair and Senator John Whitmire is the committee co-chair.
I spoke several minutes about pay, bringing the correctional officers up to the National average of $40,000.00 to $45,000.00. I also spoke with professional respect and dignity for employees on the job. We believe pay is a huge problem but the Agency as a whole needs to start treating their employees as professionals and we have many ideas on how to do so. This was a very important hearing and we got our say. I do believe the correctional employees will get a significant increase including non-security. Stick with us in this very important fight. Get a friend or co-worker to join. Each new member gives us strength in numbers. This fight has been tough over the last 17 years but we are finally looking for real change in TDCJ.
In Washington DC AFSCME sponsored a collective bargaining bill which has passed out of the National House and Senate by non-vetoable margin. The president will not sign it, but we are looking to have some answers by January 2009. Change is coming and together we will get there.
McCain, Republican Leadership Halt
Consideration of Public Safety Officer
Collective Bargaining Bill
This week, the Senate voted 69-29 to begin consideration of a bill (S.2123) providing collective bargaining rights for public safety officers, a key vote that showed widespread support for the bill. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) - who opposes collective bargaining for public safety officers - and Senate Republican leaders tried to attach an amendment to the bill which was a weak and watered down version of the new G.I. Bill proposed by Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA) and John Warner (R-VA) and major national veterans groups. AFSCME supports the stronger Webb-Warner bill.
One senator called the move by McCain and Republican leaders a "parliamentary gimmick," one that played politics with U.S. troops, police, corrections officers and first responders to delay the benefits they deserve. AFSCME will continue to push for passage of the collective bargaining bill.
! ! ! ! IMPORTANT NOTICE ! ! ! !
TO: All CEC and Locals
FROM: Toby Tobias and Brian Olsen
Subject: Disciplinary Probation - MAJOR VICTORY
Date: April 12, 2008, 7:00pm - Via Fax
Today, at the Labor Management Meeting, after six long years of negotiations, the Agency came full circle on what during the years was referred to as "Double Jeopardy". In short, any Correctional Officer who was put on Disciplinary Probation, for what ever period of time, after successfully completing the assessed probation and according to Policy and Procedure had to wait an equal amount of time before receiving the appropriate salary adjustments. The Agency referred to this as "dead time". Well, that's over! As of May 1st, 2008, there is no more disciplinary hold over time. All employees will, as of May 1st, 2008, be made whole, receiving the salary adjustment immediately upon successfully completing the assigned disciplinary probation.
The Agency has not e-mailed this bit of information out, as of yet, nor has the Policy and Procedure been modified to reflect this change. At least you have the information first hand - before May 1st - as it relates to those members who will come off any disciplinary probation after the 1st, and especially those who will be placed on probation after May 1st.
"Open Letter To The Governor"
by Executive Director Of AFSCME/CEC7
Texas Governor
Rick Perry
Governors Office
PO Box 12428
Austin, TX
January 15, 2008
Governor,
As the Executive Director of the largest employee organization representing state correctional employees (AFSCME/CEC7) I am obligated to send out this letter. In light of the state wide crisis in manning the state prisons it is incumbent upon me to ask you to help with this very important public safety issue.
Recently it has come to light that several units around the state have cut the number of inmates due to lack of correctional staff. This is just the tip of the ice berg. Those units are so understaffed many officers are required to work much of their "off" time under the mandatory overtime policy, and yet the units are still under staffed. This is a severe crisis that is only getting worse by the day.
What I am asking is that an emergency pay raise be given to the security correctional officers immediately of 10%. This would be a raise for all those that work in gray including Food Service, Laundry, and Supervisors. This shot in the arm of pay would do much to keep good employees, and bring in new professional employees. This raise must be done Now! Then during the Legislative session another 10% should be given to the entire agency just to get them to a respectable professional level. Too long this problem has gone on, and now we are in a dangerous situation for the public at large, let alone the officers and the inmates. Its time that Texas come into the 21st century with the rest of the country and work with the employees instead of against them. We also ask the Texas Senate Bill 909 be implemented by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This allows TDC to enter into a partnership with its employees to make it a better place to work.
We must stop this massive turnover and with this two pronged attack, (Emergency Pay Raise), and (enacting SB909 as an employee Partnership), we can stop much of this hemorrhaging that is costing the Texas taxpayers millions of dollars. Please contact me at your convenience.
Respectfully,
Brian E. Olsen
Executive Director
AFSCME/CEC7
Office 936-295-5265
Cell 936-661-4610
**VICTORY**
Effective January 1, 2007- The Correctional Employees Council has negotiated the end of the banking of overtime.
Through continued negotiations and constant pressure AFSCME/CEC7 was able to make this dream a reality. CEC7 is proud to take sole credit for this change as we were the only employee organization to have negotiated with TDCJ.
The threat of a change through legislation became too great for TDCJ to continue their overtime policy. We have been successful in developing a coalition of State Senators and Representatives to support us in this policy, as a result, TDCJ knew it was time to step up to the plate.
We have worked long and hard to get where we are today and it has not been easy. This overtime process started in the 2005 legislative session when we had several Senators introduce our bill to stop the banking. Unfortunately, it was defeated--BUT WE WERE NOT!!
We worked during the special sessions to keep many of our issues alive, again we were the only union or employee organization to do so. But we didn't stop there, I have also given written and oral testimony to the legislative sunset advisory committee.
Stand with us to make this legislative session our most successful yet. We are having a great impact on the politicians.
Sincerely,
Brian E. Olsen
Executive Director AFSCME CEC/7
News
Lobby Day!
May 14th, 2009
Austin TX. 9 a.m.
Meet at the AFL-CIO Building Show your support for the pay raise!
