On Thursday, May 1 and Friday, May 2, approximately 48% of the PSEC membership turned out and voted 442 yea and 20 nay, ratifying the tentative agreement reached with the Office of Labor Relations on a new 3-year contract, beginning July 1, 2008.  The tentative agreement provided for a 3% general wage increase  paid on time in each of the three years, and annual increments (steps) paid on time in each of the three years, along with a top step bonus of $600.00 paid each year of the term of the contract to those members at their top step.  (Additional information on the tentative agreement can be viewed below.)  

The agreement has been sent to the General Assembly, where it needs to be approved by both chambers, before it can go into effect.

TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED ON NEW CONTRACT

The Union has reached a tentative agreement with the State on a new three-year contract. This agreement is the product of extensive negotiations with the State over the last several months that continued to the last possible minute. During these negotiations the Union negotiation team worked tirelessly to reach the best comprehensive settlement possible in the face of an economic downturn and heavy pressure from the State.

There will be a General Membership Meeting on Thursday, May 1, 2008 to explain the details of the agreement. The General Membership Meeting will be held at the Union office, 705 North Mountain Road, Newington, CT 06040. Click here for directions. The meeting will begin promptly at 6:00 PM. Those in attendance will be allowed to cast their Ratification Ballots following the meeting. 

TENTATIVE AGREEMENT SUMMARY

Currently there are the following vacancies on the IUPA Local 74 Executive Board:

● 2nd Vice President
● Secretary

Any Local 74 member interested in either position should contact Art Fisher via email at artfisher@protectiveservices.org, or by phone at (860) 953-2626, ext. 15.
 

On October 11 & 12, 2007, PSEC hosted its third biennial two day Steward Training Conference.  An intensive training program started by former President Tim Scott, PSEC has been continuing this educational tradition for the last seven years in hopes of arming stewards with the best information possible to help represent you—the members.  

Every two years, all of the stewards receive two days of specific training dealing with labor issues and concerns particular to PSEC; every other year, the program is scaled back to one day. “With a stewardship representing such diverse job titles, this training is a  great way for our stewards to meet each other, as well as to discuss potential issues at their respective agencies. It also builds camaraderie”, said President Boucher.  This year’s program was full of interactive exercises and role playing situations. Stewards were given actual case scenarios; they then would collaborate in groups to decide whether the issues merited filing a grievance,  cite the respective article violations, decide how to gather information and ultimately argue their cases at staged hearings. 

In addition to grievance preparation exercises, an informative health and safety presentation was given by John Thoma from the Western Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (Western MassCOSH). John stressed the importance of learning how to properly identify, report and care for potential workplace hazards. 

Other presentations included ones by: President Boucher discussing proposed language changes for contract negotiations; Stan Mieldzioc on training and tuition; Jason Hyland on legislative issues and the importance of funding the Political Action Committee (PAC); Dean Marino on reestablishing the Retiree Committee and improving the success of the picnic; and International Union of Police Associations Secretary/Treasurer Tim Scott, who discussed the rights and responsibilities of stewards.