Chattanooga Workers get M.O.U.!

Patience and Persistence Pays Off for Union Members

We are happy to announce that our Memorandum Of Understanding (“M.O.U.”) has finally been finished and signed by the Mayor! This historic agreement establishes some ground rules for future interactions between the city and its employee union. A short list of the improvements includes:

• A list of grounds for grievances and a defined process for filing and pursuing them. Violations of the MOU itself are grounds for grievance.
• Established employees’ right to have a union representative or Steward present during the grievance process.
• Stewards’ right to take time off without loss of pay to represent co-workers.
• A Grievance Review Committee as part of an appeal process in which employees will have fair representation.
• The right to have Union bulletin boards on the worksites, increasing our communications ability.
• Fifteen minutes to make presentations at new employee orientation programs.
• An Employer/Employee Relations Committee to maintain the flow of information between the city and its employees and an opportunity for us to discuss things that aren’t going well with our jobs. We can have meetings of this committee as needed.

These rights and others that are included in the M.O.U. establish a more level playing field in which we can have a say about issues that affect our working conditions. It has taken a long time to get here, but it’s been worth it! Now we have to insure that City Council is ready to back us and make it the law.

What’s next? Well, that’s up to us. A union is only as strong as the unity its members can muster up. If we stand together, this agreement gives us a good basis for being part of budget decisions. In the future, we can expect to play a role in decisions that affect our pay raises, health care insurance and retirement benefits, etc. The more we are together, the stronger we are! The union is a democratic organization and so the direction it goes in is up to us. We urge everyone to get involved in the meetings, come to the functions listed on the enclosed calendar. BE ACTIVE and speak up and remember the SEIU motto...