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The
Recount
Minnesota
is entering the second week of the U.S. Senate
recount. About two-thirds of the ballots have
been recounted, and election officials are
working to finish the remaining precincts by a
December 5 deadline. But
the recount may not end the matter. |
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Council
5 represents people who work for state and
local governments, school boards, health care
providers and non-profit organizations
throughout the state of Minnesota. |
Workday
Minnesota is a news and information source that
combines journalistic ethics and practices with
a focus on the lives and concerns of working
people. |
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Working
Partnerships is dedicated to serving working
families in the West Metro region.
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This
site lets you browse every vote in the U.S.
Congress since 1991. |
AFSCME's
Health Care Solution. |
AFL/CIO
Community Services Program |
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(Last
updated 11/2008) |
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The
Employee
Free Choice Act
will allow more people to bargain for better
wages and working conditions—which in turn
helps rebuild our middle class and create an
economy that works for all. |
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HSPHD
Budget
My
last budget and staffing update on November 7,
2008, indicated that the proposed 2009 HSPHD
budget that was formally presented to the
County Board on Monday, November 3rd, included
a reduction of 119 permanent
positions. It was projected at that time
that the department would need to layoff no
more than 35 staff in early 2009 to fully
address these proposed reductions. Late last
week the County Board took action that will
further mitigate some of the proposed layoffs.
Our
department has managed increased demand for
services to aging and disabled clients by
using contracted providers for case management
services, as well as county staff. These
providers bill the state of Minnesota under
Medical Assistance waivers and receive no
funding from Hennepin County to subsidize
their services. Working in conjunction
with the County Board and AFSCME, our analysis
has indicated that the department could add
ten new social worker/senior social worker
FTE's in Aging and Disability Services in 2009
to provide these case management services
using Medical Assistance funding and not
require additional county funding. This
analysis takes into account the average number
of new waivered services clients per month and
assumes we achieve established standards for
staff productivity in the provision of
waivered services case management.
As a result of the above analysis, the County
Board approved an amendment to our proposed
2009 budget late last week allowing our
department to add these ten new
FTE's. These new positions will be posted
as lateral transfer opportunities in the next
few days. As stated above, this action will
reduce some of the proposed layoffs, while not
disrupting services to clients currently
served by contracted providers.
The above action by the County Board does not
eliminate the need for potential layoffs in
early 2009. However, it is certainly a
positive step and we appreciate both the
action of the County Board and AFSCME in
moving this forward. We are continuing to work
on additional strategies for reducing the
number of layoffs that will ultimately be
required and we will keep you updated if there
are any new developments.
Thank you for your continuing dedication to
the work of this department! Daniel Engstrom,
Assistant County Administrator, HSPHD
(11/25/2008) |
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County
Board Votes To Add Back SW Positions To 2009
Budget
I
would like to let you know of an AFSCME success
story. Commissioner Randy Johnson introduced an
amendment to the 2009 budget yesterday that puts
10 Social Worker/Senior Social Worker FTEs back
into the budget for the contracted case
management area. After some discussion, the
amendment passed unanimously. This means that we
have 10 fewer Local 34 folks who will face the
threat of their positions being cut.
This amendment did not come out of thin air. It
is the result of Clifford Robinson pushing from
one side based on his theory that there would be
no good reason to not pursue bringing back some
of our work that had been contracted out in
light of our lay off language in our contract -
that no one would lose a job if the work had
been contracted out - and the efforts of John
Herzog to gather data on the federal
reimbursement rates for waivered work - and our
Business Representative, Matt Nelson's, gentle
direction - and our meetings with Commissioner
Johnson to present our case. He followed those
meetings up with getting more information from
Curt Haats, on behalf of Dan Engstrom, Human
Services & Public Health Department
Director. We then met again to go over that
information with the end result being the
amendment that was presented by Commissioner
Johnson to the County Board yesterday, 11/20/08.
Click
Here to Read the Amendment
Please
join me in thanking John, Cliff and Matt for
their efforts in pushing us forward in this
endeavor; Curt Haats for providing the financial
analysis necessary to document the information;
Dan Engstrom for supporting the amendment and
most especially to Commissioner Johnson for
meeting with us, listening to what we had to
say, taking the time to review the information
and then crafting his amendment and bringing it
forward to the County Board for adoption.
Keeping 10 of our workers from facing possible
lay off is
a big thing and they all deserve our gratitude.
THANK YOU!!!
Feel free to share this with your coworkers and
to feel good about the work of your union. U are
what makes the union strong.
Jean
Diederich, President, AFSCME Local 34
(11/21/2008) |
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County
Board Budget Hearings
Thursday,
December 4, 2008, 5:30 p.m.
Board holds Truth
in Taxation Public Hearing
Tuesday,
December 16, 2008, 1:30 pm County
Board approves 2009 budget and levy at
regularly scheduled board meeting. |
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Hennepin
County's Safety Net for Kids is Fraying
Even
with the economy on the downturn, this is no
time to be discussing funding cuts to Child
Protection. Full
Story |
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MSSA
Opposes "Mandatory" Licensing of
Social Workers
The
following resolution was adopted at the
November Legislative Assembly by MSSA
(Minnesota Social Service Association)
delegates:
Title:
Opposition to Mandatory Licensing of County
Social Workers.
Description:
The MN Board of Social Work is proposing
mandatory licensing of all county social
workers by 2012. Fiscal
Impact:
Increase county costs for hiring social
workers. MSSA
Proposed Action/Solution: Continue
current practice and requirements per Mn.
Merit System. Motion
was adopted.
Note:
County Social Workers have been exempt from
"mandatory" licensing since the
initial law went into effect in 1987. AFSCME
has remained opposed to "mandatory"
licensing of County Social Workers. AFSCME
Local 34 is a Member Agency of MSSA. (John
Herzog) |
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Emergency
Food Program Seeks Donations
"This
holiday season, increased layoffs and a
worsening economy are combining to make the
end of the year one of the toughest we’ve
seen," said Doug Flateau, director of
Working Partnerships, the community services
partner of the Minneapolis Regional Labor
Federation.
"Working Partnerships is on track to
assist more union members this year than any
other year," Flateau noted. Cash
donations to the Emergency Food Program enable
Working Partnerships to distribute grocery
store gift cards to union members who are in
financial distress.
Gift cards for $25 are available for Cub Foods
or Rainbow Foods. Union members eligible for
assistance are limited to six $25 grocery gift
cards per year.
To support the Emergency Food Program,
individuals or union locals may send checks
payable to "Working Partnerships" to
Working Partnerships, 312 Central Ave., Suite
524, Minneapolis, MN 55414. Donations are
tax-deductible.
For more information, contact Working
Partnerships at 612-379-8130. If you are an
individual seeking assistance, making an
appointment is recommended. (11/30/2008) |
It's
Official: U.S. In A Recession
The U.S.
economy has been in a recession since
December 2007, the National Bureau of
Economic Research said Monday. The NBER - a
private, nonprofit research organization -
said its group of academic economists who
determine business cycles met and decided
that the U.S. recession began last
December...The White House commented on the
news that a second downturn has officially
begun on President George W. Bush's watch
without ever actually using the word
"recession," a term the president
and his aides have repeatedly avoided...Many
economists believe the current downturn will
last well into 2009, and will be the most
severe slump since the 1981-82 recession.
The country is being battered by the most
severe financial crisis since the 1930s as
banks struggle to deal with billions of
dollars in loan losses…"I'm sorry
it's happening, of course," Bush said,
referring to a global financial crisis that
has eliminated millions of jobs and damaged
retirement accounts…The decision on the
recession means that during the eight years
that Bush has been in office, the country
has seen two recessions. The first downturn
lasted from March 2001 until November of
that year. (Excerpts from AP)
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Tomorrow's
Union
It
is considered a dark time in American's
history--workers mistreated, exploited and
abused in Duluth, on the Iron Range and
beyond.
"As
far as northern Minnesota is concerned, labor
organizing there really begins with the
opening of the iron mines," said Hy
Berman, labor scholar and professor.
The
late 1800's was a time when thousands of
European immigrants came to the Range and
Duluth to work in the mines and mills. Full
Story |
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Governor
Pawlenty Secures Federal Waiver to Allow
MinnesotaCare Funding to Continue
Following
requests by Governor Tim Pawlenty and his
administration, the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services has granted the state a
waiver that will ensure 18,000 parents remain
eligible for MinnesotaCare health insurance.
The agreement means that Minnesota will
receive more than $100 million a year in
federal funding through June 2011.
“Our
administration has been negotiating with the
federal government to ensure that funding was
preserved for this program,” Governor
Pawlenty said. “I appreciate the help of our
state Congressional delegation to obtain this
waiver.”
In
August, the federal Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) changed its agreement
with the state that would have resulted in a
loss of over $135 million in federal
MinnesotaCare funding for three years.
Governor Pawlenty met with HHS Secretary Mike
Leavitt in September and worked with Minnesota’s
Congressional delegation to overturn that
decision. The agreement reached with CMS
avoids any loss of coverage and the related
loss of federal funding.
With
the waiver, which runs through June 30, 2011,
health insurance for parents with incomes
between 100 and 200 percent of poverty will be
funded with federal Medicaid funds rather than
with federal State Children’s Health
Insurance Program (SCHIP) funds. In exchange,
the state will access SCHIP funding for some
MinnesotaCare children under age 19.
MinnesotaCare
is a publicly subsidized program for
Minnesotans who do not have access to
affordable health care coverage. Approximately
118,000 people were enrolled in the program
during state fiscal year 2007.
Under
other terms of the agreement, the state
secured approval for federal matching funds
for five years worth of nursing home pay
increases that are already in place and will
receive a higher amount of funding for
graduate medical education than CMS originally
proposed. |
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Tell
Red Cross: Bargain a Fair Contract Keep Safe
Blood Available
AFSCME
lab workers are seeking support in their effort
to get a fair contract with the American Red
Cross in St. Paul. The workers, represented by
AFSCME Local 3931, marched on the Red Cross
Saturday to call for a fair settlement. These
highly skilled workers safely process donated
blood and blood products for 111 hospitals in
Minnesota, western Wisconsin and eastern South
Dakota. If forced to strike, safe blood could be
in short supply, the union said. Local 3931 is
asking supporters to call the Red Cross to avert
an unfair labor practices strike and a shortage
of blood. "Tell the Red Cross to keep safe
blood available by bargaining in good faith and
settling a fair contract with lab workers who
save lives," the union said.
Supporters
are urged to call Dr. Mair, Interim CEO, at
651-290-8664, and Lisa Rohr, Human Resources, at
651-291-3396.
"Saving lives is our top priority and we
want to settle this contract, but we can't do
that until the Red Cross provides us with the
information we need to negotiate wages and
benefits," explained union negotiator Nola
Lynch.
Workers
Keep Up Pressure on Red Cross |
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Economic
Trends
Tom
Stinson, the Minnesota state economist, spoke
to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners
recently on the national and state economies
and future demographic trends. Click
Here
to review Mr. Stinson's presentation. |
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