President’s Message – September 2019

I’d like to thank all of you who joined at the BOS chambers in July for the Munis training. While it looked like this project would not take off for some time, we now have a launch date set for December 15th. Please review training schedules and get your teams ready for this change.

I’ve mentioned this a few times and I can’t stress how important this might become. If you are called in to discuss an investigation of any type, contact one of your MCMEA reps to join you. While things may seem quite friendly and it’s “just to clear up some questions,” the outcome may not be anything like you anticipated. It’ hard to undo misunderstandings and statements that may not be relevant and lead events down a different path. This is what MCMEA is here for. Call us.

We are about 16 months out from the start of our next contract negotiations. In preparation, our negotiation team would like to meet with members t hear your concerns and get suggestions to make this a better work environment. If your supervisor/manager group would ever like to invite one of us to hear your concerns, please reach out to me. I’ll set it up. If we don’t know of a problem, we’ll never be able to try to fix it.

We have a new Principal in Labor Relations, Jake Hurley who has been here roughly 5 months. Jake has done well to extend a friendly rapport with MCMEA, which I do appreciate.

One of the topics we’re currently in discussions with Jake and HR now is the hiring process. I don’t know about you, but when I know I must replace a staff member I literally have a visceral reaction as depression sets in. I’m looking at months before interviews start and by then it’s been so long people have moved on and there are few people to interview. Spark Hire has not given the results some had hoped for and I’ll be frank, your Association is not a fan of that process at all. I’m very pleased that Jake has opened a dialog with us to improve the process.

PMR negotiations are set to resume soon. We only have PMR 33 and some clean-up until they are finished and sent to the Board of Supervisors for ratification. Unfortunately, as soon as they are approved it is likely new negotiations will begin as many will be outdated.

In closing, I’d like to congratulate Barbara Kob on her retirement. She fought for your rights in MCMEA for years prior to being riffed in the great recession and joining MAPE. Cecelia Jones has replaced her role at MAPE. Barbara was very effective in her role and worked hard for employees in our County. We wish her the best.