Sunday, June 16, 2013

State prison guards form a new union.

State prison guards plan union vote

Jun. 10, 2013 Green Bay Press Gazette

Prison guards in Wisconsin will vote later this month on whether to reorganize under its former union, a newly-formed group or to continue without representation.

The battle over who will represent Department of Corrections security and public safety employees in workplace and collective bargaining issues has already sparked a contentious lawsuit between the two groups in advance of the vote, which will be conducted by mail between June 28 and July 18.

The Wisconsin State Employees Union, also known as WSEU or AFSCME Council 24, represented prison guards for 80 years up until the state union was decertified as a union in the wake of Act 10’s passage and subsequent legal battles.

In October, though, a group of former WSEU local officers who were unhappy with the organization’s representation created the Wisconsin Association for Correctional Law Enforcement, or WACLE.

The group secured enough signatures to trigger a statewide vote.

In January, WSEU responded by securing enough signatures to also be included on the ballot. The Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission will oversee the vote, which requires either organization to secure 51 percent of the total vote in order to represent the group.

WSEU executive director Marty Beil said he is confident his organization will continue to represent corrections officers, saying WACLE was created by disgruntled former union leaders.

“This is a situation where about half a dozen or a dozen people want to take their ball and go home. They weren’t able to win elections and other stuff, so they decided to split off and start their own organization,” Beil said. “In this day and age with the political climate the way it is, that’s the worst thing for them and for correctional employees. It’s something (Gov.) Scott Walker would want to happen.”

In January, local WSEU groups filed a lawsuit against WACLE organizers in Winnebago County Circuit Court after several of them, anticipating a contentious vote, transferred about $100,000 in member dues into separate accounts, said Timoty Scheffler, one of WACLE’s attorneys.

Scheffler said legal precedent has indicated collected union dues should stay with the organization that represents workers, not with the union that originally collected the money.

“When AFSCME stepped in and said we want the money back, it pretty much went hyper right there,” Scheffler said. “It turned into a spat involving lawyers instead of saying ‘What’s our plan?’ It’s a real game of hardball over the money.”

WACLE questions whether Winnebago County is the proper venue for the case to play out and has stopped responding to the court, earning the ire of Circuit Court Judge John Jorgenson during a Thursday hearing in which he ruled in favor of WSEU.

“If these guys (from WACLE) are portraying themselves to be great leaders, but don’t respond to legal requests, you wonder what their motivation is,” Beil said. “We assume when we go to the portion of the hearing on damages that the court will order these guys return the money to the treasuries for existing members.”

Scheffler said it’s not quite so clear-cut. He said the outcome of the vote later this month will go a long way toward determining future responses to WSEU’s lawsuit and other proceedings.

“It’s an issue that could have been mediated or talked through instead of relying on a lawsuit,” Scheffler said. “If WACLE is successful in becoming the representative of corrections, our position is that the WSCU funds contributed by corrections employees will flow to them.”

Thursday, June 6, 2013

5 Million dollar sports complex?

 If you haven't heard there is talk about "building a sports complex" between the High School and Middle School.  Here is the story:

See:

May 20, 2013, De Pere School board agenda, "Middle School Drainage Improvement"  (regrading all open ditches)

A motion was made by Paque and seconded by Meneau to award the phase 1 drainage improvement project at De Pere Middle School to Ed Gersek, Inc for a total contract amount of $74,939.19.. Motion carried on a voice vote. 4/0
June 3rd, 2013, De Pere School board agenda - Fiancee Committee, "Outdoor Facility Plan"


For the Summer of 2013, besides the drainage improvements, the other part is an addition to the existing high school concessions building.

July 15 minutes;
Stadium Concession Gift

A motion was made by Seeman and seconded by Van Straten to approve and accept a gift from the tennis booster club to fund an extension of the stadium concession stand, valued at approximately $50,000. Motion carried on a voice vote; all ayes

Other related projects may include:

Add fencing to diamond by Middle School $18,000
Add fencing to exterior of Baseball diamond to make it a fenced facility $25,000
Put bleachers on the East side of Braisher field $125,000
Add a second baseball diamond $50,000
Install side hill seating areas at the softball diamonds $50,000
Install restrooms and the softball site $50,000

Dec 16 2013 Minutes:
"A motion was made by Paque and seconded by Meneauto waive Board policy regarding competitive bids and engage the services of Rettler Corporation to work on Project Redbird to include design development, permit applications and construction bidding documents for outdoor athletic facilities. Per the agreement filed with these minutes there will be a 8.5% fee based on construction value. Motion carried on a voice vote; all ayes"