our voice, summer/fall 2015

IMPORTANT BILLS OF THE 2015 SESSION

Passed:HB15-1055, Participation in State Employee Assistance ProgramThis legislation would allow the family members of state employees to access services through the CSEAP program.

SB15-097, Supplemental Needs Trust For Certain PERA BenefitsThe bill is a technical fix to allow better flexibility for dependents to receive survivorship benefits in the event of the death of the original PERA beneficiary.

HB15-1122, Parole Application and RevocationThe bill clarifies that:- if an inmate applying for parole was convicted of any Class 3 sexual offense, a habitual criminal offense, or any offense requiring the inmate’s designation as a sex offender, the board need only reconsider granting parole to such inmate once every 3 years; and- if an inmate applying for parole was convicted of a Class 1 or Class 2 felony that constitutes a crime of violence, the board need only reconsider granting parole to such inmate once every 5 years.

SB5-124, Reduce Parole Revocations for Technical ViolationsThis bill seeks to implement “evidence based practices” when enforcing technical violations of parole and, in connection therewith, making and reducing appropriations.

Killed:HB15-1076, Prohibit Discrimination Labor Union Participation This legislation was a so-called “Right-to-Work” policy that is being pushed by out-of-state CEOs to weaken workers’ ability to bargain for better wages and benefits.

SB15-080, Participation In PERA’s Defined Contribution PlanThis legislation would have allowed any state employee to opt-out of the PERA defined benefit pension program and opt-in to participate in the defined contribution program. While this sounds good on the surface, this would defund the defined benefit program over time and weaken retirement security for all public employees and retirees in Colorado over time. If an employee chose to switch plans they would not be able to switch back.

SB15-133, Compensation Report Prepared by State Personnel DirectorThis bill would have changed the annual compensation survey to a bi-annual survey, it would have also added certain requirements to the survey concerning the value of retirement benefits.

SUMMER/FALL 2015 NEWSLETTER | COLORADO WINS | LOCAL 1876

State workers get third raise in a row

› State employees join the Fight for $15 (and a union) › RSVP TODAY: Colorado WINS Member Convention› Public Service Recognition Week honorees› What to do about the culture of fear at DHS and beyond

WHAT’S INSIDE:

For the third consecutive year state employees saw their pay increased by an across-the-board raise as well as Merit Pay for those scoring a 2 or a 3 on their yearly performance evaluations. The raises mean that hard-working state employees will continue to be part of Colorado’s economic recovery.

HB15-1388 - The SCORE Act, which would have enabled the state to sell bonds to help close PERA’s unfunded liability while also locking in contribution rates for the life of the bonds, died in the Senate Finance Committee on a party line 3-2 vote after passing the House with broad bi-partisan support a few days earlier.

Large healthcare premium increases were avoided thanks to the actions of Colorado WINS members. Early in the session, the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) considered a proposal that would have increased premiums for state workers by $12.8 million. Instead, with pressure from WINS members, the JBC voted to fund nearly two thirds of the increase, approving an additional $8.4 million in funding toward premium costs.

Legislators from both sides of the aisle came together to support state workers by approving raises and lowering the proposed healthcare premium increases. This year’s gains build on the momentum WINS members created on behalf of state employees and the communities that depend on them.

If you want to be more involved in setting the political course for our union, become a Committee on Political Education (COPE) member by signing up to contribute to the COPE fund at bit.ly/winscope.

Semi-monthly payroll bill passedPassed at the very end of the session, HB15-1392 shifts the state to a twice-a-month pay cycle from its current once-a-month pay cycle.

The Colorado WINS Executive Board supported this concept for two reasons.

First, employees should be paid at least twice monthly. Forcing middle-class families to wait an entire month between paychecks is anachronistic and creates a hardship for many working families.

Second, for those who earn overtime this will ensure that you receive that pay in a much more timely fashion.

The bill will not take effect until July 2017 and we will work closely with DPA to make sure the implementation and transition is as simple and smooth as possible.

If you are interested in being on the implementation committee, please email [email protected] to let us know.

2

SUMMER/FALL 2015 | COLORADO WINS | LOCAL 1876 SUMMER/FALL 2015 | COLORADO WINS | LOCAL 1876

Nothing is solved by silenceIf you have been following the news, you’ve seen

the series of articles questioning the leadership of the Department of Human Services (DHS). The articles were prompted by a letter, signed by 84 of the 100 state legislators, asking Governor Hickenlooper to address the problems in DHS.

The letter names several of the problems that WINS members have continually contended with at the Department of Human Services: hostile work environments, retaliation, secrecy, self-protectionism and a driven-from-top culture of fear. Additionally, the letter outlines the failures this type of work environment has fostered in the administration of services to the people that DHS serves.

To union members and employees of the Department of Human Services, none of this is news. Worst of all, this work

environment is not limited to DHS. Members from the Department of Corrections, Health Care Policy and Finance, Higher Education, and Department of Revenue all know exactly what this letter is referencing. People in many departments and divisions have been working in toxic environments for some time now.

However, as we have said before, we can’t look only at the people running the departments, divisions or facilities when the real issue is how those institutions are run. A lack of meaningful input from front line employees in how departments and divisions operate leads to the sort of systemic issues you all are facing in your agencies every single day.

In facilities where management and members meet in Partnership to jointly address issues within their workplace, problems stay manageable, new ideas that improve work processes can be implemented, and management decisions are informed by the reality of the work and not based purely on theory. When properly utilized, Partnership provides an avenue by which collaboration between management and employees can improve jobs and services.

As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. In order for Partnership to serve its core function of improving Colorado’s state government, it requires that membership be large, active and innovative in bringing forth solutions and that management meet with a willingness to hear and address the concerns carried forth by elected union representatives.

As far as state management’s part, the Executive Order establishing Partnership must be enforced and supported. It’s the best and most sensible way to ensure delivery of state services in an effective, efficient and elegant way. It’s imperative that union members are a part of the decisions made in every department in order to determine realistic solutions to problems that arise when serving over 5 million Coloradans.

As a member, you can do your part to create positive change by being active in your union and carrying forward the message of unity and solidarity in order to have the strength to move the State of Colorado forward. There is a hole in processes of decision-making and service delivery in the state that can only be filled with the unified voice of members, so it’s critical that you add your voice to that mix.

As always our strength lies in our numbers – the more our membership grows the more our power grows. If you aren’t a member, join. If you are a member, ask a coworker to join. If you work for DHS or any other department and see the problems addressed in the letter sent by the legislators, connect with a steward or an organizer to discuss these concerns or visit the WINS website and click on the Tip Line.

The solution to the problems isn’t in your silence, but in your voice.

HILARY CHIGROOrganizing Director

Safety a priority for Youth Corrections members

In response to a number of critical incidents within the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC), the Dept. of Human Services (DHS) Partnership Team created the DYC Safety Sub-Committee to sit down with DYC executive management every other month. The team’s goal is to tackle safety concerns in the department and its first agenda item was a response to the move away from segregating populations.

In the past six months the sub-committee has been meeting, they have rewritten a policy on time outs and seclusion. The new policy seeks to clarify the tools DYC staff has to maintain a safe and effective environment.

Next on the agenda, the team will be taking a look at Critical Incident and Seclusion Documentation. This past legislative year, southern Colorado legislators sponsored a bill to create more transparency in the way the Division publishes those critical incident reports. This new transparency justifies the need for additional staff within the Division’s facilities. Besides making the facilities safer, additional staff will help meet the federal PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) standards and ensure the federal dollars will continue to help maintain the state’s funding level.

Beyond that, the team wants to take a closer look at restorative programs and early intervention for troubled youth in the facilities.

“Right now, residents who act out are sent to their rooms for maybe thirty minutes to an hour,” team member Rich Brinker said. “We want to ensure that those residents get the counseling they need after critical incidents occur before returning to programming. That would include restorative justice, mediation and a therapeutic review. We don’t want to keep residents locked up, but we want to make sure everyone is made to feel safe.”

The Division of Youth Corrections is made up of 10 different facilities along the Front Range and Western Slope. The mission is to provide a safe and productive environment for troubled youth. Education, counseling, and support are the foundation for their work. The DYC Safety Sub-Committee is working to improve those services by giving a voice to the concerns of front line staff.

Safety Sub-Committee team membersRich Brinker

Zebulon Pike

Eric Broderson Grand Mesa

Paul Hubbard Spring Creek

Shawndel Schadle Mount View

Danielle Torrez Zebulon Pike

If you want to contact the team to let them know

they are doing a good job, or inform them about

a concern they should be addressing, you can let

them know at ColoradoWINS.org/DYC.

3


COLORADO WINS EXECUTIVE BOARD

PATTY MOORE President

GREG GOLDMAN Treasurer

DAVID PERTZ Secretary

TIM MARKHAM Executive Director

VICE PRESIDENTS:PAT ROYBAL, Dist. IRITA UHLER, Dist. II

SKIP MILLER, Dist. IIIVACANT, Dist. IV

JACQUIE ANDERSON, Dist. VED SCHMAL, Dist. VI

DALE O’CONNOR, Dept. Committee

RETIREE CHAIR:DAVID RUCHMAN

Official publication of Colorado WINS

2525 Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219

303.727.8040

[email protected]

VINCENT SCUDELLA Colorado Mental Health

Institute at Pueblo Social Worker

NAZALEE WORKMAN Pueblo Regional Center

Nurse

DAMIAN MACIAS Univ. of Northern Colorado

Information Technology

BILL HASTINGS Dept. of Corrections,

Division of Adult Parole Parole Officer

Public Service Recognition Week Edition

Each year, the first week of May is Public Service

Recognition Week and this year we featured four of our members who are fantastic public servants and who take

great pride in their work.

Read the full stories of our honorees on our website at ColoradoWINS.org (scroll to the bottom of the home page).

I work with men that are in the county jail system. A lot of them are pretty good people but because of the psychosis that goes on they end up doing things that are not so good. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still good at heart and they have good family members having to deal with the challenges that come with schizophrenia.

I think they still deserve compassion, patience and respect, no matter what they have done, especially with the mental health piece in play. If you’re just willing to give them a chance, listen, provide firm boundaries while supporting them along their journey and empowering them, they can ultimately help themselves to get to where they need to be.

I feel like I’m a guy just doing his job. It’s a privilege to be of service to these guys and especially to their families.”

I really enjoy my job because it presents a different scenario every day. It’s dynamic and it provides me with challenges that keep my skills fresh. I really enjoy the higher learning institution

setting and working with students, faculty and other classified staff to make this the best learning environment possible.

During the summer we upgrade the audio/visual equipment or we outfit rooms with new technology. This past year we had so many rooms that it was decided to take some of them off the schedule, because there was not going to be enough time. Instead, I rallied our small team of three to come in on the weekends and work later hours to finish all the rooms. I actually stayed at work for 24 hours, from 7 am Sunday to 7 am Monday, finishing the programming for all the rooms so it would be 100% finished by the time classes started at 8 that morning.

I became a nurse because I wanted to help people and make a difference and I dedicate my work to my late twin sister who was also a nurse and died of cancer. I love my career, I feel like I’m able to make a difference every day.

Right now I work at the Pueblo Regional Center, but I’ve also worked in correctional facilities before. Every day I get to help clients with their wellness, whether it’s to notice signs and symptoms of pneumonia or just to help someone with a headache or nausea. It feels very good knowing that I can help someone feel better.

With nursing you can always learn more. You can learn from doctors, patients, clients, their families, their medical charts and history. You can learn from things you’ve never seen before. It’s very rewarding at the end of the day to know that I’ve helped people’s health and wellness and maybe helped them prevent a disease with good education.

Even a small action or gesture really makes a big difference. One time one of my coworkers had an offender come in because she had a

warrant out for her arrest. She had a baby with her that was about a year old but she couldn’t even hold her head up, couldn’t sit up, couldn’t roll over. We called the Dept. of Social Services and as we waited my coworker and I went through the diaper bag and found that she had no clothes, no food, nothing.

So I took it upon myself to get her some formula, some baby food and a little outfit that would keep her warm. I did all of that out of the kindness of my heart, it wasn’t the baby’s fault. That little girl will probably live in our memories forever in that office. We all took turns holding her and everyone wanted to take her home and provide a great place for her. It was a really awesome thing. Baby Christine, I’ll never forget that, ever.

4


Organizingfor respect

State employees join the Fight For $15What do we want? Fifteen and a Union!When do we want it? Now!And if they don’t give it to us? We shut it down!

The chant roared up on April 15 from the heart of the Auraria campus in Denver as fast food, retail, health care, custodian, and academic workers took to the streets to demand a living wage and the right to form a union. Down Speer Boulevard and onto Colfax Avenue, the crowd of hundreds marched to the rhythm of a brass band and the beat of justice.

Finally arriving at the targeted McDonald’s, workers and community allies took over the fast food joint and rallied outside. They were there to send a message, not just to McDonald’s, but to every low wage and exploitative employer across the country: low pay, retaliation against organizing, and union busting will no longer be tolerated. Employers can either give respect and dignity to their workers, or they will be shut down.

Colorado state employees recently joined the Fight for $15 as well. Contrary to popular belief that a state job pays a middle class wage with decent benefits, nearly 3000 state employees barely get by making under $15/hr.

“Every day I work my hardest for my family, and sometimes I find myself asking, why? To barely just get by?” says Christine Welker, who works at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP). “People automatically assume I make great money [because] I work for the state. Little do they know that it all depends on what you do and your title.”

Some of the people who make less than $15/hour are workers we interact with every day. They include custodians, accountants, technicians, client care aids, dining services workers, childcare workers, security guards, IT professionals and admin support.

“For the past five years I have worked as a client care aide at CMHIP on one of the most physically taxing wards we have at the hospital,” said Justin Rohrer. “I have also remained on afternoons just to subsidize my income with the differential for shifts. I come up short every month on bills and my family of four struggles monthly to make ends meet. We look on while co workers and higher ups take vacations and buy homes for their families, and we can barely afford groceries after we make bills. I’ve had to file for the employee financial help for state workers twice just to pay our rent. I’m an honest worker, working five days a week and 40+ hours weekly and can’t stop to enjoy life. My kids can’t join sports, we can’t get a bigger house, we can’t take our kids to places out of state, the list goes on. It’s truly disheartening.”

The Fight for $15 and a Union (FF15) started as a small local action in New York City and has grown into a national movement. The campaign won small raises at McDonald’s and Walmart and has led cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to adopt $15/hr as the minimum wage for all workers.

The FF15 movement has pushed income inequality and workers’ rights to the forefront of the national conversation and continues to grow as more and more low wage workers are rising up to demand fair pay and the right to form or join a union.

WINS members and Auraria campus students pledged their support for the Fight for $15 for various reasons.

5


In Denver, food prices increased by 3.4% over the past 5 years, and, according to the Denver Post, a person must make $35/hr to rent a median price, two-bedroom apartment in the city. Though perhaps not as extreme, the cost of living has risen all across Colorado, and yet, wages have not kept up.

“With the prices of groceries, gas, and food there is nothing left to do anything with,” said Larry Vigil, an employee at Adams State University.

Stretched thin, underpaid state employees must find other ways to get by. “Without a part time job, I will not be able to survive,” explains Francisco Flores, a custodian

at Auraria Higher Education Center in Denver. In addition to finding second jobs, state workers must turn to food stamps and other welfare

programs to support their families. “After taxes and deductions, I make about $325 a week. That’s not a lot to live on,” said

Laurel Loesser, a CU-Boulder employee. “I can’t always afford to buy food, but I make about $3 too much to qualify for food stamps. This means I have to use the food pantry about once a month. If I was making $15/hour I would not have to depend on donations to support my family.”

Colorado WINS members leading the State Employee Fight for $15 want to transform the lives of their coworkers and their families.

“Making $15/hr would allow me to pay down debt and assist my family in staying out of debt,” Kevin Roquemore, an employee at the Fitzsimmons Veterans Nursing Home. “Making more money would help my family breathe.”

As union members we work to better the working conditions of all people and the first step in that process is making sure people are paid enough to survive. ■

Clockwise from top: Auraria custodians Dinorah Lopez and Francisco Flores welcomed protestors to their campus and talked about what life is like when you’re making less than a living wage; CU-Boulder custodian Laurel Loesser drove to Denver to tell her story and urge the University to pay all of its employees a minimum of $15/hour; Laurel was joined by several of her coworkers from CU-Boulder; The march, around the AHEC campus and down Colfax Avenue, drew hundreds of protesters from across the state.

6


1: Newly signed member Mary Pena from the Wheat Ridge Regional Center writes down what respect at work means to her; 2: Members from Denver, Alamosa, Greeley and Pueblo (with WINS organizers) during the IGNITE! Leadership Conference in St. Louis, organized by SEIU; 3: Colorado flag and a commendation letter for retiring member Pat Kriebel, who worked at the Dept. of Human Services Headquarters; 4: Pueblo members who attended the Steward training show off their new shirts; 5: UNC members on their way to deliver a letter to the University President and meet with the HR Director to demand changes to the University’s evaluation cycle.

1

3

4 5

2

7


6: In March, WINS members joined low wage workers from various professions on the west steps of the Capitol to ask legislators to raise the minimum wage for all workers in the state of Colorado; 7: Colorado WINS members at AFT’s Public Employees Conference in Denver.

6

7

DENVER HEADQUARTERS2525 W. Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219 303.727.8040 ColoradoWINS.org

PRESORTEDSTANDARD MAIL

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

DENVER, COPERMIT NO. 1986

facebook.com/ColoradoWINS

@CoWINSpolitics

Text “COWINS” to 787-753

LE

T’S

BE

S

OC

IAL For the digital edition of the Our Voice newsletter,

please visit issuu.com/ColoradoWINS.

To get newsletter updates through e-mail, please email [email protected].

DENVER2525 W. Alameda Ave.

Denver, CO 80219 303.727.8040

PUEBLO304 S. Union Ave.Pueblo, CO 81003

719.545.0677

OFFICES

When state employees have a voice, Colorado WINS

2015 Member Convention is just around the corner!

The Convention will be held at the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown Denver. On Friday evening we will hold a welcoming reception and on Saturday members and elected delegates will convene to serve in their official capacity.

Members who live more than 75 miles away from the Convention location can receive Friday night accommodations at the hotel, provided by Colorado WINS.

Contact Cindy Taylor at [email protected] or 303.937.6440 no later than July 31, 2015 to reserve the room.

To confirm your attendance, get more

information about the Convention, or

if you’d like to be involved in planning

the event, please let us know at

bit.ly/WINS2015convention.

This year’s Colorado WINS Member Convention will take place

in Denver on Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015.

During the triennial Convention, elected delegates will vote on

Constitutional amendments and elect candidates for President,

Treasurer, Secretary and Executive Director. During the

Convention we will also swear in the new Executive Board.

our voice, summer/fall 2015

Documents