386 W Main Street, Suite 10
Northborough, MA 01532
Office Phone: (413)272-2459
frankfixer2011@gmail.com
Log In-Out

Welcome

from the DYS Workers of AFSCME 1368 Greetings from the Massachusetts Dept of Youth Workers, AFSCME Local 1368. If you are a member, please note that you will need to be logged in, to view much of the information that you are looking for. As always, please feel free to contact us with your questions! Francisco Ojeda, President AFSCME Local 1368

Welcome to AFSCME Local 1368

Welcome to the web site for AFSCME Local 1368, Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Employees. Most of the content on this website is only visible once you are logged in, so please be sure to register here to receive our updates. Be sure to take some time and go through the entire site, as you will find a great amount of information. Be sure to send your comments and suggestions directly to me. Thank you.

In Solidarity,
Paul Faria, President

ASFCME 1368 News

  • Local 1368 Elections

    Dear Brothers  & Sisters,

    To ensure that our members get an opportunity to vote, we are holding the elections of officers 
    this year via mail-in ballots.  Along with this type of voting method, we have to make every attempt to ensure the confidentiality of how our members vote.  
    Our elections will be overseen by the Local 1368 Election Committee and a member of AFSCME Council 93 staff as well.

    Mail ballots are being mailed out this week 10/19/2014.

    In Solidarity,

    AFSCME Local 1368 Elections Committee

  • Contract Update

    New provisions of each contract are contained in Implementation Memoranda which will be issued shortly.  These will also include salary increase information and new salary charts.  All salary increases will go into effect this week with employees seeing the change in their pay advices of 11/21/14.   All retroactive pay (for AFSCME, MOSES and Local 509 members) will be processed for the 11/6/14 – 11/29/14 pay period with employees seeing the change in their 12/5/14 pay advice......

     

  • Contract Funding

    Hello All

    Good news to report last week .
    Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a$77.8 million final FY2015 supplemental/deficiency budget that included approval of our state unit 2 contract; our Suffolk and Barnstable County Sherriff contracts; and our contracts with the Middlesex South and Essex North and South Registries of Deeds. The spending bill also included approval of contracts for our higher education members in Local 1067 and Local 507 at U-Mass Dartmouth. The bill now moves to the Senate where it could be taken up as early as next Tuesday. We thank AFSCME members for their patience throughout this process and we’re pleased that we were able to move this legislation forward. We will keep you posted on action in the Senate.

  • AFSCME Local 1368 Executive Board Nominations

    Doubletree by Hilton 
    Boston North Shore 
    50 Ferncroft Rd. Danvers, MA 
    11am-2pm

    General Membership Meeting for the purpose of accepting nominations for the Local 1368 Officers.
    The following positions are open to nominations and are for a two (2) year term beginning in October 2014:

    President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, Recording Secretary, Sergeant-at-Arms, five Executive Board members (1 from each region), and three (3) Trustees. 

    Nominations can be made in person or via email at comeau1368@gmail.com. 

    If more than one person is nominated for each position, there will be further information to follow regarding an election via mail ballot.

    In Solidarity,
    Local 1368 Election Committee

  • Update on State Contract

    Last Thursday, July 31, the Massachusetts State Legislature concluded what is known as” full Formal Sessions.” 
    The final Formal Session ended without legislative action on a final FY14 supplemental budget, which included funding for our Alliance Unit 2 contract and our contracts with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department.  The legislature’s failure to act on the supplemental budget was based on a number of factors – none of which appear to be related to the funding of our collective bargaining agreements.  

    However, because the legislature did not pass the supplemental budget before the July 31 end of Formal Sessions, many of our members are understandably concerned that their new contract agreements cannot be funded until next year.  I’m writing to let you know that there is still a possibility we can get the contract funding authorized in the coming weeks and months and we are cautiously optimistic that we can make it happen.

    To understand why it is still possible to get the contracts funded, one must first understand the difference between Formal and Informal Sessions of the legislature.

     In Formal Sessions, roll call votes are taken and members must be present in order to have their votes on legislation recorded. In roll call votes, how each member votes on a bill is documented and virtually all members of the legislature are present.   

    In Informal Sessions, legislation is passed on what is known as a “voice vote” meaning the vote is taken by a call of the yeas and nays.  Unlike a roll call vote, there is no record of how a legislator votes on a voice vote.  Typically, only non- controversial matters are acted on in Informal Sessions and you will see only a handful of members present for these sessions. 

     Although Formal Sessions have ended, the legislature will continue to conduct business through the end of the calendar year but will do so in Informal Sessions.  A great deal of legislation is passed in these Informal Sessions and it is entirely possible that the legislature will act on the contract funding in one of these Informal Sessions.  That being said, it could be more difficult to get the contract funding passed in an Informal Session as any proposed legislation brought forth for passage in an Informal Session can be killed if just one single legislator objects to its passage.

     If that in fact happens, we would be looking at waiting until the start of the new legislative Session in January to have funding authorized.  The good news is that AFSCME is not alone in this fight.  In addition to our contracts, there are approximately 45 other union contracts included in this supplemental budget.  

     We are currently working with legislative leaders and these other unions in an effort to prevent such a delay from happening.  At some point, we may be calling on AFSCME members to contact their respective legislators to support these efforts.  However, at this point in time we do not see the need to do that.  For now, we remain cautiously optimistic that we can we can secure funding for the contracts in Informal Sessions.   Should any leaders or members have any questions please feel free to have them email or call me at 617-367-6012 or 978-866-2283.

     Thanks,
    Jim Durkin

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Biennial Legislative Conference of Council 93

    The Seventeenth Biennial Legislative Conference of Council 93, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, will be held in Danvers, Ma. at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel North - Shore - beginning at 10:00 AM, Friday, September 19,2014 and remain in session until Sunday at 12:00 P.M., September 21, 2014.unless the business of the convention shall have completed sooner.

    Please view the attached PDF relating to the recent implementation of PREA. If you have any questions, reach out to us either directly or via your steward.

  • AFSCME PREA SETTEMENT

    Hello One and All,

     
    This is a note regarding PREA, and to let you know that your Union, AFSCME, has taken action in the form of notice to the Obama administration.
      
    I was selected to be a representative from AFSCME Council 93 to the AFSCME Corrections United Steering Committee, which is comprised of thousands of other Correction officers in both adult and juvenile settings around the United States.
     
    On Wednesday May 7, 2014 the Steering Committee meeting was held in Houston Texas. The activities included the sharing and exchanging of information on what is happening in each of the twenty (20) states that had representatives that attended the meeting with one another.
     
    The activities began during the Wednesday meeting, followed by training on Thursday and participating in an organizing blitz on Friday with the members of the Texas Department of Corrections members. We went door-to-door knocking on members’ doors to sign up existing Officers who are represented by AFSCME and other Unions in Texas, which as you may know is a “Right to work state”.
     
    I cannot tell you how lucky I felt afterwards, that we work in this State after hearing and seeing first-hand the conditions of the 30,000 Corrections Officers, and what they deal with in that State with over 170,000 prisoners they are entrusted to keep watch over in both state and private run prison facilities.  During our meetings, several of us made note that the implementation of PREA is costing and causing harm to our direct line staff.  As a result of our discussions, a statement in drafted and drawn up as follows:
     
    Dear President Obama, 

    The Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed in 2003 with the goal of eliminating rape and sexual harassment in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities and in other correctional institutions. AFSMCE Corrections United supports the intent of the law, but the details and implementation are severely flawed.

    Throughout the 10 – year drafting and roll out of PREA AFSCME participated in discussions with federal authorities, proved formal input and advocated for a fair, safe and common sense implementation process. However today we have serious concerns with the current application of the law. As implementation rolls out we are experiencing less secure facilities, widespread gender discrimination and confusing and conflicting regulations.

    AFSCME Corrections United is calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to commission a thought review of PREA’s implementation nationwide. Such a review should be immediate, transparent and must fully involve front – line correction employees.

  • Council 93 Memorial Scholarship

    Attached you will find the application and criteria for this year’s Council 93 Memorial Scholarship.

    If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 617-367-6015 or email me at dhurley@afscme93.org.

Pages