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East Haven BOE Secretaries Overwhelmingly Vote for UPSEU
On February 25, 2009 the East Haven Board of Education Secretaries sent a loud message to AFSCME when they voted nearly unanimously to join UPSEU. After nearly two years, the stronghold of AFSCME was broken during this state held election. The thirty nine member unit was the second unit that week to join UPSEU.
Two years ago, the members of the BOE were fed up with the lack of professionalism and total disregard for the interests of its members and said enough is enough. The secretaries tried to leave AFSCME, but AFSCME stood in their way by raising several issues at the CSLRB blocking the employees’ effort to participate in an election to choose who would best represent them. Most striking was AFSCME thereafter putting the unit into arbitration without notifying the unit officers or the negotiating team. AFSCME then withdrew all of the unit’s requests in arbitration, again without notification, resulting in a poor arbitration decision, negatively impacting the unit.
“Despite AFSCME’s attempts in 2007, which proved to be waste of time and energy, this conflict prolonged the unavoidable, another AFSCME unit joining United Public Service Employees Union,” stated UPSEU representative Ronald Suraci.
The BOE Secretaries will now be able to have full participation in the decisions concerning future contracts and union issues. UPSEU welcomes the opportunity to serve the members of the East Haven Board of Education Secretaries.
We look forward to working for our newest members!
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