UNIONS AND JANUS

As most of you know, the Supreme Court decision on Janus v. AFSCME was handed down as we thought it would be. The ruling was against unions. This new law has led to some changes within TOTEM.

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Before Janus, TOTEM had two types of employees: members and service fee payers. Members paid dues. Service Fee Payers paid the same amount as the dues in fees. We now have members and non-members. The new law states that employees not wanting to be a member of the union no longer have to pay any fees. The non-member will still be covered by the union negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement (Contract) including representation when needed.

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TOTEM members have benefits that non-members are not eligible for. If you are a current TOTEM member and are considering dropping your membership, please call the TOTEM office to see if there would be any impact to the benefits you are now receiving.

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This is an attempt to destroy unions as the School District does not have to recognize a union if their membership drops below 50%.  If this succeeds, there will be no union, no one to call to ask questions or get help, no representation at meetings and no collective bargaining, no contract. Think about what’s in our contract: salaries, benefits, paid holidays, leave, Conference, PSP & CAP, Sick Leave Bank, progressive discipline and representation as union members are just a few of the rights and protections our contract provides.

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We can’t let this happen to our union.

We need to stand together.

#TOTEMUNIONSTRONG

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