June 2011
Community Outreach and Family Fun Day
On Saturday, July 23, 2011 the City of Detroit members and AFRAM will be holding their annual Community Outreach picnic at Belle Isle Park, across from Shelter #5 from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. Come out and enjoy food, games, music, prizes and friends. There will be a Bid Whiz tournament. Music provided by DJ Dave. Questions can be directed to Cyphus Porchia at porchia@detroitmi.gov or Yolanda Langston at langstony@gmail.com. This event is open to all SEIU Local 517M members and their families.
Letter to the Editor on the New Solutions Report
Saginaw News – 6/16/11 – Another View: State employee proposals will streamline government — and protect essential front-line services
Proposed Bylaw Changes
The SEIU Local 517M Executive Board voted to accept recommendations from the Constitution and Bylaws Committee proposed changes to the SEIU Local 517M Bylaws at their May 23, 2011 meeting. This action allows for member review of the proposed changes before they are voted on by the Executive Board.
In accordance with Article XII, Section 3 of the SEIU Local 517M Constitution, this will serve as the 30 day notice to the membership of the proposed changes. The Executive Board will be voting on these changes at their July 21, 2011 meeting.
A copy of the proposed Bylaws are linked below for membership review. Changed language is Hi-lighted in yellow. Comments or questions can be directed to Phil Thompson.
The members of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee are:
Phil Thompson, Executive Vice President
Bill Ruhf, President
Lynda Roberts, Secretary/Treasurer
Andy Johnson, City of Saginaw
Mike Mandrick, Technical Unit
Rosanne Seemann, Human Services Support Unit
Hattie Young, Flint Schools
Scientific & Engineering and Technical State Employees Get to Know Your Union
We are implementing a ‘Getting to Know Your Union’ campaign concurrent with the bargaining process this year. The first installment of this campaign will start with a basic overview of the union structure, and where you as members fit into that structure. We expect this to be a difficult year for bargaining, and are hoping that by keeping the membership better informed about the process and during the process, we can keep the rumor mill to a minimum. This will also give the membership plenty of opportunity to ask questions, and offer their ideas and suggestions. So please take this opportunity to get to know how your union works. And if you do have questions, suggestions, or comments, or would like to increase the frequency of chapter meetings during bargaining, please let your chapter officers or Board Members know. For future reference, as we roll each installment of this informational campaign out, it will also become available on the SEIU website at www.seiu517m.org.
Scientific and Engineering Unit Information
Union Hierarchy
Org Chart
Stewards
Chapter Listing
Technical Unit Information
Union Hierarchy
Org Chart
Chapter Listing
Register for SEIU Local 517M Annual Meeting
SEIU Local 517M will hold its Annual Meeting on Friday, July 22, 2011 at the Lexington Hotel (formerly Sheraton).
Breakfast will start at 8:00 am with the meetings lasting from 9:00am—3:00pm.
SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry, SEIU Public Services Division Director Eileen Kirlin, and SEIU National Political Director Brandon Davis are special guests.
RSVP your attendance by Friday, July 8th by filling out the form below.
Good Jobs Rally Held
Billionaire Manual (Matty) Moroun and several major banks were the focus of a rally sponsored by a coalition of Unions and community groups in Detroit on Friday, June 3rd. Hundreds of vacant and dilapidated homes in the city of Detroit that are adding blight to the City are owned by Moroun, Chase and Bank of America. The Good Jobs Rally called on the banks and Matty Moroun, who also owns the vacant Michigan Central Train Station, to create jobs by fixing up or tearing downs these vacant structures. The over-sized puppet of Moroun was a very visible presence at the rally attended by several hundred demonstrators asking one of the richest man in the U.S. and the banks to help put Detroit back to work. He had previously committed $5 million to replace the roof and window in the train station but has done nothing so far.
Snyder Requests Supreme Court Opinion on Pension Tax
Gongwer Special Update, Thursday, June 2, 2011, 12:02 PM
Governor Rick Snyder said Thursday he’s asked the Supreme Court to issue an advisory opinion on whether the state can tax public pensions – a key component to his recent tax and budget reforms.
Mr. Snyder, appearing on WJR-AM, said if the law was challenged, it could take years to resolve itself in the courts, the reason he asked the state’s highest court to weigh in earlier. The Constitution states that public pensions “shall not be diminished or impaired” and a lawsuit is expected to test whether applying the income tax to public pensions for the first time is legal. The Snyder administration has said the tax does not conflict with the Constitution.
SEIU Local 517M President Bill Ruhf had this to say on the subject…”Our union is actively following the legal and constitutional issues involved with the pension taxation legislation recently passed by the Michigan legislature. Our outside law firm is working in partnership with several other legal experts in representing our members’ interest in this pension issue.”