Who to Contact If You Need Help – CTA or the District?

CONTACT OCCTA

If you have a problem, question or need assistance, know that CTA is committed to serving all members. When you email or call CTA you should receive a response as soon as possible, and certainly within 48 hours.  

Phone: (407) 298-0756

FAX: (407) 290-8799

Address: Marion Cannon Center for Advocacy

                 1020 Webster Avenue,

                  Orlando, FL 32812

April is National Volunteer Month. We asked TRIF Chapters in RC 43 to tell us about the volunteer work that members do. We are overwhelmed by the response!

The Tax Attorneys at the Department of Revenue Services were non-union State Employees until they signed their union cards just over a week ago.  Their attempt to unionize and join A&R was presented to the CT Labor Board on Monday were the State voluntarily recognized them as union members...meaning they are officially A&R members!  This is the first time that A&R has actively pursued non-unionized State Employees and brought them into our ranks.

On behalf of all of A&R, welcome aboard!

IFPE Brothers and Sisters,

The AFSCME Council 31 membership overwhelmingly voted in favor to give authorization to their bargaining committee to call a strike if necessary. AFSCME representatives continue their pledge to negotiate with the Governor to reach a tentative agreement. The AFSCME bargaining team will be meeting to plan their course of action regarding negotiations and they also have to take into account pending litigation.

IFPE Local 4408 has collective bargaining agreements with the Attorney General’s office, Secretary of State and the Governor. The Local did reach an agreement with the Attorney General in the fall of 2016. Open contract negotiations are still underway with the Secretary of State and the Governor’s office. There is a tolling agreement in place with the Governor’s office that maintains the conditions of the contract that expired in 2015. The IFPE 4408 is NOT at impasse in negotiations with the Governor as was declared by the Illinois Labor Relations Board with the negotiations between AFSCME and the Governor.

IFPE Local 4408 stands with our AFSCME brothers and sisters in their efforts to reach a fair contract. We also need to stand in solidarity with our own efforts to reach fair contracts with the Secretary of State and the Governor. As there are many moving parts at this time, patience and perseverance is needed. I understand the unrest as there are often more questions than answers. Please know, the executive board and area vice presidents are representing the interests of the membership in these trying times. These are unchartered waters for public employees as a whole and we are working with each other, with our coalition of unions and with legal council to move the Local forward.

“Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; they are forced by pressure from below” -Roger Baldwin

In solidarity,

Tom Kosowski President, IFPE Local 4408

I have emptied out the closet in my home office with the intent of recycling, repurposing and reorganizing that huge mountain of paperwork and materials I seem to have collected over the past 10 years. Sound familiar? Now my only problem is creating a pathway between the boxes and piles in order to navigate my way over to my laptop! To help me realize my vision of a streamlined filing system and a more ordered life in general, I am reaching out to the many resources provided by NYSUT and outlined in the newly published “Your Blueprint for a Successful Retirement: An online planning guide.” This wonderful treasure was created and developed by members of the 2014-2017 NYSUT Retiree Advisory Committee, an outstanding group of NYSUT Retirees of which I was privileged to be a member.

The Theater  Development Fund (TDF) is a not-for-profit organization that exists to support theatrical works of artistic merit and encourage diverse audiences to support the arts, by subsidizing ticket costs for eligible members. Retirees (older than 62) are eligible for discounts of up to 70% on a number of live theater and dance productions.

From Your President:

 “The worst decision ever rendered by the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS)”, “the greatest self-inflicted wound” .....these are descriptions of the 1857 Dred Scott Decision.  It would affect labor and constitutional law for decades and have a profound impact on the growing schism in the USA.

Supreme Court decisions are usually obscure and rarely publicized so it can be hard for people to understand how a single ruling impacts their lives. And yet, often they do. And frequently for decades into the future. So, it was with Plessy v. Ferguson. 

The Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) refuses to hear many more cases than it considers. When that happens, the lower court rulings stand as ordered. In 1954 a collection of cases, five to be exact, were combined and argued before the SCOTUS.  Collectively, they came to be known as Brown v. The Board of Education.