Chicago Park District (January 17th) Contract Negotiations Update

Chicago Park District members held our first negotiations with the Park District management on January 17th.  SEIU Local 73 members made a presentation focusing on our most important concerns and why these issues are important to workers, our families and our community.  Many people related stories about recent problems caused by low pay, unfair transfers and promotions, and the denial of benefits for year-round hourly workers.  Visit this link to see our presentation http://bit.ly/CPDPresentation

We said our new contract had to address the following:

• Raises every year for every worker that make up for the small raises of the past, respect longevity, and increase the pay for the lowest paid workers in the District

• Rein in increasing health insurance costs and protect our pension

• Win equal pay and benefits for year round hourly workers with a clear path to full-time jobs

• A transfer and promotion policy which (a) rewards current employees over external applicants and (b) is based on more objective measures like seniority over subjective ones like interviews

• Due process rights that protect workers against unjust and draconian discipline.

• Bring subcontracted work back in-house and stop paying the police department $4 million out of the Parks budget for work they have to do anyway

Our next negotiations are on January 30th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the SEIU Local 73 Office. Every member can come for some or all of the negotiations provided you are off work while attending. Here are other things you need to do:

1. Make sure every worker is a member of the Union. If you don’t think you are currently a union member, here is the link to join online http://bit.ly/SEIUMemberCard

2. Sign the petition endorsing our contract goals by visiting this link http://bit.ly/CPDPetition

3. Volunteer to be the Contract Captain for your park