Did you miss the membership meeting? Check out the Feb. 23 Membership Meeting Summary

We held our first membership meeting of the year. Thank you to those members who were able to make it out on a Saturday morning to meet with us. We will continue to work together to create a Local that is membership driven, honest, and transparent.

For those of you who were not able to make it, we wanted to make sure you received the updates we shared with everyone.

• Introduction of the new officers. Click for the complete list.
• Illinois has become the first state in the Midwest to pass $15 in the Midwest. The bill will give 1.4 million workers a raise, including over 3,000 Local 73 members.
• Mary McGlynn of the Cook County Sherriff’s Office shared how her unit organized and won. For over 10 years her coworkers and her demanded that the employer pay according to their correct job classification. They organized and it worked. They won the nearly $200,000 that they were owed.

“We, the members of the union, got together and decided we would email them every day until we were paid. We let them know that we were going to show up to their board meetings and continue to speak up. Today, I can tell you that it worked and we won the nearly $200,000 that we were owed!,” Mary McGlynn speaking at the Membership Meeting.

• The Member Action Center (MAC) team presented. MAC is a new initiative that connects you with a well-trained, professional union representative, who can provide advice and assistance to union members for work site issues, contract questions, or grievances. Click here for full details on the MAC. In just 11 days of being up and running the team has:
  • Handled about 50 cases and hearings which include: pre-disciplinary hearings, corrective action meetings, pre-suspension meetings, termination meetings, discharge hearings, meet and confers with management to resolve issues that may not be a grievance.
  • Answered 766 calls during 11 business days. That’s about 70 calls a day.
  • Most calls are handled with positive resolution in 7 minutes or less.
• The Political Engagement Committee gave an update on current endorsements. Click for a full list of endorsements. The next committee meeting will be held in Chicago on March 2, 9am at 300 S. Ashland. Everyone is welcome to join.

Our union is only as strong as its members. We need all hands on deck to keep our member-driven local winning at the bargaining table, beating back the attacks coming from politicians, and making the communities we serve thrive. There are several opportunities for you to get involved in your union:

• Steward trainings are happening almost every week. You can find more information about how to sign up here.
• Committees will be meeting to develop the union’s program around politics and policy, social and economic justice and more. If you’re interested in applying to join, click here.
• You can volunteer with your union brothers and sisters to help elect pro-worker candidates in municipal elections by canvassing on Saturdays. Sign up.
• This fall, the union will hold its first-ever Leadership Assembly where nearly 600 of your union brothers and sisters will be elected and come together to set the direction for the future of the union. In the coming months, we’ll send out notices about how to get involved if you’re interested in serving as a delegate to the Assembly.

I look forward to continuing to work with each of you to achieve our mission.