The General Membership meeting for October will be held on Thursday, October 2nd at 7:00 pm at New Dorp H.S., Cafeteria “B” in Staten Island. This is the first time that anyone can remember a Union Meeting being held in the borough. The address is 465 New Dorp Lane, Staten Island NY 10306. We have a very special guest, Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. a Local 891 endorsed candidate for Congress in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Members are asked to make every effort to attend the October meeting. Residents of New York’s 11th Congressional District which covers areas of Brooklyn and Staten Island are particularly encouraged to invite family, friends and neighbors to this meeting. During his twelve years as a member of the New York City Council, Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. was a strong supporter of Local 891 and a vital ally in our successful battle against privatization.
As part of an ongoing arbitration regarding Hurricane Irene and Sandy, your Union needs to collect certain information. If you worked at any of the evacuation centers or shelters and you were NOT paid as a custodial worker please respond to the email I sent you. I need to know your name, your assigned site at the time of the storm/storms and the site of the shelter/ shelters where you worked. Please respond as soon as possible. If we are successful in gaining additional compensation, we want to insure every entitled member is included.
I have met with Local 32BJ to restart contract negotiations over the non-economic portion of the collective bargaining agreement between our two unions. We are not starting from scratch; we are picking up where we left off when Mayor Bloomberg stalled negotiations. We have a set date for our own first date of formal negotiations for our successor Collective Bargaining Agreement. As I have stated on numerous occasions, please stop listening to any rumors about our contract. I will keep you informed as things progress. Any member who has an idea or suggestion is welcome to contact me. I pledge to bring back a contract that is fair and beneficial to our membership. This will be accomplished as soon as possible without bending to their demands unless it is to gain something of greater value that we seek.