From Rob Pongratz, a Case Management Supervisor:
I’ve worked for DPSCS for 14 years, starting as a Correctional Officer, Case Management Specialist, and now a Case Management Supervisor. I’ve signed my AFSCME membership/authorization card already. It is my YES vote for our AFSCME supervisors’ union.
Here’s why I signed and voted YES:
- Our union AFSCME fights back against wage theft. AFSCME members won the second largest wage theft settlement for correctional officers in United States’ history. When we saw that our paychecks were incorrect and our time was being purposely undercounted, it was the power of our union that stopped this injustice and made all of us whole again. In total, we won over $23 million for over 5,000 former and current correctional employees that were affected.
- Our union AFSCME advocates for higher pay and better compensation for the dangerous work that we do. In the past, the correctional officers that we supervise have won increased salaries through the Annual Salary Review (ASR) process, and many of them are eligible for a number of retention bonuses after working for a certain number of years. All of them received grade increases through this ASR process because we requested the State adjust their salaries to account for their job responsibilities and to better recruit and retain officers. Once we win our supervisors union, this ASR process and these retention bonuses are things that we can negotiate for supervisors too.
- Our union AFSCME ensures that we are treated like the job experts we are and fights for safe staffing levels. Last year, a group of AFSCME members who work in our state’s correctional facilities released the results of a year-long staffing analysis of the true number of correctional officers that are needed to reach proper staffing levels and ensure our members safety at work. We presented our findings to DPSCS, our elected officials, and the press to highlight the urgency and need for safe staffing. That’s the power of having a union – being able to work together to find solutions and get things done.
Being able to win our union means we will finally have a say in protecting what we love about our jobs and fixing the problems we know exist at DPSCS.
We can’t certify our union and negotiate a union contract until a majority of supervisors signs our dual membership/authorization card, so please share this form with other supervisors that you know! Every supervisor who chooses not to sign our AFSCME card counts as a vote AGAINST our supervisors union and against having a voice in the issues we care about.
If you have any questions, please ask me next time you see me, or email [email protected].
AFSCME Maryland Supervisors Union members.