AFGE District 7 Oct 2014 Newsletter

Affi l iated with the American Federation of Government Employees

The Solid Seventh District

THE PUBLICATION OF ILLINOIS, MICHIGAN, AND WISCONSIN FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

AFGE members

in IL, WI , and MI

are phone

banking,

canvassing and

fundraising to

flex political

muscle ahead

of November

4th Mid-Term

Elections.

Who supports Unions?

AFGE Endorsements for 7th

District

Page 4

Get Out the Vote

Federal Workers mobil ize to

defeat anti-union politicians.

PAGE 3

News & Updates

Happenings across the Solid

Seventh.

Page 6 and 7

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Do Not Distribute on Federal Property

AFGE locals

and leaders

have been

doing ice bucket

challenges to

fundraise for

ALS research.

Local 778 did

an ice bucket

challenge as

President

Vaughn Glenn

and Bobby

Newsome

raised $300 for

the AFGE PAC.

American Federation of Government Employees 'Proud to Make America Work'

We are Federal Employees of I l l inois, Michigan, Wisconsin

DOROTHY JAMES

National Vice President

CRYSTAL STOKES

National Representative

KAYLA MACK


JOE DOLAN


DON EVANS

District Organizer

MATT MUCHOWSKI

Office Manager / Editor

ALBERT THOMAS

Retiree Representative

VISIT US AT

www.afgedistrict7.org

www.afge.org

www.fl ickr.com/photos/afgedistrict7

www.facebook.com/afgedistrict7

AFGE District 7 Office:

320 S. Ashland Ave. , First Floor

Chicago, IL 60607

201 3 Fair Use / Public Domain

American Federation of Government

Employees, AFL-CIO

2 October / November 201 4 | Solid Seventh

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Dorothy James, National Vice President AFGE District 7

In Apri l , 1 607,

English settlers in

Jamestown held their first

election, however voting

was restricted to white male

land owners. The civi l

rights movement has fought

to overcome voter

disenfranchisement tactics

l ike the poll tax, the

Grandfather clause, and

l iteracy tests, but politicians

are seeking to rol l back the

clock to reflect that era.

Augusta Thomas,

the Director of AFGE's

Womens and Fair Practice

Department, can hold an

audiences captive when

she describes her

experience with voter

suppression. In Georgia,

she rode with her father to

the polls in their horse and

buggy to vote, only to find

out that before he would be

allowed to vote, he would

need to give the correct

answer for the amount of

beans in a jar.

In June of

201 3 the

Supreme Court

dismantled many

of the voting

safeguards in the

1 965 Voting

Rights Act and many Red

states rushed to capital ize

on the changes. State

Houses eliminated or

reduced early voting days,

mail-in voting, and same

day registration. They

caused extraordinari ly long

l ines as they began to

require ID, reduced voting

sites, and moved some

sites without notice.

These changes were

supposedly made to stop

an epidemic of voter fraud,

but there is no evidence of

such an epidemic. In North

Carolina there was 1 case

of voter impersonation out

of 7.8 mil l ion votes.

However, voter

disenfranchisement is

creating a backlash, as it

increases the resolve of

voters. In Ohio in 201 2,

despite new restrictions,

there was a higher voter

turnout among targeted

groups.

Each election cycle

we say that this is the most

important election. Each

time we are correct. No

election is without threat of

significant legislative

losses. We are on the

threshold of losing dues

deduction and official time if

our supported candidates

are defeated. I f this

happens, AFGE won't be

able to effectively represent

and advocate for you.

VOTE ON

NOVEMBER 4th.

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Follow this Example:

All four members of the AFGE Local 0003 Executive

Board are contributors to AFGE PAC. Let's give them

a big thanks and encourage other locals to set an

example to our members by doing the same!

Wayne Lauton

Acting President

Michele McHenry

Acting Executive Vice President

Calen McHenry

Acting Vice President

Jul ie Kohlhepp

Secretary-Treasurer

The November 4 elections are motivating AFGE

members to canvass, phone bank, attend political events,

send letters, and fundraise to get union members to vote

for pro-union candidates.

Jane Gabler, a member of AFGE Local 1 658 in

Warren, Michigan talked about phonebanking: "I t was

great to talk to members of our community about the

issues that affect us al l , l ike jobs, safety and union rights.

Thats why now is the time to get out and elect union-

endorsed candidates. I f we dont, wel l be talking about

budget cuts, unemployment and attacks on unions."

AFGE President J. David Cox attended a cavass in

Detroit, MI , while several AFGE members and staff are

working ful l time on Senate races in states l ike Iowa and

Michigan.

Ways to Volunteer:

Questions? Contact Legislative and Political Organizer Sara Kuntzler at [email protected]

AFGE local 778 President Vaughn Glenn

and his wife in Detroit working a

phonebank call ing AFGE members and

reminding them to vote.

Phone Bank

Weds. Oct. 29, 6pm

AFGE District 7 office,

320 S. Ashland Ave.

Chicago, IL

Political Action App

Download the PAC App at

www.afge.org/mypac

$1 0 a month from each

member goes a long way.

Letter to Local Members

Will increase voter turnout

by 2% - which is important

in many of the close races.

Ken Jones from local 375 and

IL Senator Dick Durbin at an

event supporting IL

Congresswoman Robin Kelly.


Richard Durbin SENATOR DEMOCRAT

Pat Quinn GOVERNORDEMOCRAT

Bobby Rush HOUSE 1 DEMOCRAT

Robin Kelly HOUSE 2 DEMOCRAT

Daniel Lipinski HOUSE 3 DEMOCRAT

Luis Gutierrez HOUSE 4 DEMOCRAT

Mike Quigley HOUSE 5 DEMOCRAT

Danny Davis HOUSE 7 DEMOCRAT

Tammy Duckworth HOUSE 8 DEMOCRAT

Jan Schakowsky HOUSE 9 DEMOCRAT

Brad Schneider HOUSE 1 0 DEMOCRAT

Bil l Foster HOUSE 11 DEMOCRAT

Bil l Enyart HOUSE 1 2 DEMOCRAT

Ann Call is HOUSE 1 3 DEMOCRAT

Cheri Bustos HOUSE 1 7 DEMOCRAT

Mary Burke GOVERNORDEMOCRAT

Rob Zerban HOUSE 1 DEMOCRAT

Mark Pocan HOUSE 2 DEMOCRAT

Ron Kind HOUSE 3 DEMOCRAT

Gwen Moore HOUSE 4 DEMOCRAT

Gary Peters SENATOR DEMOCRAT

Mark Schauer GOVERNORDEMOCRAT

Jerry Cannon HOUSE 1 DEMOCRAT

Dan Kildee HOUSE 5 DEMOCRAT

Pam Byrnes HOUSE 7 DEMOCRAT

Sander Levin HOUSE 9 DEMOCRAT

Bobby McKenzie HOUSE 11 DEMOCRAT

John Dingell HOUSE 1 2 DEMOCRAT

John Conyers HOUSE 1 3 DEMOCRAT

Rudy Hobbs HOUSE 1 4 DEMOCRAT

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Germaine Clarno President of Local

781 , Hines VA Medical Center, in the suburbs

of Chicago, found herself in the eye of the

storm. When she heard the revelations of

fraudulent waiting l ists for VA patients that

endagered veterans, Clarno did not hesitate

to come forward and denounce Hines'

unethical practices.

Clarno appeared on several news

outlets to discuss the wait l ists, provided

testimony to the Inspector General and

lobbyed congressional representatives.

Clarno has also been coordinating and

working with veterans groups. As the result

of her and other AFGE leadership speaking

out, the Veterans Administration became

embroiled in a nationwide scandal and a bi-

partisan bil l was passed that makes it easier

to remove senior VA officials.

As Clarno said, "We do a lot of good

things at the VA. I m proud to work there. I m

proud to serve our nations heroes. Weve

just got to make some changes,"

Indeed, heads are rol l ing at the

Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA

recently announced that they were firing four

senior officials for cover ups and fraud. Joan

Ricard, the Director of Hines VA Hospital, and

Jeffery Murawsky, Director of Integrated

Services at Hines are retiring amid serious

allegations of fraudulent wait l ists.

With organizing and solidarity, AFGE

members wil l continue to be on the frontl ines

for quality healthcare for veterans.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka visited

Detroit for a dinner fundraiser for the

Detroit Metro AFL-CIO. Pictured from left

to right: Karla Swift, President of the MI

AFL-CIO; Darold Hubbard, Local 2077;

Richard Trumka; Jane Gabler, Local 1 658;

Michael Guerriero, Local 3239; Bobby

Newsome, Local 778.

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These released AFGE staffers are working to get

out the vote.

Deborah Dodd

Local 3239, SSA, Detroit, Michigan

Dannette Mitchell

Local 3239, SSA, Detroit, Michgan

Rosendo Rocha

Local 3272, SSA, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Shana Hoak

Local 3272, SSA, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Joe Dolan

District Staffer, Macomb County, Michigan

Albert Thomas

District Retiree Rep. , Des Moines Iowa

Earl Tucker

Local 1 395, SSA, Des Moines, Iowa

Lois Ames

Local 1 882, Wisconsin

Rosita Tipton

Local 3272, Michigan


AFGE National President J. David Cox presented

Local 933 President Benjamin Mahan with a

recognition award at a PAC event hosted by Local

933 in Detroit. The event was a big success and

over 50 AFGE members come out to canvass

voters the next day. Pictured left to right: Local

933 President Benjamin Mahan, District 7

President Dorothy James, and National President

J. David Cox.

AFGE members joined the Chicago

Federation of Labor's Labor Day

luncheon in September, and had the

opportunity to network with other

labor leaders. Pictured Karen

Barnes from local 375 met with

Chicago Teachers Union president

Karen Lewis.

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High Five to Bridgett

Griffore from AFGE

Local 1 629, Veterans

Affairs workers! She

signed 26 new

members up to the

union and became a

top recruiter! She

said, "By talking to VA

workers about the

work that they do, and

how important it is to

have a union that

supports them, they

understood how

necessary it was for

them to join and pay

dues."

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Realizing that it would be wasting its money, for the last

two weeks before the November 4th election, the Republican

Party wil l not air TV ads in Michigan. This is due to the hard work

that the Michigan unions and AFGE especial ly are doing to help

the candidates they support get elected.

Locals started by selecting Legislative and Political

Coordinators and having them attend the Legislative and Political

Training Institute in Chicago. LPCs played a major role in

energizing their local officials to get involved in al l aspects of the

AFGE political program. Learn more at afge.org/LPCdashboard.

AFGE is often cited for having the largest amount of

volunteers. The polls reflected their enthusiasm and have shifted

to show support for union endorsed candidates. Those AFGE

activists who made the commitment and sacrifice to work the

legislative program wil l see their efforts pay off on election day.

Special thanks to the fol lowing Michigan locals for their

pol itical participation: VAMC Local 933, TSA Local 778, DOD

Local 1 626, DOD Local 1 658, DOD Local 2077, SSA Local 3239,

SSA Local 3272, EPA Local 3907, VA Local 1 629 and BOP Local

1 741 .


Please welcome Matt Muchowski as the new District

Office Manager for AFGE

District 7. Matt has

worked for the labor

movement for years,

doing everything from new

organizing and contract

campaigns, to political

elections, communications

and data management.

"I 'm excited to work here.

AFGE stands on the

frontl ines, not only for worker's rights, but for

government services that assist everyone in America."

Matt hopes to help locals develop their websites and

communications efforts. "I f the general public knows

about what AFGE members do everyday, then they

wil l support us. We need to build support with

community groups and organize, organize, organize!"

Please welcome Anna Chapman as a temporary

National Representative to the Distirct 7 team! Anna

is an attorney who comes to AFGE with a background

in employment law, concentrating her practice in

workplace discrimination. Before coming to AFGE,

Anna owned her own law firm on the northwest side

of Chicago. She has

previously worked for

a number of Chicago

law firms and for the

City of Chicago. Law

is a second career for

Anna, who began her

professional l ife as a

writer and editor. Her

employers in publishing included Thomson Media, a

former division of what is now Thomson Reuters,

Dominican University and the I l l inois State Medical

Society. Anna obtained a masters in English from

DePaul University, where she also attended law

school. Anna enjoys spending time with her husband

Dale and her dog Woody, playing tennis and trivia

games and gardening. She and her husband recently

auditioned to be contestants on the trivia game show,

The Chase.

Welcome National Representative

Kayla M. Mack back from

Maternity leave. Pictured are her

two sets of twins - 2 year old Jimi

and Jack and Hall ie and Lula

were born on July 1 .

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We mourn the passing of former

AFGE Local 0003 Preisdent

Roberta Marie Scharbutt who left

us on June 3 after fighting throat

cancer. Roberta led Local 0003 in

Milwaukee for 11 years, and

worked at the Clement J. Zablocki

VA Medical Center for 21 years.

She remained local President

while she fought cancer. Her local

represented over 2,000 federal

employees and as a National

Trainer for AFGE, she helped

mentor many union leaders,

including her best friend Jul ie

Kohlhepp and current Local 0003

President Wayne Lauton. She

loved her family, the Green Bay

Packers, and gardening. She wil l

be missed by the AFGE

community, her husband, two

children and three grandchildren.

A F G E D i s t r i c t 7

3 2 0 S . A S h l a n d A v e n u e

C h i c a g o , I L 6 0 6 0 7

w w w . a f g e d i s t r i c t 7 . o r g

3 1 2 - 4 2 1 - 6 2 4 5

D o N o t D i s t r i b u t e o n F e d e r a l P r o p e r t y

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For List of Endorsed Candidates see page 4

1 . When:

Election Day

Tuesday, Nov. 4th

at ________ am/pm

Early Voting

Vote by Mail

2. Where:

My poll ing place is:

_______________

_______________

_______________

Check with your Secretary

of State's Office.

3. Why:

____________________

____________________

____________________

____________________

Documents

AFGE District 7 Oct 2014 Newsletter