May 25, 2007                                               Volume #28, Issue #15

CHILD CARE ORGANIZERS NEEDED. . .Here's your chance to be part of labor history. Volunteer
Member Organizers (VMOs) are needed July 22-28 for a door-to-door organizing blitz of child care
providers. Locations will be Madison, Eau Claire, Wausau, and Green Bay. Training, compensation
(your lost wages reimbursed) and travel expenses will be provided. AFSCME's new child care providers'
union, Wisconsin Child Care Providers Together, is now preparing to negotiate their first agreement
with the State of Wisconsin. A bargaining committee has been elected and proposals are being
composed. Details are still being worked out, but the International Union will lead negotiations for the first
agreement, thereafter Council 40 will represent all child care providers in Wisconsin except for Milwaukee
County where AFSCME Council 48 has jurisdiction. To become an organizer for just one week this
summer or to get further information, contact Carolyn Klinglesmith at the AFSCME Headquarters at
608-836-6666.

NICK KASMER JOINS STAFF. . .We're pleased to announce that Nicholas E. Kasmer is joining Council
40 next month to serve as Staff Representative in our Southeast District. Brother Kasmer brings with him
an excellent academic preparation and practical experience to represent our affiliates in Racine, Kenosha,
and Walworth Counties. Welcome, Brother Kasmer!

CENTRAL COLLECTION OF DUES. . .In a few years Council 40 will have to collect all dues from
Employers, then send local unions and the International Union their portions. This is required as part of the
21st Century Initiatives approved by delegates to the AFSCME Convention in Chicago last summer. About
85% of AFSCME nationwide already has central collection of dues. For us it will be complicated by the
fact we have over 600 bargaining units, and we deal with about 300 public and private sector Employers.
We're developing an efficient process to centrally collect dues. Several locals have already volunteered to
have the Council collect dues from their Employers. We're now setting up a process to handle this as
efficiently as possible. We'd like more locals to volunteer now so we can work out all the bugs before
central collection of dues becomes mandatory. For further information and to let us know if your local
wants central collection now, please contact Marilyn Beckman, Administrative Accountant, at our Madison
office.

DUNN COUNTY. . .The bargaining units of Dunn County’s Joint Council of Unions, which includes
courthouse, human services, highway, health care, and law enforcement employees, have new 3-year
agreements. Effective 1/1/07, all employees received a 2% increase. Effective 7/1/07 wages increase an
additional 1%. A 3% increase is scheduled for 1/1/08 and a 2.5% increase is scheduled for 1/1/09. Several
employee groups received additional wage adjustments on 1/1/07 prior to the general increase: deputy
clerk of court - 25¢/hour; deputy sheriffs - 20¢/hour; court security - 50¢/hour; jailers - 85¢/hour; highway -
5¢/hour. Jailers receive an additional wage adjustment of 25¢/hour 1/1/08. Currently, the Employer
contributes 95% to the single and family health insurance premiums. The contribution drops to 94% 7/1/07,
93% 1/1/08, and 92.5% 1/1/09.