Thursday, April 2, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AFSCME Wisconsin Statement on Milwaukee Center for Independence Contract Violations
AFSCME Wisconsin strongly rebukes Milwaukee Center for Independence’s repeated, conscious contract violations with AFSCME Local 1954 members.
AFSCME Local 1954 represents custodial workers, case managers, food service workers, registered nurses, clinicians, social workers, and various job classifications including nearly 300 employees.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, MCFI management laid off dozens of staff members. Laid off employees were either dismissed within twenty-four hours of notification, or immediately. According to the collective bargaining agreement, management must give employees fourteen days notification prior to dismissal. Union representatives must be notified fourteen days prior to employee dismissal. Both stipulations were clearly, repeatedly violated.
AFSCME members continually requested meetings with MCFI management to address COVID-19 preparation and MCFI layoff policies. According to AFSCME staff representatives, management deployed misleading and inconsistent language, and only engaged in after-the-fact discussions. Attempts for additional dialogue to resolve concerns were ignored by MCFI management leaving workers with no alternative other than to pursue remedy through formal grievance processes.
One MCFI employee explained, “Management implied that because of a public health emergency, aspects of the contract can be overlooked. As workers we say that’s exactly the time for MCFI do the right thing by its employees.”
Another MCFI employee elaborated, “management’s unilateral decisions not only undermine worker morale, they’re a clear violation of the contract that management agreed to. Management could have reached out to worker representatives, instead they’ve shown a dismissive attitude to our serious concerns.”
For more information, please contact AFSCME Wisconsin Communications Director Valerie Landowski ([email protected]) or (715) 347-2740
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