AME Happenings
<< Back to Headline News
Unity Rally on July 1, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
6/26/2009
- Cheryl A. Felice, President
Dear Unit Presidents and Action Committee Members,
As we begin to transition the ninth AME Executive Board and celebrate our 25th year as the largest independent union in New York State, AME is under attack! A decertification effort is under way by an international union who is largely a private sector union. If they succeed in persuading our members to leave our bargaining unit to join theirs, AME will cease to exist. What is worse, we, Suffolk County employees, will be swallowed up by a local representative of this international union who has less public employee members than AME!
Twenty-five years ago AME was forged in fire: We decertified from CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association) when they threatened to take our $3 million Benefit Fund out of Suffolk County. AME members prevailed in creating our own union, in controlling our own assets which are worth $18 million today. Is AME’s $18 million in Benefit Fund assets reason number one that another union wants your membership?
It should come as no surprise that our opponents in our recently held democratic election are disappointed with the results. That does not mean they have a right to destroy what so many have worked to create, your own independent union, free from control by an entity that is outside of Suffolk County. The union orchestrating this raid on us has lost over 50,000 members in the last 5 years! Are our own members being offered up to reverse their own declining membership? Is this other union looking to make up their loss in dues, and reason number two that they want your membership?
AME has one of the lowest dues structures around. It is set up as a flat rate so that each time you advance through the step system, you keep the increases you have earned while AME modestly runs the union. Since 1995, AME has owned our headquarters, paid off the mortgage and recently had the building appraised for $4.1 million. Is the value of this multimillion dollar building reason number three that another union wants your membership?
Ask yourself – with only 8% of all private sector and 35% of all public sector workers in the U.S. organized, why is another union coming after AME – who is already organized? Why not go after the other 92% in the private sector and 65% in the public sector who are not represented by a union? You guessed it…They just want our money!
And just who is this union attacking AME? The Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 1180 from New York City, not Suffolk County!
The CWA website, both the international and local 1180, is shocking in itself. They speak of unity yet, raid the organized workers in Suffolk County. It is shocking how they speak of democracy yet attack union workers. It is shocking that in spite of what they are trying to sell you, your dues money will go to New York City and Washington, DC– without your vote, say, or input!
Once again labor is attacking labor and management is enjoying watching the fight. Instead of unifying into one central organized voice – CWA is doing management’s job and tearing labor union workers apart!
AME is democratic, AME is autonomous, and AME is US!! And if members think our union needs improvement, they should get involved, from within.
Please join the new Executive Board for a “Unity Rally” on
July 1, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. at AME Headquarters, to discuss ways we can save AME. Let’s keep AME in Suffolk County, Let’s Strive at 25!
Unity wins,
Cheryl A. Felice
President