A New Year

The New Year is here and is  bringing a number of exciting things to local 4911.  But first I would be remiss if I didn’t speak about  Dr. Martin Luther King  and his contribution to the civil rights movement and the moral ground that we as UAW members stand on, fight for and embrace. Dr King had a dream, a dream that all people live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.  Fifty years later that dream that we hold near and dear is being threatened daily.  We must not listen to the rhetoric of our current President as he attempts to exploit the subconscious biases of many Americans.
 
On a brighter note, Local 4911 will be entering contract negotiations this year.  Many of my members are uneasy because of the many cuts to health care reimbursements forcing hospitals to take cost cutting actions . We have withstood a number of departmental restructures with Sparrow attempting to eliminate various jobs each time. As we ramp up for negotiations I’ll be calling on all our members to stand together in solidarity and let it be known that we deserve, and will bargain hard for, a contract that improves our lives and furthers the labor movement .