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President Cathy Glasson Presents Local's Four-Year Strategic Plan

 

 

Hi, everyone. Well, we’re well into 2008, and I wanted to share with you our strategic vision for this year and beyond. The Executive Board and I worked during the winter to create a plan for Local 199 that was based on labor movement

 Cathy
 President Glasson
fundamentals that would create a more effective union for you and your families. It’s pretty straightforward. I call it Grow, Connect, Win, and these are its elements:

Grow:

In case you haven’t noticed there has been an increased emphasis this year on reaching out to nonmembers in our chapters to get them to step up and join with us. The formula is simple. There is strength in numbers. And this is not some one-time push either. Internal growth will be key to victories in the Iowa Legislature, protecting what we have already won and building on that in the future. We kicked off this portion of plan by hiring a new staff director who is leading the Local staff to implement and monitor this awesome plan.

Connect:

We have created an updated communications plan to keep you more informed. This includes:

  • A new and improved website with up -to- date information so that members can stay informed. I encourage you to take a look by going to www.SEIU199.org

  • A “Member Engagement” program that allows members to connect to one another through various activities sponsored by our Union.

  • A first -ever quarterly report to membership that I released at our General Membership Meeting held April 12th. Local 199 will also deliver an annual report to the membership at the end of each year.

  • A plan to have local elected leaders hold “Meet Local 199 Board Members” events throughout the year.

Win:

We are going to work tirelessly to win:

  • Better contracts with staffing ratios and contracts that don’t trade health insurance premiums for real wage gains.

  • Legislation that helps our members. This year we wrote and pushed Whistleblower Protections law for all Healthcare providers in Iowa. We won raises for every hospital-based RN in Iowa. And we pushed hard to improve the language in the public bargaining law to enlarge the topics on which we can bargain.