SUMMER/FALL 2016 NEWSLETTER | COLORADO WINS | LOCAL 1876
WHAT’S INSIDE: ››State-wide Union Steward elections ››Politics Edition: Find out what COPE members are doing to vet State candidates ››Your union, in pictures: Lobby Day 2016 and the University of Colorado Fight for $15
Victory for AHEC custodians in discrimination case After a 3-year investigation, prompted by a complaint from Colorado WINS, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a determination in a dozen individual employment discrimination complaints and found that Auraria Higher Education Center violated the employees’ rights under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. AHEC custodians filed cases with the EEOC in May 2013 and the decision came down in May 2016. The EEOC determination letters state that all 12 workers and other “similarly situated workers” were discriminated against based upon their national origin. In addition, the EEOC determined that one employee was denied a promotion and another was retaliated against for speaking out A dozen custodians from Auraria Higher Education Center received notice they won about the discrimination. discrimination cases filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “I am very happy that we won,” said AHEC custodian and Colorado WINS member Teresa Cantu. “It can be achieved; the union is power.” According to the determination letter, the EEOC “considered all the evidence obtained during the investigation and find[s] there is reasonable cause to believe that Charging Party and other similarly situated individuals were subjected to discriminatory terms and conditions of employment in violation of Title VII.” As the next step, the EEOC will set up conciliation meetings to find a way to reach “a just resolution of this matter.” As of press time, AHEC administration refused to engage in any good faith effort discussions with the EEOC or Colorado WINS. As a result, the EEOC will refer the case to the US Dept. of Justice, which will determine the best course forward. Colorado WINS Executive Director Tim Markham served as lead attorney for the workers when the charges were filed in 2013. “The decision to go to the EEOC was not made lightly and was done so only after it became apparent that AHEC executives didn’t care about See “EEOC” on page 2
Auraria custodians during a march through campus. File photo from April 2013.
Just a few days before filing their discrimination cases with the EEOC, Auraria custodians, together with students and other state and AHEC employees, marched through campus demanding fair and equal treatment at work. They were not allowed to speak directly to the University administration or to enter their building. File photo from April 2013.
Your voice at work just grew louder This spring, state employees in work sites across Colorado nominated their peers for the position of Union Steward. In July, members elected nearly 60 people to serve as Colorado WINS Union Stewards. We now have nearly 60 more people throughout the state who represent and defend your interests at work. That’s 60 more folks who will unite you and your coworkers when problems need to be addressed in your work area. They will bring your collective voices to management when decisions are being made about your job. They will move people to action when a new policy comes down that is bad for employees or clients. Your Stewards were nominated and elected because they are trustworthy, reliable, and respected by their coworkers. As your representatives in the workplace, Stewards can help you navigate the waters of the state personnel system, department policies, and work site practices. But above all, Stewards work to build a united, organized, and involved membership that can stand tough in the face of obstacles. The newly elected Stewards will be sworn in to 2-year terms at the Steward Convention in late August. To see if you have a new Steward at your facility, check the list on the right for all Union Steward Election Sites. By electing Stewards we are building the power of our union. We are setting structures in place to ensure all workers have a say in workplace decisions and hold the state accountable to the Partnership agreement with its employees. Colorado WINS Stewards from Boulder, top, and the Denver area, bottom.
Colorado WINS Stewards from Pueblo.
UNION STEWARD ELECTION SITES: Corrections:
Human Services:
›› Arkansas Valley CF ›› Arrowhead CC ›› Buena Vista CC ›› Centennial CF ›› Colorado State Penitentiary ›› Colorado Territorial CF ›› Delta CC ›› Denver Women’s CF ›› Fremont CF ›› La Vista CF ›› Limon CF ›› San Carlos CF ›› Sterling CF ›› Trinidad CF ›› Parole ›› Youthful Offender System
›› Headquarters ›› Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP) ›› Colorado Mental Health Institute at Ft. Logan (CMHI-FL) ›› Disability Determination Services ›› Pueblo Regional Center ›› Colorado Veterans’ Nursing Home at Fitzsimons ›› Zebulon Pike YSC
Higher Education: ›› CU-Boulder ›› Colorado State University ›› Auraria Higher Ed. Center
Other departments: ›› Labor and Employment ›› Regulatory Agencies ›› Health Care Policy & Financing ›› Public Health and Environment ›› Public Safety ›› Revenue/Motor Vehicles ›› Transportation
To learn more about what a Steward does, or to become one, visit ColoradoWINS.org/Stewards
EEOC
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the discrimination these workers faced on a daily basis from their managers,” Markham said. “These workers have tried in vain for years to get AHEC management to take their issues seriously and have been ignored at every turn. The determination by the EEOC is a vindication of their years’ long struggle. We will have to see what the Dept. of Justice sees as the next step in this case.” WINS members are looking forward to beginning the EEOC mediation process with AHEC, resolving these issues, and ending discrimination on the Auraria campus. “I hope AHEC ends all the violations that exist, that they end the suffering that we have, that they bring in more people to do the work because there is a lot of pressure,” Cantu said. “We all come to work, we are humble, hardworking people.” 2
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KNOW SOMEONE WE SHOULD FEATURE? If someone you work with goes above and beyond every day, tell us about it! Email us a few words about how their service improves our state. Include your coworker’s name, department, facility, and best contact phone number. Send suggestions to ourvoice@cowins.org.
For May’s Public Service Recognition Week we profiled WINS members who do an exceptional job day in and day out. Miguel has had a few careers in his life, including time as a Marine and as a chef in New Orleans. But public service was his calling and it was part of the reason he decided to become a registered nurse. For the past three years he’s worked with mentally ill patients at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Ft. Logan. “At Ft. Logan we work with a challenging clientele,” Miguel said. “You can easily just write our patients off, clock in and out just to get paid, but for me this kind of job is more than just a job. It’s something you really have to believe in.” Working with patients with severe mental illness is very much a team effort, Miguel said. MIGUEL MUSACCHIA “We strive to make them the best that they can be, healthiest Registered Nurse, that they can be and back in the community as soon as they can. Colorado Mental Health But without the rest of the team I’m just a nurse and nothing else,” Institute at Ft. Logan (DHS) Miguel said. “The patient won’t get any better without the rest of my team. They need the social workers for therapy, the doctors for treatments and medications, and everyone else I work with so that they can go on and be back in the community.” When days are tough at work, the best thing about the job for Miguel is the support he and his clients get from the rest of his team. “Sometimes a patient’s progress is slow and we are very caring and therapeutic toward that client but there is also a lot of camaraderie and relationships between the staff,” he said. “There have been a few patients that were particularly hard, but it wasn’t me who helped them, it was the whole team. I think everyone on our team goes above and beyond what is asked of them, I see it every day.”
Official publication of
Colorado WINS 2525 Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219 303.727.8040 info@cowins.org
COLORADO WINS EXECUTIVE BOARD PATTY MOORE President
SKIP MILLER Treasurer
DAVID PERTZ Secretary
TIM MARKHAM Executive Director
VICE PRESIDENTS: PAT ROYBAL, Dist. I RITA UHLER, Dist. II DRAGAN MEJIC, Dist. III SHELLY MARQUEZ, Dist. IV JACQUIE ANDERSON, Dist. V RICH BRINKER, Dist. VI VACANT, Dept. Committee
“I chose to work in corrections primarily to give voice to the people who don’t have one. Being able to see progress within an individual makes me feel like the work I do has value.” - Jessica Flermoen
Licensed Psychologist, Centennial Correctional Facility (DOC)
“It’s important to make sure that when people are thinking about policies that impact young people they don’t forget about the young persons they are trying to help.” - Ricardo Matthias
Youth Engagement Specialist, Division of Child Welfare (DHS)
RETIREE CHAIR: DAVID RUCHMAN
To read full profiles, visit our website at ColoradoWINS.org. SUMMER/FALL 2016 | COLORADO WINS | LOCAL 1876
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POLITICS
What can your politician do for you? November is approaching quickly and we will soon be casting ballots for a variety of candidates and issues. As active and engaged citizens, we should be involved in the process of selecting the candidates we will eventually be asked to choose from. State employees benefit from getting involved in politics before November, since our work, benefits, and pay depend largely on the decisions of the State’s legislators. This year, the Colorado WINS Executive Board will endorse candidates for State Senate, State House and the University of Colorado Regents positions. The list of endorsed candidates will be released in late August, but the work to create that list began much earlier.
“The endorsement process begins when COPE members start thinking about what issues we want to hear from the candidates on,” said Eujenia Renfroe, a Committee on Political Education (COPE) contributor who works at the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF). “Then it’s an issue of seeing who responds, because not every candidate responds to our invitation to weigh in on those issues and seek our endorsement.” Once the full list of endorsed candidates is released, Colorado WINS members become Political Action Volunteers and donate their time to knock doors and phone bank for candidates in tough races. “A candidate who is endorsed by WINS
would enjoy our work on that candidate’s behalf,” said Jane Wilson, also from HCPF, who has been active in COPE for the past two election cycles. “We’d encourage the membership to walk door to door, to canvass on the phones, to do whatever the candidate’s campaign would find useful. We also give money to help fund their campaign.” By interviewing the candidates, COPE members are able to tell if a legislator will champion our causes and recognize the importance of state workers as the driving
“We look for a viable candidate who’s got a plan, answers our questionnaire to our satisfaction, and who is willing to say [...] ‘I commit to listening to you.’ [...] We want to hear that commitment to come back to us and be educated by us.” – Jane Wilson, COPE contributor Health Care Policy and Financing
HCPF members Eujenia Renfroe, left, and Jane Wilson during a recent COPE candidate interview.
Become a
political action volunteer 4
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force behind Colorado’s economy. “We look for a viable candidate who’s got a plan, answers our questionnaire to our satisfaction, and who is willing to say they may not be informed on certain issues,” Jane said. “The magic words are ‘I commit to listening to you.’ Going forward we can help a legislator understand our issues. So we just want to hear that commitment to come back to us and be educated by us.”
do more than vote As a Political Action Volunteer you will use your time to tell voters about our issues, educate other union members about the importance of voting and ensure that candidates who champion the issues of state employees get help getting elected. Visit ColoradoWINS.org/PAV to sign up.
EDITION Endorsements
Full list released in Late august You should get your list of Colorado WINS endorsed candidates through the mail right after Labor Day 2016.
By running a thorough interview program, the COPE ensures that other union members have a reliable source of information about candidates. “It can be hard to keep up on the candidacies in various races and so [you can feel secure] knowing that you have a credible source that is vetted to look out for certain interests,” Eujenia said. “We’re not all one issue voters, we don’t only see things through a state employee’s lens, but at least you know
“It can be hard to keep up on the candidacies in various races and so [you can feel secure] knowing that you have a credible source that vetted [candidates] to look out for certain interests. We don’t only see things through a state employee’s lens, but at least you know that from that angle you have a credible source for [which candidates] you can support.” – Eujenia Renfroe, COPE contributor Health Care Policy and Financing that from that angle you have a credible source for who you can support among this myriad of races and candidates.” We need to make sure that legislators recognize how important state employees and union members are to any campaign. “A candidate who is celebrating their victory on election night is going to remember who brought them to the dance,” Jane said. “They’re going to remember that WINS was present with money and/or workers. So at that moment, we need to keep riding that crest. We need, as a union, to stay involved with that candidate who’s now successfully used our endorsement as part of the package that brought him over the finish line and to victory.” But our relationship with a candidate doesn’t stop at election night. “It’s important for us to be there
throughout the term of that elected official, beyond the endorsement, beyond the election, to continue that connection, to keep it active,” said Jane. “There needs to be a promise that if you break trust with us and you’re doing something against our best interests, we will have an opportunity to tell you we don’t like it and that there will be a consequence next election, when it comes to our endorsement.” Ultimately, state employees want to be a resource to the legislators who make laws that impact their daily work life. “We want to make that connection with a candidate,” said Jane. “And hopefully before a legislator drafts, introduces or even cosponsors a piece of legislation that has a direct impact on state workers, we want that person to come to us, to seek us out, and to get our perspective on it.”
Not a COPE contributor yet? You can start today at ColoradoWINS.org/COPE
Educate, engage, activate: COPE members do it all “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” — Charles Dudley Warner The quote, coincidentally, comes from a treatise about another era’s disillusion with politics. But this oft-repeated quote fits nearly exactly with our current collective mood as ROBERT LINDGREN it relates to civic engagement, Political Coordinator with the substitution of the word ‘politics’ for ‘weather.’ And, like with weather, it can seem equally foolish to think we can make meaningful change in politics. But there is a group of Colorado WINS members who choose to be civically engaged because they know we need change in policy if we are ever going to get back to a simple, efficient and properly funded system of pay and benefits for state employees. What makes these members powerful politically? They join our Committee on Political Education, or COPE for short. COPE is a voluntary program that allows members to make contributions to a war chest, which provides resources to candidates and campaigns fighting for the rights of state employees. In many ways, COPE participants exhibit the opposite of the blasé, apathetic mood that engulfs public discourse. They’ve made a commitment to make change in the state system and they do it in a strategic and powerful way. COPE participants refuse to be bullied into staying quiet. They refuse to throw their hands in the air and let bad politicians make bad policy. They are determined in their mission to educate the public, the candidates, and their coworkers that there is something you can do to make the state a better place to work. Instead of being dissatisfied with the choices on the ballot, COPE participants shape the ballot through their involvement in endorsements, candidate interviews, and political volunteering. Many COPE members take on other leadership roles in the union. They’re active in their workplace as stewards and active in their community as engaged COPE participants. So if you’re ready to do something about the weather, or politics, start your monthly contribution to COPE today. You can sign up right from our home page at ColoradoWINS.org. SUMMER/FALL 2016 | COLORADO WINS | LOCAL 1876
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Members talk to their legislators at the State Capitol during the 2016 Lobby Day
Nearly 60 members attended Lobby Day on March 21, 2016 Opening remarks were delivered by House Majority Leader Dickey Lee Hullinghorst (top), Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp (bottom) and Colorado AFL-CIO’s Political Director Kjersten Forseth.
Sunday night’s training set expectations, prepared members with talking points, and gave an overview of our goals. Members from Pueblo were invited by Rep. Daneya Esgar to sit on the floor of the House of Representatives.
On the morning of Lobby Day, members get a briefing of the day’s events at the capitol.
WINS members from House District 46 with Rep. Daneya Esgar.
Member Skip Miller with Representative Lang Sias (HD 27).
Alamosa members Pat Roybal, Patti Ortiz, Geronimo Olivas and Karen Melgares with Sen. Larry Crowder (SD 35).
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Member Cathy Wilson with her Senator Andy Kerr (SD 22).
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WINS members at the University of Colorado’s campuses Fight for $15
Members from Boulder met with UC-Colorado Springs custodians during a Board of Regents action.
Elected CU-Boulder worker representatives attended meetings with CFO Fox.
On Feb. 18, 2016, a delegation of workers from CU-Boulder and UC-Colorado Springs attended the CU Board of Regents meeting to deliver petition signatures asking the Regents to approve a living wage of $15/hour for all CU workers on all four campuses, including classified, university, contract and student workers.
Custodian Manuel Monteon, during the April Board of Regents meeting in Denver where workers staged a demonstration in favor of a living wage for all campus employees.
Regent Michael Carrigan accepted the workers’ demands and spoke to the crowd in support of the a living wage of $15/hour.
To learn more about Committee on Political Education members, from CU-Boulder and Health Care Policy & Financing, led an interview with University of Colorado Regent Candidate for the At-Large position Alice Madden (front row, second from left).
the Fight for $15 at CU-Boulder, visit
CU15now.com #CU15now
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DENVER HEADQUARTERS 2525 W. Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80219 303.727.8040 ColoradoWINS.org
When state employees have a voice, Colorado WINS
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Summer/Fall 2016
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