Cook County College Teachers Union, Local 1600

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COPE Road Show Wows 'Em at Morton Classified

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Asst. Chapter Chair Eric Porod gives Monica Flores a copy of the newly printed contract.

The Fall 2009 "COPE" Road Show continued its Cook County-wide tour with a stop at the Morton College Classified Chapter's fall luncheon on Oct. 22. Hitting the high notes were President Perry Buckley and IFT Field Rep. Brenda Pryor. Also in attendance was Asst. to the President Randy Barnette.

Morton Classified Chair Tim Visk organized two separate meetings at 11:30 and 12:30 to accommodate his members' schedules. After calling the meeting to order, Visk introduced the CCCTU officers and staff on hand and then delved into the packed agenda, promising a "great COPE show at the end." He introduced a new union member, Rafael Navarro, and noted that there is only one "fair-share" holdout which "we'll get to sign up by November." Visk also noted that, of the four positions that were up for reclassification, most likely two would be approved at the next board meeting. "You'll know more about this next month," he said.

Next on the agenda were committee reports. Karen Piest of the Social Committee stated the date and location of the holiday party (Dec. 4 at Salerno's) and mentioned that "maybe it was time to find that white elephant gift lying around your house - one person's trash is another's treasure!" Piest also noted the annual flower sale fundraiser would be held on graduation day in May; proceeds will go to benefit local area food pantries.

The biggest generator of conversation was the recently negotiated contract and the contract-mandated creation of a Sick-Leave Bank. Visk stated he wanted five volunteers (one officer and four members) to make up the committee that would oversee the bank. "This is our bank,” Visk said. “No administrators or anyone from HR is on the committee." Brenda Pryor then explained how the bank would work and took questions from the membership about it.

Buckley began his presentation with a brief anecdote. "When I say that I always enjoy coming to MortonCollege, I really mean it," he said to laughs. "My first teaching job in any community college was here, at Morton, in the early 1980s. It was here, at Morton, where I fell in love with community college teaching."

Buckley praised the Morton Classified leadership for the "great contract in tough times" that was recently negotiated. He pointed out the Morton Chapters received the biggest salary percentage increase in the entire IFT. "There are some locals in the southern part of the state where there are wage freezes or raises of only 1%. In the entire Chicago Federation of Labor, the average raise has been only 2%," he added.

Finally, Buckley discussed the importance of COPE, noting that "what we negotiate in your contracts can be taken away in Springfield. So it is vitally important that our collective voice is heard with the powers that be. And," Buckley clarified, "not one single penny of your dues goes to political action. Every donation is 100% voluntary COPE money. That's why fair share dues are the exact same amount as a full share in the union."

Both classified meetings concluded with members increasing their COPE contributions and walking away with the latest CCCTU wear.

Jamie Flasza gets help from Richie Pawlak (right) in filling out her COPE contribution form, while Randy Barnette and Jonnell Medina look on.

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