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Membership Update and Petition

Union Brothers and Sisters,

     Last weeks' payroll debacle confirms why CWA members have been raising the alarm. Short staffing and slashed resources are responsible for critical problems in state government. Last week it was about our members' PAY, next week it could be an error effecting New Mexicans' health or well being as Departments of Health, Environment, and more are ALL feeling the strain.

      CWA Members PETITION calling on Governor Martinez to move quickly and fix problems endangering New Mexico's Public Health and Government structures.

–From today's article in The Santa Fe New Mexican

     "Department Secretary Tom Clifford said at a news conference that the bureau that handles the state payroll is short-staffed, and the existing staff is lacking in accounting skills. The problems were caused by a staff member failing to follow a checklist of things to do to avoid such an error, he said.

     Asked whether anyone had been disciplined for the paycheck mishap, Clifford said, “I’m not even sure if discipline is even appropriate. It’s the kind of thing where somebody was under a lot of stress, they were under a lot of pressure and didn’t have a lot of folks around who could help. So we need to prevent that from ever happening again.”"

     The November ’12 elections are incredibly important for New Mexico Public Employees. The balance of power in the New Mexico House and Senate will be in play and we NEED Legislators who are warriors for the working class, standing up to anti-worker, pro-greed legislation.

      We must continue building a strong political force and we need you to be involved. Contact the hall to find out how you can help ASAP.

     Please read the petition BELOW and sign ON-LINE. Public Employee Unions have always done our best to negotiate and work in harmony with whatever administration comes to power, regardless if their title bears an “R” or a “D” behind it. We’ve done so because the mission to protect and provide services to New Mexico Citizens is not a partisan issue.

     Today, however, we find our jobs and the services we provide for the State on the brink. Governor Martinez’s administration has worked overtime finding grey areas within the contract to exploit, where we have little legal recourse to protect rights and healthy work environments. New Mexico State Lawyers are saying they have never seen an administration that loves to litigate more that Governor Martinez. Your Union invests in these fights, protecting our rights and due process, often ending in the New Mexico Supreme Court.

     What is the motivating factor that inspires Governor Martinez to run government with such high vacancy rates, unqualified leadership, and a culture of fear and intimidation? Quite simply, it appears the Governor wishes to be seen as someone who can run Government at a profit (like a business), serve larger corporate industrial interest with weakened regulation, and champion political agendas aimed at minimizing input from the working peoples’ voice.

     This is the far right wing agenda to crush Unions and the power we represent for working people. Unions and allied progressive groups balance the conversation in our country and our state. In absence of our collective voices, America’s Capitalist system drifts into brutal territory.

     CWA Members are fighting in New Mexico for the rights of all working people. Working families of CWA must not sit on the sidelines while corporations attack us, our rights as workers, and our way of life. We are building a stronger political organization at CWA so that we can better take on companies like Verizon (a company that takes billions in tax breaks from the American people, makes huge profits, and now wants to take more from their workers), or an Administration who treats Public Employees and Services as an obstacle and enemy.

In Unity,

CWA 7076 Membership

New Mexico’s Public Health on the Brink
 

We, the undersigned, Employees of the State of New Mexico, Union Members, and Citizens present this petition to Governor Martinez and her administration. The Martinez Administration continually pursues policies and condones behavior that undermines the mission of New Mexico State Government. Furthermore, these actions are resulting in threats to the Public Health, unsafe and hostile work environments, with dangerously low levels of employee morale among dedicated Public Employees.

Whereas New Mexico State Government maintains high vacancy rates resulting in compromised public services and potentially dangerous work environment; and

Whereas the New Mexico State Government has witnessed departure of high level management personnel due to frustration with department priorities, ineffectual leadership, and policy resulting in a vacuum in top leadership and accountability; and

Whereas New Mexico State Government has changed scheduling policy several times in recent months resulting in inconsistent workplace expectations, needless disruption of employees' lives, and dangerously plummeting morale; and

Whereas New Mexico State Government is operating under a mandate to cut costs severely resulting in a diminished capacity to react to actual State-wide and facility health emergencies in an effective or safe manner;

Therefore, so be it resolved that we, the undersigned, do hereby sign our support for the adoption of immediate policy changes that:

1. Aggressively recruit and fill vital front line positions in State Government.
2. Replace current Department of Health Cabinet Secretary Torres.
3. Re-examine and approve when reasonable on a case-by-case basis requests for flexible and alternative work schedules to accommodate professional and personal employee needs.
4. Review hiring practices to ensure candidates are qualified and that experienced employees are given opportunity to advance.
5. Demand management honor the current spirit and letter of the contract while in negotiation with the Union.

CLICK HERE to Sign Petition On-Line or
contact your Steward for Paper Copies

Petiton Comments: this is why we sign, this is why we're fighting

– We do not have enough employees to properly care for our patients and clients. There has been a hiring freeze for quite sometime. The employees at the facility are constantly being harrassed by the interim administrator directly under Torres. The doctor is being threatened by this same group for insorbination & possibly being fired. It is a very unpleasant working enviornment and people are leaving fast to find other jobs,leaving us even more short of help.

– The stress on the 1st and 3rd floors of the Runnels Building, where I work for a different agency, is palpable. They have now hired security guards for the 4th floor entrance to Sec. Torres' suite of offices. Paranoia has led to highly skilled and truly great people leaving – an exodus of institutional knowledge that can never be replaced. The quiet fear that permeates this place is stifling and always present. Those left simply either have no other place to go or are so close to retirement that it doesn't make sense to move elsewhere. This bleeding has got to STOP! Visit www.nmdohcrisis.com to learn how bad it all really is.

– Public Health offices serve the most vulnerable and high-risk members of the community. Many dedicated & hard-working staff have left in the last few years and those that continue to serve are frustrated over the staff shortages, increasing work-loads, glaring pay inequities & punitive policies of upper management.

– The policies under DOH Secretary have been punitive to say the least. Forcing us to make drastic changes to our work schedules inconveniencing us to no end has been a real sacrifice. She is an arrogant woman who has no regard for state employees and their needs. I have felt dehumanized and unappreciated as a valuable employee delivering badly needed services to the women of New Mexico. Let's get someone similar to Dr. Alfredo Vigil, our previous Secretary, a loving and caring person not just for the people of New Mexico but for all of us. The morale in the area where is certainly low and feels oppressive. An attitude that prevails among the whole Bureau.

– Under Secretary Torres the bureaucracy has grown terrible and we have lost needed public health positions. Also by taking away 30 minutes for lunch and flex time, we all are out in rush hour traffic which is not safe or healthy for us.

– Work moral is down. Employees are looking for new jobs outside of DOH.

– Overworked and underpaid employees working outside of their job description has caused morale problems all around.
High vacancy rates not being filled has created hostile work environment and safety issues for some employees.

– Because of the policy changes my day is now a 12 hour day with commute. Also morale at work is horrible.

– I am disgusted and exhausted of being micromanaged to the point that I get lectured for taking to certain people. I was also verbally reprimanded  for helping a member of the public who asked for help.

– I believe a strong commitment to public health is crucial to maintaining a modern way of life. Cuts have adversely affected service under both Governors. Sec Torres has gained a rep for a new level of viciousness and unprofessional behavior. She should be investigated.

– I travel a great deal with work. For (x) years I worked 4 ten hour days each week. I originally volunteered to work 4 tens to save on per-diem cost. Now the tax payer is paying more for my travel and I am away from home longer for no good reason. Secretary Torres said her reason was for office coverage. In the almost (xx) years I have worked here at DOH none of the providers have ever been to the office. I see them on their ground. For (xx) years (x) of us have covered complaint investigations at over 240 facilities statewide. There is suppose to be (three times as many) of us and a program manager. None of those job positions have been posted since vacated. We are assigned more work than we can do.

– The Public Education Department has been operating with a 30% vacancy rate for the past three years…..not enough "worker bees" to be able to keep up with the workload. All the while, those in charge are focused on the political agenda of the Governor, not the business of education in New Mexico.

– Implement Code of conduct to management and administration. CWA Local 7076 Article 6 Section 3. Weeding out loyal and longterm employees.

– the program I work for has experienced staff turnover much more than under other adminstrations, micromanagement, dictatorial leadership, no raises in 5 years for anyone,lack of support for dedicated state employees and utilizes contractors that have too much influence on top managment and staff.