March 1, 2024
Subject: UMW Newsletter
Hello United Museum Workers,
Thank you to everyone who attended our most recent unit meeting on February 20th. We hope to see as many UMW members as possible at the next Local 9562 meeting on March 17th, as this will be the nominations meeting for the elections in April.
2-20 Meeting Recap
Jenise Brown, our union’s Unit President, gave a presentation on the functions and officers of our union. We got a refresher on Weingarten rights, the history of UMW’s organizing, and more! Here are some of the key points:
Weingarten Rights: The right to have a union representative present when you get called into a disciplinary/investigatory meeting with your supervisor or have reason to believe the meeting will be disciplinary/investigatory. They are protected under federal law, and are invoked verbally (‘I invoke my Weingarten rights’).
Union Officers: With union elections coming up in April, we got a helpful overview of the positions available!
If you would like to support UMW in any of these many ways, please email us at [email protected] or join our Slack.
Next Local 9562 Meeting
The next meeting of our Local will happen on Sunday, March 17th at 6:30pm. It will take place at the Friends Meeting House at 4836 Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside.
In addition to our usual activities, this will be our nominations meeting for the leadership elections happening in April. Any UMW member in good standing can nominate themselves or another union member for any leadership position. You must attend the meeting, either in person or on Zoom, to make a nomination; however, you can nominate someone else who is not at the meeting. If you plan to nominate someone other than yourself, please share your intentions with that person before the meeting.
To join the meeting via Zoom, register at this link: https://bit.ly/March9562
It’s an election year!
Prior to the many political elections happening in 2024, all USW unions will conduct leadership elections in April of this year. This means that several of our current UMW leaders will run for re-election, but you are welcome to challenge them. You can also run for a leadership position in Local 9562, such as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Financial Secretary or Recording Secretary.
Per USW by-laws, voting will take place in-person. This means that we need tellers to run the process! Tellers cannot be current grievance officers, stewards, or leadership; they also can’t run for office in the 2024 election. Being a teller is a great way to engage more with our union, and get to know your siblings across the Local! As a teller, you will share exactly when you would be available to staff a polling station in April. This means that you can set your schedule and only agree to staff polling stations that are convenient for you.
If you have time to serve as an election teller, please email us at [email protected]
NextGen Conference
The United Steelworkers are holding their NextGen conference next week, March 3rd-8th. Our very own United Museum Workers’ Secretary-Treasurer Jim Kappas will speak with fellow union workers from across the globe at the Worker Power Panel. Jenise Brown, our president, will moderate a panel with Starbucks Workers United members and workers from other sectors! Look for a recap in upcoming newsletters. While the registration for this year’s NextGen has closed, keep this in mind for the future: if you have a labor-focused conference or event that you would like to attend, the union can pay for your tickets!
Questions? Ideas? We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected]. Our strength as a union lies in our transparent communication and shared experience. Let’s chat!
Thank you to everyone who attended our most recent unit meeting on February 20th. We hope to see as many UMW members as possible at the next Local 9562 meeting on March 17th, as this will be the nominations meeting for the elections in April.
2-20 Meeting Recap
Jenise Brown, our union’s Unit President, gave a presentation on the functions and officers of our union. We got a refresher on Weingarten rights, the history of UMW’s organizing, and more! Here are some of the key points:
Weingarten Rights: The right to have a union representative present when you get called into a disciplinary/investigatory meeting with your supervisor or have reason to believe the meeting will be disciplinary/investigatory. They are protected under federal law, and are invoked verbally (‘I invoke my Weingarten rights’).
Union Officers: With union elections coming up in April, we got a helpful overview of the positions available!
- Steward - Provides Union information to new hires during HR Orientation and serves as a Weingarten representative during disciplinary meetings
- Grievance Officer - Processes complaints, grievances and Contract violations within their respective museum
- Unit Secretary - Records attendance at all unit meetings and handles all correspondence of the unit
- Unit President - Presides over all unit meetings; general representative of the unit to the press and public, keeps the Local informed of new developments
- Local President - Presides at all meetings of the Local Union and serves as an ex-officio member of all committees in their Local Union
- Local Vice President- Assists the President and performs the duties of the President if the President is unable
- Treasurer - Keeps track of funds provided by the Financial Secretary; reports on Local’s finances during each meeting, and completes a monthly financial statement
- Financial Secretary - Receives money due to the Local and provides it to the Treasurer; keeps documentation and accounting books accurate
- Recording Secretary - Keeps the minutes of all Local meetings and handles correspondence
If you would like to support UMW in any of these many ways, please email us at [email protected] or join our Slack.
Next Local 9562 Meeting
The next meeting of our Local will happen on Sunday, March 17th at 6:30pm. It will take place at the Friends Meeting House at 4836 Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside.
In addition to our usual activities, this will be our nominations meeting for the leadership elections happening in April. Any UMW member in good standing can nominate themselves or another union member for any leadership position. You must attend the meeting, either in person or on Zoom, to make a nomination; however, you can nominate someone else who is not at the meeting. If you plan to nominate someone other than yourself, please share your intentions with that person before the meeting.
To join the meeting via Zoom, register at this link: https://bit.ly/March9562
It’s an election year!
Prior to the many political elections happening in 2024, all USW unions will conduct leadership elections in April of this year. This means that several of our current UMW leaders will run for re-election, but you are welcome to challenge them. You can also run for a leadership position in Local 9562, such as President, Vice President, Treasurer, Financial Secretary or Recording Secretary.
Per USW by-laws, voting will take place in-person. This means that we need tellers to run the process! Tellers cannot be current grievance officers, stewards, or leadership; they also can’t run for office in the 2024 election. Being a teller is a great way to engage more with our union, and get to know your siblings across the Local! As a teller, you will share exactly when you would be available to staff a polling station in April. This means that you can set your schedule and only agree to staff polling stations that are convenient for you.
If you have time to serve as an election teller, please email us at [email protected]
NextGen Conference
The United Steelworkers are holding their NextGen conference next week, March 3rd-8th. Our very own United Museum Workers’ Secretary-Treasurer Jim Kappas will speak with fellow union workers from across the globe at the Worker Power Panel. Jenise Brown, our president, will moderate a panel with Starbucks Workers United members and workers from other sectors! Look for a recap in upcoming newsletters. While the registration for this year’s NextGen has closed, keep this in mind for the future: if you have a labor-focused conference or event that you would like to attend, the union can pay for your tickets!
Questions? Ideas? We want to hear from you! Write to us at [email protected]. Our strength as a union lies in our transparent communication and shared experience. Let’s chat!
