November 28, 2023
Subject: UMW Newsletter and Ceasefire Statement
Hello United Museum Workers,
Thank you to everyone who attended the general meeting of Local 9562 on November 15th. It was a particularly eventful meeting in which we met our new USW staff representative, Matthew Nader, and passed several motions about allocating financial resources.
Despite us having signed our contract in May, we have not been able to finalize and print our supplemental materials until recently. This is largely because CMP regularly adds and retires job titles, and we have over 150 job titles represented in our bargaining unit. At this meeting we made a further allocation of money to ensure that all of our members will receive a printed contract booklet as soon as possible. Look forward to getting your copy soon!
We also heard a report back from attendees to the Women of Steel conference and approved expenditures of funds for general maintenance and silkscreen printing supplies.
Minutes of our meeting can be accessed at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oNkjflpWCKXBV4x_BkyDZJ9bagKU60Nn/view
The bulk of the general meeting was spent on debate over whether or not to release a statement calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East. We voted to approve the statement and you can read it in full below.
Ceasefire Statement
We the members of USW Local 9562 call for a ceasefire and an end to the collective punishment of Palestinians by the state of Israel. We condemn Hamas’ attacks on civilians and seizure of hostages and we support the safe return of all hostages. We condemn Israel’s attacks on civilians, journalists, and essential infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
As a labor union, we abhor that our national leaders are funneling billions of our tax dollars in military aid to Israel leading to the deaths of more than 11,000 Palestinians, nearly half of whom are children. The scale of destruction, displacement, and death amounts to genocide of the Palestinian people and must end. It is imperative that our elected representatives call for an immediate ceasefire.
Our hearts are with our Jewish and Muslim neighbors who have seen an uptick in Antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in our local communities. We commit to creating an environment of safety, solidarity, and understanding. Hatred has no home here.
Disclaimer: This statement is not affiliated with our employers or parent union, the United Steelworkers. Our local is releasing this statement as decided democratically at our November 15 General Meeting. The views expressed here do not reflect the views of every individual member of our local.
Some Context about the Ceasefire Statement
The language of this statement was drafted by a working group of union members from the United Library Workers, United Museum Workers, and Pittsburgh Tech Workers United which formed out of conversations in our Slack channels. According to the by-laws of the Amalgamated Local 9562 any member in good standing can bring a motion to be considered by the body. Motions can take many forms, including allocating spending, creating committees, appointing union stewards, and issuing public statements. The motion to release this statement was debated on the floor of the November 15 general meeting and approved by a majority vote of those members present. We understand that some members of our union may not agree with this statement and we respect every worker’s autonomy to have their own opinions about this international conflict.
Some members of UMW did not object to the content of the statement so much as whether the Local should put out any political statement whatsoever. We acknowledge that putting out this statement is more controversial than our usual labor-focused activity. However, the members who advocated for this statement felt strongly that the Local should not remain silent on this conflict. We are not alone; hundreds of other unions and labor organizations all over the world have released similar statements in the last few weeks.
You can send any questions or concerns to Stephen Laskaris, the Local 9562 President, at this email address: [email protected]. Stephen will direct any concerns specific to a particular workplace to the relevant union leaders.
If a manager approaches a worker to discuss this statement or any union business, the worker should take advantage of their Weingarten Rights.
Weingarten Rights: Any union-represented employees, upon request, may have a union representative present during an interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.
If anyone approaches you at work about this statement, you can simply say that you do not discuss union activity at work and invite them to share their thoughts on social media or other communication venues. If a member of the press approaches you, please instruct them to email the Local President.
Join Us on Slack!
The United Museum Workers has created a workspace on Slack, a common communication and organization platform. Any member of the United Museum Workers can join our Slack at this link: https://join.slack.com/t/unitedmuseumusw-95625/shared_invite/zt-20prebjdy-wZM2HpfvDHNOK2PjiBKIKQ
We encourage all our members to download the Slack app on your phone and personal computer, or just use the platform with your web browser. Our union uses Slack to share updates about upcoming union events, organize union activity, spread the word about local labor actions, socialize, and post cute photos of our pets and plants! You can also bring up problems at your museum that need the attention of our union grievers, ask questions about other departments and other museums, and get to know your fellow union members.
The UMW leaders look forward to seeing more of you on our Slack!
Use Your Paid Floating Holidays!
November has almost concluded, which means that part-timers only have a few weeks left to use their paid floating holidays for 2023. All part-time workers in UMW who have worked for CMP for at least one year are entitled to two paid floating holidays in each year covered by our union contract. Technically, you receive those floating holidays in Dayforce in January after your first full year of employment, so some workers who started working for CMP after January 2022 will need to wait until next year. You can request to use these floating holidays on Dayforce, and your manager is required to respond to the request within two weeks of the requested date. Your paid floating holidays do not need to take place on federally recognized holidays, any date on the 2023 calendar is an option.
After logging into Dayforce, click on “Time Away List” then click on the “Request New Time Off" button; this will make a new table pop up called “Create Time Off Request.” In the little table that says “reason,” select your reason: Floating Holiday. There is a calendar icon where you can select the start and end dates of your floating holiday. You can also request to have the full day off (7.5 hours), or use a partial day and specify the number of paid hours.
For part-timers, the paid floating holidays do not roll over to the next year. Use them or lose them!
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!
Hello United Museum Workers,
Thank you to everyone who attended the general meeting of Local 9562 on November 15th. It was a particularly eventful meeting in which we met our new USW staff representative, Matthew Nader, and passed several motions about allocating financial resources.
Despite us having signed our contract in May, we have not been able to finalize and print our supplemental materials until recently. This is largely because CMP regularly adds and retires job titles, and we have over 150 job titles represented in our bargaining unit. At this meeting we made a further allocation of money to ensure that all of our members will receive a printed contract booklet as soon as possible. Look forward to getting your copy soon!
We also heard a report back from attendees to the Women of Steel conference and approved expenditures of funds for general maintenance and silkscreen printing supplies.
Minutes of our meeting can be accessed at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oNkjflpWCKXBV4x_BkyDZJ9bagKU60Nn/view
The bulk of the general meeting was spent on debate over whether or not to release a statement calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East. We voted to approve the statement and you can read it in full below.
Ceasefire Statement
We the members of USW Local 9562 call for a ceasefire and an end to the collective punishment of Palestinians by the state of Israel. We condemn Hamas’ attacks on civilians and seizure of hostages and we support the safe return of all hostages. We condemn Israel’s attacks on civilians, journalists, and essential infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.
As a labor union, we abhor that our national leaders are funneling billions of our tax dollars in military aid to Israel leading to the deaths of more than 11,000 Palestinians, nearly half of whom are children. The scale of destruction, displacement, and death amounts to genocide of the Palestinian people and must end. It is imperative that our elected representatives call for an immediate ceasefire.
Our hearts are with our Jewish and Muslim neighbors who have seen an uptick in Antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks in our local communities. We commit to creating an environment of safety, solidarity, and understanding. Hatred has no home here.
Disclaimer: This statement is not affiliated with our employers or parent union, the United Steelworkers. Our local is releasing this statement as decided democratically at our November 15 General Meeting. The views expressed here do not reflect the views of every individual member of our local.
Some Context about the Ceasefire Statement
The language of this statement was drafted by a working group of union members from the United Library Workers, United Museum Workers, and Pittsburgh Tech Workers United which formed out of conversations in our Slack channels. According to the by-laws of the Amalgamated Local 9562 any member in good standing can bring a motion to be considered by the body. Motions can take many forms, including allocating spending, creating committees, appointing union stewards, and issuing public statements. The motion to release this statement was debated on the floor of the November 15 general meeting and approved by a majority vote of those members present. We understand that some members of our union may not agree with this statement and we respect every worker’s autonomy to have their own opinions about this international conflict.
Some members of UMW did not object to the content of the statement so much as whether the Local should put out any political statement whatsoever. We acknowledge that putting out this statement is more controversial than our usual labor-focused activity. However, the members who advocated for this statement felt strongly that the Local should not remain silent on this conflict. We are not alone; hundreds of other unions and labor organizations all over the world have released similar statements in the last few weeks.
You can send any questions or concerns to Stephen Laskaris, the Local 9562 President, at this email address: [email protected]. Stephen will direct any concerns specific to a particular workplace to the relevant union leaders.
If a manager approaches a worker to discuss this statement or any union business, the worker should take advantage of their Weingarten Rights.
Weingarten Rights: Any union-represented employees, upon request, may have a union representative present during an interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.
If anyone approaches you at work about this statement, you can simply say that you do not discuss union activity at work and invite them to share their thoughts on social media or other communication venues. If a member of the press approaches you, please instruct them to email the Local President.
Join Us on Slack!
The United Museum Workers has created a workspace on Slack, a common communication and organization platform. Any member of the United Museum Workers can join our Slack at this link: https://join.slack.com/t/unitedmuseumusw-95625/shared_invite/zt-20prebjdy-wZM2HpfvDHNOK2PjiBKIKQ
We encourage all our members to download the Slack app on your phone and personal computer, or just use the platform with your web browser. Our union uses Slack to share updates about upcoming union events, organize union activity, spread the word about local labor actions, socialize, and post cute photos of our pets and plants! You can also bring up problems at your museum that need the attention of our union grievers, ask questions about other departments and other museums, and get to know your fellow union members.
The UMW leaders look forward to seeing more of you on our Slack!
Use Your Paid Floating Holidays!
November has almost concluded, which means that part-timers only have a few weeks left to use their paid floating holidays for 2023. All part-time workers in UMW who have worked for CMP for at least one year are entitled to two paid floating holidays in each year covered by our union contract. Technically, you receive those floating holidays in Dayforce in January after your first full year of employment, so some workers who started working for CMP after January 2022 will need to wait until next year. You can request to use these floating holidays on Dayforce, and your manager is required to respond to the request within two weeks of the requested date. Your paid floating holidays do not need to take place on federally recognized holidays, any date on the 2023 calendar is an option.
After logging into Dayforce, click on “Time Away List” then click on the “Request New Time Off" button; this will make a new table pop up called “Create Time Off Request.” In the little table that says “reason,” select your reason: Floating Holiday. There is a calendar icon where you can select the start and end dates of your floating holiday. You can also request to have the full day off (7.5 hours), or use a partial day and specify the number of paid hours.
For part-timers, the paid floating holidays do not roll over to the next year. Use them or lose them!
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!
