OSA Newsline - February 26, 2018

We had a nice rally at Foley Square on Saturday. The rain held off and it was warm for February. We brought two dozen OSA caps and we ran out of those caps very quickly. About 40 OSA members and retirees found us to report in and others were probably in other parts of the large crowd.

The rally itself was brief, so we had the rest of Saturday afternoon for relaxation. OSA Chair Bob Croghan extends his personal thanks to all who came.

We are getting occasional phone calls asking us how soon we will complete negotiations. As occurs in each City negotiation, some members become impatient. Truthfully, negotiations are going well, but slowly. In fact, they are going well partially because they are going slowly. The City is always willing to give us a quick, bad deal, but we do not want a bad contract. Bloomberg spent four years complaining that we would not accept the suicidally bad deal he was offering. We did not and eventually got raises for most of the years he had offered zeros.

So, be patient as the City unions seek to obtain a good deal for us all. Later and more is always better than sooner and less.

If you'd like to listen to this week's newsline as an audio file, click on this link:

AUDIO February 26, 2018

OSA Newsline - February 19, 2018

We had sad news last week. Jean Anmuth passed away on Wednesday, on the day our union’s retirees’ club held its monthly get together.

Jean was one of the early members of OSA to retire. Thereafter, she became a major presence at our Retirees’ Club. She set up and attended many outings, but her most noted contribution was a photomontage.

Jean, yearly, composed a group shot of those of our retirees who attended each year’s annual restaurant gathering. She produced the document for the retiree mailing and it became an anticipated OSARC institution.

Jean, it’s expected, will be remembered at the March retirees’ meeting. She was a vital and effective force, always.

On a different note, members should be aware that we are all being asked to rally at Foley Square this coming Saturday. It is an important pro-labor rally and it is set to be brief, between 11am and 1pm. OSA will be there, with our banner and we hope to see you all there as well.

Saturday the 24th, 11am, Foley Square, right north of City Hall.See you there.

You can read a good background article on the Supreme Court case Janus vs. AFSCME and the present attack on public sector workers by clicking this link. It explores the way those attacks arise from a concerted, extremely well-funded effort by a network of conservative anti-union funders and think tanks. The article appears in the current issue of the magazine In These Times and is entitled "The Two Faces of Janus."

If you'd like to listen to this week's newsline as an audio file, click on this link:

AUDIO February 19, 2018

OSA Newsline - February 12 2018

It was Ed Koch who insisted on turning Lincoln’s Birthday into a floating holiday. Since it was accepted by the larger unions, OSA had no choice but to go along, but our own union office retained the day off for our office staff. Thus, OSA is closed this Monday.

It was Mike Bloomberg who insisted on taking away the floating holiday from new employees and yet OSA continues to celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday. There will be a skeleton crew in the office for emergencies and union officers will be at the Administrative Community Relations Specialist hiring pool.

The forces that exert pressure, constantly, to reduce our holidays, lower our pay and weaken our unions are still active. Their next victory, cutting union income, will be achieved by a vote of the conservative wing of the Supreme Court this Spring.

To protest that vote, unions are gathering at Foley Square on Saturday, the 24th. It is set to be a short rally, from 11am until 1pm. OSA will be there.

If you can make it for even a short visit on Saturday the 24th, seek out the OSA banner and join us.

The union is not the tiny number of us at the union office. It is all of us who believe in the union and know it is important to provide a balance to the power of the employer.

It is you.

Hope to see you at the rally.

If you'd like to listen to this week's newsline as an audio file, click on this link:

AUDIO February 12, 2018

OSA Newsline - February 5, 2018

Last week’s membership meeting covered current negotiations in some detail. One main point covered was that the Municipal Labor Committee is working on health benefit negotiations.

OSA’s representatives will be attending this week’s Steering Committee meeting of the MLC on Monday and the General Membership meeting of that body on Wednesday of this week.

No quick resolution is expected. This will take a while, for sure.

On February 9th, 12th and 28th, there will be citywide hiring pools for Administrative Community Relations Specialist. The union is concerned that there are relatively few new jobs available for these pools, but we will see.

There is also an exam coming up for Staff Analyst Trainee. The Notice of Examination is due out soon. As soon as it appears, we will mention it on this newsline. Training classes will follow and, again, notice will be found on this newsline.

If you'd like to listen to this week's newsline as an audio file, click on this link:

AUDIO February 5, 2018