Letter: AFSCME responds to article

To the editor:

In an article dated March 3, 2009, Kathryn A. López wrote that Temple’s members of the American Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees union Local 1723 were “lashing out against their negotiation team after going without a pay raise for more than a year and a half” on the AFSCME47 listserv. What Lopez did not mention is that the AFSCME47 listserv is moderated by the university administration, not the union. What she also failed to uncover is that many AFSCME members attempted to post messages in support of the union leadership, only to wait hours to see their messages posted, if at all, while crude, abusive, anonymous anti-union messages were posted instantaneously.

The AFSCME47 listserv is merely another aspect of the university administration’s PR campaign against the union, yet another attempt by them to splinter the union membership. The listserv, like articles in the Temple Times and direct e-mails from the administration to the membership, is meant to inflame, rather than inform the union members.

The union and its members are opposed to the administration’s proposal to link pay increases to performance evaluations since, historically, this creates an inequitable culture of subjectivity and favoritism. The union is asking for a fair, across-the-board, annual increase for its members, with the option of an additional bonus on top. In its last negotiation with the university, AFSCME accepted a three-year contract for a 2 percent across-the-board, plus 1 percent bonus annual increase.

As the cost of living increases at an annual rate of more than 3 percent, Temple’s AFSCME employees are doing the same jobs year after year for less money. Giving each AFSCME member an additional 1 percent across-the-board increase would amount to approximately $300,000 per year for the university – a drop in the bucket of the annual budget, and yet a meaningful amount in the lives of dedicated Temple University staff making an average of less than $40,000 per year. The union leadership and membership are both eager to settle the contract with the university, but not in a way that inhibits their ability to support themselves and their families.

Michael Beachem
Robert Bookbinder
Rosa Brown
Belinda Christensen
Valarie Clemmons
Doris Clowney
Alexis Cogan
Craig Cohen
Alice Cortez
Eileen Council
Delois Corbitt
Delores Coyle
Vanessa Dash
Cassandra Doyle
Mary Etienne
Jacqueline Glago Divirgilio
Lydia Gonzalez-Colon
Sharon Goodman
Shantel Grant
Diane Green
Mick Gusinde-Duffy
Addisalem Hailu
Jacalyn Harriz
Justin Hill
Robert Hodges
Patrice Howerton
Gerard Hutchinson
Ritch James
Georgia Johnson
Steven Karashoff
Matthew Kull
Kathy Lehman
Martina Madison
Rozina McFadden
James McLaughlin
Richard Mensah
Tina Middleton
Edward A. Myers Jr.
Neal Joyce
Regina Neely
Antoinette Newton
Veronica Norris
Tamica Oglesby-Dorman
John Oram
Sergio Pagan Jr.
Vivyaine Palmer
John Pettit
Valerie Roberts
Darnell Ryans
Amy Schmitt
Doretha Starling
William Stout
Nam Tang
Eufrosina Tapales
Orphialese Taylor
Carla Thomas
Earldine Tolbert
Denise Upchurch Clark
Denise Watson
Marcia Whitaker
David Wilson
Lillian Wong
Karen Woods Wilson
Veronica Young
Gloria Zucker