PRESIDENT

November 2007 – Chapter 244 Update – The all-employee Engagement Survey, administered by the Hay Group, closed on October 30, 2007. The final report is due to the Chairman by December 21, 2007. All chapter presidents and NTEU HQ personnel are supposed to be provided with a post-survey presentation, likely the week before the final report is submitted. The chapter presidents are also trying to arrange a meeting with NTEU National President Colleen Kelley and Executive Vice President Frank Ferris, to discuss NTEU’s goals in using the results of the survey. This meeting is hopefully going to take place in early or mid December. Stay tuned for opportunities to provide input in this process.

A teleconference was held on October 29, 2007 to discuss the Corporate Employee Program. Management was represented by Corporate Employee Program Director Shawn E. Edmundson, Deputy Chief Learning Officer Steve Mosier, Corporate University Liaison for DSC Jennifer Fish, and Associate Director of DSC Betty Rudolph. Labor and Employee Relations was represented by Mary Laverty and Saul Schwartz. I participated along with Steve Keller from NTEU HQ and Chapter Presidents Peter Somerville (DC), Derek Hardin (Memphis), and Richard Atkinson (Dallas). This was our opportunity to discuss the status of the CEP venture and to forward questions to upper management that program participants have been asking of their union stewards. We looked at the attrition rates of participants and the pace of promotions through the program. Management acknowledged that participants are moving through the program at a pace that is slower than they originally anticipated. They also admitted that the first five classes were akin to guinea pigs or “trail blazers”, meaning that the program went through growing pains and those first five classes were at a disadvantage. But they didn’t offer any solution to improving the situation. NTEU has gathered the information from this meeting and is in the process of determining how to go forward.

The agenda and results of the July 2007 Labor Management Relations Council for the NY/Bos Region have been posted to the website, under the "Documents" page.

As always, please feel free to contact me directly with any questions you may have.

Sean Bartholomew

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