Open Letter from the President – 2018 Annual NTEU Picnic at Stricker’s Grove

Dear NTEU73 Members,

I have had many thoughtful, considerate inquiries regarding the Annual NTEU Picnic at Stricker’s Grove, Saturday, May 26th.  I appreciate the generous nature of NTEU73 members and understand the difficulty of telling our coworkers they may not enjoy the benefits of our labor.  Most of us would or have “given the shirts off our backs” to our coworkers, so it’s against our nature to say “no” in this one circumstance.

As a Federal Sector Labor Union, NTEU73 has many obligations to nonmembers.  We must represent everyone in the bargaining unit while negotiating agreements.  This means we can’t carve out special benefits for our members in an employment situation, as private sector unions might.  We must, sometimes, represent “people who choose not to join” in grievances where the only path to relief is contractual.  We do not give half measures to any grievant.  And as an administration, we have decided to see “people who choose not to join” as potential members rather than union-busting scabs willing to scrap the benefits of their coworkers for the price of lunch.

However, there must be some benefits we extend only to our members.  The picnic is a membership benefit.  NTEU73 seeks out savings opportunities, incentives and rewards for our members, after hours.  Work related benefits include nominations for focus groups, national subject matter expert opportunities and committee memberships.

We will have Dues Withholding Forms at the gate to Stricker’s Grove for those folks interested in joining.  We are currently running an incentive program, so new members* will get $80*** for joining!  Member recruiters** will also receive $80*** for each new member* they sign up.

We hope you understand that the Picnic is run by volunteer members, on our own time, for the benefit of our fellow members.  It is not a “free for all.”

If you are a member, we thank you and are grateful, in solidarity.   If you are not a member but are still reading this missive, addressed to members, we will welcome you when you are ready.

Sincerely,

President NTEU Chapter 73

United We Bargain, Divided We Beg!

* New Member must be a bargaining unit employee and may not have been a member any time in the previous 12 months. ** Member Recruiter must be current member in good standing to receive this incentive payment. *** All incentives will be paid out when National NTEU pays the Chapter thus showing the new member has met the criteria above.