UE Local 150
North Carolina Public Service Workers' Union
First Constitutional Convention
Friday, July 30th –
Sunday, August 1st
On This Page:
• Convention Call
• Convention Overview
• Members Speak
• Registration & Info
UE News Articles
About UE Local 150
• Local 150 Demands Justice on UNC Campuses
• Durham, NC City Workers Affiliate with UE
• NC School Workers Fight Discrimination
• Organizing Blitz Boosts UE Membership in North Carolina
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Fairness, |
UE Local 150 North Carolina Public Service Workers' Union First Constitutional Convention
Talley
Student Center
N.C. State University
Raleigh, NC
June 30th — August 1, 1999
It's a union. It's a civil rights struggle. It's a dynamic movement to improve the lives of public-sector workers in North Carolina. UE Local 150, the North Carolina Public Service Workers' Union, is organizing to bring better conditions to employees of the University of North Carolina and other public workplaces. Hundreds of housekeepers, groundskeepers, maintenance workers and other employees have already joined Local 150 chapters established at 11 of the 16 UNC campuses. And in May, the Durham City Workers’ Union voted to affiliate with Local 150.
In organizing their UE local, these workers are determined to build a powerful statewide, rank-and-file union voice — despite a state law that makes it illegal for any state institution to bargain with a union — and put an end to the second-class status of the largely African-American workforce.
After two years of work, Local 150 members are coming together to draft and adopt a constitution, rally for justice, learn, discuss issues, set priorities and adopt a program at the first-ever UE Local 150 Constitutional Convention.
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Convention Call |
June 30, 1999
UE 150 Chapters and Organizing Committees
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
The North Carolina Public Service Workers Union, UE Local 150 will hold its Constitutional Convention on July 30 through August 1, 1999 on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.
After two years of hard work to build the membership of UE Local 150, the time has come for the members to establish the Constitution and By-Laws of this union. This convention will put life into the UE slogan "The members run this union." Women and men from different workplaces will discuss, debate and determine UE 150 policies, decide on priorities and elect officers for the statewide union.
The principle of rank-and-file democracy is based on the participation and self-reliance of our members. The discussions and workshops at the convention will provide members with education about the role of our union in empowering workers to make improvements on the job, and better equip them to assume greater responsibility for the day-to-day running of the union chapters and statewide organization.
On July 30, the opening day of the convention, UE 150 members and supporters will rally on the steps of the North Carolina General Assembly demanding a living wage, opposition to discrimination and privatization, and for collective bargaining for public employees. This will send a message to the state lawmakers that UE 150 has a political agenda as part of its program for empowering workers.
The problems faced by UE 150 members on the job and in their communities, poor labor laws, pollution, lack of access to quality healthcare, poor education, discrimination, unjust wars abroad and more, require that our union have a broad vision about worker rights that starts with, but extends beyond, the workplace.
All chapters, organizing committees and at-large members are called upon to discuss the many issues confronting the membership and to bring them to the convention workshops to develop them into resolutions for consideration by the convention. Please begin planning now for this important event.
In Unity,
Barbara Prear, President
UE Local 150
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At the Convention: Overview |
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Opens Friday, July 30, 10 a.m. — ends Sunday, August 1 at 12 noon.
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Registration begins at 8 a.m. Friday, July 30, finishing at 4 p.m. that afternoon. (The registration fee is $10.00.)
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Rally at North Carolina General Assembly Friday July 30, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
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UE 150 Draft Constitution will be discussed, voted on and ratified.
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UE 150 Chapters and Organizing Committees will give reports.
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UE 150 Statewide officers and trustees will be elected and sworn into office.
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Workshops: wages, privatization, discrimination, health and safety, collective bargaining.
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Training: grievances, meet-and-confer, political action, chapter building, and new organizing.
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Issues and priorities will be discussed and voted on to establish UE 150’s program.
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Speakers, cultural presentations, and literature.
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UE members will be coming from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.
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A UE 150 Social on Saturday night, with music and refreshments.
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Childcare will be provided. People must register for childcare in advance.
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Local 150 Members Speak: Join Us! |
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"Workers need to come out to Raleigh and see that our union stretches from Wilmington to Asheville. When everyone sees one another, we will all know the power that workers have when we are united. We all need to meet and create our Constitution and plan for making this union stronger than ever." |
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—Barbara Prear, UNC-Chapel Hill, |
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"We’re coming to the Convention because wages need to be raised at least to the mid-level. Management should respect workers’ seniority in pay, not make arbitrary decisions. We need more workers — they keep downsizing the number of workers but not the workload." |
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—Billy Sanders, Leonard McCoy, |
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"Go to Raleigh to support your fellow employees and to show that we want better working areas, to keep management from using us like we are slaves, having us work so many areas. We need more workers instead of constant downsizing. They’re looking at the budget instead of us as people. We should all go to Raleigh." |
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—John Moore, UNC-Chapel
Hill |
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"Everyone should come to the Convention because it will be a great learning experience, we’ll learn a lot about the Constitution and there will be a lot of great trainings. Adopting the Constitution will be very important because we need to work together as one large statewide union so we need one set of laws to govern all our work." |
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—Novella Townsend, |
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"I am relieved and elated that finally public workers — from university workers to city workers to other state workers — across North Carolina are coming together in a Union to make life better. Each and every public worker should come to this Convention because it is the perfect opportunity to strengthen and build this organization. For example, we shouldn’t have to fight every year for decent wages. The worse some workers are treated, the worse we are all treated. If we can pull everyone in the State up, we all benefit." |
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—Nathanette Mayo, Chemist, |
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"More people means more power. And that’s why people need to go to Raleigh to support our union, UE Local 150. That’s why I’m going to Raleigh. Follow me!" |
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—Reble Benton, UNC-Greensboro |
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Registration & Information |
Be part of history at the First Constitutional Convention of UE Local 150 — The North Carolina Public Service Workers' Union! Please note that the pre-registration payment deadline is July 21st.
| Item | Notes | Cost |
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Lodging* |
University Hotel |
$25.50 per day/per person (based on double occupancy) |
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Food |
7 meals |
$29.00 |
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Childcare |
Must Pre-register |
Free |
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Registration |
Convention Fee |
$10.00 |
*One day of housing will be paid for workers in delegations of 10 or more members in UE 150 Chapters or Organizing Committees traveling more than 60 miles.
For more info call 1-800-815-4946 or 252-977-1419
UE Local 150
PO Box 61233
Durham, NC 27715
Fax: 252-977-0531
Building UE Local 150 into a
POWERFUL Statewide
Rank-and-File
Union!