Responding to the loss of benefits, a Grafton County
correctional officer circulated a petition endorsing a meeting with a union
organizer. Nineteen of the 30 officers signed that petition and then
contacted UE.
The correctional officers voted overwhelmingly to join UE in
an election conducted Sept. 30.
Grafton County, in northwestern New Hampshire, encompasses an
area that includes a portion of the White Mountains region and the Connecticut
River Valley.
In May, Grafton County officials imposed several changes in
benefits on the correctional and sheriffs departments, and nursing home and
court house employees. These included increased prescription co-payments from
$1 to $10, $20 or $30, depending on the type of medication; the loss of a
holiday and a $2 fee for meals at the county cafeteria.
The corrections officers are now preparing for contract
negotiations and assisting UE organizers in organizing more than 150
county nursing home employees into the union. An election date is pending.
Field Organizers Rachel Clough and Rachel Wells
assisted with the correction officers organizing efforts.
