I think sincere "Thank You"'s are in order for our negotiating team who all helped secure the very decent contract which we have voted in favor of and now have. I also think appreciation is in order for those members who took the time to attend one of the five ratification meetings which were scheduled throught San Diego County.
Something which bothers me, however, is the low voter turnout; 369 is around 10% of our members who work at Kaiser. What's up with the other 90%?
I understand that some trusted that Kaiser and Local 30 would come to a fair agreement, which they did. But, the stakes were working conditions, wages, benefits, etc. and obviously quite high. One would persume there would have been a much higher importanced, placed by most members, on the contract and they would have wanted to ensure the contract would meet their requirements for the next five years. Instead, there were 369 members who appear to have been this concerned.
I also understand there may have been some extenuating circumstances for some people who may have not been able to attend any of the vote meetings, but, mostly I think there were those who just found it inconvenient. -One of the most important meetings our Union could have (and it only happens once every four to five years).
I'm sure there are other reasons such as, some weren't aware of the ratification (vote) meetings. I believe it could be helpful if anyone who'd like to offer some insight as well as any recommendations on the voting participation level could be raised. Please share your thoughts and ideas....
