OFS: Bargaining Demands

To:  OFS Local Presidents

Attached is the form for submission of bargaining demand proposals by your members for our 2009 contract negotiations.  Please make use of your mobilization structure to distribute and collect the forms.  As you know, this is an excellent opportunity for Local leaders and stewards to talk to the members first hand.  This can also provide you with an opportunity to test the mobilization structure you have in place as we approach bargaining.

A space is provided at the top of the form for the Local to indicate the contract article affected by the demand.  The bargaining committee will not accept forms with more than one article on them!  Please make the members aware that they should only put one article on each demand form.  If they have five different demands for five different articles, then five demand forms should be used.

It would be very helpful to the bargainers if members would include their name and reach phone numbers in case the team has a question or needs clarification on a demand.

Locals are expected to compile their legitimate demands, have the Local President sign them, and forward them to this office by April 27, 2009.  Any demand that arrives in this office after the cutoff date of April 27 will be kept for our next round of bargaining.  Any demand that is not signed by the Local President will not be accepted.

Any and all support and/or background information should be included with the demands.  For example, you may want to research your grievances filed since the last contract and determine what language you might want to see changed.  Area upgrades need to have documentation to sustain an argument with the Company concerning a town upgrade, etc.

The bargaining committees will be compiling and tabulating the results of the bargaining demand proposals.  Please keep in mind that good input and support information increases the chances of our being successful in achieving the demand at the bargaining table.

In Unity,

Ralph V. Maly, Vice President
Communications & Technologies