Cook County Public Defenders Association

On April 15, 2013, the election chairperson held an open meeting for nominations for the Exective Board for our Local. For 4 of the seven Executive Board positions, only one person was nominated. Therefore, no election will be held for the following 4 positions: President (Brendan Max), Vice president (Presita West), Secretary (Sarah Garza Resnick), and Treasurer (Mark Douglass).

Six members were nominated for 3 executive-at-large positions. The six candidates are: Mary Butterton, Arlene Floren, Joseph Gump, Scott Kozicki, Tim Leeming, and Kevin Ochalla. An office-wide election will be conducted on May 14th for the at-large positions. Good luck to all candidates.

Just a quick reminder- We will have our Nomination Meeting next week (April 15), at 4pm at the Juvenile Court Building. All Executive Board spots are up for election. Please consider getting involved, attending the meeting, and nominating candidates who wish to participate more in our Local activities.

On Tuesday, Bob presided over his final Executive Board meeting. At this meeting, the Board accepted the resignations of Bob and Amy, who both will transition to positions with Management starting next week. It was a bittersweet moment for many of us. We, of course, are happy that Management selected two highly qualified candidates for Supervisor. But we are also sad for the loss of 2 people who have done so much for our Local, and who have worked selflessly to make the Office of the Public Defender the best that it can be. Under Bob’s leadership, our Local has grown into a strong voice for important issues that affect assistant public defenders. During Bob’s tenure, we fought off several rounds of layoffs, passed a County ordinance specifically recognizing our Public Defender union rights, and modernized the way the Executive Board communicates with the members. Needless to say, their talents and dedication will be missed.

Also on Tuesday, by operation of our Constitution and votes of the Executive Board, the vacancies on the Board were filled. The new Board is as follows:
President- Brendan Max
V. President- Presita West
Treasurer- Mark Douglass
Secretary- Sarah Resnick
At Large- Joe Gump, Tim Leeming, Kevin Ochalla

On April 15, 2013, the Local will hold its Nomination Meeting for all Executive Board positions. At 4pm on April 15, members are invited to the Juvenile Court auditorium to offer nominations for the Board. Our Local election will follow on May 14th.

Dear Sisters and Brothers:

By now you have probably heard that I will be taking on a supervisor position in the Homicide Task Force.  And also, that our Secretary, Amy Thompson, is leaving to supervise in Multiple Defendant Division. Therefore, in the next few days I will resign as President of the Local and you will be left in the good hands of our Vice President, Brendan Max, who will take over as President.  No conclave will be necessary.  My term would have ended in July and so this is a good time for our Local to undergo this transition. Notice of the upcoming election and related meetings was mailed to each member’s home recently.

It is a bittersweet moment for me, as you can imagine, because while I will no longer be able to lead this Local,  I will be able to pursue some other goals I have chosen to take on.  These past 15 years, serving the members as Trustee, Executive-at-Large, Chief Steward, Vice-President and President for nearly half the Local’s 25 year history, have given me an enormous amount of personal satisfaction, wisdom  for life’s continuing challenges, and respect for the work that each of you do as assistant public defenders in Cook County.

Over those 15 years, this union has bargained for the compensation that transformed our workplace from a place that lawyers came for two to three years, leaving to get jobs that put food on the table, to one where those with experience stayed and and could actually make a career out of public service.  We, together, have endured budget cuts, layoffs, picketed, demonstrated, gone on strike, and grieved and arbitrated our way to fairness in the office.  For our newer members, ask public defenders of the seventies and early eighties what the office was like – you will not believe what you hear.  It was that different.  The union has, is and always will be, an important part of your workplace.

And it t has been my honor to represent you.

In Solidarity, I bid you Adieu as your President,

K. S. Galhotra

 

 

 

It’s time for Executive Board (E.BD) Elections. All seats are up for election, as are two of the trustee positions. The E. BD is elected for a 2 year term that runs from July 2013- June 2015. The trustees each have 3 year terms. The offices of the E. BD to be decided in this election are President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and 3 Executives-at-Large. The relevant dates and locations are as follows:

Nomination meeting:

April 15, 2013, 4:00 pm, Juvenile Court Auditorium

Election:

May 14, 2013, 9:00 am-3:30 pm, @ all major work sites

Runoff

May 21, 2013 9:00 am-3:30 pm, @ all major work sites

Candidates need not be present at the nomination meeting, but only nominations made live at the time of the nomination meeting will be accepted. Any full member in good standing is eligible to run for any office or for trustee. Voting must be done in person. No absentee ballots or proxy voting is permitted. If, for any position except for executive-at-large, one nominee fails to get more than 50% of the cast votes, there will be a run-off election of the two nominees receiving the most votes. For Executive-at –Large, the three nominees with the highest vote totals will be deemed elected.

A notice with identical language is being mailed to each member’s registered home address.  Please visit this website for additional information and candidate statements, etc.

The Jack Carey Memorial Scholarship Committee recently announced Melissa Delgado as the winner for the Spring semester of 2013.  Melissa, a third year student at Loyola University School of Law, has been clerking for Amy Thompson and Cindy Brown in the Homicide Task Force since the Spring 2012 semester.  In 2011 she clerked with the assistant public defenders at the Bridgeview Courthouse, primarily Camille Bachli.

Amy Thompson said “Melissa is always looking for more work and takes on work from all the attorneys that ask her.  She is great with the clients and their families.  Melissa , or Mel as we call her, is also very active at Loyola Law School and attended the innocence conference in Kansas City.  She is dedicated to our clients and our work.  She is eager and talented and is a great representative of the Jack Carey Scholarship.”

Three $2500 scholarships are awarded each year to law clerks at the Cook County public defender.  Mel is the winner of the 31st Jack Carey Memorial Scholarship.

 

December 7, 2012 will be the date for the Union Holiday Party this year.  Look for further information soon about the party through email.

If you are not signed up for Union email bursts, then please email us at board@cookcountypd.org.

The Executive Board.

It’s been too long since I penned a President’s message, but with the kids back to school, Labor Day and Nutshell in the rearview mirror, I thought I would let you know what’s going on before things really got busy as they usually do this time of year.

Upcoming Contract Negotitations

The current contract expires at the end of this November.  While it has self-renewal clause, notice has been given to the county for renegotiating the contract.  By now, you should have received a contract survey in an email from me.  This survey, written by Council 31, will be used in gauging what is important to the members in universal negotiations.  In addition, if you have contract language you would like the board to consider, please forward that to me as soon as possible but no later than Septermber 14,

Parking Fee

The courthouse parking fee arbitration has been postponed to January, 2013.  The county revealed that it has to redo the RFP for the parking lots and that process will lead to implementation no earlier than February of 2013.  And county has shown a new found willingness to negotiate and bargainon  this issue, which is fine, but we still have a January date for arbitration should efforts fail. The arbitrator is confident he can provide a ruling prior to the implementation of any parking fee.  As usual, I will keep you posted on this topic.

Presidential and Congressional Races – General Election 2012

If you were captivated and inspired as I was by the speeches this week at the DNC in Charlotte, maybe you are willing to help in the Obama 2012 campaign.  If you are, please let me know and I will give you information on how to get involved with Council 31’s phone bank which uses a predictive dialing system that you can use even from your own home phone to call union members and remind them to vote in the general election.  This is a very important election and everyone of us should participate because so much is at stake, from health care and the composition of the Supreme Court to immigration and student loans.  Voting, as President Obama says, is not about him, but about you.

HBC Retro Mistake Check

I hear that the holiday bond court retro “refund” checks are going to be in the September 14 paycheck.  People who did not send back the acknowledgement form can always recoup the overpayment when they do their 2012 taxes.

New Members

5 new members joined the office in June of this year, 4 began last week and 3 more should be hired by the end of the fiscal year.

Promotional Opportunities

I understand that promotions from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 are budgeted for 2013.  If you plan on applying for promotion, this may be a good time to begin preparing to compile the information you will need for the application (motions, trials, partners, seminars attended, cross examinations of experts, etc.) as there are always time constraints once the posting goes up.

Jack Carey Memorial Scholarship

The Jack Carey Memorial Scholarship will be having its 10th Anniversary this year.  Remember, 11/1/2012 is the deadline for the Spring 2013 $2500 scholarship.  If you know a deserving clerk, make sure you direct them to the website so they can send in an application.

Solidarity with other Unions

This Labor Day, many of you participated in the Rally at Daley Plaza.  The rally, attended by an estimated 18,000 union activists, teachers, neighbors and students showed how the community can come together and support hard working and dedicated professionals like Chicago Public School teachers.  The labor struggle they are engaged in, with a strike notice on file, is a barometer of the current attitude government leaders are taking with public unions.  The State contract is currently in bargaining as will be the City of Chicago contract, shortly.  We need to make sure we support our brothers and sisters in the other professions and trades because there may come a time when we need their support too!

Budget

The budget cycle is underway and the officers of this local and Council 31 willl keep an eye on it and mobilize the membership if necessary.

In Solidarity,

 

K.S. Galhotra

President