Sunday, December 01, 2013

Did unions do anything else?

Well, how about "Administrative Leave Days?"

Eligible employees may be granted administrative leave to participate in specified activities.

Specified activities meant attending training, education or meetings that included professional recognition and/or requirements within the profession.

As a shop steward, I went to annual meetings in Washington, DC. Of course it was fun and it was all paid for. Heck, even traveling expenses were reimbursed. But, important stuff took place there. Seminars, education, credentialing, state of the art presentations in applied areas of interest. There were opportunities everyday at lunch to meet those in the organization. It was nice.

I received administrative leave days of 12 hours in length. In other words, I would have 36 hours total of ALD. The idea was that traveling time was important, too.

Administrative Leave Days had to be requested with proof of the specific activity and if not used were relinquished at the end of the year.

Our union was proud of it's members and officials. We were professional. We carried brevity as both an employee and union member. The union sometimes ran seminars during the year to bring important information to employees. There were times management wanted to attend the seminars, but, it was by reservation only on a first come, first serve basis. It prevented the entire membership from taking the day off.

But, none of these day were meaningless and made us more valuable to our employer. Not only that, but, it also kept us valuable in the employment market place, so when asking for increases in pay, it was pointed out we were better prepared and more valuable than any other candidate in the market place. And it was true. We were valuable and maintained that status and it was effortless.

Our professional status never diminished when employed under a contract and we were encouraged to be leaders in our profession as well. It was nice. Why? Because Administrative Leave Days kept us at home on our days off and involved with our families rather than using days off to accomplish knowledge and skills that benefited our employer. We were fairly happy folks. So was our employer. Few problems that manifested into any emergency or disharmony.