Dear Sisters and Brothers:

When we began this current round of negotiations for your new Collective Bargaining Agreement effective July 2012 I expressed optimism that the economic freeze that we have endured for the past three years was beginning to thaw. Although many of the dynamics which impact the national and local economy continue to be worrisome, both Montgomery and Prince George's Counties fiscal outlook are slowly improving.

Consequently, we were able to negotiate a three year agreement with wage enhancements for the first and second year of your contract and a wage reopener for the third year. We were also successful, after six months of very contentious negotiations, in protecting your take home pay and job security from unprecidented cuts proposed by the Commission.

We began these negotiations with a few goals in mind and I am pleased to announce that we managed to make progress in each of these areas:

• Get as much money in our members hands as possible;
• Strengthen the fiscal sustainability of your pension plan;
• Create a health benefit cost containment strategy to protect against benefit reductions and additional cost shifting to you and your families; and
• Strengthen certain provisions of your current contract to better enhance your job security and other rights and privileges.

I accept the fact that you would have preferred increases in your base salary as opposed to bonuses. After careful assessment of the economic, legal and political climate, the bargaining team concluded that this tentative agreement meets our core goals and has the highest probability of being funded by both County Councils without a protracted legal battle. We remain optimistic that we will continue to make progress toward re-establishing yearly service increments and COLAs in the near future.

Attached is a pdf file with the highlights of the tentative agreement for your review. The complete tentative agreement will be provided at our ratification meetings.

It is extremely important that we have a significant percentage of the membership participate in the ratification process. We have scheduled two meetings where the Union will answer any questions on the tentative agreement prior to you casting your vote on either to accept or reject the agreement:

Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 8:00 am at the Shady Grove Maintenance Yard

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 12:30 pm at the Prince George's Ballroom.

You will be given two (2) hours of administrative leave to attend a ratification meeting. Administrative leave forms will be provided at the conclusion of the meetings.

I would like to thank the members of your bargaining team, all of whom worked tirelessly on your behalf for many months, nights and weekends to ensure a fair and resonable agreement:

You have our commitment to continue to fight for progress in all areas of your employment. Your vote is your voice. We look forward to seeing you at a meeting and appreciate your participation.

In Solidarity,

Gino Renne

President/ UFCW International VP

P&P ratification packet May 2012.pdf