Come Out to Vote and Join Us Today At the Convention Center!

It might be this bright, but it will be chilly!

Members of the Ocean City Employees Coalition will be outside the convention this morning, encouraging folks to vote for the charter amendment and answering questions for any residents looking for more information.  Please join us, and please remember to vote!  Remember, voting FOR the charter amendment does NOT give the employees the union – it just gives the general employees to make the choice for themselves whether they would like collective bargaining or not, just like the police, firefighters, and EMT.  The ballot question will look like this:

A replica of the ballot – please vote FOR the amendment!

Thank you and we will see you there!

Praise for Employees Crosses Many Divides

Praise for Ocean City Employees Was A Theme of Tonight’s Town Council Meeting

At the final town council meeting for Ocean City before tomorrow’s election, council members, top-ranking officials, and residents seemed to be in a competition for who could offer the most heartfelt praise of the work of Ocean City employees in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  City manager David Recor praised the employees in his comments near the end of the meeting, citing their effort as one of the keys to how Ocean City was able to come through the storm suffering relatively little structural damage.  Joe Groves, a spokesman for the Citizens for Ocean City group, lauded town employees as “the greatest employees in the world.”  Even councilman Joe Hall got in on the act, echoing the sentiments that were often the dominant theme of the meeting.  Mayor Rick Meehan, for his part, singled out the efforts of the Public Works department as particularly worthy of attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Agree with the sentiments expressed last night, and looking for a way to say “thank you” to all the town employees for their tireless efforts in cleaning up after last week’s storm?  Go to the polls tomorrow and vote YES on the charter amendment, and give the general employees the right to decide for themselves if they want collective bargaining or not, just like their colleagues in the police, fire, and emergency medical departments!

Efforts of Ocean City Employees Garnering National Notice

Ocean City general employees received some praise on the website of the American Federation of Teachers, a national union representing teachers, public employees, nurses, and other workers in an article published November 2nd:

In Ocean City, Md., city employees braced for the storm days before Sandy hit the coastal community, and followed that up with damage assessment so that city facilities could be reopened. Emergency personnel not only responded to calls during the storm, but also continued to assist residents and visitors upon their return to Ocean City, working closely with the Maryland State Highway Association, the Maryland State Police, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Guard to make sure the town was safe.

Public Works staff assisted in picking up debris, transporting citizens to and from shelters, and cleaning up the beach. Countless other employees and volunteers worked around the clock monitoring the storm, staffing the Emergency Operations Center and meeting the needs of city residents, businesses and visitors before, during and after the storm. Damage was limited to beach erosion, flooding and marginal debris in some places, but the Ocean City Fishing Pier was severely damaged.

General city employees in Ocean City are in the midst of an organizing effort, and are watching a ballot measure that will determine whether they have collective bargaining after Nov. 6.

The whole article deals with the contributions made by public employees up and down the east coast in the aftermath of Sandy.  You can read the whole article here.

Another Successful Saturday!

Thanks to everyone who helped us knock on doors again this past Saturday – we were able to reach many more voters, and those we talked to were overwhelmingly supportive!  Please remember to get out and vote on Tuesday, and help us to achieve the right to decide for ourselves whether we would like to bargain collectively, just like the police, firefighters, and EMT!