 Recent News
Important Updates: Building toward respect for City Employees! HOPE’s newly elected Executive Board has been working hard to continue building on HOPE’s successes of last year. Most recently, as a part of Mission Respect—HOPE’s mission to build toward respect for city employees—HOPE launched the HOPE Bright Ideas Contest. Over a short period of three weeks HOPE surveyed over 150 city employees across departments city-wide to collect ideas on where the city could operate more efficiently and new ways to generate revenue. Over two dozen HOPE members delivered these ideas to Council on Tuesday, June 9th, as part of public budget deliberations. The ideas were well-received by Council Members and the Mayor. Councilmember Clutterbuck responded stating that, “This is an excellent role HOPE is playing.” Councilmember Brown commended HOPE saying, “HOPE has gone above and beyond the hopes that the city had for the union.” Several council members put forward amendments to the budget in support of HOPE ideas: Councilmember Clutterbuck asked that the City review the employee ideas and implement viable options. PASSED Councilmember Brown asked the City to create a Commission for Promoting Efficiency comprised of frontline city employees and employee members of HOPE to develop a program for ongoing feedback from City employees on how we can operate more efficiently. TABLED Councilmember Rodriguez proposed an amendment that would provide cross-training and improved communication among City inspectors across departments. TABLED, but a similar amendment by Councilmember Noriega PASSED. The presentation at Council was followed last week, Wednesday, June 17th, by a press conference in the rotunda of City Hall, where City employees with the brightest ideas were recognized by the three front-runners for Mayor, Annise Parker, Gene Locke and Peter Brown, and members of City Council, Wanda Adams, James Rodriguez and HOPE-endorsed, newly elected Councilmember for District H, Ed Gonzalez. Councilmember Ron Green also attended, showing his support. More than 6 media outlets were present for the event. The 100 Bright Ideas for Efficiencies began a little over one month ago when the Mayor stated publicly his intent to hire an outside management consultant to identify ways to save the City money. The HOPE Executive Board responded immediately, asking that the City outreach first to their most valuable resource, frontline City employees, before spending millions of dollars on an outside consultant. HOPE’s response by President was picked up by Channel 13 news and the Houston Chronicle. Despite our success, we have a long road ahead of us and must remain committed to continuing to build our union’s power and respect so that we do not fall back to the times where we had no guarantees for improved wages and working conditions and no respect from the City. We must continue to grow our Union membership and participate this year to ensure that we elect a Mayor that will support HOPE and all City employees. Every day we face new struggles, but together, we can build the strength we need to ensure a bright future for city employees. Click here to download the Bright Ideas Contest Update literature. Media Coverage: The HOPE Bright Ideas Campaign drew a lot of media coverage. Ciick o the links below to follow some of the media coverage during the HOPE Bright Ideas Contest. [Click on the links to see the press coverage] |
HOPE Members get a union discount at Astros games and the circus this July! Print the following attachments to get a union discount for fun summer events this July! Click here to get discount tickets to Houston Astros games. |
Have your ideas on the City budget heard! Workers know how to do the work best! The City of Houston is facing tough budget restrictions in this global economic crisis. The new budget is very tight, and the Mayor has said that because of the limited budget City job vacancies will go unfilled and one City Employee will have to do the job of two. Layoffs have also not been taken off the table. The City has failed to listen to front-line City Employees’ ideas in this budget process, but we know that City Employees have the best input when it comes to City services and the City budget. |
Stay up to date with your union!
HOPE Members and staff volunteer on Ed Gonzales' campaign for the District H City Council seat Click here to see pictures from Saturday, May 9, 2009. |
It's Official: All 17 newly elected Executive Board members have been sworn in! Click here to see pictures of this unprecedented event for HOPE. |
HOPE 2009 Executive Board Elections a Success! HOPE just had its first-ever elections for our member-run executive board! For a detailed report and the official results, click here. |
Election Results for Downtown District Representative Runoff And the winner is: Downtown District Representative— Jim Owens, Members First, Controller's Office Downtown District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Jim Owens | 22 | 71% | Lenard Polk | 9 | 29% |
|
HOPE in the News--Mayor Bill White Putting the Squeeze on Houston's Budget With the City facing an economic recession and budget cuts, HOPE’s President-Elect, Melvin Hughes, is already hard at work for City Employees. Melvin released a statement to the Houston Chronicle, urging the Mayor to speak with the Frontline City Employees--who do the hands-on work for Houston every day--about how the City should be more efficient. The Mayor, however, is looking to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire outside management-analyst contractors to look at where department heads have fallen short in finding budget “efficiencies”… |
HOPE Local 123 Executive Board Election Results and Important Information About the Downtown District Representative Runoff Election! The Results Are In! The HOPE Local 123 Election for our first-ever Member-Run Executive Board took place last Saturday (April 17 and 18). Almost 700 HOPE Members came out to vote in this historic election for our Union. Congratulations to all the candidates and HOPE Members who participated in this unprecedented event! The HOPE Local 123 Executive Board is made up of 17 seats, which are composed of: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 13 District Representatives. The results of the election are as follows: President— Melvin Hughes, Members First, PWE, 7004 Ardmore Vice President— Jere Talley, Members First, HPD, 1200 Travis Secretary— Truman Cummings, Members First, Aviation, Hobby Treasurer— Roy Sanchez, Members First, PWE, 3300 Main Aviation District Representative— Bobbie Jo “BJ” Taylor, Members First, Aviation, HAS/IAH/Bush Downtown District Representative— Tie between Jim Owens, Members First, City Hall and Lenard Polk, Hope Team, City Hall (See information below regarding the runoff election!) Health District Representative— Brenda Thorne, Members First, Health and Human Services, N. Stadium Parks and Recreation District Representative— Chris Meyer, Members First, Parks and Recreation, Shepherd Public Safety/Criminal Justice District Representatives— David Bales, Members First, Public Safety/Criminal Justice, Police, Travis Roslyn Cash-Bonton, Members First, Public Safety/Criminal Justice, GRB/Police Betty Harrell, Members First, Public Safety/Criminal Justice, 1200 Travis Public Works District Representatives— Robert Joseph, Members First, PWE, 5900 Teague Rory Lister, Members First, Public Works & Engineering, 2700 Dalton Calvin Miller, Members First, PWE/ROW, 1700 E. Crosstimbers James Moore, Members First, Public Works & Eng., 100 Japhet Benjamin “Biff” Reed, Members First, PWE Building Inspections, 3300 Main Solid Waste District Representative— Zuri Kadirifu, Members First, Solid Waste, Kelley April 18, 2009 Vote Count Results: President: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Melvin Hughes | 485 | 73% | Willie Moore | 178 | 27% |
Vice President: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Willie Pratt | 177 | 27% | Jere Talley | 483 | 73% |
Secretary: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Chanelle Clark | 185 | 28% | Truman Cummings | 474 | 72% |
Treasurer: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Terrence Ardis | 196 | 30% | Roy Sanchez | 463 | 70% |
Aviation District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Bryan Cambrice | 15 | 17% | Bobbie Jo "BJ" Taylor | 72 | 83% |
Downtown District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Jim Owens | 26 | 50% | Lenard Polk | 26 | 50% |
Health District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Cynthia Sidney | 12 | 24% | Brenda Thorne | 38 | 76% |
Parks & Recreation District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Larry Batiste | 8 | 29% | Chris Meyer | 20 | 71% |
Public Safety/Criminal Justice District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | David Bales | 138 | 67% | Roslyn Cash-Bonton | 142 | 69% | Sam Gonzalez | 54 | 26% | Betty Harrell | 136 | 66% | Pat Mathis | 67 | 32% | Bridget McQueen | 53 | 26% |
Public Works & Engineering District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | James Coleman | 31 | 16% | Vickie Garner | 32 | 16% | Robert Joseph | 156 | 80% | Rory Lister | 141 | 72% | Calvin Miller | 155 | 79% | James Moore | 149 | 76% | Benjamin "Biff" Reed | 145 | 74% | Damon Russell | 35 | 18% | Clarence Stevens | 32 | 16% | Joel Taylor | 33 | 17% |
Solid Waste District Representative: Name | # Votes | % Votes | Zuri Kadirifu | 34 | 72% | Sheray McKinney | 13 | 28% |
**Runoff Election for Downtown District: The two candidates for the Downtown District both had the same number of votes. Their tie will result in a runoff election this Saturday, April 25, 2009. The Downtown District Representative Candidates are (click on their names to download their candidate statements): Jim Owens, MEMBERS FIRST, Controller-City Hall Election date and time: Saturday, April 25, 2009 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Polling locations: The HOPE Office 4299 San Felipe St. Suite 200 Houston, TX 77027 Hilton Americas--Room 230 1600 Lamar Houston TX, 77010 (30 minutes free parking rear of hotel– enter on Polk Street)
(**Please note, only employees of the Downtown District may vote in this runoff election) |
HOPE Executive Board elections are just around the corner! After HOPE's constitution and bylaws was overwhelmingly passed at the HOPE "Tomorrow Starts Today" Constitution Convention, our union is beginning its transition to a member-led organization. Nominations for HOPE Executive Board positions were held directly proceeding our Constitution Convention, and there will be an election for the nominees on April 17 and 18. CLICK HERE to go to the 2009 Elections Page for detailed information on the candidates, elections, and more. |
| | Spotlight On | Hear from HOPE! Get HOPE mail? Get HOPE emails? What about phone calls? Fill out this online form to make sure HOPE has your most current information. Follow HOPE on online Social Networks: HOPE CONTRACT Click here to view the HOPE contract. HOPE Constitution and Bylaws Click here to view the HOPE constitution and bylaws. HOPE Organizational Chart Click here to view HOPE's Organizational Chart Upcoming Events
General Membership Meetings Unless otherwise noted, HOPE General Membership Meetings will be held on the last Tuesday of every month at 6:00 pm. They will be located at the HOPE office. The dates of the remaining meetings for 2009 are: June 30 July 28 August 25 September 29 October 27 November 17 December 12 Union Trainings These trainings are open to all members interested in learning more about being a union leader in their workplace. HOPE Executive Board Unless otherwise noted, all HOPE Executive Board meetings will take place on the second Tuesday of every month from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The dates of the remaining meetings for 2009 are: June 9 July 14 August 11 September 8 October 13 November 10 December 8 *Meeting times, locations, and dates are subject to change. Committee Meetings: All members are welcome to attend and participate in these committees. COPE/PEOPLE Committee HOPE for Houston Committee Member Benefits Committee
Union Training Committee Unless otherwise specified, events are at the HOPE Office, 4299 San Felipe, Suite 200. | Get HOPE mail? Get HOPE emails? What about phone calls? Fill out this online form to make sure HOPE has your most current information. |
| |
|
