Where is Mike Now? - Dublin, Phoenix and Tucson

I'm on an extended road-trip this week, making my way to Las Vegas for the CPL and AFGE Conventions.

I stopped by FCI Dublin to meet with the Warden and Jennifer Abdullah, Local 3584 President. While I was there, OSHA was visiting to check on roof integrity and asbestos.   Local 3584 has had a lot of problems with HR, and we addressed that with the Warden.  I'll be making a follow up visit in the near future when I go to the Regional Office for my first face-to-face meeting with new Western Regional Director, Juan Castillo.

Then I moved on to FCI Phoenix to help Local 3954 with an arbitration hearing; Local President, Daniel Beauchamp was my co-rep and Local Officers Adam Sisco, Chris Nolan and Tony Heap provided invaluable assistance with the hearing as well.  The grievance was over the failure of the administration to properly notify the Union of a change in conditions of employment and a violation of past practice.  The hearing went well; we'll have the transcript in a week or so and the post hearing briefs are due by August 30th.  We should have a decision within a month of that.

Yesterday, I visited Local 3955, FCC Tucson.  After a morning meeting with part of the Local 3955 Board, President Susan Mastin and I met with the Case Manager who was brutally raped almost a year ago by an inmate with a long history of sexually assaultive behavior.  The assault victim says that she needs "closure".  I promised her that we will all do what we can to help her recover from this and to bring some form of justice to this tragedy.