Rough Draft Minutes of Greater West Central Area Labor Council AFL-CIO
Regular Meeting, January 10, 2013.

The meeting was called to order by President Jack Connell at 6:30 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the meeting commenced. There were 19 delegates signed in.   No new credentials were received.          

I. Roll Call of Officers and Executive Board Members:

            President Jack Connell, VP Dean Scanlon, Recording Secretary Laurie Gruber and Treasurer Pam Campbell were present.  Phil Swanhorst, Don Schwartz, Carolyn Kaiser, and Judy Gatlin were present.   Martha Brandly and Sue Christopherson were excused.  Shaela Leibfried was absent.  Trustees Greg Hazen and Bob Horlacher were present.  Don Stuttgen was present as the Sergeant at Arms.   

II. Reading of the Minutes
A Motion was made by John DeRosier to accept the Minutes of December minutes.  The motion was seconded by Phil Swanhorst.  The Minutes were then approved as sent.    

III. Executive Board Report and Recommendations

We did not hold an Executive Board meeting tonight. 

IV. Communications were read to the body.  A Motion was made by Judy Gatlin and seconded by Dean Scanlon to accept the communications as read.  Motion passed.

V. Report of Officers and Committees. 

President’s report:  President Connell reported that the COPE committee met.  We did up a rough draft for questionnaires to send out for contested seats for School Board, Village/Municipal etc positions.  We will send out in early February and then we will need to meet again to go over the reviews.  Please let us know if there are candidates we should send these to.  Thank you to those who attended.  It was a great meeting. 

Secretary’s Report:  Secretary Laurie Gruber reported that there will be changes for the newsletter due to the new paper changes.  We will be using an envelope rather than the heavier paper, which is impossible to find.  Jack purchased the supplies we need with a 20% off from Office Max. 

VI. Unfinished Business:    

   None at this time. 

Alliance for Stronger Communities:  Matthew Staudenmaier used to be our delegate.  He has resigned.  Judy Gatlin mentioned that she could take over.  A Motion was made by Laurie Gruber and seconded by Dean Scanlon to appoint Judy Gatlin as our delegate.  Motion passed.  Thank you Sister Judy for your services.  

VII. New Business:

We have two open seats on the Executive board.  Nominations were opened for a member at large.  Duane Lokken was nominated and accepted the nomination.  There were no other nominations.  Judy Gatlin made a motion to cast a unanimous ballot.  There were numerous seconds.  The Motion passed and Duane was sworn in.  We still have one open seat and we will see if it can be filled at the February meeting.

The AFL-CIO Community Services conference will be held in Green Bay March 7^th – 9^th.  We normally send one person and pay the registration fee, per diem and mileage.  A Motion was made by John DeRosier and seconded by Judy Gatlin to do as we have in the past.  Motion passed.  In the past, Don Stuttgen was our delegate.  A Motion was made by Charlie Martenson and seconded by Judy Gatlin to send Don as our delegate.  Motion passed. 

We received a request from Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans to renew our membership at a cost of $40.  We normally pay in February.  A motion was made by Bob Horlacher and seconded by Dean Scanlon to pay the renewal.  Motion passed.  A motion was made by Bob Horlacher and seconded by Judy Gatlin to table their request for additional funding. 

There is to be a workshop in St. Paul on Jan. 26^th regarding the International Trade Policy.  There is a suggested fee of $5.00 per person.  A Motion was made by Judy Gatlin and seconded by Bill Stuessel to pay mileage and the fee for all those that would like to go.  They can carpool.  Jack, Dean, Laurie and Judy would like to go.  Motion passes. 

There will be a cost incurred for postage for the COPE mailing.  It should not be more that $20-$30.  A Motion was made by Don Stuttgen and seconded by Phil Swanhorst to pay the postage.  Motion passed. 

We received a notice of Steward Training on April 29 and 30, put on by the School for Workers and the Fox Valley Area Labor Council.  It is $80 per person.  We will bring this up again next month. 

VIII. Reading of the Bills and Financial Report:

Treasurer Pam Campbell presented the Treasurer’s Report.   A Motion was made by Phil Swanhorst and seconded by Duane Lokken to pay the bills and to accept the financial report.  Motion passed.    

IX. Report of Unions  These were suspended for this Holiday Meeting.

X GOOD AND WELFARE

Bob Horlacher reported that he had been to see Jerry LaPoint.  He is cheerful and keeping current on what is going on here. His daughter has been found to have Brain Cancer.  Laurie will send a card. 

Charlie Martenson mentioned that he would like to say thank you to whomever made the hall look nice. 

Pam Campbell announced that there would be classes in Office starting in a couple of weeks.  These classes are free. 

A Motion was made by Phil Swanhorst and seconded by Sue Christopherson to extend the meeting another 10 minutes.  Motion passed. 

Good information is available for reading.  Door prizes were given out and refreshments were enjoyed by all. 

A Motion to Adjourn was made at 7:07 pm by Phil Swanhorst and seconded by Judy Gatlin.  With no further business to attend to, the Motion passed.                        

Everyone enjoyed refreshments and there were door prizes and a 50/50 raffle.

Draft Respectfully Submitted. 

Laurie Gruber      

Next meeting:  February 14^th at 7:00 p.m.

                            Exec. Board at 6:00 p.m.

DRAFT  :  Events and Dates to Remember 2013

This list is not inclusive and more details available closer to the event/date.  Contact Labor Council officer or executive board member with questions.

January 26 - “Everyday Impact of International Trade and Trade Policy”, trade policy workshop, 9am – 2pm, facilitated by Labor Education Service staff, North Central State Regional Council of Carpenters Hall, St Paul.

February 15 – “Unions have been important to my family because . .  .,” high school essay competition postmark deadline.

 February 19 – Wisconsin primary spring elections as needed.

March 7 – 9 AFL-CIO Community Services Conference March 7 – 9, Green Bay,

            Radisson Hotel/Conf Center.

April 2 – Wisconsin spring elections

April 4 - Northwestern WI Regional National History Day Competition, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 8a – 3pm.  WI Labor History Society offers cash prize to Junior and Senior American labor projects.

April 20 - Wisconsin Labor History Society annual spring conference:  

“Fighting Inequality: A Wisconsin Tradition” 9a – 3:30p Waukesha Labor Temple, Machinists Lodge 1377.  Labor History essay contest winners announced.

April 28 - Workers Memorial Day – Dean and Sue’s Bar and Banquet Hall, Menomonie, time TBD.

April 29-30 Steward Training, instruction by School for Workers staff, sponsored by Fox Valley Labor Council, Menasha Labor Hall.    

May 5 – 127^th Anniversary Commemoration of 1886 Bay View Tragedy, Bay View Rolling Mills

            Historical Marker Site, Milwaukee.

September 2 – Labor Day 2013.