Table of Contents
- What parent organizations will P.A.C.E - Atlanta be affiliated with?
- Who will be eligible for membership in P.A.C.E.?
- When was P.A.C.E. officially recognized?
- Who will the officers of P.A.C.E. be?
- What does it cost to be a member of P.A.C.E.?
- What are some of the goals and the mission of P.A.C.E.?
- Does N.A.G.E. have an office in Atlanta?
- What are some of the other benefits of joining P.A.C.E.?
- I am worried that if I participate in helping to organize P.A.C.E. or even if I simply join, I will suffer retaliation in the work place. What are the legal ground rules concerning this issue?
What parent organization will P.A.C.E. - Atlanta be affiliated with?
Answer: P.A.C.E. Atlanta is affiliated with N.A.G.E. (the National Association of Government Employees). NAGE has over 300,000 members and is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (S.E.I.U.) which has 1.3 million members and is now the largest member of the AFL-CIO. NAGE has provided quality representation for the City of Atlanta police officers through the local I.B.P.O (International Brotherhood of Police Officers) for the last 15 years. Chip Warren, a very articulate and knowledgeable person. Chip is a National Vice President of N.A.G.E. and has many years of experience in negotiations with the City of Atlanta. You can visit the N.A.G.E. website at www.nage.org .
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Who will be eligible for membership in P.A.C.E.?
Answer: Eligibility will be decided by defining a "community of interest". What that means is that job classifications that fit under the description of "professional" will be eligible to join. That, of course, leaves the question open for some interpretation and as yet a decision has not been made as to what exactly our "community of interest" will include. Certain job classification have already been defined as being in a separate "community" and so those, such as police officers, fire fighters, A.F.S.C.M.E. members and so on, will not be eligible to join P.A.C.E. - Atlanta. The rest has yet to be determined so check back here for more details later. The P.A.C.E. "community" is somewhat dynamic, but generally, if you are a professional, office, or 'white' collar worker, you are in the P.A.C.E. community of interest.
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When was P.A.C.E. officially recognized?
Answer: On January 28, 2004, Mayor Shirley Franklin signed into law the legislation oficially recognizing P.A.C.E. (03-O-0318, introduced by Councilmember C.T. Martin). We extend our thanks to the Mayor and the City Council members who moved the legislation along.
For more information on how to join P.A.C.E. and to find out how to get a signup card, go to the "How do I sign up" page.
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Who will the officers of P.A.C.E. be?
Answer: The officers of P.A.C.E. will be elected from among the members. Any member will be eligible to run for President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary, Under Secretary, or Treasurer. Each officer's term will be a period of three years. Back to Top
What does it cost to be a member of P.A.C.E.?
Answer: At this time the dues for membership have been set at $28 per month ($14 from each bi-weekly check). The benefits that you will reap can be far greater than what you will be paying in dues so it is too your advantage to join.
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What are some of the goals and the mission of P.A.C.E.?
Answer: Our mission statement is on the Our Mission page. Please take the link below to go there. Some of our goals and objectives are stated on the Home page. We would like to hear from you about how you feel about this concept, about our mission statement and what we are trying to do. Send us an e-mail and let us know. You can make it anonymous if you like, but your identity will be kept in strict confidence.
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Does N.A.G.E. have an office in Atlanta?
Answer: Yes, N.A.G.E. has an office in Atlanta at 1176 Peachtree Street & 26th Street, Suite 415 North, Atlanta, GA 30309, with a full time staff of professionals. Please see our Contact Us page for more info.
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What are some of the other benefits to joining P.A.C.E.?
Answer: Besides having quality representation and a voice in your future, there are other significant benefits to joining P.A.C.E. You will have free access to an attorney to represent you in personnel actions with the City if the need should arise. Certain other legal services are also available for free such as preparing a simple will or a living will. There are many other services such as scholarships, term life insurance, home mortgages, personal loans, workplace accidental death insurance that are available to name a few. You will also be strongly represented in Washington, D.C. by a staff of full-time N.A.G.E. lobbyists who will be looking out for your best interest in our nation's capitol. We will also be able to draw upon N.A.G.E. resources to help us support our positions in trying to set forth our agenda. To find out more about N.A.G.E. you can go to www.nage.org .
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I am worried that if I participate in helping to organize P.A.C.E. or even if I simply join, I will suffer retaliation in the work place. What are the legal ground rules concerning this issue?
Answer: You have a legal right to join an association such as P.A.C.E. and to participate in it's formation and functions. We have been assured of this by Benita Ransom, Commissioner of Human Resources to include Labor Relations for the City of Atlanta. According to Ms. Ransom, the City does not want an adversarial relationship with any of the bargaining units that represent City employees, including P.A.C.E. However, if you were to suffer some type of retaliation because of your involvement in P.A.C.E., legal backing will be provided by N.A.G.E. at no charge. For more information on this question, please go to our "Letter of the Law" page where we have posted a letter from N.A.G.E. Attorney Lance Tyler. Mr. Tyler spells out exactly what our rights to form an organization are.
Our goal is not to form a hostile organization that is going to be confrontational or "anti" City of Atlanta. Just as we have all chosen to work for the City, we want our organization to be able to work with the City through open channels of communication. We are a "pro" employee organization and we want to be "pro" City of Atlanta as well.