Laughter and money seemed to go hand in hand at last night's Possible Dreams auction in Edgartown. The better the one-liners, the higher the bids.
Fortunately, there were some pretty glib celebrities willing to
stoke the fire, and in the end, the 24th annual auction of 53 dreams had
pulled in more than $376,000. That figure fell short of last
year's take of just over $400,000.
Community Services Management Appeals Designation of Voters in Union
Dispute
By MANDY LOCKE
The Martha's Vineyard Community Services labor dispute, now
almost three months old, faced the potential of further delays today
when management appealed a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
decision to expand the pool of eligible voters for a June 20 union
election.
National Labor Board Sets Stage for Vote on Union in Community
Services Dispute
By MANDY LOCKE
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) set the stage for a vote
on union status in the labor dispute at Martha's Vineyard
Community Services with a May 24 ruling that expanded the pool of
eligible voters in the Island Counseling Center.
Community Services and Union Far Apart on Economic Issues
By MANDY LOCKE
Three weeks shy of the anniversary of the landmark vote which
brought a union into Martha's Vineyard Community Services, the
health and human services agency and 35 of its employees have yet to
nail down a first contract.
"The more difficult issues have been left for now. It's
going to be arduous," said Rob Doyle, an employe of Island
Counseling Center, one of Community Services' five programs, two
of which are unionized.
Just in time for the holidays, there is closure to the long-standing
discussion over how to dispense a $16,500 gift to Martha's
Vineyard Community Services workers.
The gift - from singer Carly Simon and author Norman Bridwell
- funded a one-time bonus to nonmanagerial employees of the health
service agency; the money was divided equally among more than 100 of
them, amounting to something above $100 each.
Unionized mental health counselors at Martha's Vineyard Community Services hesitated this week - delaying a possible move to strike while awaiting newly-promised face to face meetings with board members of the health and human services agency.
A strained encounter at Community Service's annual board meeting Tuesday afternoon, however, suggested the time out may not last for long.
Federal Labor Board Charges Agency with Poor Treatment of Employees
During Union Organizing Effort
By JULIA WELLS
A dormant labor dispute at Martha's Vineyard Community
Services bubbled to life again yesterday when a newly formed union
announced that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a
complaint against the umbrella social service agency.
Mental health counselors at Martha's Vineyard Community Services are now threatening to strike as the agency remains locked in tough contract talks with unionized employees.
For seven months, tensions continued to mount at the negotiation table over pay issues.
At risk are counseling and nursing services for hundreds of Islanders served by the Island Counseling Center and the Visiting Nurse Service, the unionized units of Community Services. In a typical week, ICC handles 180 clients.
Community Services Launches Self-Study with Heller School
By C.K. WOLFSON
Martha's Vineyard Community Services announced this week that
it has launched a comprehensive internal management study with the
prestigious Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis
University.
The seven-month, privately funded study is aimed at developing a
strategic plan for the unique umbrella human services agency that was
founded in 1961.
Executive Director Resigns at Community Services; Heller Study Cites
Flaws
By JAMES KINSELLA Gazette Senior Writer
Longtime executive director Ned Robinson-Lynch has abruptly resigned
from Martha's Vineyard Community Services in the midst of a
searching reappraisal by the agency of its operations and organization.
Change now looms large at Community Services, one of the oldest and
broadest human services organizations on the Vineyard.
