2/11/09 12 NOON SPECIAL UPDATE

    This is a special update of the Federation Hotline at about 12 noon, Wednesday, Feb. 11.

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM YOUR WFSE/AFSCME VICE PRESIDENT:

    Here is a special message sent to us by your Federation Vice President Howard Ocobock. He has asked us to read it on this hotline and distribute it via our website and e-mail network. Here is Howard’s special message:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I was unable to attend this past Policy Committee meeting and missed seeing you there.  Since it is unusual for me to miss a meeting, a number of you asked about me.   I became aware recently of a serious medical condition and am currently undergoing aggressive treatment for it.  Needless to say, I’m feeling very ill right now and ask for your prayers and good wishes.  I am deeply honored to be your Vice President and will continue to do my best for you.

These are difficult times and we must move ourselves to action.  In the future the economy will turn around and we will see a return to normalcy.  Our members must not allow troubled times to divide us.  We are all connected.  Now is the time to be strong, gather our resources and not allow circumstances or individuals to pit us against one another.  We must not let the press or persons who wield legislative power to use us or our union as an excuse for the current economic trouble. 

We need to be visible in the legislature and in the community as a vital part of what is right in Washington state and in America.  We go to work everyday, we spend our money in the local economy, we make it safe for Washington’s children to go to school, maintain the roads so people and businesses can accomplish their goals, and do the hundreds of jobs that make Washington state a place fit to live in.  Don’t let opportunists destroy what we have worked so hard to gain. Fight now and fight to win!

    That’s it for now. Call Thursday for the next message.

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