Eastsound Water operators speak out

||| FROM EASTSOUND WATER USER OPERATORS |||

First of all, we want to express to the membership how seriously we take our commitment to providing safe drinking water to our island community. One of us is available to you at every moment of every day.

We want you to know that there has been nowhere for us to safely express workplace grievances without fear of retaliation-this is why we chose to Unionize.

It has been very difficult to lose four of our coworkers. This point cannot be underscored enough. They served EWUA with great dedication and deep system knowledge.  They played critical roles on our team. For all of us, this went from a dream job to a place we dread going.  We have been trying to take all the appropriate routes towards being heard without speaking publicly but these roads lead nowhere. THIS is why the operators are leaving and it is why we are on the brink of losing more.

Employee morale is at an all time low.  Despite our efforts to meet with board members and express our serious concerns we have been dismissed.   Meanwhile the members were told recently in the “Myths vs. Facts” email that all is well and that the organization “owes it to the dedicated men and women who keep this utility running-and to the members- to respond with facts”  

Yes they do owe us that.  WE ARE the “dedicated men and women” keeping the water flowing, and the fact is that we are not being respected or heard.