The following email appeared in my inbox today:

Dear City Employee:

This message is to help ensure City employees are well informed on matters concerning their jobs. Senate Bill 2866 passed by our Legislature allows City employees the opportunity to voice their opinion on whether or not to be represented by an employee association in a meet-and-confer process with City management. Our classified Fire and Police employees already have such representation through their employee associations. Now the rest of our work force has the opportunity to make that choice.

As you are probably aware, two City employee associations, AFSCME and SEIU, have been competing to be this recognized association. Each of these organizations has individually submitted petitions signed by thousands of city employees for the right to represent them.

Both organizations have determined that their common goal is to promote the best interest of all City employees. To this end, both organizations see greater success by seeking the recognition of not one or the other, but of both through the creation of a joint organization to be known as the Houston Organization of Public Employees, or HOPE.

As Mayor of a city with many competing interests I always support consensus aimed at producing the best result for all parties. I also support the right of our employees to voice whether or not they support a particular employee association as their agent.

HOPE, in accordance with the state law, will have to gather employee signatures on a petition asking for it to be considered the recognized employee association. HOPE will have access to the public areas of our work sites so they can provide information to you. Of course, your choice about whether to join an employee association is yours and yours alone, and should not be dictated by me, an organizer, your supervisor or anyone else.

I appreciate the hard work of all our employees and respect your right to consider joining an employee association. Employees and management working together to continually improve productivity and working conditions ensures a better work force and more efficient services to our customers, the citizens of Houston. We work hard every day in a manner that allows us to take pride when we say that we work for the City of Houston.

Bill White,

Mayor

Hmmmmm. Rolling with the punch or planning for the future? You decide.