14 years ago two Teamsters met on a bus to Lobby Day; romance ensued

Rita and Zoltan Cziglenyi met on the bus to Teamsters Lobby Day back in 2011.

Our next Teamsters Lobby Day will be of monumental importance for newly-organized WMS members. The group of 300 State employees who joined our Union this year will be fighting to secure interest arbitration rights to gain leverage at the bargaining table.

For two DOC employees, an earlier trip to Olympia also had major consequences. It was where Rita Cziglenyi, a reentry center manager with 33 years of State service, met her husband, Zoltan. The two Teamsters sat next to each other on the bus back to Spokane after our Lobby Day in 2011. With a 5-hour trip ahead of them, the couple-to-be had plenty of time to get acquainted.

Zoltan Cziglenyi is a medical transport officer at the Airway Heights Corrections Center. Rita runs the brownstone reentry center, a 84-bed male facility that helps transition people from prison into the community. She also serves on our Union negotiations team that is trying to secure a first-time contract for WMS employees.

We talked with Rita to get her thoughts on negotiations and what it means to be a Teamster.

Why do you work in public service?

I didn’t choose public service, it chose me. I was going be a game warden. But within 30 days, I had lost three jobs. The only thing available was at the prison in Clallam Bay. I fell in love with the work. I saw a lot of people who made mistakes and who I knew shouldn’t be defined by their mistakes. I felt like this is where I belong.

Why did you want to be a Teamster?

I have worked in other positions at DOC and have been part of Teamsters before. So I was afforded those protections. Teamsters will hold DOC’s feet to the fire. They won’t just be able to give us additional work anymore without having to sit down and negotiate.

What has surprised you about negotiations?

I think it’s unfortunate that DOC has not entertained a single one of our proposals that would signal positive change. It makes me feel devalued. They’re offering nothing, and they want everything to stay the same. They’re the reason we organized with Teamsters.

What do you need to see from the State to be able to reach an agreement?

We need to see a better work-life balance. People are having to work 80 hours a week. And you can’t just keep funneling other people’s work onto our job classifications. No one wants my job if I only make 5% more than the people I supervise. But it’s not even about compensation anymore. They need to get more FTEs in here.

Why would arbitration rights be important for your group?

Interest arbitration is 100% important for us. Otherwise, the State can run amok and there’s no one who can hold them accountable.

What else do you want your co-workers to know?

I want my coworkers to know that our Teamsters bargaining group is negotiating in good faith with everyone’s best interests at heart. Whatever we change for us will have a ripple effect. I don’t just want a better work-life balance for myself, but I want it for my staff and my supervisors.