Council 2's Spring 98 Newsletter

We all have read over the years the almost constant harping by the naysayers that the influence of labor unions continues to be on the slide. But the exact opposite really is the truth. Take a long look at what the afl-cio and all of our affiliates and their members have begun to change in the past few years and the list is impressive.

The story starts when unions like Afscme led by International President Gerald McEntee decided it was time for a change at the afl-cio. The change was not only in the leadership with the election of John Sweeney, but a real change of attitude. Instead of a tired old institution that really did nothing noticeable, it took a new aggressive role that started with the 1996 congressional campaigns. Its efforts in that election were instrumental in placing labor’s issues on the agenda and making sure that the anti-labor forces that gained control of the House of Representatives in 1994 did not deepen their control in 1996.

If, instead of this, the worst case had occurred, programs such as Social Security and Medicare might be much diminished by now—not to mention that advances such as increasing the minimum wage would not have happened.

Other unions and afscme are beginning to go even further to make sure that your voice is heard.

At the recent International Convention an aggressive new program was put in place to continue this Union’s ability to be able to combat the less-than-friendly political labor foes, beef up our ability to organize new members, and continue to ensure that the Union is operated in a manner that safeguards its financial integrity.

Now all of this costs money and in order to make these things happen Council 2 will be forwarding to the afscme International an additional 50 cents per member per month in 1999 and another 50 cents per member per month in the year 2000. This program—approved by the delegates at the convention—will not mean an increase in your dues for 1999. Council 2 will be picking up the increased cost for the immediate future.

The bottom line to all of this is that Council 2 and afscme are doing more and working harder to bring about positive changes to your quality of life. The naysayers may continue to get louder, but that’s only because you are having a greater effect.

News In Brief

Afscme comes out fighting

International adopts tough new approach

Afscme is putting on the boxing gloves. At its Inter-national convention, held in Honolulu from Aug. 24 to 28, Council 2’s parent body laid out a new aggressive program designed to give the labor movement renewed clout to grow in strength and to hit back against its enemies.

The convention did more to change the way the International Union and its affiliates operate than any convention in recent memory, says Council 2 President/Executive Director Chris Dugovich.

The convention marked another significant step forward in the resurgence of the labor movement in the United States.

From the opening, the convention was marked by enthusiasm and determination to combat those who do not respect unions and who don’t want to be fair and equal in collective bargaining.

The first large convention to be held in Honolulu’s new Convention Center, the International convention took place from Aug. 24 to 28.

Council 2 was represented by 110 members at the convention, attended by 5,000 people.

The new programs were contained in two constitutional amendments after a lively floor debate on Tuesday that lasted the better part of a day.

These programs will be funded by an additional 50 cents a member a month that will be forwarded to the International from Jan. 1, 1999 and an additional 50 cents a member a month forwarded from Jan. 1, 2000.

Council 2 members will see no increase in their dues due to the action taken at this International Convention. Council 2 will pick up the increase for its members.

"Naturally, like tax increases, dues increases are always difficult and are never unanimous," Dugovich says. "But by far the majority supported the increase."

The money raised will boost the general fund to assist in three areas, Dugovich adds.

It also will help to ensure that members get the most efficient use of their dues dollars.

The convention decided to be more active specifically in those areas and to make sure the International has the resources needed to gain the type of wages and benefits that members deserve, Dugovich said.

The resolutions were the result of recommendations from an Afscme task force originally created in a resolution two years ago during the Chicago convention.

That task force met nearly a dozen times over the two-year period and subsequently recommended this program that was endorsed by Afscme President Gerald McEntee, Secretary-Treasurer William Lucy and the International Executive Board.

In his speech at the convention, McEntee said that unions no longer are willing to sit back and accept declining membership.

"Instead we are all out there fighting to organize new workers," he said. "We’re fighting to bring working men and women under the flag of the American labor movement."

Commenting after the convention, Dugovich said a lot of exciting things have happened in Labor recently, particularly since the changes in AFL-CIO a few years ago when John Sweeney was elected and the real push to organize more effectively was begun.

"This is another exciting move forward," he said. "It allows us to continue to enhance our political activity that has been noticed by the other side and is having the effect of keeping the playing field level."

In his speech at the convention, Vice President Al Gore said Afscme is leading the way "state by state, minute by minute."

"You are helping all Americans understand a basic truth—that the right to organize is a fundamental American right that can never be blocked, can never be stopped, can never be taken away," Gore said.

Afl-cio president John Sweeney said, "Thanks to your hard work and the hard work of tens of thousands of dedicated women and men across this country, we not only jump-started a stalled movement, we have it roaring around the track at record-breaking speeds."

Sadly enough, Dugovich added with a smile, a strike by Northwest Airlines forced some of the delegates to stay in Hawaii at the airline expense until they could get a flight off the island.

Workers beat bid by outside contractor

That, was the approach taken by Local 618-CO when faced with a decision by Thurston County to contract out custodial work for the county’s new Juvenile Detention and Family Court Center.

The Local insisted this was bargaining unit work. The new work would have resulted in two new positions in the bargaining unit—positions that now would go to an outside contractor.

Alan Philips, Local steward who works for Central Services for Thurston County, worked out how much it would cost the county were the work to be done by members of the Local. A member of county management helped him do the math.

The calculations showed that, even though two positions would be needed to do the work, the "counter bid" still would cost less than hiring an outside custodian.

"The county then decided it didn’t make any sense to contract out," says Kathleen Shelton, Council 2 staff representative in Olympia.

Hearing upholds Council 2 objections

A hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board has rec-ommended that two objections brought by Council 2 against Laidlaw Transit during a recent bargaining unit election be upheld.

The first objection upheld was that Laidlaw violated the law by dealing directly with employees instead of with the union.

The other objection was that Laidlaw issued a memorandum to bargaining unit employees that misrepresented the union’s position.

Audrey Eide, who is general counsel for Council 2 and represented the union at the hearing, said as far as she is aware this is the first time Council 2 has appeared in a hearing before the National Labor Relations Board.

The hearing officer, Leora R. Watkins, overruled six other objections brought by Council 2 against Laidlaw. She overruled all of the four objections brought by Laidlaw against Council 2.

Watkins also ruled on challenges to the election ballots. Council 2 alleged some of those who voted were not in the 300-strong bargaining unit. The challenged ballots determined the outcome of the election.

The officer ruled the election to be in favor of union representation by Council 2.

In the hearing, both the union and the employer objected to actions by each other during the election process.

The proposal included a revised wage package that represented a wage increase for employees. Evidence presented to the board showed that a memorandum on the proposal that was addressed to Bill Keenan, Council 2’s Staff Representative, was put into employees’ mailboxes on May 7.

But the same document was faxed to Keenan’s offices at 8:43 p.m. on Friday, May 8. No one in the Union’s office saw the fax until Monday, May 11.

The May 5 document could not be considered "campaign propaganda" as it was unmistakably a contract proposal addressed to the Union, Watkins said.

"It appears that the employer’s conduct in distributing the May 5 proposal to employees prior to presenting it to the Union is an instance of direct dealing with employees, conduct which the Board generally finds to be violative of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act," Watkins said in her ruling.

She added that the distribution of the proposal affected virtually the entire bargaining unit and was "severe in that it tended to undermine the Union as the employees’ collective bargaining representative, and the election results were very close."

Watkins said the promise to implement its wage proposal regardless of whether the union won "is sufficient grounds to set the election aside." She recommended that it be sustained, but added that because the union won the election, she did not recommend that the election be set aside.

Laidlaw has taken exception to some of the officer’s findings and recommendations. The union has responded and is awaiting a final decision from the National Labor Relations Board.

Scholarship Awards

Scholarship Dependent Awards were given in memory of Shirley Price, 17-year member of Local 21-J to Crystal Danielle Starcher (parent Daniel Joseph Starcher of Local 114); Larry A. Jaquins Jr. (parent Martha L. Jaquins of Local 1122); Gretchen Harvey (parent Larry Harvey of Local 1811-JPD) and Anne Cisney (parent Eric Cisney of Local 2083).

Continuing Education Awards were given in memory of Gerald Ostby, 13-year member of Local 1135 and Deputy John Bananola, past member of Local 120-CD to Judy A. Jones, Local 367-C; Peria M. Duncan, Local 1553-S; Kathleen Parvin, Local 1845; and Monica A. Sands, Local 3787.

2,000 attend training classes

Training on sexual harassment and diversity issues has been held for all Council 2 members in Spokane, Snohomish, King and Yakima counties. The Department of Youth in King County also was included in the training.

More than 2,000 employees in Snohomish County alone attended the training sessions.

Cathy Collette of Washington D.C. conducted the training, which was held in partnership with employers.

"All the training is conducted in partnership with the employers to ensure that this type of behavior doesn’t exist in your work environment," explains Council 2 President and Executive Director Chris Dugovich.

"This is very worthwhile training that permits our policy of no sexual harassment in terms of which everybody respects the rights of everybody in the workplace," Dugovich adds. "We can arrange these programs in your jurisdiction."

Advance notice, a minimum number of participants and the cooperation of the employer are required. All the classes are held on city property and on city time.

Spokane prosecutor’s race to be close

A battle for the position of prosecutor in Spokane is likely to be among the most closely contested races in November.

Steve Tucker, Republican, a former prosecuting attorney and member of Local 1553-PA, is running against Jim Sweetser.

"Sweetser is considered Public Enemy Number One among union members," says Pat Thompson, Director of Legislative/Political Action for Council 2. Tucker’s primary numbers look encouraging, he says.

Tucker obtained 49 percent of the vote against Sweetser’s 51 percent. "That puts him in an excellent position to knock off Sweetser in November," adds Thompson.

The race, of course, is only one in a number of contested races in November that could see victories for a number of pro-labor candidates.

"It appears we have a real good shot at regaining Democratic control in the state Senate," Thompson says.

Members are encouraged to volunteer for their endorsed candidates, whether at the local level or the state level, Thompson adds.

Afscme sets out its goals

Afscme fights to improve the lives of our members, our families and all Americans. Today, the well-being of Afscme members and our families is threatened by political extremists who are attempting to silence our voices, and by Big Business that is trying to privatize our jobs. In order to fight these threats more effectively and better fulfill our mission, this report includes the following recommendations:

Executive meets in Coeur d’Alene for first time

Council 2’s executive board held its first-ever meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho during May.

The decision to hold the meeting in Idaho was taken as a new executive board position representing Council 2’s members in Coeur d’Alene was created last year. Paula Payne, president of Local 433, occupies the position.

Pictures that appear alongside were taken during a reception held on board a boat on the evening of Friday, May 1.

Among the items discussed at the meeting was the reinstatement of the Collective Bargaining Ordinance that has been rescinded by the Coeur d’Alene City Council.

Workers fight for rights

Council 2 members in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho are fighting to regain their collective bargaining rights.

The Coeur d’Alene City Council removed the rights in March, voting 6-1 to remove a 16-year-old ordinance that granted them.

The unusual action by the city has angered Local members and Council 2. "Our most basic right has been taken away," says Pat Thompson, Director of Legislative/Political Action for Council 2.

Collective bargaining is a cornerstone of relationships between employees and employers, setting the ground rules for negotiating salaries, wages, working conditions, and benefits.

In Washington state, workers are protected by a state law that grants collective bargaining rights. Idaho has no such state law. Coeur d’Alene was one of the few Idaho cities with a collective bargaining law. Now that has gone.

City council members voted to remove the ordinance even though their action was opposed at two public hearings held before the vote.

"Several hundred members and union supporters were at the city council meetings," Thompson says. "All spoke in favor of keeping the ordinance. The city voted to remove it anyway!"

But the 90 employees of Coeur d’Alene City represented by Council 2 are acting to reinstate their collective bargaining rights. Joining them are police officers who also have been affected by the removal of the ordinance.

With the backing of Council 2, employees gathered the signatures necessary to put the initiative on the Feb. 2 ballot. A total of 897 signatures is necessary to put the initiative on the ballot. By Sept. 21, members had gathered 1,400.

"Members, led by Local President Paula Payne, have done a tremendous job," says Thompson. "Their tireless efforts on their own time, on weekends and in the evenings helped gather the large number of signatures. They canvassed their neighborhoods, shopping centers and local events."

The mayor and the city council are finding out just what a hornet’s nest they poked when they repealed this ordinance on collective bargaining rights," he says.

AFSCME International Convention

HAWAII, AUGUST 24–28, 1998

Delegate Gordon Smith (Local 492-J) and wife Colleen (Local 1553) at Council 2’s Wednesday reception, co-hosted by Council 62 Indiana and Council 75 in Oregon

Afscme #275 delegation with Secretary/Treasurer William Lucy (second, left): Jane Lauzon, John Olson, Randy Buehner and Trina Young

Scenes from the AFSCME Northwest Regional Conference

Portland, September 1998

Larry Scanlon, Afscme Political Action Director; Chuck Loveless, Afscme Legislative Director; and Council 2 President/Executive Director Chris Dugovich

Labor’s impact is growing, not sliding

Table of Contents