THE NUMBER of unaffiliated workers seeking to join Council 2 has jumped sharply in the wake of voter approval of Initiative 747.

They are concerned about job security and about wages and benefits, particularly medical benefits, being cut in the wake of the initiative.

The initiative, approved in the November election, limits increases in property taxes to 1 percent a year without special voter approval. It is expected to have a strong impact on the income of counties and cities, particularly as the limit is less than the rate of inflation, now running at around 3 percent.

The jump in workers seeking to organize followed an initial slowdown in organizing in the wake of the economic downturn and the events of September 11.

Then suddenly, in November, the number of inquiries took off.
"We have eight elections pending in different agencies across the state," says Council 2 Organizer Bill Keenan.

"I think a lot of people are very concerned. They realize that there could be some budget problems in the public sector.

"Already, they have noticed that the state is not coming to the rescue of the cities and counties.

"Many of the public agencies themselves are looking at layoffs and budget cuts.

"Without a doubt, there is a huge groundswell of concern that they want a voice in considering how money is going to be spent in both serving the public and the impact on their work.
"Suddenly people are seeing the benefits of belonging to a union."

Most of the organizing leads are coming from recommendations from existing Locals or contacts that were handled by the Staff Representatives, Keenan says.

"We thank all of those individuals and encourage them to seek new organizing leads to help our union grow," he adds.