For Immediate Release
Saturday, February 03, 2001
Over 1,000 City Managerial Employees Win Union Representation with AFSCME
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —White-collar city employees here won union representation today after a year-long fight. The group of 1,030 employees in 18 city departments backed by Council 18 of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO won vital, bipartisan support from city council to overcome animosity from the mayor's office.
Certification of the new union by the city's mayor came on the heels of a December amendment to the city's 30-year-old Labor-Management Relations Ordinance promoted by AFSCME. The amendment, approved on an 8-1 vote, allows for voluntary recognition of a new local union after a majority sign cards signaling their support for collective bargaining.
"We join today with Mayor Jim Baca to put the battle behind and begin building mutual respect and accomplishments," said AFSCME Council 18 President Joseph Chavez. "Our deepest thanks goes to our allies on City Council and throughout the community for bringing us this tremendous win for the entire city.
"The religious leaders and elected officials stood with us when the going was tough," Chavez continued. "Their persistence has helped make sure city employees and city services move forward with labor peace instead of pointless conflict." The announcement was made in a joint press conference with Mayor Baca at the Albuquerque Aquarium.
AFSCME submitted union cards signed by a majority of the white collar group on January 23, and the mayor granted union recognition after the cards were checked for authenticity. The union already represents 2,500 blue collar, corrections and clerical/technical employees of the city, but the administration had sought to block the eligibility of white-collar people to organize.
The union last fall went to District Court and to city council to compel the administration to offer workers a chance to decide whether to organize.
AFSCME pointed to the win in Albuquerque as further evidence of its successful organizing program. AFSCME's organizing model emphasizes powerful new resources, with political and community outreach to simplify and accelerate the process of winning collective bargaining for new groups of workers.
Another recent win was Polk County, Fla., an urban county east of Tampa, where the county school board voted 6-1 on January 9 to extend union recognition to 726 food service workers after AFSCME built bipartisan political support.
