Do Resolutions Matter? You Bet They Do

Due to the deep involvement and strong resolve of AFSCME members, the International Union has long made a difference in improving the lives of America’s working families.

By Janet Rivera

When Larry Bell of Washington Local 1488 (Council 28), spoke at AFSCME’s 2000 International Convention on behalf of Resolution No. 23, a measure calling on the union to support legislation to reduce needlestick and other sharps injuries in health care workplaces, he had no idea how and when change would occur.

As a health care worker in the laboratory sciences, he knew only that legislative action is needed to prevent such workers from being hurt or even killed on their jobs.

Along with about 6,000 other AFSCME delegates and guests, Bell was witnessing democracy in action: the introduction, debate and in some cases passage of dozens of resolutions covering a vast array of concerns. The months since the Convention have seen many of those resolutions become reality.

MEMBERS INFLUENCE. AFSCME delegates voted in strong support of the anti-needlestick measure. The International followed up by putting its top-notch lobbying efforts into action. The mobilization of members was vital. Responding to the International’s call for action, they contacted members of Congress and reached out to the media and influential leaders in their communities.

Change came in the form of a bill introduced by Rep. Major Owens (D-N.Y.) and Cass Ballenger (R-N.C.) and Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.). Their bill, which is now law, requires the use of safety-designed needles to prevent the transmission of serious diseases to health care workers. (See article on page 27.) AFSCME continues to strive to enact an effective provision to protect public service workers in states where federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations do not cover them.

Of course, not all of the 72 resolutions passed can yield such early and impressive results. But by year’s end, the International — through the strength of its members — had achieved a number of successes. The areas include politics, legislation, public policy, communication, health and safety, collective bargaining, organizing and much more. Here is a handful of other resolutions that were approved by the Convention delegates and have been acted on by the International:

• AFSCME Privatization Campaign/Government for Sale (Resolutions No. 86 and No. 3) — Because they were similar in nature, these two resolutions against privatization — the greatest threat to our union — were combined. Together, they call on the union not only to participate in labor/management initiatives to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of public services but also to “continue to develop, update and widely distribute tools for leaders and activists to use in fighting privatization.”
  
  To that end, the International is now distributing “The AFSCME Privatization Power Tool Kit,” a comprehensive binderful of materials loaded with information to assist members. The “Power Tools” include talking points on key industries, tips for dealing with the media, examples of privatization gone awry and stories that illustrate high-quality public services.
• A Tough OSHA Ergonomics Standard (Resolution No. 59) — AFSCME members understand all too well the need for an ergonomics rule that would protect them and other workers, yet this goal had long been stymied by ultra-conservatives in Congress. But after intense lobbying on the part of the International, a victory for a safer workplace is now at hand. OSHA recently issued a comprehensive standard that is expected to substantially reduce the 1.8 million painful and disabling back and other repetitive-strain injuries American workers report each year.
• School Vouchers (Resolution No. 11) — Although debate continues nationally, AFSCME delegates and members recognized school vouchers for what they are: an assault on the public school system. That explains AFSCME delegates’ unanimous support for the resolution opposing “any legislation at the state or federal level that would authorize school vouchers in any form or any ballot initiatives which would create such programs.”
  
  With the strong backing of its members, the International has successfully fought Republican-backed plans to enact new voucher legislation and tax-free education savings accounts, both of which would siphon much-needed funding from public education and benefit only upper-income families. (Ballot measures promoting vouchers were defeated last fall in California and Michigan.)
• Paraprofessionals in the Classroom (Resolution No. 12) — In yet another victory for the public education system and the dedicated public employees who make it work, AFSCME fought efforts in Congress that would have subjected our school-support employees to the stringent, arbitrary and unrealistic job requirements imposed on paraprofessionals. Specifically, the resolution called on the union to ensure that the experience and role of school-support workers is respected, and that union-supported training accompany any new educational requirements.
• Privatization of Highways (Resolution No. 8) — One of the many public services targeted by privateers is highway maintenance. That‘s why Edward Keller, International vice president and executive director of AFSCME Council 13, submitted an amendment calling on the union to “continue to oppose highway privatization proposals through grassroots operations, direct lobbying and outreach to the administration.”
  
  We subsequently beat back in Congress a Republican-supported measure that would have taken the drastic step of privatizing federal highways — and threatened the jobs of 100,000 AFSCME members.
• Organizing Head Start Workers (Resolution No. 6) — Under-standing that employees of Head Start would benefit greatly by becoming part of AFSCME, delegates gave their full and enthusiastic support to a resolution urging that they be brought into the union. The resolution called on the union to use its political power at the state and federal levels to improve working con-ditions and elevate the quality of Head Start programs; to lobby intensively to ensure higher levels of funding for Head Start workers; and to continue to publish the Head Start Voice newsletter.
  
  Since the Convention, more than 500 Head Start workers, from such locations as Memphis and Monmouth County, N.J., have joined the AFSCME family. The latest organizing victories brings to about 10,000 the number of Head Start workers who have voted for AFSCME representation.

Convention delegate Lawrence Panaro, secretary-treasurer of New York Local 264 and vice president of Council 35, says that he believes the International’s success in achieving positive action quickly on such a wide range of resolutions illustrates that the whole is only as great as the sum of its parts. In this case, the “parts” are the 1.3 million AFSCME members who have a vision for a better America and are prepared to do what it takes to make that vision a reality. The union and its members can therefore expect impressive action and results in the months and years to come.

Related Web Resources:

• Full text of AFSCME Convention Resolutions
• AFSCME Privatization Power Tool Kit