AFSCME Across America: Organizing for Power
From state to state, workers are organizing with AFSCME for a stronger voice on the job. Here are some recent victories:
By Clyde Weiss
Connecticut
Forty marshals, who comprise the New Haven County Marshals Association, have affiliated with Council 4. As independent contractors, the marshals cannot fully unionize, but they chose to join AFSCME to gain greater professional representation and empowerment when dealing with state and local lawmakers, and appearing before the State Judicial Marshals Commission. Also voting to join Council 4: the 80-member Bristol Educational Secretaries Association and 36 public works and Town Hall employees of the Town of Simsbury, near Hartford.
Florida
Nearly 180 Public Works and Utilities Department employees of the City of Bradenton, in Manatee County, are now represented by Council 79. The city’s economic future was a key factor in their vote to join AFSCME, says a member of the bargaining unit. Bradenton is facing a $2.1 million revenue shortfall for the next fiscal year.
Maine
Twenty custodians employed by the City of Ellsworth School Department voted overwhelmingly to join Council 93.
Massachusetts
Fifty-four employees of the Springfield Housing Authority have joined Council 93 through majority sign-up.
Michigan
Seventeen surgical technicians employed by the Bay Regional Medical Center have joined Council 25. The union already represents 21 licensed practical nurses at the center, which provides care to nearly half a million people in East Michigan. It is owned by McLaren Health Care Corporation.
Minnesota
Fifty certified nursing attendants, dietary assistants and housekeepers employed at Traverse Care Center, a nonprofit county nursing home in Wheaton, have joined Council 65. Management launched an anti-union campaign that included a hired union breaker, captive audience meetings and misrepresentation of the union’s intentions concerning dues. With encouragement from unionized county social service and courthouse employees, plus nursing home workers in another town, the Traverse Center staff overcame those tactics. Also, six social workers at the Clearwater County Human Services Department in Bagley voted to join the council.
New York
Twenty-seven Sodexo food service employees in the Dunkirk School District have joined Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA)/AFSCME Local 1000. The victory, won through majority sign-up, is part of CSEA’s ongoing efforts to organize private sector contractors in facilities where other public employees are already CSEA members.
Ohio
A unit of 40 classified employees of Mechanicsburg Exempted Village School District have voted overwhelmingly to become members of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE)/AFSCME Local 4.
Oregon
Fifty-eight classified city employees of Grants Pass have voted to affiliate with Council 75.
Pennsylvania
Thirteen public works and electric department employees of Perkasie Borough, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia, have joined Council 88.
Rhode Island
A unit of 73 family court employees in Providence overwhelmingly voted to join Council 94.
South Dakota
A majority of employees of the city of Mitchell, home of the world famous Corn Palace, have voted to join Council 59. As many as 87 employees, from nearly every department, are eligible to join. The council also represents employees in six other cities, including Sioux Falls and Rapid City.
Washington
A unit of 20 East Wenatchee public works and city hall administrative workers has formed a union with Council 2.
