A Contract Victory to Cherish
By Susan Ellen Holleran
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON
The Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28, and state employees from the Idaho border to the Pacific Ocean, had a lot to celebrate when the legislature passed a budget funding their master contracts. The pacts stemmed from decades of membership involvement and union building. The council had moved from limited bargaining to the right to bargain over economic issues. Its first round of negotiations under the new 2002 law exemplified the power of union democracy and rank-and-file participation. The change from "collective begging" to collective bargaining also galvanized organizing fervor in Council 28, which doubled membership to nearly 40,000. (See blue box for contract highlights.)
"When our contract goes into effect on July 1, state workers will see their first pay raise in four years, stability in health insurance premium costs and worker protections," explains Council 28 Pres. Carol Dotlich. "We welcome our new members and look forward to their active participation in the life of our union."
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Debbie Brookman was relieved when the contract passed its final political hurdles. A union activist for most of her 13 years in the Department of Labor and Industries, Brookman had been deeply involved in both the collective bargaining campaign and the organizing drive that followed.
"I decided I wanted to be on the bargaining committee," says Brookman, a Local 443 executive board member. Negotiations quickly hit a snag because management refused to grant union leave to members of the union committee. Council 28 wanted the broadest possible representation — 109 members — and made the financial commitment to cover their lost time. The result: "We had team members from all over the state, and every one of us understands the contract intimately."
LOOKING BACK. For former Council 28 Presidents Howard Jorgenson and Duwane Huffaker, the achievement was a dream come true. It was during Jorgenson's presidency that the union's major thrust changed to a push for full collective bargaining — primarily because of the "salary survey."
Every two years, the state compares its employees' wages with those in private sector and other public-sector jobs. "Because the salary survey showed our members how far behind they were, they felt we were not fighting hard enough for them — even in times when we won good pay increases," says Jorgenson. "No matter how hard we pushed, the state refused to bring up those lower wages."
The new focus — and the council's education and organizing effort — opened the door to a sharp increase in member involvement, union building and political action. Across the state, members realized they would need strong support from the governor and the legislature to win full-scope collective bargaining.
Says Huffaker of the way in which members have worked together to win this contract, "I think it was great. The more people are involved, the more they have ownership. All the work solidified us. Now our members have a vested interest in what's being done. It's membership driven. I am proud of how our members fought for their first master contracts."
State Unions Under Attack
Council 28 has had no time to relish its success. With the implementation of full-scope collective bargaining, organizations like the Evergreen Freedom Foundation — funded in part by the Walton Foundation (run by Wal-Mart heirs) — have been mounting efforts to weaken state workers' strength through decertification efforts in 17 bargaining units. The Public Employment Relations Commission has already rejected many of the petitions — including one from the 8,000-member Department of Social and Health Services — because they did not have enough signatures.
Major Improvements
The General Government Agreement covers the lion's share of Council 28's members. Some key provisions:
