The Drive to Organize
Workers continue to gain power — and respect — with AFSCME. These are some of the notable victories since our last report:
California
In August, a unit of 6,500 home care workers in Orange County formed a union with the United Domestic Workers of America-NUHHCE, an AFSCME affiliate. This follows a June victory for 2,300 workers in Butte County, and we have another petition pending for 7,500 in Riverside County. Also in August, 150 privatized food service workers at UCLA won AFSCME representation. As part of the agreement, the university — rather than the contractor — will be their employer.
Illinois
In Chicago, 273 city administrative assistants won voluntary union recognition in September. Also joining Council 31 — by a margin of 3 to 1 — were 270 workers at St. Coletta's of Illinois Inc., a private, not-for-profit agency serving the developmentally disabled.
Maryland
Sixty professional employees of Frostburg State University voted 2 to 1 to organize under Council 92, joining their 240 blue-collar and clerical colleagues. The university led the organizing charge last year when its workers became the first on 11 Maryland campuses to form a union with us. We continue to organize at other campuses including the University of Maryland at Baltimore — the second largest campus in the system.
Missouri
A group of 124 licensed practical nurses, therapists and technicians working in the state's mental health facilities and veterans' homes voted 5 to 1 to join 4,800 other state workers in the Patient Care Support collective bargaining unit. They will be included in contract talks that recently began. Initial proposals were adopted by near-unanimous votes held at worksites across the state.
New Jersey
Newark-area home care workers at Chrill, a non-profit home health agency serving the chronically ill, voted 174-170 in August to form a union with NUHHCE 1199J/AFSCME. Workers overcame an intense anti-union campaign consisting of numerous captive-audience meetings and weekly mailings to every workers' home. The campaign was bolstered by strong support from the NAACP. The organizing committee overcame the isolation of workers who don't report to a central office by conducting neighborhood meetings and home visits.
New York
Civil Service Employees Association/ AFSCME Local 1000 won voluntary recognition for 133 clerical workers at Southern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services in August.
Oregon
More than 225 workers in three separate units from Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston voted by large margins to form a union with Council 75, overcoming management's anti-union letter campaign. Clerks and maintenance and service personnel in the general unit registered approval by a 114 to 34 count, while those in the technical unit voted 24 to 9. Two-thirds of the registered nurse unit also voted to go green.
