Organizing for Power
From state to state, workers are organizing with AFSCME for a voice on the job. Here are some recent victories:
CALIFORNIA
Home care workers continue to flock to the union. Twenty-six hundred of them joined the United Domestic Workers of America (UDWA)-NUHHCE, an AFSCME affiliate. An overwhelming majority — 93 percent — of 1,700 workers from Lake County won via mail ballot. In Placer County, 900 others gained union recognition based on a card-check campaign. Almost 48,000 home care workers have become UDWA members since California enacted a law requiring each county to create an "employer of record" to facilitate negotiation of wage and benefits.
FLORIDA
In Tallahassee, 642 custodial, grounds, dining and lab-tech workers from Florida State University voted by a 4-to-1 margin to rejoin Council 79 (see related article). In January, all union members employed by the state's university system lost collective bargaining — their contracts voided — after Gov. Jeb Bush (R) eliminated the Board of Regents and handpicked trustees to replace them. That made each campus autonomous and forced employees to reorganize. Florida State is the third of 11 institutions to see its workers win their union back; members from Florida A&M and North Florida achieved that through card check. Now: The remaining eight campuses have started organizing.
NEW MEXICO
State workers wasted no time organizing and forming a union with Council 18. In March, Gov. Bill Richardson (D) signed into law a new collective bargaining bill, replacing one that "sunset" in 1999. By August, 7,000 workers from more than a dozen New Mexico departments won recognition via card check. The group has already started negotiations. Members want better pay and benefits, and an end to favoritism.
WASHINGTON
More than 180 workers from the Health Care Authority elected to form a union with the Washington Federation of State Employees/Council 28. The win is the latest in a series for state employees who recently won full-scope collective bargaining rights. Since then, nearly 4,500 workers have organized with AFSCME, establishing a unified force as the union prepares for contract talks that start in January. WFSE already represents more than 36,500 state and university employees.
