Privatization's Worst Nightmares: AFSCME's Public Service Heroes
AFSCME affiliates across the country are making significant headway in stopping privatization; some have distinguished themselves in that regard. Of some 40 entrants, AFSCME has chosen these councils and/or locals to honor as our "Public Service Heroes." Let's meet the victors.
By Clyde Weiss
St. Paul, Minn., Council 14 and Locals 1842 and 2508
Robin Madsen, president of Local 1842, and Pres. Bob Steiner, her counterpart at Local 2508, acknowledged the roar of the Convention crowd as they accepted "Heroes" awards from Pres. Gerald W. McEntee. They and their colleagues successfully mobilized to defeat "Compete St. Paul," Republican Mayor Norm Coleman's plan to privatize city ser-vices. Last October, after working for months to educate the public about the dangers of privatization, they watched proudly as the city council voted 5-1 in favor of a labor-backed ordinance limiting Coleman's authority to contract-out their jobs.
Mayor Coleman "had it in specifically for AFSCME," Madsen says in an interview. But the mayor was up against a tough adversary. With the help of The St. Paul Works Alliance, a coalition of unions headed by former Local 1842 Pres. Sher Knutson, AFSCME created a political environment in which the privatization plan could not survive.
"We partnered with the community and built coalitions with the labor/religious network," says Madsen. "And we never gave up." Most of all, adds Steiner, "it shows privateers that they will not have easy times with AFSCME around!"
Clinton, Iowa, Local 888 (Council 61)
It seemed a simple plan: Privatize solid waste disposal and possibly save the city some money. But the group behind the scheme was up against the smart members of AFSCME Local 888. It was no contest.
"We won because our members went out across the city and talked to the people," demonstrating to them that privatization would not save money, says Local Pres. Bill Tieso.
A local commun-ity action group wanted the city to eliminate fees and charges for trash pickup, but the only way that could be done was by cutting jobs in other departments or by privatizing the work. The question was to be put to the voters through a referendum.
Local 888 studied the issue and quickly realized that privatization would actually cost the city more money: Private haulers probably would take the trash into Illinois, where it was cheaper to dump than at the county's own landfill. "The volume at Clinton County's landfill would go down, but the costs wouldn't go down, so the assessment to the city would more than likely have increased," Tieso explains.
"We had to make sure people understood the issue and were fired up enough to get them out there to vote," Tieso continues. They studied voting patterns in order to focus their effort on wards whose residents were most likely to vote. They also worked the media and went to other unions' meetings. "But what really made the difference was talking to our friends, relatives, neighbors — anyone we could talk to." It paid off: 72 percent of those voting opposed the measure.
The privatization backers are talking about trying again. "Well, bring them on!" roared Tieso from the Convention podium. "We'll take them on again, and we'll win!"
New York City Local 1455 (DC 37)
They make traffic signs — 28 workers whose efforts are essential to everyday life in the Big Apple. Even so, the city thought it could get by more cheaply by contracting out their jobs.
Says Local 1455 Pres. Michael DeMarco, "We basically proved them wrong."
How? "We got the contract that the city was about to bid … and we showed on paper that we could do this work more efficiently and for less money" than the privateer. The local's members also persuaded the city to agree to a so-called "gain-sharing" initiative, under which an employee making more than so many signs a day would get a cash bonus.
Six years into the program, the AFSCME members have proved its worth — and their own. Plus, DeMarco points out, "We were able to knock out that contractor."
New York City Local 420 (DC 37)
Cleaning, folding and transporting 8,000 tons of soiled and contaminated laundry each year for acute care hospitals and the chief medical examiner is a big job, yet the 200 employees who contend with the heat, noise and workplace hazards handled it with few complaints. That is, until the day when Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) announced plans to privatize their jobs.
Now, after a nearly two-year battle to save the Brooklyn Central Laundry, its union-represented employees have something to brag about. "The laundry's still open," boasted Local Pres. Jim Butler, also an International vice president, to the Convention delegates. "We told City Hall that we are fired up and we're not going to take any more privatization, and we took [the fight] to the streets. We marched and we rallied, we mobilized the commun-ity, the churches, the elected officials … and we won!"
The Giuliani administration caved in, agreeing to keep the laundry "public" and modernize it, while conducting a comparison of costs and services there and at a facility operated by the privateer the city favors. Hulie White Jr., chapter chair of the AFSCME local, is confident of success. "We are the best," he says.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Minnesota Council 6: Its corrections locals successfully fought a new private prison facility.
Wisconsin Special-Needs Adoption Workers, Local 2748 (Council 24): The local thwarted an attempt by the state's Department of Health and Family Services to privatize the special-needs adoption program, saving 15 jobs.
Columbus (Ohio) School Employees Association (OAPSE) /AFSCME Local 4: Its efforts helped elect candidates to the school board at a time when privatization was a hot issue. From a field of 16, OAPSE was the only major organization to endorse all four winning candidates.
Be It Resolved
The AFSCME Privatization Campaign: recommends fighting privatization before it happens. Calls on the International to expose privatization — particularly to decision-makers — for the sham it is and to develop, update and distribute anti-privatization tools for leaders and activists.
Privatization of Highways: pledges AFSCME resources to oppose highway privatization.
School Vouchers: opposes any effort to establish and/or implement voucher plans.
Prison Privatization: calls on all levels of the union to fight it.
