AFSCME at Your Door

By Clyde Weiss

University of Maryland employees won the right to collective bargaining. Now, volunteers gear up to do something about it.

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND

AFSCME members Mattie Wells and Vera Lewis, their heads packed full with how-to’s of union organizing gained at a special seminar, nervously approach the door of their very first prospect. They knock.

"Good afternoon, my name is Vera Lewis, and I’m here from AFSCME," says the University of Pennsylvania cook and member of Local 54 (District Council 47). She’s come all this way to help University of Maryland workers gain a collective voice in the workplace.

"AFSCME?" the man replies distrustfully. "What’s AFSCME?"

"The union," she responds, in an effort to prolong the conversation and win their way inside, where the two volunteer organizers will continue it. The man relents, and the women step inside, where the real effort begins.

SUCCESS AT LAST. What Lewis meant by "union" was the 500-member Local 1072 (Council 92) who work at the College Park and University College campuses. Until May, the local could represent them in grievance procedures but could not negotiate with administrators for better wages and working conditions. That changed when Gov. Parris Glendening (D) signed legislation that passed the Maryland House of Delegates by a 3-1 margin.

The victory, after a 20-year struggle, gave the precious right of collective bargaining to some 9,000 university employees, including roughly 3,000 at the two campuses targeted this weekend.

But that victory was just a beginning, and on this beautiful July weekend, three dozen AFSCME members from eight states were following up. The members had gathered at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies to learn the union’s organizing methods and then practice them on real prospects.

Which is why Lewis and Wells, a bus driver for University of Maryland/Eastern Shore Local 1833 (Council 92), were now sitting in this man’s living room, applying what they have learned about the principles of effective organizing:

• Introduce yourself and the union.
• Ask questions to learn about the worker as a person, and listen carefully.
• Educate (explain why it’s important for workers to form a union) and agitate (raise and explore issues that concern the worker, such as poor working conditions).
• Inoculate (anticipate opposition by raising issues, such as union dues, that the employer — if not the worker — is sure to bring up later).
• Assess the worker’s degree of interest and support, and his/her willingness to get involved.
• Move the worker to action (such as getting the worker to accompany the organizer on house calls).

After the women have finished their visit, "employee" Raul Sanchez begins an interrogation of his own — for their benefit. He (as they knew all along) is an AFSCME field education coordinator who played the role so the volunteers could practice what they’ve learned. The same thing was happening in other rooms at the Meany Center.

INTO THE REAL WORLD. Next day, the volunteers — including Local 1072 Pres. Sally Davies, who has a special stake in the outcome of the drive — spread across Maryland to meet actual university employees. Although she’s conducted house calls once before, even Davies is more self-assured following the training.

She, like everyone else, is paired with a veteran organizer. In her case, it’s Bruce Jett, who heads the Baltimore team. Jett says the secret of organizing is simple: "It’s almost like asking, 'How do you fall in love?’ It’s always done one on one."

But things don’t begin too well for the duo. The great weather has lured many residents outdoors. Nobody is home at the first Baltimore residence, and the second is a bad address. Is Davies discouraged?

"Not at all," she declares as she walks back to the car, a map and the next address in hand. "I think it’s very rewarding. I’m building the union."