• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Sunday, March 2, 1997

WORKPLACE:

Employees claim AFL-backed national group doesn't respond to local needsBy Hannah Miller

Daily Bruin Contributor

Charging that the standing union has neglected its concerns, an independent union is aiming to replace the AFL-CIO-backed representatives of clerical workers in the UC system. For the 18,351 employees in the bargaining unit, such a vote will determine how active a role unions are to play in the university workplace.

The current union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), boasts a nationwide membership of 1.3 million members, and was chosen by UC clerks to represent them in 1983. But since October 1995, many clerical workers have broken away to join the Coalition of University Employees (CUE), charging that AFSCME has failed to address their concerns.

"The university hasn't turned out to be a benevolent employer since the budget cuts started in the 1980s," said CUE Vice President Claudia Horning. "We felt that with AFSCME, we were running up against more problems than help in dealing with these changes."

In recent years, UC clerical workers have taken several blows with stagnating wages, a growing reliance on temporary and casual positions and the reduction of cost-of-living allowances.

CUE argues that AFSCME just hasn't done enough to address the specific concerns of clerks ­ nor has it remained active in recruiting members.

"We're dying on the vine," Horning said. "AFSCME's membership is down to 5 percent of the unit."

The size of AFSCME itself is an issue. Although UCLA's clerical unit, at 3,889, is the largest in the UC system, AFSCME also represents a sizable hospital-employees unit and a cross-section of many other positions. For AFSCME's defenders, such size is a crucial strength.

"What kind of resources does CUE have?" said Keith Uriarte, an AFSCME organizer. "The UC system has millions of dollars at their disposal when dealing with employees and unions, and the UCs love to play the game."

Uriarte voiced concern over whether an independent local can, indeed, play that game.

If the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) decides that CUE's March petition drive was successful, it will call for an election. Clerical employees will choose between AFSCME, CUE or a "no union" vote. The results will testify to the direction in which unions are headed ­ towards the larger, corporate-style management of AFSCME or CUE's grass-roots organizing technique.

For Maria Castillo, a library assistant at the Chicano Studies Research Library, the CUE style appealed to her. "Although I was covered by AFSCME, I didn't feel comfortable talking about my problems there," she said.

"At CUE, I feel more like a member. They keep up a steady flow of information with us," said Castillo. "Working here is not the same as it was a few years ago. Our paychecks haven't gone up at all."

As AFSCME leaders argue, a local union doesn't have the experience in bargaining with the monolith of the UC system. "CUE doesn't have a contract," said Uriarte. "When was the last time that a new union at the UCs got a contract? Where are their resources going to come from?"

With size comes resources, as AFSCME brings a multi-million-dollar treasury to the bargaining table. But Horning claims that those finances erect a "structural barrier" to organizing.

"Only $1.45 of AFSCME's $22 annual membership dues go to the local," she said. CUE has suggested dues of $15 for full-time employees, of which the full amount can remain at the campus level.

Within AFSCME, funds allocations have to come from the top down. Federico Martin, the president of UCLA's clerical AFSCME Local 3235, said that he receives "only a little percentage" of dues for local organizing.

"CUE had asked AFSCME for more organizing and they felt that the union has not really responded to them," said Martin, "even though the AFL-CIO leadership is currently pushing for it."

Many of those who have joined CUE in the past two years speak about AFSCME's virtual absence from sight. Debra Colman, an administrative assistant in Parking Services, worked at UCLA for two years before she found out that she was even represented by a union.

"AFSCME was doing a poor job, and clerks needed to build a strong union," Colman said. "CUE is made up of clerical staff. They know what our issues are."

CUE has mounted educational campaigns on issues such as the high incidence of Repeated Stress Injury in clerical positions, and the replacement of cost-of-living increases by selective performance-based bonuses.

"AFSCME had made a decision that organizing clerks was not to be a priority," said Horning. Although Horning commented that AFSCME has done very well in representing clerks in private universities, she speculated that the UC's open-shop policy may make the union more lax about organizing.

Another difficulty that either union will face is the high turnover rate among clerical workers, as much as 10 percent annually in some departments. Such turnover is both a concern for union focus and a barrier to building a membership base.

"Twenty years ago, many people would see a job here as a lifelong thing," said Horning. The number of UCLA clerks who are classified as casual has increased to approximately one-third, and Horning speculated that this trend will continue.

To hold a recertification election, 30 percent of the bargaining unit must sign a petition to vote. CUE reports that it has turned in the 8,475 signatures, representing 46 percent of all UC clerical workers. The next step will be to go to the PERB to set an election date.

CUE predicts that a vote will be held this summer, at the earliest. However, even if they are certified, CUE will be responsible for the welfare and working conditions of the employees.

"Even if we win the election, that's when the real work starts in bargaining for a new contract," Horning said.