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| December 2014 | Vol 2, Issue 6 |
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| Greetings! |  Well, that was quick. The 2014 elections gave all branches of Wisconsin's government over to Republican control. The first thing on their agenda? An attack on workers, wages, and Union rights. We'll discuss what becoming a so-called "Right to Work" state means below.
There are also updates to the list of Stewards noted in last month's newsletter and reports from the Chief Stewards of both CUNA Inc and MG&E on what's been happening in those bargaining units. |
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| "Right to Work" is Wrong |
 After gaining complete control of Wisconsin's government in 2011, the Republicans launched a surprise attack on worker's rights, called Act 10. What followed was four years near the bottom of Midwest states in job and economic growth. Now the Wisconsin Republican party has decided that what the state really needs is yet another attack on workers, wages, and the ability for Unions to remain viable entities in the state.
Act 10 was ostensibly a "budget repair bill." However, the reality of the bill was quite different. Many of you joined in on the protests in downtown Madison and elsewhere, because we all knew that the bill had little to do with the budget and much to do with attacking workers and worker's rights. History has proven us correct. According to Brendan Fischer and Mary Bottari of PR Media Watch:
In 2011, Wisconsin passed Act 10, a complex bill that forced public sector unions to re-certify annually, made it harder for unions to collect dues, and eliminated the incentive of people to join unions by severely limiting issues on the bargaining table. The bill was designed to destroy public sector unions, a powerful force in Democratic politics in the state, and subsequently union membership dropped dramatically.
An "Act 10" for private sector unions may contain similar provisions regarding certification and dues collection. But one thing that all so-called "right to work" laws have in common is that they force Unions to represent people for free. As the President of Local 39, Kathryn Bartlett-Mulvihill, said:
The overwhelming issue with Right to Work is that non-paying dues members will ride the coat-tails of paying dues members, thus enjoying all the benefits of representation without paying for it. It weakens the financial strength of the union, thus making it more difficult to represent members in grievances and arbitrations and ultimately contract negotiations. The lack of dues paying members could also lead to the destruction of the union altogether, leaving members without a contract [as] at-will employees of the employer.
 There is no other situation that I can think of where one person can force another to perform services and not have to pay for it. Go into a doctor's office and try that sometime, or a lawyer. And yet, Republican lawmakers constantly pose so-called "right to work" as being a benefit to workers. As Fischer and Bottari go on to say:
Supporters of the measures say they want to give workers the "freedom" not to join a union, but studies have shown that wages are lower for both union and non-union members in states with right to work laws, workers are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to have dangerous work places. State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has said that he thinks the Senate should get the "debate" going on Right to Work and "That means examining the laws of the 24 other states that have already adopted some version of these protections and working with representatives of the private sector to determine the best fit for Wisconsin." How much do you want to bet that "representatives of the private sector" does NOT include representatives of the various Unions? Scott Walker, for his part, has downplayed the issue, stating that such legislation "would be a distraction from the work that we're trying to do." And while that is good news, it unfortunately mirrors the statements of Michigan's Governor, right up to the point where he signed his Republican-dominated legislature's "right to work" bill. Calls by the Democratic leadership in Wisconsin for Walker to pledge to veto such a bill have gone without a response. While the Republican leadership in Wisconsin has used questionable studies to support their claim that such legislation increases wages, Republicans in other states admit that lowering wages is one of the main reasons that they're pushing for it. Missouri Republican State Representative Bill Lant actually admitted what labor advocates have been saying for decades, Right To Work laws reduce wages. "In the states where right to work was passed recently, the hourly rates may have dropped 2 to 3 dollars an hour, but the amount of days per year that the workers actually got to put in on the job increased dramatically." So workers in "right to work" states earn less per hour and work more hours per year. Sounds convenient for businesses, but if workers want to do things like spend time with their families, well too bad. You have to work longer to take home the same pay. This is supposed to be good for Wisconsin? If you don't think so, the Journal Sentinel is running a quick poll. Go over there and express your opinion. 
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What's Been Happening at CUNA Inc?
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While most of us have been looking at the elections just past or are focusing on the holidays to come, Alex Wallangk has been hard at work focusing on the needs of the Membership at CUNA. Earlier this year, Shawn San Roman, who had been Chief Steward at CUNA, left the company and Alex stepped up to take on the role. Not much of a quiet transition.
"Since I have been Chief Steward I have represented two union members. One for a job description change that resulted in a pay raise and one during a minor investigation that could potentially have resulted in disciplinary measures."
But there were also two issues left over from the most recent contract negotiation which affected far more of the 65 Members at CUNA.
There were also two "holes" in the 2014-2016 contract that we are in the process of voting on. One clause that was left open was the merit increase percentage which ended up being the same as last year and so was not an issue. The other clause was related to health insurance that has been more problematic.
 CUNA management would like to eliminate Dean from the health insurance offerings, but we negotiated to keep it on the table for 2015. In order to continue to offer Dean, CUNA management wanted employees to pay a percentage of the difference in cost between GHC, (the other insurance offered) and Dean. In the contract it states employees would pay 20% of the difference between Dean and GHC but when we went back to negotiate the actual rates they wanted us to pay 50% of the difference.
Alex put together a table to show how the various rates proposed by the Company would impact the wallets of every member, but he knew that getting everyone together to vote in a timely fashion would be hard, especially as fall turns into winter. So he took the vote to each and every member!
Previously, the procedure for voting on issues like this was to have a meeting where everyone would get together and cast ballots, but coming up with a time and place where all 65 busy, voting union members can get together and vote is definitely a problem. With that in mind I have been visiting union members where they work and allowing them to vote then. This allows me to meet everyone and talk not only about this current issue, but where I would like to see the Union go during my tenure as Chief Steward.
Alex also has ideas about how to reach out to Union members to provide for easier ways to get him feedback and also to "hopefully make this union more of a community." Those are great ideas and I think that CUNA Inc is in very good hands. See below for the updated Steward list.
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| What's Been Happening at MG&E? | |
The current three-year contract expires for MG&E workers on May 1 of 2015 and the Stewards are busy getting ready. A survey went out to the Membership last month. Cliff Murray, Chief Steward, wanted to be sure to give a big "Thank you to all that helped distribute and collect surveys. We had a substantial increase in the number of surveys returned compared to 2012." It's not surprising that topping the list of issues were health benefits and wages. "About 2/3 of members felt they kept even with the wage settlement from the last contract and close to 1/3 feeling they fell behind." Other issues of concern were employment security, sick leave, vacation, and retirement.
The Union has had several Insurance Committee meetings with the Company since early last summer. The Company has told us that health insurance is their top issue in 2015. During the current contract, the Union was able to get the Company to agree to increment the change in monthly employee contribution of premium over the life of the contract. And while most Members have said they are satisfied with the health care plans, reducing or stabilizing deductibles and co-pays is rated the most important health care issue in the survey for Members.
The Bargaining Committee members are:
- Cliff Murray
- Nick Petrykowski
- Kelsey Hahn
- Carro Yang
- Debi Stolts-Meier
- Alternates are Doreen Slinde and Rachel Rome.
The Bargaining Committee will be meeting on December 17th to review contract proposals and is planning on meeting with Membership in January to finalize those proposals before presenting them to the Company sometime in February. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Bargaining Committee members directly. Or, contact one of your Stewards. The full list is below. 
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Updates to the Steward List
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I want to apologize to the Membership. I was working from incomplete information when I posted the Steward list last month. Please note the corrected list, below, and I apologize for any confusion.
CMFG
MGE
North Central State Regional Council of Carpenters (NCSRCC)
World Council of Credit Union (WOCCU)
CUNA Inc.
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| Upcoming Membership Meetings | 
Membership meetings are held the third Wednesday of the second month of the quarter, at 5:30 PM at the Local office. What does that actually mean?
February 18th, 2015
May 20th, 2015
August 19th, 2015
November 18th, 2015
This is your Union. Your participation gives us the tools we need to face the continued opposition of both companies and politicians. We strive to make the meetings relevant and to the point. Please stop by and participate in the democracy that is your Union.
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There are going to be many challenges to workers and Unions in the coming year. There is one bit of possible good news, given to us as a Holiday present by none other than Justice Clarence Thomas. In his recent majority opinion on a case relating to Amazon workers, he said the issue " is one which must be handled in negotiations between the employer and the employee, their agent or their collective bargaining representative" and he mentioned a specific court case and the Fair Labor Standards act. What does that mean? According to Nathaniel Downes:
Clarence Thomas just put into a court decision that workplace issues involving compensated time must be handled in negotiations, the cornerstone of collective bargaining and unions, and not the courts. By blocking the courts, but with FLSA itself upheld This also means that companies can no longer fail to engage in negotiations, relying upon the courts to handle such matters - the Supreme Court just ordered them to the bargaining table. Tactics to block unionizing now can, and will be considered unconstitutional per this decision.
It's a nice thought, but one that, for the moment, we have to hope for being understood by the other courts in the same way. For the moment, at least, let's be informed, but set aside the worries for a bit. Enjoy your holidays and we wish you all the best in the New Year. In Solidarity, OPEIU Local 39 |
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Copyright OPEIU Local 39. Content written and/or edited by David O. Engelstad
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