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.