NC Public Employees Deserve Collective Bargaining
What's the difference in a worker who drives a truck for UPS and one who drives for the state of NC? The UPS driver can enjoy a union contract while a public employee doing the same job is denied that right.
One of the most fundamental rights in the American workplace is the right to form a union and bargain collectively for wages, benefits and work responsibilities. Our forefathers used this right extensively and gave us many of the benefits that American workers now take for granted.
Were it not for the labor movement, benefits such as the weekend, a 40-hour week, pensions and healthcare would not exist. Make no mistake, corporate America didn’t grant these benefits because they wanted to, they did so because they HAD to. Unions bargained for those benefits.
Here in North Carolina, there are thousands upon thousands of workers who are union members. The friendly UPS driver? Union. The lady who helps make Miller beer in Eden, NC? Union. Your neighbors making airplane parts at BE Aerospace in the Triad? They’re union too.
So why can’t the police officers in Raleigh, the school custodians in Greensboro and the school cafeteria workers in Greenville enjoy the same fundamental American workplace right? Because North Carolina is one of only two states in the country that prohibits public employees from collective bargaining.
A knee-jerk reaction to Teamster efforts to organize the Charlotte police force in the late 1950’s is what led to the passage of NC General Statute 95-98, and North Carolina’s public employees were relegated to second-class citizenship.
But now the tide is turning. A coalition of labor unions, environmentalists and faith-based groups has formed the NC H.O.P.E. Coalition. The acronym stands for Hear Our Public Employees. The coalition is supporting House Bill 1583, which would overturn the ban on collective bargaining. The fight is certainly uphill, but the issue enjoys more support than ever in the General Assembly. The upcoming short session is our best shot in years to secure the workplace rights of public employees.
Our enemies are already gearing up for the fight. They will use the straw-man tactic of threatening that teachers and police officers will strike. Nothing could be further from the truth. The right-to-strike is actually a separate statute and no one is talking about touching that. Heck, HB 1583 doesn’t even compel a municipality to bargain, it just allows them to do so if they wish.
You can join the fight by pointing your browser to – http://nchope.org . Sign the letter to state legislators and make your voice heard. Together, we can ensure that public employees have the same rights as their counterparts in the private sector.
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Front paged with pleasure
I have a good friend who is a retired marine. He is now working as a police officer in a small town here in Moore County. He can afford to do that only because of his retirement from the military. (That little town is getting a highly trained, excellent officer for peanuts - believe me.)
Thanks for writing this, southernmaledemocrat. Nice work.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Thanks Linda
I work in the labor industry for a living, and hope to highlight that sector of the progressive spectrum here at BlueNC from time to time.
http://southernmaledemocrat.com
It's definitely something that needs attention.
I was amazed when I moved to NC that labor unions were basically not in evidence here. Growing up in NJ, and living in Pittsburgh, PA for 15 years, unions were an ever present, taken for granted fact of life. In fact, I got sick of hearing about them, and started to think that they had out-lived their usefulness.
I have revised my opinion since moving to NC.
Be the change you wish to see in the world. --Gandhi
Can you give some facts about my fellow SEANC members?
How many of us are there?
How many of us could there be?
One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
55 Thousand Strong
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Any idea how many there could be?
One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
you're asking how many public employees there are?
I don't know how many public employees there are . . .
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Unions are the Devil!
Now that I have your attention, I disagree with your opinion that state employees deserve the ability to collectively bargain through unions. In the private sector, unions were formed to protect individuals from exploitation by companies looking to boost the bottom line. State employees are working within a budget set forth by the state government. If drivers succeed in securing money from the state, the difference does not come from the bottom line but from other workers in the state system.
A special interest group may be another solution. It can bring the needs of these drivers to the attention of policy makers. Special interest groups use facts to educate elected officials and advocate for more funds. If the need for funds are that dire, then promoting the need to elected officials and the media should be enough to enact change. If not, drivers can always enact change at the polls.
In addition, our founding fathers did see the importance of the right to assemble. But as James Madison noted in the Federalist #10, factions can damage a republic. So, the founding fathers would invariably have differing opinions on the subject of collective bargaining and the existence of unions.
I believe in making the government more effective and efficient with good policy. Spending may be part of that solution, but cannot not be the only part!
R. Andrew Porter
Washington D.C./Fayetteville N.C.
workers
This isn't about unions; it's about workers.
The current law denies workers a basic human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
North Carolina cannot continue to treat her public employees like faithless children.
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Not so different
One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Couple o' things....
Hi R. Andrew,
I think you are making an incorrect assumption about what I wrote.
Your first assumption is that collective bargaining is for primarily economic reasons, and that having such a right, will automatically cost governments more.
There are many aspects of the employer-employee relationship to be negotiated across the bargaining table that have nothing to do with economics. These include work rules, disciplinary procedures and seniority to name a few. I dare say that economics often takes a back seat in public employee negotiation, since everyone and their brother knows exactly what the budget is, unlike with many private companies.
You are right that short of collective bargaining, public employees can and should join special interest groups. That is why the Teamsters in NC have grown so much the last few years. This union has added police officers in a few different municipalities, and classified school employees (bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers)in counties from the Triad to the coast.
Even though these workers can't have collective bargaining, they are still joining the union in droves. Why? The Teamsters lobbying prowess.
Regardless, your contention that the difference in a private company and a government entity is a primary reason why workers should not have the right to CB comes across as weak. There is no "burden" placed on governments by bargaining. Indeed, as my original column stated, governments would not even be compelled to bargain, they would just be freed up to do it if they so chose.
Last, I truly don't get your last argument at all. Short of inventing a time machine, it is next to impossible to determine what the Founding Fathers thought of any modern day issues.
I do know this, unarguable, inescapable fact; Unions gave American workers most of the benefits they have today (outlined in my original column). You cannot argue that. From there, it is a weak argument to suggest that one class of workers doesn't "need" a union merely based on who their employer happens to be. Either this right is absolute or it isn't. Given our nation's history, I believe you'd have a hard time arguing for the latter.
http://southernmaledemocrat.com
Good points, SD!
OK, letter signed with 'Hope'.
special interest groups
I find it strange to think of a mass membership based organization as a special interest group.
Groups like the AARP, the NAACP, and the NEA have millions of members, and their work benefits all sectors of society. These aren't special interest groups in the same sense that a single issue organization is, let alone a business lobby.
The interests of American workers are the common good.
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Public employees deserve the right to representation too.
That's why I support repealing the state law which forbids local governments and state agencies from even negotiating with unions.
Who said that you should give up your rights as a citizen because you're a full-time public servant?
Dan Besse
Democrat for Lieutenant Governor
www.danbesse2008.org
hear our public employees
Here is the link for the campaign: http://www.nchope.org/
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Dear Mr. Democrat
I never stated that I did not want state employees to enjoy the right of collective bargaining. I said
I believe HB 1583 is an "ok" bill. I do not oppose it nor support it. If it passes, I believe most North Carolinians will prefer to keep their hard earned money rather than fund a "state employees association". This is not a reflection of the bill itself but of the times. With rising gas prices, the roller coaster known as Wall Street, and the economy overall heading for a recession, people may feel too "strapped" to support it. State employees deserve the option to support an association that can collectively bargain, but will they be able to?
On the topic of Unions, I believe they are necessary, but only in a limited capacity. Unions are unpopular in North Carolina and in the South in general.
If you are going to solicit the public to support a bill about collective bargaining, please do not start off talking about Unions.
How can someone not draw the conclusion that the bill is about "the right to form a union and bargain collectively for wages, benefits and work responsibilities."
On the subject of the "forefathers," I "assumed" you were referencing the forefathers of the country. If that is the case, the Supreme Court uses the time-traveling technique of original intent. It is not quite as stylish as a "Delorean", but it gets the job done.
I would gladly sign the petition if someone were to provide an accurate policy analysis of HB 1583. And please do not leave out the 100,000 dollar start up fee for the program, I want a "fair and balanced approach".
We have to think like the opposition to defeat the opposition.
Best Regards,
R. Andrew Porter
Washington D.C./Fayetteville N.C.
most workers would like to have all their rights
Unions are unpopular in North Carolina and in the South in general.
This is just false. You're repeating the wishful thinking of those who would deny workers an essential choice.
Unions have been effectively, and in many cases violently, suppressed. You can't say that a man doesn't have anything to say when you've gagged his mouth.
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There are many good reasons
for state employees to have the right to join a union, but only a couple of bad reasons for that access to be denied by the government.
I'm pretty sure he was talking about the labor movement of the late 19th Century as opposed to the Founding Fathers.
Labor issues and rights are one of the aspects of our society that weren't "naturally" settled by the appearance of our Constitution, and there's only a few even remotely applicable references in the Federalist Papers.
They had to be literally fought for by the people against big business, and initially our (Federal) government was on the wrong side in that struggle. Sometimes I wonder if they're not still on the wrong side...
Color me confused...
You seem to be drawing some sort of distinction between unions and collective bargaining, as if workers could collectively bargain without a union. What do you think a group of workers who join together to collectively bargain with their employer is?
I suppose, if the very word "union" is your bugaboo, then we'll call it something else. May I infer then, that you would have no problem with the state's teachers collectively bargaining as NCAE members?
Call it "hot toddy" for all I care. NC workers deserve the right to associate into "hot toddies" and bargain collectively for their wages, benefits and work responsibilities.
http://southernmaledemocrat.com