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Monday, June 15, 2009
Monroe County's anti-union tactics are illegal
from:
http://voiceforthemembersslate.blogspot.com/2009/06/monroe-countys-anti-...
(We will update this report soon with June 19 State Supreme Court decision.)
Monroe County Executive
Maggie Brooks
Lawyers for Monroe County who negotiate the contracts for the public employees are in trouble. The Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), which represents close to 3,000 full and part-time Monroe County employees, wants the public to know that Monroe County and Maggie Brooks are trying to bust the will and soul of the union and the working families who deliver the services that our residents rely on every day. We are probation officers, hospital workers, office clerks and librarians. We work hard for the community and deserve the respect of a decent contract and working conditions.
At the center of the issue is the part-time unit of Monroe County, where nearly 200 workers received a disturbing letter and survey in the mail last May. It asks whether members support CSEA and whether they think the union is doing a good job. The letter sent by Monroe County officials, which accompanied the survey, puts the union in a bad light and used inflamatory language. County officials are also at impasse with the full time Unit 7400 contract, which expired in December of 2008.
A state supreme court judge issued a temporary restraining order on June 11, which directs the County to suspend the survey, pending a later hearing. Meanwhile, negotiations between the County and the CSEA are at a standstill due to County officials not bargaining in good faith. A spokesman for the county told media sources they have no comment about the court decision, citing the ongoing litigation.
To put this action in perpsective, a new study by renowned labor expert and Cornell University professor Kate Bronfenbrenner reveals a rise in firings and intimidation in the public and private sector toward workers' efforts to form unions.
It was reported that employers are more than twice as likely than in years past to use tactics such as, interrogating workers in private meetings, threatening workers in those meetings, threatening to close the work site, cutting wages or benefits as a punitive measure or in many cases, firing workers to thwart organizing efforts. Several CSEA organizing campaigns were included in the study.
This study suggests the need for passing of the Employee Free Choice Act is now more crucial than ever. The study also found that employers fired pro-union workers in 34 percent of the campaigns. The results of the study confirmed the asertion that management’s anti-union tactics had helped pushed down the unionization rate to 12.4 percent, from 22 percent three decades ago.
Titled “No Holds Barred: The Intensification of Employer Opposition to Organizing,” the report is likely to be heavily cited, quoted, praised and denounced in the debate over whether Congress should enact legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize.
In 63 percent of the elections, the study found, supervisors used one-on-one meetings to interrogate workers about whether they or co-workers supported a union. It is illegal under federal law to interrogate workers about such matters. In 54 percent of the time, she found, supervisors used the meetings to threaten workers about the consequence of a pro-union stance.
The next go around with the County will be June 19, when we will hear more from the state supreme court. By the way, I would like to let Maggie Brooks and her team of lawyers and human resource personnel to know that Monroe County works because "we do." CSEA has been around for over 100 years and we are not going anywhere. In the words of Danny Donahue, CSEA President, "We put county executives in office, and we can take them out just as easy."
You might be asking yourself, after all this buffoonery decision-making by County lawyers and management, where is Maggie and her leadership? Doesn't she know what's going on? Doesn't she care about the welfare of Monroe County employees and the anti-union busting efforts of her minions? We encourage you to check out the twitter page titled, "Where's Maggie?" Let us know what you think!
