MONDAY MORNING SESSION, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
President John Hovis called the convention to order at 9:00 a.m., and recognized Peter Knowlton, president of the Northeast Region and convener of the Resolutions Committee. Peter thanked the members of the Resolutions Committee for their hard work late into Sunday night. He then called on Nathanette Mayo, Local 150 and Pam Kelly, Local 222, who read the Collective Bargaining resolution.
Rich Nordholm, Local 1174 from Quad City Die Casting, reported that his local had just achieved settlement of its nearly eight-week lockout. He said the lockout resulted from the company’s demand for unlimited use of temps, part-timers and subcontracting, and issues of unjust discipline. “We beat all these issues back and now they are going to have to deal with us,” said Brother Nordholm. He thanked all the locals that contributed to Local 1174’s fight, reading a list of those locals. The delegates gave Brother Nordholm a standing ovation.
Carmyn Stanko, Local 267, spoke about her local’s negotiations with the University of Vermont, and the importance of its alliance with progressive students concerned with the need for livable wages for campus workers. Becky Dawes of Local 893 described negotiations that concluded last March, maintaining no-cost insurance for singles and winning a 13 percent wage increase over two years.
Local 506 President Frank Fusco talked about GE national negotiations. “The company came loaded for bear,” but workers and retirees rose to the occasion. He described the big rally hosted by his local which gathered 2,500 members from 14 different unions. The involvement of the 1,300 new members of Local 506 in the contract fight was also critical. “We took the position that we were going to take care of three generations – the workers who came before us, the workers of today, and those of tomorrow.” Brother Fusco’s report on GE was supplemented by Bruce Reese, business agent of Local 332.
Ray Pompano rose in support of the resolution, and talked about recent negotiations at Sargent. His local dealt with “the double-edged sword” of the need to upgrade machinery while protecting jobs and wages. “So we had to build in some type of protection and we were able to negotiate an 18-month protection for any changes in technology, outsourcing, etc.”
Local 896 concluded negotiations last spring, reported delegate Gwen Gruber, with major gains. They kept all health benefits, won significant raises and big increases in tuition scholarships. “Our new contract puts seven to eight percent in our pocket each year.” Bill Lynch, Local 262, said job security is a critical issue at Cole-Hersee. “Make sure you have language that prohibits outsourcing before the horse gets out of the barn,” he advised other delegates.
Ron McCollough reported on Local 155’s first contract fight and victory over a 100-day lockout at Stepan. A turning point came when the union went to the stockholders meeting and exposed management’s lies. “From our unemployment hearing we had figures from the company showing that the lockout was costing them over $2.5 million,” while the company had been telling shareowners that the cost was far less. “After that they asked to meet with us, and we got more than we’d even asked for,” said Brother McCollough. Jonathan Nowlan, Local 155 and Tim Komisak, Local 625, also spoke on the resolution and reported on negotiations at their plants.
Chairman Hovis asked the delegates for permission for a staff member, International Rep Steve Tormey, to address the delegates and supplement the reports on GE negotiations. The 2007 GE negotiations were a watershed battle for all UE members because of the size and importance of this company, and the fact that a concessionary contract with GE will embolden other employers to attack us. UE members in GE stood firm against a very aggressive push by the company to impose two-tier benefits and create permanent divisions among our members. GE has already imposed these conditions on its well-paid salaried employees, but it underestimated the willingness of UE members to fight for people who had not yet even been hired. The bargaining resolution was unanimously approved by the delegates.
Jonathan Nowlan of Local 155, co-convener of the Resolutions Committee, then introduced Karl Schilling of Local 893 and Colleen Ezzo of Local 222, who read the resolution, “Health Care for All.” First to speak in support of this resolution was Peter Knowlton, Northeast Region. He said fighting for fair and consistent health coverage in the 65 bargaining units of Local 222 has been a big challenge. “It’s been difficult for us to try and level the playing field,” and that the local has done a good job of educating the members to demand more from their employers. “But we also use negotiations to educate members about single-payer healthcare.” Anne McDonald of Local 222 is a member of a paraprofessional unit which receives no health benefits. Many of the workers are working every day to try and pay for health insurance coverage. But even then, they can’t use their sick days because have to save them for catastrophic events.
Deb Moore, Local 160, said working with psychotic patients at her workplace – Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, VA, is dangerous and employees get hurt every day. Yet the employer tries to use such injuries as an excuse to fire people. Employers don’t care about people and we need to fight for the right of everyone to receive healthcare. Cliff Hall, Local 151 said his company wants to increase healthcare costs to employees by 40 percent. Ruth Hollabaugh, Local 741, Sparta, Ohio, said that before workers in her school district organized with UE, the employer tried to keep their hours low to avoid providing health insurance. “My goal for the next year is to educate other school systems in my county about options until we get universal health insurance.”
Armando Robles of Local 1110 said he is against self-insurance by his company because they don’t pay at times and the local must fight through the grievance procedure to get claims paid. Ed Scanlon, Local 222 said, through UE, he was able to get a leave of absence from job and he’s working as a healthcare coordinator for the local, to build work in coalitions for universal health care.
The healthcare resolution was unanimously approved. Peter Knowlton then introduced two more members of the Resolutions Committee – Diane Richter of Local 1111 and Terry Wolf of Local 1135, who presented the resolution, “Protect and Expand Social Security.”
Carl Rosen, Western Region president, was very glad to see we’re moving from a defensive to an offensive position on Social Security, and glad to see the UE taking a lead on promoting the expansion of Social Security as the solution to the retirement crisis.
Ruth Hollabaugh, Local 741 said that in Ohio, SERS (the School Employee Retirement System) is also under attack. Many school employees fear they are facing a bleak future with their entitlement to both SERS and Social Security under attack. Eastern Region President Andrew Dinklelaker said retirement is intimately tied to healthcare, and it’s important that we have a strategy to fight for both. If we get one but don’t address the other, then money goes back into corporate crooks. As working people, he argued, we have to bust the political bubble around DC and let them know that this is a major problem for all Americans.
Marianne Hart, Local 1421 and Western Region GEB Member at Large, recommended that every local send a delegate to the upcoming political action conference and make healthcare and retirement security a priority.
The resolution was approved, and President Hovis reminded delegates that we adopt these resolutions not so that they can sit on the shelf, but as our program for action; our policy. He then introduced Stewart Acuff, director of organizing for AFL-CIO, a lifelong organizer and a good friend of UE.
Brother Acuff told the delegates that it is an honor and privilege to be here, and thanked UE for being a great union and for standing up for member driven unionism. He congratulated us for a great year of bargaining, mentioning, in particular, the University of Iowa. He thanked UE especially for its leadership in GE contract negotiations – a prime example of the hard bargaining labor faces across the country.
Acuff said corporations fight against single-payer healthcare even though it’s in their interest, out of class unity. Labor needs to achieve that level of class unity. He said the worst thing the bosses have done is abolish the right to organize and bargain collectively, costing working people the basic right to form unions.
How do we fight today, asked Acuff. His answer: “Organize, organize, organize!” If we don’t do something quickly, we will be the first generation in this country’s history to leave our kids less than what was left us. In regard to a worker who crosses the border to find work in order to feed his family, said Acuff, “I don’t call him illegal. I call him brother, I call her sister. No worker is illegal.” It’s time to focus on a different future and I feel that change is coming. “It’s time to fight, it’s time to struggle, and it’s time to win!”
Peter Knowlton and Jonathan Nowlan introduced Jessica Morley, Local 203, and Armando Robles, Local 1110, who read the resolution, “Stand Up for the Rights of Immigrant Workers.” “We have had people without documents at my plant,” said Lauro Bonilla, Local 1103. With UE, his local has been able to win contract language that protects people.
Marie Lausch, Local 222, reminded members of the role of free trade in forcing people to migrate. Monsanto came into town in Mexico and raised prices, forcing small farmers to lose their farms and homes. “If you’re with working people, then you have to stand up for immigrant rights.”
Brian Barrington of Local 1421 who was at the May 1 immigration rally in Los Angeles, described the unprovoked attack of the LAPD. Angaza Laughinghouse, Local 150 said Latino workers at NC State were told not to speak Spanish. “You cannot deny people the right to their culture. We’re proud of the UE’s leadership on this issue.” Angaza added that Local 150 has been supporting the organizing campaign of largely immigrant workers at Smithfield Foods in North Carolina, and working with FLOC – the Farm Labor Organizing Committee – which is organizing immigrant farm workers in the state. “We have to make an extra effort to reach out to brothers and sisters who are forced to come here. We must join organizations as much as possible that support immigrant rights.” Allen Layman, Local 160, also spoke in behalf of the resolution.
The convention then recessed and the delegates took part in a outdoor rally against the Bush policy of using the Social Security Administration as a weapon against immigrant workers. The rally was addressed by Director of Organization Bob Kingsley, Local 1103 President Lauro Bonilla, Sister Janice Vanderneck of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, Benedicto Martinez of the FAT, Yoshikazu Odagawu of ZENROREN, and Stewart Acuff of the AFL-CIO. A delegation of six UE members delivered a petition to the local Social Security office, demanding an end to this anti-worker Bush policy.