Chapter leaders armed with union know-how

More than 75 new UUP leaders gathered last month in Cooperstown to take part in intensive workshops on various union issues and to get the latest updates on UUP and the larger labor movement.

The daylong workshops — conducted by UUP/NYSUT labor relations specialists — focused on grievances and problem-solving; the Taylor Law and collective bargaining; workplace violence; and UUP as an organization.

UUP designed the training sessions to give chapter leaders a chance to develop and sharpen their skills on issues vital to union work, according to UUP President William Scheuerman, who briefed the leaders on the myriad challenges confronting SUNY and its workforce. At the top of the list: the recently adopted “bare-bones” budget.

Scheuerman said UUP responded to the base line budget by mobilizing its members to write letters, send postcards and make phone calls telling legislators that the budget comes up short for SUNY. He then called on the leaders to keep up the pressure to secure a supplemental budget that addresses the union’s key concerns for SUNY: a comprehensive solution to the hospital shortfall; more full-time faculty lines; and funds for campus priorities, such as the institution of new four-year programs at the University Colleges of Technology and the return of all New York State Theatre Institute employees to full-time status.

Meanwhile, the editor of Working USA gave the keynote address on what he termed “the sea change” in the American labor movement.

Immanuel Ness, an assistant professor of political science at Brooklyn College and a member of Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney embarked on an ambitious program to energize labor. Among the goals: Make organizing a priority; build political power geographically by re-energizing central labor councils; and increase union membership by 3 percent a year.

Many of Sweeney’s early supporters now question if the program was “too ambitious,” Ness said. He cited a decline in union density, from 14 percent in 1995 to below 13 percent in 2001, and noted that the private-sector numbers are falling at an even greater rate. He also claimed that many public-sector unions are being “de-unionized through contracting out” by state and federal governments and that any growth in the AFL-CIO came through union raids and mergers.

Despite the numbers, Ness said six years is not enough to gauge results of Sweeney’s union-building program. “I would argue that we have to look at the long-term,” he added. “We won’t see results in a week or two, a month or even a year. ... Let’s give it time.”

However, Ness stressed that, to be successful, the AFL-CIO “must allow for alternative ways for workers to get benefits.” He said some nonunion workers have won benefits by pressing employers through media campaigns; others have secured benefits using legislative approaches. “Building confidence in labor is as important as collective bargaining agreements,” he said. “We are seeing gains based on solidarity and we are seeing them realized.”

He continued: “Together, we have great potential for advancing our common struggle. We must be cognizant of the need for building for the long term. Change for change’s sake is not enough. ... We must take a proactive stance, build on our common leadership experience and encourage member participation.”

— Karen L. Mattison