Union holds rally week before vote

USCIS workers hear organizers tout membership

20 Feb 2008 // Stanley Associates, Inc. employees at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Center in St. Albans took advantage of an opportunity to ask questions of local union leaders and James Haslam, director of the Vermont Workers Center, Tuesday afternoon. The session was held at United Electrical Workers (UE) headquarters here.

Last month, workers for two of Stanley’s three subcontractors — Choctaw Archiving Enterprise and Northrop-Grumman — voted to join UE. Next Wednesday, Stanley employees will be given their chance to vote on union membership.

Newly organized workers asked questions about collective bargaining and whether they will have to strike to get improved wages and benefits.

“One percent of contracts lead to a strike,” Haslam said. “In most all cases you’re able to get an agreement without that step,” he added.

One worker said that Stanley had told employees that in the event of a strike all 400 service center workers would be replaced “the next day.”

Local union leaders expressed doubt that was possible, given that the workers hold security clearances and must pass background checks before being hired. Several workers have also told the Messenger in previous interviews that doing their jobs effectively requires mastering large amounts of detailed information.

One of the workers in attendance said the company listed union dues as $350 per year in one recent fact sheet. Others disputed that total, claiming it was an exaggeration. A local union leader pointed out that union dues are tax deductible, adding, they didn’t tell you that, did they?

All of the union leaders agreed that salary gains made by union workers outstripped the cost of dues. “In general, union workers make 30 percent more than non-union workers,” Haslam said.

Haslam also pointed out that workers would not pay dues until they’ve approved their first contact. “It’s crazy to think any group of people would vote to lower their own wages,” Haslam said.

Stanley has repeatedly told workers that if they join UE they will lose their 401(k) accounts, asking in their printed materials, “Can the UE provide an alternative to Stanley’s 401(k) plan?”

“You’ll keep your 401K until you negotiate a better plan,” UE organizer Karen Hardin said.

“I’m paying for a crappy insurance policy,” one worker said, complaining of a high level of deductibles and co-payments.

David McWilliams, who represents municipal workers in St. Albans City on behalf of the American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees (AFCSME), said that when workers sit down to negotiate an agreement with the company, they can research plans on their own and then negotiate with the company to get the plan they want. That is what he has done for city workers, he said, managing, during one round of negotiations, to find a plan that had both better coverage and saved city taxpayers money.

“Right now, because you’re not a bargaining unit, they can change your health insurance every year,” McWilliams said.

Haslam added, “When you have a contract, you have an agreed upon plan that you negotiate. When you don’t have a union they can change it on you unilaterally.”

Stanley took over management of contract workers at the center on Dec. 3, 2007. However, its health insurance plan was not in place for several weeks. One worker, who had to pay her medical bills out of pocket during December, said that she had submitted her bills for reimbursement but still hadn’t received payment.

“I thought Bill was taking money out of his pocket for that,” another worker quipped, evoking laughter. Her remark was a reference to Stanley vice president Bill Karlson reportedly opening his wallet to loan money to workers to cover their medical bills, a claim made by an anti-union employee.

One man who spoke yesterday said he works in data entry but was reclassified as a mailroom employee. He said that he still works in data entry, sitting beside people who do the exact same work he does but who make less money.

The panelists explained the difference between an open shop and a union shop. In a union shop every worker is required to be a member of the union. In an open shop everyone in the bargaining unit is covered by the contract, so everyone receives the benefits and wages negotiated by the union, Haslam explained, but only those workers who are members of the union will receive the financial support of the union if they have a grievance that leads to arbitration.

McWilliams said that he has a case in arbitration that has cost $15,000. The union pays half of that, the city the other half. However, AFSCME would not pay those fees for a non-union member.

At one point McWilliams held up his union membership card and said, “It’s given me the right to stand up and be counted.”

Another pro-union leader added, “You roll over on this one, you might as well put a target on your back.”

Jeremy Murray, a union activist and USCIS contract worker, expressed hope that seeing the benefits of unionization will bring other workers into the fold, including the 20 employees of the Federal Working Group who voted 12-8 against union membership. “You’re riding without a seatbelt and the other workers aren’t,” Murray said.

Workers’ questions made reference to the “Just the Facts” sheets and other information being put out by Stanley on an almost daily basis.

“Every other day you get a Just the Facts thing that the union is going to take your pay and fire you,” Murray said.

Calling the statements made by Stanley in its literature “outrageous,” Haslam said, Stanley is trying to “scare people and confuse them about what is actually a common sense thing to do.”

“Stanley is saying, ‘We’re the best you can expect,’” one worker said. McWilliams responded saying Stanley employees will have to ask themselves if they want to lose more.

Sandra Behan, a Northrop-Grumman employee, said that just having voted for a union has made a difference in the working environment for Northrop employees. “The old SCOT (the former contract managing firm) mentality has got to go now,” Behan said.

In a story last month, the Messenger revealed that the information in the “Just the Facts” sheets comes from a Web site run by the Center for Union Facts.

Lobbyist Richard Berman created the Center for Union Facts. Melanie Sloane, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) told the Messenger that Berman “doesn’t let the truth get in his way.”

Berman is also known for disputing research into childhood obesity on behalf of fast food companies and claiming on behalf of Phillip Morris that there is no research proving second-hand smoke causes cancer, according to CREW.

Berman has gained notoriety for his attacks on Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, which led to his being invited to Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” to be subjected to host Stephen Colbert’s particular interview style.