BY Moshe Z. Marvit

– On the heels of its recent Supreme Court victory in Harris v. Quinn, the National Right to Work Committee and Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) has initiated a bold new attack on unions.

In a recent fundraising appeal sent on August 10, the president of both organizations wrote that Harris “was just the beginning,” and that fair share provisions (or, as he called them, “forced dues”) were only “part of the problem.” Now, having succeeded in imposing a right-to-work model for home healthcare workers across the country, NRTW is gunning after a much greater and unexpected target: exclusive representation.

One of the bedrock principles of American labor law is exclusive representation, whereby a union represents all the workers in a bargaining unit after it shows majority support by the workers. In a new case filed on behalf of a few Minnesota home care workers, Bierman v. Dayton, NRTW is now arguing that a union elected by the majority of workers should not be permitted to represent anyone that does not choose to join.

Last week, I wrote about a new positive experiment in members-only unionism at Volkswagen, which does not follow the exclusive representation model. If it is successful, Bierman v. Dayton would transform all public-sector unions into forced members-only unions, opening the door to a radical reconfiguration of public labor organizations.

In Minnesota, 26,000 home health care workers are currently voting by mail-in ballot whether to elect SEIU as their union. Those ballots are due by August 25. In its first maneuver of Bierman v. Dayton, NRTW filed for a preliminary injunction to invalidate the state law that authorized these workers to vote for a union—in other words, an exclusive representative—to bargain with the state. Expedited oral arguments were held on Tuesday, and on Wednesday afternoon the federal judge denied NRTW’s request for an injunction.

This early loss was to be expected, as NRTW is mounting a novel legal argument that runs counter to decades of labor and constitutional law. And NRTW’s litigation strategy generally includes repeated early losses as its representatives work their way through the judicial circuits to the Supreme Court.

NRTW’s argument in Bierman is not unprecedented, either. The group, whose mission is “is to eliminate coercive union power and compulsory unionism abuses through strategic litigation, public information, and education programs,” included a similar measure in its brief to the Supreme Court in Harris v. Quinn. However, after Justice Sotomayor challenged the NRTW attorney on whether the group truly intended to radically challenge a core principle of American labor law, he backed off the argument.

Now, after having secured a major win in Harris, the Bierman case represents the next step in a multi-pronged attack on public-sector unions, which appears to be directed toward the goal of stripping from all public-sector workers the right to organize and bargain collectively.

So far, most First Amendment challenges to public-sector unions have relied on the argument that membership, or any required payments of any fees, is the equivalent of forced association or compelled speech. However, in Bierman, NRTW is relying on the Petition Clause, which provides the right “to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” According to this argument, a free rider who has benefitted from union representation but refused to pay any fees—a circumstance made possible under Harris v. Quinn—would have suffered constitutional harm by having the union bargain on her behalf.

Through this attack on exclusive representation, NRTW is almost certainly trying to diminish unions’ strength. Seattle University School of Law professor Charlotte Garden points out that a members-only system might lead some states to simply revoke the right to bargain collectively.

“Members-only bargaining might create a level of complexity that some public employers aren’t willing to deal with, leading states to eliminate public-sector bargaining altogether,” she says.

“For example, imagine a situation in which groups of employees within a single job classification voted for representation by several different unions that all demanded separate bargaining,” she continues. “That could create conflict among the employees and instability in the workplace that public employers were simply unwilling to deal with. States might then decide the best way forward was simply to eliminate collective bargaining.”

In an ironic twist, however, many labor advocates have also called for a revision of the rules on exclusive representation.

SUNY Buffalo Law School professor Matthew Dimick, who has written widely about some of the problems with the system of exclusive representation, explains to In These Times, “Since the representative of the bargaining unit is almost always chosen by some majoritarian process, there is always a danger that exclusive representation carries with it a suppression of minority interests and points of view.”

He notes that in the past, this has led to people already in positions of power using the union to further their agendas. “Historically,” he says, “the biggest problem has been ignoring or even suppressing racial minority interests.”

Others have argued that it is unfair to expect unions to represent those who choose to pay nothing.

Even so, though, if states were to adopt NRTW’s argument in Bierman, the next step for anti-union groups would likely be to argue that the Constitution prohibits bargaining with even a members-only union—a devastating move for the labor movement in both the private and public sectors. Though this argument may currently seem extreme and untenable, so did the argument that NRTW raised and dropped in Harris, only to pick up again in Bierman.

Source: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17112/the_nrtws_newest_attacks_on_labor

By James P. O’Toole

– Pittsburgh’s Labor Day Parade is a traditional display of union solidarity, but this year the politics of the governor’s race has opened some fissures among union leaders.

While Tom Wolf, the Democratic nominee, has attracted the lion’s share of labor support, the Republican incumbent has drawn endorsements from several union locals, particularly in the building trades and construction locals. Two of them, Boilermakers Local 154, and the Laborers District Council of Western Pennsylvania, showed their support by inviting Mr. Corbett to march in the annual Downtown parade. But when officials of the parade’s sponsor, the Allegheny County Labor Council, learned of the invitation, they put a roadblock in front of those plans.

“I told them he wasn’t invited,’’ said Jack Shea, the veteran Labor Council president. “You can’t be trying to do away with us for 364 days a year and then want to march with us.’’

Phil Ameris, president and business manager of the Laborers, said, “We did invite the governor, like we invite a lot of our political friends … we wanted him to march with us but we were told by Jack [Shea] that he wasn’t welcome.’’

Rather than force a confrontation on the issue, Mr. Ameris said his union and other Corbett supporters were planning to invite Mr. Corbett to some alternate show of support separate from the parade, on or close to the Labor Day celebration.

”We didn’t want to have labor against labor,’’ Mr. Ameris said.  “I know some of the unions are upset with the governor’s policies, but I was a little shocked that they wouldn’t have a sitting governor in the parade … Jack and I stand on the same team on a lot of issues, but not on this one.’’

Mr. Ameris noted that his union had not supported Mr. Corbett in his 2010 victory over former Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.  But he said they had warmed to his administration over its approach to issues including a transportation bill that’s expected to expand building trades employment and support for the natural gas fracking industry.

”We’re 150 percent behind the governor,’’ he said.

Mr. Shea emphasized that the parade’s rebuff was not a reflexive Democratic versus Republican decision, noting that plenty of Republicans, such as U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, regularly march with participating unions on the annual trek through Downtown. Mr. Corbett, himself is among the many Republican who have marched in the parade in the past.   But Mr. Shea argued that as governor, Mr. Corbett had embraced anti-labor positions on a variety of issues.

Unions have been among the most vociferous critics of the administration’s education funding record.  Along with legislators of both parties, they have also resisted Mr. Corbett’s proposal to privatize the state’s liquor sales.

Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2014/08/22/Governor-told-to-stay-away-from-Pittsburgh-s-Labor-Day-Parade/stories/201408220076#ixzz3B81OuJkE

– Late last night a tentative agreement was reached with the City and DC 33 that included wage increases, a signing bonus and restoration of step and longevity. The City’s furlough days demand was removed and the City will withdraw its lawsuit seeking to impose contract terms. The agreement is subject to a ratification vote.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AFSCME-DISTRICT-COUNCIL-33/117526964951229

– President Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Snyder, on behalf of over 800,000 union workers in Pennsylvania, extend their congratulations to the workers at RailServe Inc. in Eddystone, Pennsylvania who organized their union this week with the United Steelworkers, Local 10-1.

Secretary-Treasurer Snyder, a former union organizer for the USW, fired up the crowd at a pre-election meeting in the union hall. He said, “Collective bargaining is how we create good jobs, improve our lives and create a brighter future for our children and all workers.”  Jim Savage, President, of USW Local 10-1 described the victory as “history making” and a good first step for the Local’s anticipated organizing efforts in the near future. President Bloomingdale thanked the workers on their successful campaign and in joining thousands of other workers across Pennsylvania who are organizing unions as their pathway to the middle class.

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Rally Vehicle provided staging and visual support outside the plant gate. President Savage, who is also a Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Vice President, also recognized the important work and dedication of the leader inside the facility for his work in heading up the effort.  He also expresses his thanks to the State Fed for all of their support. A good way to start off the Labor Day celebration.

Source: http://www.paaflcio.org/?p=4444

By Matthew Walberg

– For the third consecutive year, the private firm hired run the Illinois Lottery has failed to bring in the profits it promised to raise for the state, even as its parent companies continue to be paid more each year to provide games and services.

According to a Tribune review of preliminary year-end data, Northstar Lottery Group posted a net profit of $738 million – nearly a quarter billion less than it pledged to bring in for the 2014 fiscal year, which ended June 30.

The figure is less than the company raised for the state in the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years after it became the first private company in the nation to take over day-to-day operations of a state lottery.

After three years, Northstar is about $480 million behind what it committed to bring into the state’s coffers, prompting one of the company’s harshest critics to renew questions about why Gov. Pat Quinn has not fired the company.

“This is an epic fail by the governor,” said State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo. “He personally signed this contract, so this is all his baby…If he needs to clean house, that’s what he should do. That’s what other executives do in the real world.”

In 2010, Gov. Pat Quinn chose Northstar Lottery Group to manage the lottery in hopes that the firm would boost flagging lottery revenues, a major source of funding for education and infrastructure.

The company was formed by a consortium of two lottery industry giants: Scientific Games, headquartered in New York, and GTECH, a subsidiary of the Italy-based Lottomatica.

Quinn has said little about the performance of the private manager, even as one of the key architects of legislation that enabled the state to hire an outside firm to run the games has expressed his disappointment with Northstar.

In June, State Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, told the Tribune he was “extremely disappointed” by Northstar’s performance and urged Quinn “to hold the firm accountable and take whatever steps are necessary.”

On Monday, Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said the senator declined comment on the firm’s latest shortfall.

“He’s going let his previous statement and the numbers speak for themselves at this point,” Patterson said.

A spokeswoman for Quinn said that his administration expects Northstar to meet the revenue targets outlined in its winning bid.

“Protecting taxpayers is our foremost priority and our office continues to closely monitor the situation,” spokeswoman Katie Hickey said earlier this week. “Through the duration of the contract, we have expected Northstar to follow the private management agreement and meet the targets in its bid.”

Northstar spokeswoman Avis LaVelle said the company would not have any response until the 2014 results have been audited, something that has yet to be completed for the two prior years.

The company previously defended its performance, noting that it has brought in more money as private manager than the state was able to when it handled day-to-day operations. Company officials have also pointed out that the firm has paid the state $60 million in penalties for missing its previous revenue targets.

Meanwhile, records show Northstar paid GTECH and Scientific Games nearly $85 million collectively last year, up from about $84 million and $70 million in the previous two years.

“I met with the governor and his staff on this back in May,” Franks said. “They said, ‘We’re looking at it.’ It’s now August.”

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-firm-hired-to-run-illinois-lottery-has-failed-to-hit-profit-goals-for-3rd-straight-year-20140812-story.html

Brief PhillyLabor Editorial: Take Notice Governor Corbett. Privatization is not the answer!