5-15 AFSCME IKOC 962 for website

NEWS
For Members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
AFSCME IKOC 962
May, 2015
A message from your Director . . .
Taking It To The Next Level: AFSCME Strong
mean to you? How can we work
together to make it stronger?
We want to know what people are
thinking, good or bad. Because the
only way we can make our union
better and stronger for the future is
to have honest conversations.
This is going to be a heavy lift,
your ideas are to strengthen our
union.
If this sounds good to you, then
we need your help. It’s going to
take a lot of people to have that
many conversations. But I know
we can do it. I’m looking forward
to working with all of you to make
this
happen.
You’ll be hearing more about
this
program
in the weeks to
come. Together,
we can ensure
that 2015 is the
year where we didn’t just put out
fires, but built a strong foundation
for the future.
“We want to get out of damage control mode. We want to be proactive. We
want to leave our union stronger than
it was when we first came into it.”
there is no doubt about it. But I’m
excited. I’m excited to know what
you think. I’m ready to learn what
Indianapolis Local Signs Up
Over 400 MVPs In One Week
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
A F S C M E I K O C 962
NEWS
1424 N. Pennsylvania St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
by Debbie Garcia,
Executive Director
My fellow union brothers and
sisters, I don’t have to tell you that
our union, and the entire American
union movement, faces great challenges. Well-funded corporate interests and their pet legislators at
the State House and in Congress
have been attacking us for 30
years. Those attacks have intensified in the past five years, especially against public service workers
like us.
Why are they spending so much
time and money attacking us? Because we are effective. When people like you and me come together
to form unions, amazing things
happen. We increase wages. We
improve our working conditions.
We get better healthcare at lower
prices. We have a seat at the table.
Even as the number of working
people in unions has decreased, we
still make a difference. The median earnings of a union worker are
$200 more than non-union workers. 79% of union employees have
employer-provided health care,
while only 49% of nonunion workers have the same. And a whopping 76% of union members have
a defined benefit, guaranteed-forlife pension for when they retire. A
tiny 16% of nonunion workers can
say the same.
As you can see, we are still
punching far above our weight. But
we don’t want to just keep moving
from one crisis to the next, putting
out fires. We want to strengthen
our union from the ground up,
ensuring the next generation of
workers will have the same voice
and opportunities we have.
So how are we
going to do this?
How are we going to stop playing defense and
start going on
offense?
Sometimes we get so fixated
on solving a problem, especially
a recurrent one, we miss the most
obvious things. It’s like salting the
ice on your steps every morning in
the winter, but never noticing the
gutter above the steps is leaking
water. You can put salt down every day but until you fix the gutter,
and stop the ice from forming in
the first place, you are never going
to solve the problem. You’re just
doing damage control.
We must to get out of damage
control mode. We need to be proactive. We want to leave our union
stronger than we found it. How are
we going to do this?
By talking to each other. By
having one-on-one conversations,
worker to worker, member to member. By listening to each other, and
learning about each other’s hopes,
concerns, and ideas. By talking to
folks in our bargaining units who
have never been approached by
their union.
This year, our goal is to have
one-on-one conversations with
at least 80% of the people in our
workplaces. Members and nonmembers. We want to know what
you think. What does your union
Local 725 leaders and 962 staff celebrate the organizing committee’s over
400 new MVPs.
continued on page 3
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Page 2
AFSCME IKOC 962 NEWS
May, 2015
STATE LEGISLATIVE LOBBY DAYS:
Check Out What Can Happen When We Get Active!
KENTUCKY — On February
12th, more than 80 members traveled
to the Statehouse, to meet with legislators and oppose the deceptive “right
to work” bill. It was an exciting day,
as hundreds of union members from
around the state came to say “No!”
to so called "right to work". Opponents filled three overflow rooms. After hours of testimony, the deceptive
"right to work" was killed in committee.
Members from Kentucky posing with the Greedy Pig at our Lobby Day in
Frankfort on February 12.
INDIANA — A record 231 of you
turned out for Indiana Lobby Day on
January 27th. Many members talked
to legislators about the unfair repayments being imposed by the Department of Workforce Development.
We also had great discussions about
the importance of protecting our retirements from Wall Street gamblers.
Continue to page 3 for more on our
retirements. We won a great victory
on this!
Over 230 members from across Indiana heard from their legislators, including Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane (D-Anderson).
Over 80 members from Kentucky came together to stop "right to work".
NEWS
For Members of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees
AFSCME IKOC 962
AFSCME IKOC 962 is published 3 times a year.
AFSCME IKOC 962, 1424 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN
46202. Phone: 317-632-1432, Fax: 317-624-6609.
Website: www.afscme962.org
Representative Melanie Wright (D-Yorktown) with members of Local 725.
May, 2015
AFSCME IKOC 962 NEWS
Page 3
BUS DRIVERS AND HEAD START WORKERS:
Fix Broken Unemployment System
Terri Wells has been driving a school
bus since 1998. She loves her job. The
kids are great, plus it’s been a great job
for her as a single mom of five children.
She beams proudly when talking about
her son, a drum major in high school
and currently a student at Morehouse
College in Atlanta. She still has three
kids at home, including twin girls.
“I love the flexibility,” she says. “I
don’t have to work holidays or vacations, so for having a family it’s really
good.”
But what has always been an ideal
job for Terri and her family is turning
into a nightmare. Indiana’s Department
of Workforce Development is demanding she and others repay thousands of
dollars in unemployment insurance benefits they received during school breaks
dating back to 2011. For Terri, that’s
$2,700. The average amount bus drivers are being forced to repay is around
$2,000-3,000.
For many years, school bus drivers
and Head Start workers employed by
private companies, as well as other similarly situated workers, were able to apply for unemployment during seasonal
layoffs. In 2011, the Indiana Legislature
changed the law in an effort to close unemployment to these types of workers.
Despite the change, the department
continued to pay unemployment benefits to hundreds of bus drivers and Head
Bus Driver Terri Wells speaking at
repayments.
Start workers. These workers were honest and applied for unemployment in
good faith, stating exactly what they
did, where they worked, and why they
were out of work.
“The Department of Workforce Development knew I was a bus driver
for Durham Bus Services. I answered
everything on the form honestly. If I
wasn’t eligible for unemployment, why
did they pay me benefits week after
week?” Terri asks.
Terri and her coworkers were joined
February 9 by State Senate Democratic
Leader Tim Lanane (D-Anderson), State
press conference on unemployment
Senator Karen Tallian (D-Portage), and
State Representative Gail Riecken (DEvansville) in calling on the Commissioner of the Department of Workforce
Development to grant repayment waivers to workers who were paid unemployment due to the department’s error.
Lanane and Tallian also filed bills to require the department to grant waivers in
instances of financial hardship and/or a
departmentally a mistake.
“I get people’s children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews to school
safely every day. I was honest and applied for unemployment in good faith,
along with my coworkers. Our only
mistake was trusting the Department of
Workforce Development would get it
right.”
Update: We successfully inserted
a request for a summer study on
the issue of unemployment overpayments into House Bill 1186. A
summer study means that a committee of legislators takes the summer to
examine and investigate an issue at a
much deeper level than what is normal
during legislative session. This gives
us another opportunity to make our
case to legislators that these repayments need to be vacated. The bills
filed by Senators Tallian and Lanane
unfortunately did not make it out of
committee, largely on partisan lines.
Sens. Tallian and Lanane continued to
try and put amendments in other bills
to stop the overpayments. With the
possibility of a summer study, we are
hopeful that a more in-depth look into
this issue will bring positive results.
Additionally, we continue to push for
meetings with key decision makers
at both the Department of Workforce
Development and in the legislature to
push for overturning the repayments.
If you have any questions about this,
please contact your organizer or feel
free to call Carli Stevenson, Communications Coordinator, at 317-6321432.
Indianapolis Local Signs Up Over 400 MVPs In One Week
continued from page 1
Thanks to a new city ordinance
championed by AFSCME, union
members in one Indianapolis local
have already signed up over 400
new PEOPLE MVPs.
On March 2, the Indianapolis
City-County Council voted 22-7
along bipartisan lines to allow city
employees to voluntarily donate
money from their paychecks to their
union’s political action committee.
Members of Local 725, who work
in Indianapolis’ Department of Public Works, wasted no time in organizing their co-workers to contribute
to PEOPLE, AFSCME’s political
action committee. 36 rank-and-file
leaders and activists took part in the
drive to sign people up. Only AFSC-
ME members and their families may
contribute to AFSCME PEOPLE.
“The men and women of our local have seen the attacks on unions
coming from across the country, so
they know we need to fight back
and protect our jobs, retirement, and
communities,” Steve Quick, President of Local 725 and an AFSCME
International Vice President said.
The more than 400 PEOPLE contributors signed up by Local 725 is
— PERF Win —
Protecting our retirement
in Indiana
We stopped an attempt to automatically put new employees into a
401 (k)-style plan. Had this attempt
succeeded, it would have been a significant blow to our retirement security.
We also supported a bill which
requires public employers to pay
AFSCME IKOC 962 is proud of
the articles from our members
representing many locals and
opinions which appear in this
issue. Members are encouraged
to send in their articles which
would appeal to our members
for publication. Articles should
be typed and will be considered
for publication, depending on
space limitations.
Please send in your article to:
AFSCME IKOC 962
1424 N. Pennsylvania St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
just the beginning. AFSCME members at Indianapolis’ libraries, fleet
services, and other locals representing city workers are fast at work
signing up new PEOPLE MVPs.
Celebrating saving our retirement!
their full liabilities to the pension
fund for current employees if they
choose to leave. That bill has passed
the House and the State Senate.
continued on page 7
Page 4
AFSCME IKOC 962 NEWS
May, 2015
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: INDIANA
What’s Happening At
The Indiana State House
As one might expect, gaining political traction for working families
is difficult when the legislative deck
is stacked against us. Our opponents
are using their super majority status in the statehouse to move hurtful legislation with ease. Some low
points in the session are the repeal
of the common construction wage
(HB 1019), the company store bill
(HB 1469) and two election bills
(HB 1008) and (SB 466).
The repeal of the common construction wage appears to be a thinly
veiled attempt to undermine trade
unions by allowing contractors to
bid in a manner that would drive
construction towards the cheapest bidder at the expense of quality
and local contractors. Potential for
sweetheart deals abound. AFSCME
participated in a rally opposing
the repeal on April 14th. Roughly
3000 trades men and women, their
employers, and supporters were in
attendance. Despite strong opposition to the bill, the repeal narrowly
passed and Governor Pence has
made no secret of his eagerness to
sign the bill.
The company store bill takes us
back to a time when employees were
at the mercy of their company for
nearly every aspect of their survival.
With this legislation, any employer
can charge the employee rent for materials or equipment they use to do
their job. Another thinly veiled bill, it
essentially allows employers to do an
voting as well as the ability for a student to use their campus address to
obtain registration or absentee ballots to vote. These bills are designed
to make the voting process more
difficult for the average voter. Additionally, the legislation includes a
provision to make voter registration
information available for the generation of a voter list and for use by
law enforcement.
While these bills attack working
“We pledge to pursue this fight as long
as necessary for our brothers and sisters
driving school buses and working with
children in Head Start programs.”
end-run around minimum wage laws,
providing a legal avenue to cut pay
and generate revenue from employees. As passed by the State Senate, the
bill allows employers to deduct the
lesser of $2500 per year or 5% of an
employee’s weekly disposable income
for uniforms and equipment necessary
to do the job. It also weakens existing
law protecting against wage theft by
making it harder to prove employers
short employees' pay purposely.
The election bills include language to do away with straight party
families, anti-worker members of the
legislative majority added insult to
injury by refusing to give a hearing
to repeated requests to move a bill for
increases to the state minimum wage.
However, all is not lost as we
continue to fight to keep public pension plans a benefit (SB 492); and
for common sense to prevail in unemployment overpayment matters
for our workers (HB 1186).
Initially, legislators were pushing for public retirement funds to
shift to a defined contribution plan,
putting the weight of the risk on
the employee while opening up the
management of said plans to private
groups seeking to profit at our members' expense. We fought this language and prevailed, but we expect
this to be an annual fight.
The Department of Workforce
Development (DWD) has been the
focus of anger due to their demand
that AFSCME members pay for mistakes made within their own agency.
We continue to organize and be a visible and vocal presence on all matters
related to the overpayment fight. We
succeeded in getting a request for a
summer study on overpayments into
HB 1186. We pledge to pursue this
fight as long as necessary for our
brothers and sisters driving school
buses and working with children in
Head Start programs.
As always, we remain steadfast
and AFSCME Strong because of
our members. We are encouraged by
members making themselves available to show up at a moment’s notice. It does make a difference. The
legislators see it, the media sees it,
and in turn, the community often
rallies to our causes. As this session
ends, we hope you will join us in the
continued fight by being informed,
engaged, and available.
One Win: Your Union Fighting For You
Local 3491 Gary Sanitary
District Grievance Settled
In Fiscal Year 2010, the Gary Sanitary District
had 27 pay dates. The usual number of pay dates
is 26. The changed number of dates turned into a
nightmare for nine employees at the Gary Sanitary
District. Rather paying them, the Director and City
Controller withheld their December 31, 2010 pay
check, claiming they had already received their full
salaries in the form of 26 pay dates throughout the
Fiscal Year.
The nine members affected filed a grievance for
the loss of two weeks' pay on January 18, 2011.
After going through the grievance steps with no
April 28, 2015
resolution, a request for arbitration was filed. The
City never responded and refused to cooperate.
Despite the obstinateness of management, AFSCME 962 never lost sight of the grievance and
continued to fight for members’ pay. As a result, the
Gary Sanitary District Board approved a special pay
check for the nine affected employees on March 16,
2015. The amount owed totaled $14,361.62. The
members received their checks the same day.
Big win for Local 2629
Louisville Metro Gov member
AFSCME Local 2629 member Tiffany Laracuente won her mediation/arbitration and was awarded $42,336.56 in back pay, including vacation and
accrual benefits. Ms. Laracuente was unjustly terminated from the Louisville Metro Zoo in 2013.
Steward Richard Laird did a great job investigating
and fact-finding for the grievance.
After her win, Tiffany had this to say: “by sticking with it, not backing down, and with a lot of
help from our union, we won!”
Local 3395 IndianapolisMarion County Library Workers
Win New Classifications
In the fall of 2012, Indianapolis Public Library
commissioned the Waters Group from Texas to
conduct a compensation study. After the results
were shared and implemented in 2013, two members of Local 3395 brought to their managers’ attention concerns about their new classifications.
Two years later, when another group on equal
grounds won their appeal, our members inquired
about their status and were told there would be no
change to their classifications. A grievance was
filed the following day. A few days later the HR
Director told the members they would be elevated
to a new classification and earn two years of back
pay totaling $9,991.60. Congratulations to these
members!
Recreation Leader Returned
to Work at Louisville Metro Parks
On September 25, 2014, Albert Brown was suspended from his job working as a Recreation Leader at Louisville’s public parks, pending an investigation into an incident that allegedly occurred in
August 2014.
After a quick investigation by Metro Parks, they
turned the investigation over to the authorities.
They later found there was no evidence Mr. Brown
engaged in any wrongdoing.
With the help of his union, Mr. Brown filed a
grievance which was set to go to arbitration. Knowing they would not win because the facts were not
on their side, management returned Albert Brown
to work on April 8, 2015, with full back pay and
sick/vacation time.
May 2015
AFSCME IKOC 962 NEWS
Page 5
Labor working together: AFSCME in the house at the Rally to Stop the Repeal of the Common Construction Wage in Indiana.
At the Oldham County Fiscal Court to Oppose “right to work” at the
county level in Kentucky.
Over 30 members from around the organizing committee attended Secretary-Treasurer Training April 18th.
Local 3425 Louisville Free Public Library Workers Steward Table.
KENTUCKY CAPITOL RECAP:
Right-to-Work, 2015 In Review
And The Year Ahead Of Us
by Alex White,
Kentucky Legislative Affairs
First, we want to thank everyone
who participated in this year’s Lobby
Day. Those who attended not only
met with legislators but also watched
the House Labor Committee strike
down the annual attempt to pass
"right-to-work" legislation. Labor
produced such a turnout for the hearing we filled over three large rooms!
Speaking of "right-to-work", as
you probably know, Kentucky has
become the battleground for local
right-to-work ordinances. 12 counties have currently passed an ordinance. The AFL-CIO is challenging the Hardin County ordinance in
court because it violates the National Labor Relations Act. On a positive note, because of labor’s efforts
(including our own members), over
50 counties have confirmed that they
will not consider "right-to-work" ordinances. Several counties are even
considering anti-"right-to-work" ordinances.
AFSCME also helped to prevent
the passage of the annual charter
school bill and repeal of prevailing
wage legislation. While the legislature managed to pass some important bills, such as the heroin bill and
one expanding protection for dating
violence victims, it fell short in the
continued reform of the Kentucky
Retirement System. Several retirement system bills did pass including one requiring certain employers
who leave the system from escaping
liability for their employees' benefit
contributions and allowing retired
members of KRS to serve on the Public Pension Oversight Board. Unfortunately, a housekeeping bill was still
stalled at the end of the session.
A lot of hard work is on the horizon as we prepare for the upcoming
long legislative session (this year was
a short one) and the gubernatorial
election this November. A couple of
items and issues we are working on
include: an upcoming meeting with
candidate Jack Conway, reinstatement of ACE awards, tax reform, and
perhaps most pressing, continued reform of our state’s retirement system
to ensure it is fully funded.
Please feel free to email me
with any questions or issues
that you would like to see ad-
dressed in the upcoming legislative session or at your local level at
alex@unionsidelawyers.com
Remember To Vote
In The Primary!
Indiana: Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Kentucky: Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Page 6
AFSCME IKOC 962 NEWS
May, 2015
Local Union Updates . . .
Local 3425: Louisville Free Public Library
Local 3425 has begun a series of two hour
trainings for their shop stewards, known as
the Stewards Round Table. The training is facilitated by IKOC 962 staff to prepare them
to represent their coworkers effectively. Topics discussed include fact-finding, supporting
documents in grievances, labor management
meetings, and internal organizing.
As part of their internal organizing, stewards and members have begun decorating the
union bulletin boards at their worksites. The
Local held a contest for which bulletin board
displayed the best union pride. The bulletin
boards have been an important way for library workers to educate their co-workers
as well as show them the pride they have in
their union. Check out the pictures to see the
contest entries!
Local 3995 Monroe County
School Corporations:
Local 3995 started negotiations on October 31,
2014. The Local contract expired on January 1,
2015. After several meetings, the membership
voted on and approved a one-year
contract.
The new agreement includes a
1½% across-the-board pay increase,
no out-of-pocket increase in medical
insurance, and a $2.00/hour increase
for tough-to-fill routes
for bus drivers. A
change of date for the
clothing allowance for
food service employees was also made. As
the contract expires
January 1, 2016, the
Local will begin preparing for negotiations again in the fall.
including President Jeff Kinkaid, Executive
Board member Sheryl Duzzy, members Mike
Weaver and James Yoder, and Trustees Marva
Taylor and Cindi Weaver.
The class was held by Organizer/Staff
Representative Dwight Arndt. The class was
very attentive and cooperative. A week later
members were asked what was the one thing
they learned that was most useful. Mike
Weaver said he felt the most important thing
he learned was to have proper representation. For Marva Taylor, it was learning how
to deal with grievances. James Yoder learned
the role of a steward is a lot more than just
writing grievances. Other members said
learning how the contract was written, not
how they interpret it, was also important. The
members discussed the need for clear and
concise communication. They agreed they
would work on becoming strong communicators
with their fellow members and encourage them to
know their contracts.
All participants would recommend and encourage
other locals to set up a steward training in their area for
proper representation of their members.
Local 2925: Elkhart Schools
Graduates New Stewards
On April 4, 2015, steward training was held at the AFSCME Mishawaka office for Local 2925’s new
stewards. Six members attended,
Local 4468: Lexington Waste Management
Lexington Waste
Management Workers Win
Historic First Contract
After nearly 3 years of
struggle, members of Local
4468 scored a huge victory
when they overwhelmingly
ratified their first contract
last month.
Lexington Waste Management workers first started organizing for a union in
2012. Since then it has been
an uphill battle to negotiate
and sign their first contract.
Earlier this year, Local 4468
members had to overcome
an unfounded decertification
election spearheaded by the
City to silence their voices.
The election backfired on
the City of Lexington when
the members voted 2-to-1 to
keep their union.
Thanks to their hard work
in the face of fierce opposi- Blitzing for Lexington Sanitation Workers, Local 4468. Thank you to our VMOs
tion, they now have a con- Pugh and Sheila Patrick!
tract that includes the folon the Accident Review Board. This severely punished for any accident;
lowing:

Two AFSCME members of is an important victory for drivers now AFSCME members have a voice
Waste Management now have seats who in the past were terminated or in that process.
 A seat on the Benefits
Committee.
 A structured discipline
process and representation
throughout that process.
 Four
extra
holidays,
Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas
Eve plus 16 hours of swing
holidays.
 Labor-management meetings.
 New work boots every
year paid by the employer.
 Seven day notice of any
changes in operations; previously management made changes
without any notifications.
 A safer work environment
with language that allows drivers to not go out in severe or
harsh driving/weather conditions.
This contract would not
have been settled without the
Myra focus and perseverance of Local 4468. Workers at Lexington Waste Management proved
that when they resolve to fight just one
day longer than management, they
can win and make positive change.
May, 2015
Member
Spotlight
AFSCME IKOC 962 NEWS
Page 7
Meet AFSCME 962’s Senior Statesman
Member: Gary Murphy, Local 725
are nice now, but when I got older, I didn’t want to our union. We weren’t included. Now we are.”
Ever wonder who has been a member of our be jumping and bumping all day. That’s why I went Gary has always been a union activist. He had ununion the longest? Wonder no more. Meet Gary over to operating equipment.”
cles who had other jobs and talked about how good
Murphy, an equipment operator for the City of In- Gary has seen a lot of changes in his 35 years as it can be with a union.
dianapolis. He’s been a member of Local
“The biggest benefit of being in a union
725 for 35 years.
is having a voice. I have friends and family
Gary started out as a semi-skilled laborer
who work nonunion jobs and it is as diffor the Indianapolis Department of Public
ferent as night and day. They don’t have a
Works (DPW) in 1974. “That was a do-itvoice; they have to do whatever their manall job,” Gary says. I flagged traffic, worked
agers tell them to do, whether it’s fair or
the shovel, cut down tree limbs. I kind of
not.”
did a little bit of everything.”
That’s why Gary is so active in his union.
After five years as a laborer he moved up
He works in Local 725’s office, answering
to truck driver, plowing snow in the winter
phones and scheduling overtime.
and filling potholes in the summer. After 10
Working union has been good to him,
years of driving, he became an equipment
he says. He’s been married for 26 years,
operator, handling heavy equipment like
and all three of kids are out on their own.
front-end loaders used for road paving, and
His oldest daughter went to IUPUI, and his
street cleaners.
youngest went to Ball State. His son fol “I had actually just learned how to use
lowed him into the DPW, and has been
the street cleaner, and the city decided to
working at the department for three years.
contract the street cleaning out. This was in
Gary says there is no doubt he has a betthe 1980s. But we’re going to be taking that
ter life than his mom had. She raised him
back. The city just bought two new sweepand his 4 siblings on her own, working in
ers, so Local 725 members will be out
a plant making vinyl covers. Gary and his
cleaning our streets again.”
wife, a nurse, were able to send two kids
When asked why he stuck with the DPW
to college, and are buying a second home.
for so long, he said he liked the work, plus
When asked what he would tell people
the pay and benefits were good.
who are skeptical of being in a union, he
“I like working outside, and I like intersaid:
acting with the public. And I’ve enjoyed
“Do you want to be able to question, and
learning the different equipment over the
give your opinion? At the hospital where
Gary Murphy is AFSCME 962s longest-serving member.
years.”
my wife works, they are treated really bad Even though he likes his job, he says the
ly. But with a union, you can at least queswork does take a toll on the body, especially when a union member, but he says the biggest change has tion.”
he first started.
been the relationship between union and manage- “When we get new people into the DPW, they see
“Riding around in the trucks all day beats up on ment.
how much better it is. We have no problem getting
you. Back then, trucks didn’t have any shocks. They “In the earlier years, management didn’t respect new hires to sign cards.”
— PERF Win —
continued from page 3
Traditional pensions are guaranteed. As long
as a retiree lives, they receive monthly benefits
earned during their working years. 401(k)-style
plans have no guarantees. Workers who retire
during down markets may not have enough money to live on.
Pension funds rely on continuous new contributions as older employees retire. These are invested to yield returns that then pay the benefits
of the current workers. The lack of new participants could destabilize the whole fund, putting
retirees’ financial security in jeopardy and costing
Hoosier taxpayers millions of dollars.
This was a big win for us and our retirement
security this year. However, we do not expect
the folks who want to give our hard earned money
to Wall Street to let up any time soon. We all need
to be prepared to go to the State House every session in order to defend what we have rightfully
earned.
Indianapolis city workers with Brian Klopp, AFSCME Labor Economist. Klopp testified to the Indiana Legislature about the danger of changing the Public Pension Fund. He was instrumental in
helping us protect our retirements this session.
Page 8
AFSCME IKOC 962 NEWS
May, 2015
In My Opinion: Member Voices
Serious Flaws In Indiana’s So-Called "Right-to-Work" Law
that Taft-Hartley preempts state law in
this instance. This preemption is very
important because there appears to be
some irreconcilable inconsistencies between these two laws.
A few weeks later, constitutional attorneys Catherine L. Fisk and Benjamin
I. Sachs filed a petition for re-hearing of
the case arguing that the Seventh Circuit
Court erred in holding that federal law
does not preempt Indiana’s law. Their
petition raises a number of key points
worth remembering.
First, they believe Taft-Hartley
grants the states authority to prohibit
fair share fees that are the same as union
dues, but they are not granted authority
to prohibit fair share fees that are lower
than union dues. Fisk and Sachs note
that Taft-Hartley permits employers
and labor unions to bargain for contract
clauses which require employees to pay
dues and fees to the union. Mention of
the term “fees” in this federal law indicates that payments other than dues are
permitted.
Subsequent federal court decisions
such as Retail Clerks International
Assn. v. Schermerhorn clarified that
term by making an important distinction between members who fund the
labor union’s political activities and
nonmembers who fund only the costs
of representation. Fisk and Sachs add
that federal courts have carefully analyzed the differences between members
and nonmembers in a number of cases.
None of this analysis would matter
if the courts did not believe fair share
fees were allowed by federal law in appropriate circumstances. True enough,
Taft-Harley grants the states authority to
prohibit mandatory union membership
and mandatory union dues. But, fees are
clearly something different.
Following the logic of these court
decisions, Fisk and Sachs say it is clear
that states can prohibit fair share fees
that are the same as the union dues but
they cannot prohibit fair share fees that
are lower. That means Indiana’s law
contradicts Taft-Hartley because it prohibits all fair share fees.
The relationship between federal law
and state law is historic, they explain.
Federal law prevails in areas reserved to
that level of government by our constitution while the remaining areas are left
to the states. Taft-Hartley was adjudged
constitutional long ago. Its legal status
is widely recognized and secure. The
problem is that the State of Indiana is
overriding a federal law in one of the
areas constitutionally reserved to the
federal level. In effect, the state is exceeding its own constitutional authority.
— reprinted
by Tom Louderback, Local 2629
As many of us remember, the newspaper headlines last September went
something like this – “Seventh Circuit Upholds Indiana’s Right-to-Work
Law.” Headlines like that looked definitive but the court decision itself has
been widely criticized by constitutional
attorneys and scholars. Many say that
the sharp division in the opinions issued by the three-judge Seventh Circuit
panel exposed inconsistencies with previous federal court decisions and misinterpretations of the Labor Management
Relations Act of 1947 also known as
The Taft-Hartley Act.
For example, Judge Diane Wood
argued in her dissenting opinion that
Indiana’s law amounts to an unconstitutional taking of revenues from the
labor unions. She also noted that previous federal court decisions indicate
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