How Do We Get Organized?

I'm an old fashioned Union guy. Wray McCalester stood out to me on FaceBook as another of those old-time traditional kick-ass Union Thugs--you know, one of those rare, rank and file Solidarity UNION guys these days who has had a long and active love affair with the good folks who do the work. I am honored by his invitation to blog along with him and his friends here. 

I was asked by a FaceBook friend, "How do we get organized?" I think the answer lies in the UAW's beginnings.

The UAW was organized to take wages and working conditions OUT of competition. The UAW in the 1930's recognized the company union in auto. They wasted no time trying to reform it. They knew the only organizations in the world that could stand up to the enormous power of the world's largest corporations were the Trade Unions. There was, and is, no other. They built the UAW democratically. They went worker-to-worker, plant-to-plant and cemented friendships with the folks who did the work. They build solidarity powerful enough to win strikes and then won victories that benefited every working stiff in our courtry.

So what happened?

In writing this piece I ran across notes I took for a UAW New Directions story I wrote about the last, great, WINNING STRIKE at UAW local 599. That strike won 800 jobs for the late, great Buick City local. Was it celebrated?

A local 879 rep downplayed the 599 win: "How did they ever let it get so bad?" he wondered.

Right question. Wrong local union.

Local 879, once recognized by Ford as the most resistant U.S. local to job cuts, has taken its place among the most undermanned assembly plants.

Local 879's president recently participated in a Ford "communication" meeting where the company bragged about the plant being "first" in the system at coming in under annual budget. This meant that $10 million due the plant's workforce was saved through job cuts while more than 1,000 local 879 members were being injured by their overloaded jobs.

GM has a lot more workers than Ford. We need MORE Ford workers--not fewer GM workers.

"First in budget performance" means bonuses for the managers and surgeries for the autoworkers.

It got so bad through Ford/UAW company programs like E.I. and QDS (adopted--and even promoted--by the UAW's administration caucus) that the floodgates of speedup, injuries, outsourcing, whipsawing and work rule giveaways were opened up and the membership suffered. It got so bad that the members were forgotten by the administration and even attacked by the caucus.

So this is where we are today in the Ford/UAW's drive for "competitiveness" push against the Solidarity UAW for the dog-eat-dog, (lower case) uaw of the caucus.

Everything the Dog-Eat-Dog uaw does today violates the Solidarity Principles of the real UAW's Constitution; every principle of and virtue of tradition and the original UAW. 

We have come full circle. We are once again paying dues to a company union.

And the answer to the question of how we organize is the same as the UAW faced back in the 1930's--We must organize each other. We must help each other. We must be friends. We must resist all the calls to cheat each other out of our jobs. We must be friends who support each other or simply give up and die.

Below is a solidarity appeal from around 1985. It is ever more true today.

To our Brother and Sister Autoworkers in North America:

We are Ford workers from Edison or St. Paul or Lorain or Dearborn or anywhere. We have families and enjoy our coworkers, communities and our lives.

We see ourselves being dragged into a competition against each other that can only benefit the company. All across the world Ford workers are being forced by fear into conceding jobs, plants, wages (and) working conditions; even the 8 hour day and weekends to 'compete' against other autoworkers. This competition destroys our union, our jobs, our hands and backs, our children's future and does the same to you.

We are interested in joining with you to talk about how we can fight this fear and regain our strength in numbers.

Where is the union?

The fear that separates us is cause both by the company and the UAW. UAW officials stood aside as Ford closed the Lorain T-Bird and Cougar assembly lines.

UAW porkchoppers helped Ford to whipsaw our locals and move production around North America, making the Lorain closing--and future closings--possible.

UAW officers threatened Rouge workers with competition from other UAW workers to gain concessions at the Rouge plant last month.

Although Ford is making record profits, the UAW is giving Ford extra capacity by allowing the company to work production on weekends and weekdays at straight time--reversing hard won 8-hr day victories.

Ford locals are competing against themselves, disrespecting the original values, principles and strategies of our union. During the Rouge Viability Contract debate at Local 600 in early October a UAW president pushed this concessionary contract by pointing out that if Local 600 did not agree to concede hard-won work rights other UAW locals would take the work being done by Local 600.

The (new) Local 600 contract limits seniority rights and raises 'competitiveness' to new heights with anti-union, dog-eat-dog competitive language. This agreement even contains a letter directing UAW reps to enforce competitive sections of this contract.

The compete, compete, compete fear politics of the UAW divided the Local with 70% of skilled workers voting against the agreement and 80% of production workers voting for it out of fear of losing their jobs to other UAW workers! Our union has ceased being a union.

The UAW at Ford exists today as a Ford junior partner interested in giving away the rights that other generations of autoworkers fought for, and sometimes, died for.

The top union leaders of the UAW have thrown away our union's principle of mutual support. They have given us the whipsaw and stolen our union rights guaranteed to all of us by the UAW Constitution. They have adopted the company's values of competition, greed, profit maximization and isolation. We see the effect of these corporate values in our UAW when the UAW reps use the fear of competition that they themselves have created within our own union. They used this fear to destroy solidarity at Local 600, and attack mutual assistance for the Lorain workers.

This new, dog-eat-dog UAW supports, even facilitates, the continuous concessions by Ford locals across the country. This new, dog-eat-dog UAW are traitors against Solidarity, to cut costs for Ford--And our livlihoods are those costs.

Competition vs Solidarity
While one billion workers are today unemployed throughout the world, Ford, and all huge international corporations are asking us to accept a dictatorship of wealth. The establishment of competition in our union is based in the same corporate greed that drives the company in NAFTA and the Multi-Lateral Agreement on Investment. The corporate garbage of whitemail, comparative advantage and favoritism that pushes the whipsaw and attacks us all and destroys our locals is extended in the MAI. The MAI extends the goals of the rich and will make capital's interests legally superior to city, state, national and international law. The Big Business agenda intends to formally replace democracy with the interest of the rich--everywhere.

Competition is a dead end for most of us.
Competing is the opposite of union. Competing means losing all the union gains the previous generations of UAW members sacrificed to win; union democracy, UAW independence from the corporation, overtime pay, weekends off, eight hour days, union work rules, seniority rights, classification, lines of demarcation, job posting rights, fair workloads, all are being given away under 'competitiveness.'

The result is Ford workers who ought to be friends are being made into enemies. Union principles like mutual support which could have been applied to save Lorain are ignored because local union leaders are competing against other local union leaders in a race to the bottom.

Autoworkers, no matter where they work, should be on the same side. We want to support you. We want you to support us. We want to rebuild a relationship with other Ford workers that is based not on greed and competition but on our own values of equality, solidarity, community, democracy and mutual assistance. 

We need a rebellion against competitiveness. That rebellion will not come from the UAW's officialdom since they are busy rebelling against us. A rebellion against competition is a revolutionary idea and is the only way we can win back our own values. It can only come from the rank and file.

The Larger Battle . . . former UAW President Douglas Fraser said in 1979:

"I believe leaders of the business community, with few exceptions, have chosen to wage a one-sided class war in this country, a war against working people, the unemployed, the very young and the very old, and even many in the middle class of society."

Today his words are more true than ever.

Here is a pledge for today's union workers:
1) We commit ourselves to supporting our coworkers and all other autoworkers wherever they work, in all the ways that we may devise.
2) We commit ourselves to begin a conversation with coworkers in our own and other plants about how to unite around the values we share of equality, solidarity, democracy and mutual assistance.
3) We pledge ourselves to ally with other autoworkers and with other working people wherever we can in order to start a revolution and create a truly democratic, fully-employed society.

Does this pledge ring true to you? Does your plant face the conditions written of above? Think, my brothers and sisters, then act!

Solidarity forever is not just a song lyric--It is the union way of life.

 

 

What are my rights as a Union worker?

Who am I? I'm Robert Boone, a retired union worker. I welcome the opportunity to be a member of this blog and to share my experiences with you. On October 4, 2018 I will have served and/or been a member of the UAW for 53 years. I spent my youth in the flatlands of West Tennessee on a sharecropping farm. I moved to Indiana in 1960. After quitting high school in 1963 I went to work in various industrial factories until I hired in at Allison Division of General Motors in 1965. I decided to make that my career.

I have served at all levels of local union representation from alternate committeeman to chairman of the bargaining unit; a position I held from 1974-'78 and 1983-'89. From 1979-'82 I served as Benefits rep. I attended my first Constitutional Convention in 1970 (which was Walter Reuther's last) and I  attended every subsequent convention either as an elected or fraternal delegate, or, as part of my duties as Servicing Rep until I retired in 2004.

I also served as Serving Rep for 15 years for as many as 26 local unions. My responsibilities included negotiating agreements, processing grievances through the procedure (up to and including arbitration), writing by-laws and handling legal matters that did not require court appearances. I even served as a UAW Staff Council committeeman for other Servicing Reps in my region. There isn't much I haven't experienced in my time as a union member.

And I'm not done yet. I am a FMCS (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services) arbitrator, certified to issue final and binding awards/decisions in labor arbitration.

Today's post: What are my rights as a Union worker? (links to sources will appear in tan colored print)

Most would probably agree that worker's rights are derived from our U.S. Constitution, and we like to believe that those rights travel with us wherever we go, 24/7. Unfortunately, that is not true. AS far as worker's rights go the constitution only protects us from actions by the state, not fat cat private employers like GM. In the PRIVATE sector, for example, GM has NO legal obligation to respect your U.S. Constitutional rights unless you cover such rights in a labor agreement and your union defends those rights.

One early October afternoon at our Plant #11 (GM/Allison) a lanky old supervisor better known as "High Pockets," informed me, "Kid, when you punch in you leave your constitutional rights in the damn time card rack, and your ass belongs to me for the remainder of your shift." I thought he was nuts. I have my rights, or so I thought. I can raise cane about the unbearable heat in this plant. Surely the 1st amendment protects my freedom of speech. I soon found out, however, that High Pockets was right.

You and I do not have a constitutional right to free speech in the private workplace! Under the law, even if your employer makes an unsafe product and you decide to become a whistleblower and reveal it you have no legal protection against being fired.

One other important example of how our constitutional rights do not travel with us into the private sector is the basic concept of "innocent until proven guilty." Outside of the workplace in the real world you must be proven guilty before any punishment can be levied. On the job--even under a union contract--when the fat cats discipline or discharge us the punishment is immediate. You have to wait until your grievance is resolved for any justice. In the meantime you are sent home, off work and lose pay (maybe even your job), and only recover your loses IF you win the grievance.

So, do we, as private sector employees, have any protection? Yes. there are two sources which give us some of the same protections we receive outside the workplace.

1) The first is your union and collective bargaining agreement. That provides such things as seniority rights (last in--first out) and "just cause" regarding disciplinary matters. Your contract does not provide those same protections for non-unionized workers in your workplace, and, it does not mean that supervisors will be governed by the same rules as are working folks. If an hourly worker starts a fight, for example, he or she is likely to be fired because of a shop rule against fighting. Not necessarily so if it is the supervisor who starts the fight. What we have is a kind of "half-citizenship," but not full citizenship.

2) The other source of protection is Federal law. These rights have been gained over many years of history--and not without some tough and sometimes even violent struggles. The eight-hour day is one. Finally recognized by Congress in the Fair Labor Standards Act (otherwise know as the Wages and Hours Act) of 1938, the fight had begun as early as the 1880's when the labor movement took part in political strikes to raise the issue.

Here is a partial list of rights recognized by Federal law to protect working folks:

1. The right to engage in concerted activity for mutual aid and protection. (Section 7 or the National Labor Relations Act) 

2. The right not to be enjoined by Federal courts when engaging in such concerted activity. (Section 4 of the Norris LaGuardia Act)

3. The right to use state or Federal court to require enforcement of a contract with an employer. (Section 301 or the National Labor Relations Act)

4. The right for overtime payment (time-and-a-half) after 40 hours. (the Fair Labor Standards Act)

5. The right to refuse abnormally dangerous work. (Section 502 of the National Labor Relations Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act--OSHA)

6. The right not to be discriminated against because of race, sex, religion or national origin in hiring, promotion or discharge. (Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act)

7. The right to free speech about union affairs, and to a minimum, due process when disciplined.   (Title 1 of the Landrum Griffin Act)

The following groups are not covered by the NLRA--both union and non-union: Managers, supervisors, confidential employees such as company accountants, farm workers, familes of employers, government workers, most domestic workers, independent contractors, and certain industry groups that are otherwise regulated.

The final type of worker to be discussed are non-union workers working in the private sector for fat cat employers.

In most states these are known as "Employees at Will." This is a legal concept referred to as the Doctrine of Employment at Will. It essentially gives employers the right to fire employees for any reason, no reason at all, and even unfair reasons--as long as they are not illegal reasons. The only protection these folks have are the basic law of the land and/or the court systems. Remember, workers face employers with very deep pockets, so traveling down the court route is not a good option for most folks.

Most UAW labor union contracts require, cause, just cause, or reasonable cause of proof before a worker covered by the agreement can be successfully penalized for an accused infraction. 

Years of arbitration awards and court decisions have resulted in the below list of requirements becoming the norm for arbiters to evaluate the just cause provisions in discipline cases. These requirements are known as, the Daugherty Seven Test.

1. Did the company give the employee forewarning or foreknowledge of the possibility or probability of disciplinary consequences of the employee's conduct?

2. Were the company's rule or managerial (sic) reasonably related to (a) the orderly efficient and safe operation of the company's business, and, (b) the performance that the company might properly expect of the employee?

3. Did the company, before administering discipline to an employee, make an effort to discover whether the employee did, in fact, violate or disobey a rule or order of management? Was a fair, thorough, and impartial investigation carried out BEFORE discipline was imposed? (this theory makes two good points, 1) the right to know of the offense charged, and 2) the employer is required to conduct their investigation before issuing discipline.)

4. Was the company's investigation conducted fairly and objectively?

5. At the investigation, did the company "judge" obtain substantial and compelling evidence or proof that the employee was guilty as charged?

6. Has the company applied its rules, orders and penalties evenhandedly and without discrimination to all employees?

7. Was the degree of discipline administered by the company in a particular case reasonably related to, a) the seriousness of the employee's proven offense, and, b) the record of the employee in his or her service with the company?

The arbiter in any case has the discretion to decide if a minor violation warrants a penalty that should be mitigated or overturned. A minor or major violation of any of the seven-test standards can overturn the management claim of just cause, depending on the arbitrator selected and his views.

Keep in mind when an arbitrator is hearing a case, the burden of proof in discipline cases (either union or non-union) belongs to management and they must show just cause. In most other cases the burden of proof falls on the union.

The messages to be received from this article are:

1. Organize! The job you save may be your own. The just cause provisions of your contract are alone worth your monthly dues. Otherwise you might be fired for any reason, no reason or even unfair reasons (as long as they are not illegal reasons, such as discrimination)
2. Non-union employees have little protection, and that protection can be prohibitively expensive. Lawyers and courts do not come cheaply!
3. State employees, both unionized and non-union have constitutional protection from their employers--but not nearly as much as union employees.
4. You or I, by ourselves, cannot successfully take on management. We would lose every time. Your union is your ONLY legal way to fight injustice in the workplace except as I have explained above. Union men and women act as one to protect one another. If your union isn't perfect--and none are--work to improve it through the votes you cast. You can make a difference. As individuals we fail. Together we may teach our employers the painful lessons they need in order for there to be respect and economic justice in our workplace. 

Solidarity forever isn't just a song lyric--It is the union way of life.

What does it mean to be a Union Sister or Brother?

An introduction: I am Wray McCalester, a union man and I'm proud of it. In the UAW I am a charter member of my local, 2209, and served as committeeman, zone committeeman, chairman and HRD rep for insourcing. On the E-Board for eight years, I was elected delegate to the Constitutional Convention twice, and sent as a fraternal delegate a third time. I served on two Regional resolutions committees and on one Sub-Council resolution committee. I was elected first secretary and later chairman of our Sub-Council and Steve Yokich appointed me one of two delegates to the World Metal Workers Convention in 1993. I've been around.

In my final act as an insourcing rep I negotiated the 300,000 sq. ft.  sequencing facility at the Fort Wayne plant (with yeoman help from Pat McGee and Dennis Funk). The chairman at the time, Dave Matthews, gave me full rein and backed me all the way. Once the International saw how committed we were they came on board as well. It is the ONLY sequencing facility still manned by a local union in the entire country. ALL the rest were outsourced.

(Links within the post are shown in tan. Just click to follow.)

What I see nowadays is disheartening. The tiered wage system is an abomination that encourages divisiveness and the International seems happy to let it stay that way. As local unions we are divided politically (big picture) and we seem to have forgotten to have each other's backs. We crumble a bit more every day.

Local reps either seem to know nothing or worse yet, don't even care. The membership can't agree on anything long enough to replace them. It is pitiful. 

So what do we do about it? That is what we hope to talk about here. To give a foundation and explanation of who and what we are, and what we hope to become. 

Reading the posts on 2209 sites, seeing the frustration and reading the questions one thing stands out for me. We don't take care of each other any longer.

In 1976 when I hired in I learned first hand what it meant to take care of your brother or sister. Before I had my 90 I was having trouble on my job. The brackets I had to attach the steering column (mast jacket) to were warped. The nuts wouldn't thread and I had to ship more than a few. My partner, Wally, the guy who built the mast jackets, knew the foreman would be angry so he built ahead and when the foreman showed ready to give me hell Wally told him I had been building the jackets and he was installing them, and if the foreman didn't like it he could get the committeeman because he was going to keep shipping them. My ass was covered by my union brother. When I had my 90 I took care of it myself--but I might not have made 90 without Wally's help.

A few years later they guy opposite me on 1st shift got in disciplinary trouble and he took added work so the foreman would let him off the hook. But the job was a settled paragraph 78--no work could be added. Still the day guy was doing it. I didn't and I started shipping part of every job. EVERY job. Of course I put a committee call in and my committeeman had my back. Furthermore, so did the two repairmen, Ron Whitney and Bobby Ray (both now deceased, I'm sad to say). Ron and Bobby repaired EVERY job I shipped and never said a  bad word to me or about me. They did raise hell with the foreman and told him the job was overloaded. 

It took almost four months. I shipped part of every job and they fixed them. Finally management caved. The work was removed and the original 78 settlement restored.

None of that would have happened if 1) the committeeman hadn't had my back and written the grievance, 2) Ron and Bobby hadn't covered me without blaming me, and 3) if I hadn't had the balls to ship part of every job despite management threats of discipline.

What happens today in your area if someone ships work? Does someone cover them? Does the committeeman fight for them? Do they keep shipping overloaded jobs even when threatened with discipline?  Or does everyone whine and complain about them? Or do some people suck up to the foreman by doing the job without shipping work?

A little philosophy in a quote. The great warrior for worker's rights, Eugene Debs, said this: 

 
"While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."

He meant that we either hang together or we hang separately. We are ALL in this together. Remember that my sisters and brothers. Whether you like one another is irrelevant. What is relevant is that you support each other; that you care for each other; that you root for each other. Otherwise, you, too, are alone. Think about that.

Solidarity forever isn't just a song lyric--It is the union way of life.