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| California's right-to-work fight forces unions to prove their relevance | California's right-to-work fight forces unions to prove their relevance |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| “Happy Monday!” Jan Williams says as she picks up her first charge at 6.30 in the morning. “I love my job. I do. The babies make me happy and in turn I try to make them happy,” says Williams, who drives a special needs bus and has an autistic child of her own. “I try to get a smile on their face before the start of their school day.” | “Happy Monday!” Jan Williams says as she picks up her first charge at 6.30 in the morning. “I love my job. I do. The babies make me happy and in turn I try to make them happy,” says Williams, who drives a special needs bus and has an autistic child of her own. “I try to get a smile on their face before the start of their school day.” |
| Williams works for the Los Angeles unified school district – one of the school districts that might be affected later this year when the US supreme court hears one of the most contentious attacks on public sector unions in decades. | Williams works for the Los Angeles unified school district – one of the school districts that might be affected later this year when the US supreme court hears one of the most contentious attacks on public sector unions in decades. |
| Related: US supreme court: conservatives set to retake reins after year of liberal wins | Related: US supreme court: conservatives set to retake reins after year of liberal wins |
| On Monday the supreme court is back in session. The last session, which ended in June, was as historic as it was hard fought and ended with the legalization of same-sex marriage and support for Obamacare, the president’s controversial healthcare reforms. | |
| This session is potentially just as divisive with high-profile constitutional battles over the death penalty, voting rights, affirmative action and public sector labor unions. The case that directly affects Williams was brought by Rebecca Friedrichs and nine other teachers who are suing the state’s teachers union, asking to be exempt from having to pay any union dues. | |
| All union fees, they argue, are in some way used for political activities and since they don’t always agree with the union’s stance, having to pay any fees is an infringement on their first amendment rights. | |
| If the supreme court rules in their favor, California would essentially become a right-to-work state for public sector employees such as teachers, cafeteria workers and school bus drivers. | If the supreme court rules in their favor, California would essentially become a right-to-work state for public sector employees such as teachers, cafeteria workers and school bus drivers. |
| But one local union, SEIU Local 99, which represents about 35,000 non-teaching workers in the Los Angeles school district including bus drivers like Williams, building engineers and special education assistants, is approaching the Friedrichs case as an opportunity, said Max Arias, the union’s executive director. | |
| “We don’t see this [case] as ‘Oh my gosh, doom and gloom’. It’s actually an opportunity to us, that’s what it is. It’s an opportunity for us to actually talk to everybody – to all of our members – and make sure that workers feel the relevance of the union,” he said. “We are not necessarily fighting a defense. What we are doing is part of our offense: it’s not based on whether we pass this law or not, it’s based on building a movement for the lowest-paid workers in this country.” | |
| Williams, who is a member organizer of the Local 99, has felt the relevance of the union first-hand. When she first became a bus driver in 1998, she worked as a contractor and earned $7 an hour when the kids were not on the bus and $9 to $11 when they were. To make ends meet, she started early in the morning and worked late into the evening. | Williams, who is a member organizer of the Local 99, has felt the relevance of the union first-hand. When she first became a bus driver in 1998, she worked as a contractor and earned $7 an hour when the kids were not on the bus and $9 to $11 when they were. To make ends meet, she started early in the morning and worked late into the evening. |
| “I missed a lot of time with my family,” she said. When she joined the union in November 2000, her wages increased by $10 an hour and she was paid the same when the kids were on the bus as when they weren’t. “I got healthcare for my family whereas before, as a contractor, I didn’t have paid healthcare benefits. I also didn’t get paid for missed days off work, either. It was a big difference.” | “I missed a lot of time with my family,” she said. When she joined the union in November 2000, her wages increased by $10 an hour and she was paid the same when the kids were on the bus as when they weren’t. “I got healthcare for my family whereas before, as a contractor, I didn’t have paid healthcare benefits. I also didn’t get paid for missed days off work, either. It was a big difference.” |
| Ever since she was a child, Williams, now 40 years old, was told about the importance of labor unions by her father and grandfather, who worked as carpenters. | Ever since she was a child, Williams, now 40 years old, was told about the importance of labor unions by her father and grandfather, who worked as carpenters. |
| “They always said: ‘As long as you get a union job, you will be OK.’ With this younger generation, if you are not growing up in such a family, you might not really understand what a union could do for you,” she said. | “They always said: ‘As long as you get a union job, you will be OK.’ With this younger generation, if you are not growing up in such a family, you might not really understand what a union could do for you,” she said. |
| The safety net of being a union worker is what Williams tries to convey when she recruits new members. Like other recruiters from Local 99 that the Guardian spoke with, she described the Friedrichs case as an “attack” on the union – and a motivation to better explain why the union is important. | The safety net of being a union worker is what Williams tries to convey when she recruits new members. Like other recruiters from Local 99 that the Guardian spoke with, she described the Friedrichs case as an “attack” on the union – and a motivation to better explain why the union is important. |
| It took just one union meeting for Conrado Guerrero, 37, to become “hooked”. | |
| “My mom worked as a seamstress. My dad worked as a general laborer. They didn’t have any unions. If they didn’t go to work, they didn’t get paid. If they were sick, they had to go to work, there was no such a thing as paid time off,” he said. “When I came to the district, I was 19 years old. The first time I took an illness day, my mom thought I was going to get fired because they didn’t know the benefits that came with a position that has a union.” | “My mom worked as a seamstress. My dad worked as a general laborer. They didn’t have any unions. If they didn’t go to work, they didn’t get paid. If they were sick, they had to go to work, there was no such a thing as paid time off,” he said. “When I came to the district, I was 19 years old. The first time I took an illness day, my mom thought I was going to get fired because they didn’t know the benefits that came with a position that has a union.” |
| To Guerrero – who works as a building engineer for the school district servicing the heating and cooling – unions mean better working conditions, safety and better pay. Not all workers, however, understand all the benefits provided to them by a union-negotiated contract. | To Guerrero – who works as a building engineer for the school district servicing the heating and cooling – unions mean better working conditions, safety and better pay. Not all workers, however, understand all the benefits provided to them by a union-negotiated contract. |
| “They just look at it as ‘Oh, I thought it was automatic or whatever’. They need to be more informed on that,” said Guerrero, who was recently elected as the Local 99 vice-president. | “They just look at it as ‘Oh, I thought it was automatic or whatever’. They need to be more informed on that,” said Guerrero, who was recently elected as the Local 99 vice-president. |
| If workers do not fully understand their contract or the benefits won for them by their union, they are more likely to exit the union and stop paying their dues if the supreme court rules in Friedrichs’ favor. | If workers do not fully understand their contract or the benefits won for them by their union, they are more likely to exit the union and stop paying their dues if the supreme court rules in Friedrichs’ favor. |
| Currently, Local 99 collects the same amount of dues from both members and non-members; members can then opt to contribute more to a separate political fund used to support candidates. The union also has a third category of fee payers, the objectors, who pay a reduced amount that covers only activities that are related to grievance handling, negotiations and contract enforcement. | |
| Related: Unions fear supreme court case could deal severe blow across public sector | Related: Unions fear supreme court case could deal severe blow across public sector |
| The 325,000 members of the California Teachers Association, which is being sued by Friedrichs, pay $644 a year in dues. Those who opt out from paying the full dues – about 28,000 additional teachers – end up paying about $410 in “fair share” fees. Currently, the association’s membership is over 91%. Some expect that to decline if the supreme court rules in favor of Friedrichs. | The 325,000 members of the California Teachers Association, which is being sued by Friedrichs, pay $644 a year in dues. Those who opt out from paying the full dues – about 28,000 additional teachers – end up paying about $410 in “fair share” fees. Currently, the association’s membership is over 91%. Some expect that to decline if the supreme court rules in favor of Friedrichs. |
| “We’ll continue to do that outreach regardless of the Friedrichs decision,” the association’s spokeswoman said. | “We’ll continue to do that outreach regardless of the Friedrichs decision,” the association’s spokeswoman said. |
| The only way to stop people from leaving the union is to make them feel its relevance, which comes from providing a pathway for change, said Arias. However, to make a change, the workers have to unite – “one person is not going to make a change” – to create a unit and bargain collectively. | The only way to stop people from leaving the union is to make them feel its relevance, which comes from providing a pathway for change, said Arias. However, to make a change, the workers have to unite – “one person is not going to make a change” – to create a unit and bargain collectively. |
| “There are laws in this country that have made it so that we don’t have to go and burn tires like where I am from, or have to bust windows,” said Arias, who moved to the US from El Salvador in 2000. | “There are laws in this country that have made it so that we don’t have to go and burn tires like where I am from, or have to bust windows,” said Arias, who moved to the US from El Salvador in 2000. |
| “It’s sad that this attack on the unions happens to be led by our own co-workers, by the members of our family – because in the end, we are a family,” said Barbara Torres, president of Local 99. “I understand that people are upset, but it’s the unions that have given us what we have today.” | “It’s sad that this attack on the unions happens to be led by our own co-workers, by the members of our family – because in the end, we are a family,” said Barbara Torres, president of Local 99. “I understand that people are upset, but it’s the unions that have given us what we have today.” |
| Like Guerrero, she believes that better awareness of what unions do could help their members see their relevance. | Like Guerrero, she believes that better awareness of what unions do could help their members see their relevance. |
| “People hear union and they think Jimmy Hoffa. But with me, I am about quality education. I am about talking to members, telling them: ‘This is what we have,’” Torres explained. “Yes, things aren’t perfect, but they aren’t going to get better if we are on the outside. It might not be the best type of contract but it’s not going to get better if we don’t make decisions, get involved.” | “People hear union and they think Jimmy Hoffa. But with me, I am about quality education. I am about talking to members, telling them: ‘This is what we have,’” Torres explained. “Yes, things aren’t perfect, but they aren’t going to get better if we are on the outside. It might not be the best type of contract but it’s not going to get better if we don’t make decisions, get involved.” |
| According to Arias, Friedrichs’ case could be a “crisis that shakes you off your foundation and you feel instability coming, [a crisis] that moves you into action. This is that moment.” | According to Arias, Friedrichs’ case could be a “crisis that shakes you off your foundation and you feel instability coming, [a crisis] that moves you into action. This is that moment.” |
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