Category Archives: Labor

The carpenters union has no shame

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Apparently the Hawaii Carpenters Union and its various electoral fronts have absolutely no shame.

The last minute attack on City Councilmember Carol Fukunaga by Super Pac and Carpenters’ surrogate, “Be Change Now”, is a shameful attempt to mislead voters and leverage latent homophobia to promote one of Fukunaga’s challengers. The union and its affiliates are backing Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, who has been executive director of the Hawaii Construction Alliance since January 2013. The alliance represents several construction-related unions, including the carpenters.

Here’s the headline from a mailer sent to voters in Fukunaga’s district by the “Be Change Now” group.

“A convicted child molester resigned from his job at the Hawaii Legislature in the midst of a scandal. Carol Fukunaga has a history of helping him.”

Of course, the headline doesn’t say the situation it describes took place in 2005, that the conviction was later criticized by the UN High Commission for Human Rights, or that Fukunaga and other legislators at the time were expressing their concerns about due process and labor rights.

It’s disappointing to see a labor group hurl this kind of misleading attack at any candidate, but doubly disappointing in this case because Carol Fukunaga has been the epitome of a hard working, thoughtful, constituent-focused, and approachable public official both during her years at the legislature and now at the city council. She’s never been one to grandstand, and has never been in the pocket of special interests.

And the Super Pac mailer ends up smearing Santos-Tam as well, leaving the taint of being aided by this kind of smarmy attack. That’s unfortunate, because he appears to be a strong candidate on his own, and has publicly tried to distance himself from the union effort.

The “scandal” referred to is the case of Leon Rouse back in about 2005.

Rouse, who had a history of LBGT political activism, had been convicted in the Philippines of having sex with an underage boy, and apparently served 8 years in prison before he was released. Rouse claimed he was framed, and then denied a fair trial. He later filed an unsuccessful lawsuit alleging that the U.S. State Department had failed to disclose records that could have helped him fight the criminal charges. That lawsuit was dismissed because it was found to be untimely.

Rouse found work as a legislative staffer, and garnered support from a number of legislators when he had a dispute with a previous employer over allegations of sexual harassment.

The story was pushed as a “scandal” at the time by conservative journalist Andrew Walden, and Malia Zimmerman’s right-leaning Hawaii Reporter, and pressed by Republican lawmakers.

LBGT rights were a hotly contested public issue at that time, as legislators made several moves to legalize same-sex marriages, even after passage of a constitutional amendment giving legislators the right to ban such marriages.

An article by Gordon Pang, which appeared in yesterday’s Star-Advertiser, added a crucial detail about Rouse’s case.

Rouse, a legislative aide to several state lawmakers, repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, and in 2005 a committee of the United Nations’ High Commission for Human Rights found the Philippines had arbitrarily arrested him and failed to provide him a fair trial.

According to a 2005 Honolulu Advertiser story:

The human rights committee reviewed Rouse’s case under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Philippines has signed.

The committee found that Rouse was arrested and detained without a warrant. It also found the trial court admitted the victim’s original statement alleging the crime as evidence but did not accept his later retraction. Rouse’s attorneys were also never allowed to cross-examine the boy — who never appeared at the trial but was the sole eyewitness to the alleged crime.

It’s also interesting to note that at the time, Senator Brian Kanno, another legislator caught up in the Rouse case, drew strong support from the Hawaii State AFL-CIO.

Reactions to the Supreme Court ruling on union fees

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The Supreme Court’s long anticipated decision in the case of Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees shouldn’t have been a surprise. The court’s conservative majority did what they clearly intended to do–attempt to further weaken the voice and power of organized labor.

And while some commentators have called the decision a “major blow” to unions, others, including many active in their own unions, see it as requiring changes in unions that could ultimately strengthen the labor movement.

The new climate is going to require unions to put more resources into organizing, reaching new and existing members, and making sure they provide opportunities for active participation towards their common goals, rather than passive participation limited to voting in union elections.

For example, HSTA’s current leadership was elected because they showed teachers can display their power and push their demands outside of the routine structures of unions, and that members react favorably to such demonstrations. HGEA has been running ads selling the benefits of union membership, probably a necessary but not a sufficient response to the court’s ruling.

I just did a quick search via Google, which gathered a lot of the news and commentary.

Here are several worth pondering, many focusing on teachers unions due to the power displayed in what were essentially wildcat strikes of teachers in many states this year that drew wide public support.

Chalkbeat. “Detroit teachers unions won’t be hurt by the Janus decision. They already survived.”

Regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, teachers unions won’t be disappearing any time soon. The Michigan Education Association remains the largest public union in the state with about 140,000 members, and has said that membership has stabilized and may even be growing.

When right-to-work passed in Michigan in 2012, legislators “felt that would destroy unions in Michigan, specifically us, Crim said. “That hasn’t happened.”

Transport Workers United, “Janus v. AFSCME. What Are The Implications?”

Counterpunch, “Will the Supreme Court Break or Remake the Labor Movement?” This article was originally published back in December 2017, but provides a concise political history of the union movement.

Quick gimmicks and fancy social media won’t save unions from Janus. When it comes to real union strength labor expert Jane McAlevey is required reading, especially her most recent book, “No Shortcuts: organizing for power in the gilded age.” McAlevey is correct that the labor movement’s terminal decline is due, in large part, to ignoring “deep organizing” in favor of the easier “shallow mobilizing” of gimmicky public relations campaigns.

Unions focused on making deals with the employers instead of fighting the employers over workplace issues, and thus the deals got worse as the organizing deteriorated: instead of striking for higher wages unions made concessionary deals. Because union leaders refused to fight, members believed their union to be weak, reinforcing the problem. Union strength doesn’t come from well-spoken negotiators or lobbyists but from the collective action of the membership, activated around issues they’re passionate about. Strong unions will survive Janus and the weak will be exposed, forced to change quickly or forced instead into history’s dustbin.

The Atlantic, “Is This the End of Public-Sector Unions in America?Despite a crippling decision by the Supreme Court, unions say they have a plan forward.”

The unions have also had very concentrated campaigns in advance of Janus to get members involved. The American Federation of Teachers is having one-on-one meetings with members and potential members, asking them to sign “recommit” cards in 10 states to promise that they’ll continue to be union members. The union currently has 530,000 recommits, a spokesman told me. (It has 1.7 million members.) One Toledo union has 100 percent of its members recommit, Weingarten said. Similarly, the National Education Association, or NEA, is reaching out to members and trying to convince them that a union can help them fight for racial justice and equal distribution of resources, rather than just for salary wages, according to Testerman. Members are motivated to join when they think about how unions will be advocates for teachers and the communities they serve. “When people actually see a movement that is giving voice to their profession and their students, they join their union,” he told me.

EducationDive, “Regardless of Janus decision, unions are entering ‘new chapter’”

At an afternoon session focusing on the teacher walkouts — none of which have been in states where employees pay agency fees — Ed Allen, president of the Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers, said more teachers are interested in what the unions are doing.

“We’ve seen an increase in membership, and that was not us going out and organizing. That was people coming to us. When you move from powerless to powerful that’s a big deal,” he said, adding that those who are pro-Janus might face a “be careful what you wish for” scenario. “That will be another sign to teachers that we have to organize even more because there are forces out there that are working against you.”

The West Virginia school strike and the labor movement

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Counterspin, a regular weekly radio program by the media watchdog FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), had a good interview in their most recent episode regarding the West Virginia teachers strike (‘A Remarkable Victory for the Labor Movement’).

Mike Elk is senior labor reporter and founder of Payday Report, and also writes for the Guardian. He has a very optimistic assessment of what the West Virginia strike has meant for the rest of the labor movement.

You can listen to the program or use the link above to read the transcript.

Mike Elk: “What West Virginia showed was that, hey, the law can be against you and you can still win.”

So there’s been all this alarmist rhetoric that, “Oh, unions are going to go under, blah blah blah.” When, in the South, you’ve had unions that don’t have collective bargaining rights, that don’t even have dues checkoff at all, that are in right-to-work states—that have been winning victories for decades. And I think what West Virginia showed was that, hey, the law can be against you and you can still win. So it was a real shot of energy to the labor movement in that way.

I also think it was really an expression of #MeToo in the workplace. I don’t think this has been covered as much, but nationally, about 79 percent of teachers are women. One of the big issues that really upset a lot of women in this struggle for a contract was that, in order to get $500 a year off of your health insurance cost, you had to participate in a wellness program where you had to wear a Fitbit that monitored your every move. A lot of women really objected to this, that this was invasive, that this was invading women’s bodies, that this was the male state legislature refusing to give a pay raise, and wanting to do this terribly invasive thing.

And so I think this is also a big victory for the #MeToo movement in the workplace, and could inspire other types of public-sector strikes. Already, Pittsburgh teachers were in union talks while the West Virginia strike was going on, and Pittsburgh is about 45 minutes from West Virginia. We share a lot of the same media market. And so last week, last Monday, they voted to strike. And what winded up happening was they voted to strike on Monday, and gave notice they would go out on Friday. By that Wednesday, the school district folded and gave them everything they wanted.

So it was already showing an effect here in Pittsburgh, and now today in Oklahoma, the teachers union announced there that they were going to go out on strike on April 2.

So how far this thing goes is really unclear, but it’s been a long time since the labor movement had a victory this big, on this big of a scale, a mass walkout over an entire state. And even though they didn’t get everything they wanted with health insurance plans, they put themselves in a position where they gained leverage and support. So they were able to get a 5 percent pay raise, not just for teachers, but for all public employees, which helped them out in terms of gaining more public support, because initially that wasn’t on the table at all. The other public employees were going to get 2 percent less.

They got a 19-month freeze to all out-of-pocket healthcare costs, which is a big victory. And then they got set up a taskforce to study how to fix the state health insurance program. It’s supposed to have a report presented by October, and this taskforce will have many members of the teachers union on it.

And it’s important that that’s coming in October, because in October, the state legislature comes back into session, and then in November, there are legislative elections. So if no action is taken, it really puts the issue front and center; it puts the union in a position to fight another day, rather than going on a multi-week strike, where they might lose support.

You know, a strike is a very difficult thing to maintain, and these teachers did a great job of doing community outreach, of setting up daycares, of setting up lunch programs, making sure that children were provided for during the strike, and keeping public support on their side. So it’s really a remarkable victory for the labor movement.

There’s plenty more. Definitely worth reading or listening.

Discovering an employee-owned supermarket chain

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Disclosure: We arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, a few days ago. Meda is here to make several presentations to judges and other court personnel, and I’m along as her escort. So far, it’s the land of thunderstorms and rising rivers.

After landing, we went looking for the nearest grocery store to pick up some supplies, and found a Hy-Vee store just a few minutes away. I don’t think I’ve run into a Hy-Vee before.

This was a very large store, now undergoing renovations. Prices very cheap by Hawaii standards. After our second shopping visit, I started wondering about the company and its reputation, since I avoid shopping at Walmart-like stores. Knowing nothing about Hy-Vee, I went looking for information. And what I found was surprising to me.

Turns out Hy-Vee, which was started during the depression, now ranks among the top 25 supermarket chains with 75,000 employees, $8.7 billion in annual sales, is ranked among the country’s largest privately-owned companies, and most importantly, since 1960 has been an employee owned business!

With sales of $8.7 billion annually, Hy-Vee ranks among the top 25 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. Its more than 235 stores are located in eight Midwestern states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Distribution centers are in Chariton, Iowa, and Cherokee, Iowa, with a third perishable operation in Ankeny, Iowa. Hy-Vee’s corporate office is located in West Des Moines, Iowa.

According to the company history:

The Employees’ Trust Fund was established in 1960, enabling all eligible employees to share in the ownership of the company. It was the beginning of the company’s long and proud tradition of being known as an employee-owned business.

From an article in Supermarket News:

Partners Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg — the “Hy” and the “Vee” in Hy-Vee — opened their first store together in 1930 in Beaconsville, Iowa, and from very early on established the principle of store-level autonomy that still guides the chain today.

As the chain began to expand, it began paying store managers on a profit-sharing basis in 1933, according to a history on the company’s website. Store managers met at one of the stores to discuss store operations and plan their advertising, and managers were given the freedom to alter their ads.

Hyde and Vredenburg, together with 14 other partners, rolled up a network of 15 grocery-store locations in Iowa and Missouri in 1938 that formed the nucleus of the chain. Then in 1945, the company purchased a wholesale grocery business in Chariton, Iowa, where it established a headquarters and where it still operates a distribution center.

The company formed the Employees’ Trust Fund in 1960, allowing workers to take ownership in Hy-Vee, which remains employee-owned.

Employee owned. There’s a concept!

Here’s a list of the top 100 majority employee-owned companies in the country.

For some reason, Hy-Vee is not included. If it were, it appears that it would be the #2 on the list in terms of the number of employees.

But it’s not all a rosy picture.

Searching for more details, I found this online comment posted about a year ago, part of a debate over Hy-Vee’s potential entry into the Minneapolis area.

Hy-Vee is an employee owned company–employees collectively own over fifty percent of the stock. However, it is non-union, with wage scales more similar to Wal-Mart and Target than to the unionized Cub, Rainbow, and Lunds stores–which are about fifty percent higher for full time employees.

So now I’m sort of back to square one, wondering how to evaluate the Hy-Vee chain.

If employees in the employee-owned chain have more control of their working conditions, and aren’t required to chase the profits demanded by Wall Street, I can see accepting the trade-off of lower wages.

But how to drill down to find this kind of data? I’m not sure, especially in the short time that we’ll be here.