An article in the Chron online caught my eye about union locals not being so local. But if the companies which unions, such as SEIU, are attempting to work with to win better working conditions and pay can be from multiple states, why can’t the unions?
O’Donnell said the huge local makes sense. Janitorial companies are large regional or national companies, and the union negotiates with the same ones in Chicago as it does in Missouri and Texas. Besides, O’Donnell said, the multistate local creates administrative efficiencies while avoiding local fiefdoms open to corruption.
And individual small locals can’t unite enough people to build worker power, O’Donnell said.
Just like management attempts to find efficiencies, so too must unions. They become more effective, more streamlined, and when needed, the other states in the local can unite to build people power to step up the pressure during negotiations; much like corporations who are highly centralized and live by the same management plan for the multiple states in which they do business.
Management attorneys seem to be against the concept.
The large size and dispersed interests also make it harder to quickly resolve an issue, he said. If you are in management, you want to be dealing with top-level union officials who know your workplace instead of trying to figure out whom to call and wondering if they know the players, he said.
In Houston, SEIU has a well-staffed, well-organized office that has achieved victories for janitors locally, and in cities where they represent workers, they have the same type of operation, so whether this is a spin job by management or not is beyond me. The folks at SEIU are very accessible and are obviously more than willing to utilize the various tools to ensure workers are treated fairly, whether it is direct action or face-to-face negotiations.
The management attorney seems to want to make the phone calls, but his phone is ringing, too, and he needs to pick up.
