By Clynton Namuo New Hampshire Union Leader Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008
Durham - Two of the nation's most prominent labor unions are competing to organize about 3,000 staff members at New Hampshire's three public colleges.
The United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' Council 93 are both trying to get just over 50 percent of about 3,070 staff members at the University of New Hampshire, Keene State College and Plymouth State University to sign union cards with their respective organizations.
If successful, separate unions would likely be formed at each of the three colleges, labor officials said yesterday, drastically changing the way wages and benefits are doled out at each institution. Millions of dollars in union dues are also at stake, with AFSCME charging $32 per month for membership and UAW taking .805 percent of wages, or $8.05 per $1,000.
Officials at UNH have come out against organizing; sending letters to staff detailing what they could lose if a union is formed, including some benefits.
"All terms and conditions of employment, including compensation and benefits, are open for negotiation in a unionized environment," says a fact sheet given to UNH staff on Feb. 12. "Whether your current benefits will stay the same or change cannot be predicted prior to the conclusion of the bargaining process and adoption of the contract."
Only one union can successfully organize each of the colleges and labor officials are working to get as many staff to sign union cards before the other reaches the magic 50 percent, plus one, necessary, though each union will likely seek significantly more than that number to be safe. AFSCME recently opened an office in Durham to further their goal.
Getting staff to put their signatures on cards and stick with it will become an important part of the process because workers are allowed to sign cards with multiple unions, but only the most recent one is valid.
Previously, at least 30 percent of workers covered had to vote to approve the union. Although that old system is still available, both unions have elected to use the new method because the time between notifying state officials of the election and the voting itself was often used to deter workers from unionizing.
When one union is trying to organize workers, another will generally back off, but UAW and AFSCME officials said yesterday they have no intention of yielding. It's unclear which union began organizing first, but both said they became more serious after the new system of signing union cards was enacted statewide in September 2007.
The American Federation of Teachers tried to organize staff at UNH in the mid-1990s but failed.
AFSCME represents about 1.4 million workers nationwide while UAW has about 500,000 members.
AFSCME labor organizer Rudy Renaud said she has heard several reasons for organizing from staff, including the possibility of more positions being outsourced, unfair job posting practices and, most notably, health care rates.
"They are trying to find creative ways to put the rising cost of health insurance on the worker's back and non-unionized workers have no say in it," she said.
UNH spokesman Kim Billings said the university plans to hold public forums with staff about the union and noted that the staff already has a say in decisions affecting its employees through the Professional, Administrative and Technical Council as well as the Operating Staff Council, which advises the administration.
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