GARY CAMERON / REUTERS

Powerful public sector union AFSCME backs Clinton, boosting campaign

Executive board approves endorsement after what the 1.6 million-member union described as a rigorous process

October 23, 2015 1:27PM ET

In a boost to her candidacy, Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton won the endorsement of the powerful labor union AFSCME, it was announced Friday.

The nod from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees marks a significant breakthrough in Clinton's efforts to woo the labor movement as she seeks to build a coalition within her party and solidify her bid for the White House.

AFSCME's 1.6 million members include public service employees in a range of jobs, including nurses and sanitation workers.

Clinton received AFSCME's endorsement in the fall of 2007 and its backing was sought by both Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the current race.

Earlier this month an AFSCME official told Al Jazeera the union was still deliberating over which Democratic candidate to endorse, but that membership was seeking someone who "will definitely win in November."

A vocal core of union members and labor activists support Clinton's main challenger in the primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders supporters in the labor movement have been trying to delay union endorsements for so that their preferred candidate would have an opportunity to demonstrate his credibility as a general election contender.

Prior Clinton endorsements from labor unions have caused mild uproars among pro-Sanders rank-and-file. But AFSCME said in a Friday statement that its endorsement of Clinton was in line with what the majority of its members desired.

“What we heard throughout our endorsement process is that AFSCME members want a candidate who is committed to fixing our out-of-balance economy and raising incomes for hardworking people who are still struggling to make ends meet," said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. "Members want a candidate who will make it easier instead of harder to join together in strong unions and stand together for wages and benefits that can sustain our families."

AFSCME said its International Executive Board made the decision to endorse Clinton after polling its membership over the course of six months.

U.S.

JEFF KOWALSKY / REUTERS

Auto union walks back major concession to one of Detroit's Big Three

UAW workers at Fiat Chrysler plants may vote to weaken hated two-tier contract provisions

October 9, 2015 12:38PM ET

by Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff

Unionized workers are poised to weaken the most controversial element of a 2007 deal between the United Auto Workers union and Detroit’s Big Three auto manufacturers, reversing one of the most prominent examples of a contentious two-tiered employment system that experts say threatens to push down wages across the industry.

A tentative contract agreement for employees at Fiat Chrysler factories would narrow the pay differential between first-tier workers, who were hired under a prior contract and newer, or second-tier, employees, with an eye toward eliminating the gap.

On Friday the UAW's Chrysler council voted in support of the new proposal, but final approval depends on the general membership of the union's general Fiat Chrysler branch. Negotiators reached a tentative agreement the day before, narrowly averting a planned strike at several Midwestern plants.

UAW workers overwhelmingly rejected another proposed Fiat Chrysler contract a week ago, in part because it would have left the tiered wage structure intact. Under the most recent contract between UAW and the carmaker, unionized workers hired after 2007 can earn a maximum of $19.28 per hour, whereas the first-tier workers, hired before the cutoff, earn closer to $28.50 per hour.

The UAW released details of the more recent proposal after the Chrysler council vote. Under this deal, all second-tier workers could earn up to $28 per hour after seven years of employment and what it termed a “traditional wage” by year eight.

Fiat Chrysler is not the only major auto company to have a tiered contract. General Motors and Ford, the others in Detroit’s Big Three, also inked tiered deals with UAW in 2007, when the whole industry was under severe economic pressure. First-tier workers at the Big Three account for 10 percent of autoworkers in the United States; 4 percent of autoworkers are second-tier workers in the Big Three, according to an analysis by the labor publication Labor Notes. Together, the contracts cover about 137,000 workers — including a lower-wage second tier that makes up 45 percent of the workforce at Chrysler, 25 percent at Ford and 20 percent at General Motors, according to the Center for Automotive Research.

University of Rhode Island labor historian Erik Loomis told Al Jazeera the UAW was feeling the heat when those tiered contracts were first signed. “The Big Three were producing a decent number of cars in Mexico, and so the threat of capital mobility was a big part of this,” he said. “Given the decline of the UAW, I’m not sure what choice they had at the time."

Such two-tiered contracts became a common practice in the 1980s — Ronald Reagan pushed a tiered scheme on the United States Postal Service in 1984 — and unionized companies outside the automotive industry continue to raise the possibility of a tiered structure when negotiating new contracts. Last month, for example, the United Steelworkers said that the steel giant U.S. Steel is demanding a two-tier health care plan, in which newer employers receive less generous benefits.

Unions have long complained that tiered pay scales tend to bring wages down over time as first-tier workers retire, leaving a larger share of second-tier employees.

Even if UAW rolls back the tiered scheme at Chrysler and other automotive companies, that may not prevent other businesses from proposing similar pay and benefit scales. But it would demonstrate that tiered systems, once implemented, are not irreversible.

If Fiat Chrysler’s current wage structure gets tossed, said Loomis, it will be at least partially because the company has less to lose from paying its lower-tier workers more.

“Car companies are making a lot of money right now,” said Loomis. “Because of declining gas prices, people are going back to buying trucks and SUVs, which are more profitable."

UAW President Dennis Williams said Friday that the union's Fiat Chrysler workers sent a clear message about the tiered system. “We returned to bargaining with a clear mandate to fight for a contract that gives all members a clearly defined path to fair pay,” he said in a statement.

When UAW finalizes its tentative contract, Loomis said, the union might have the momentum to roll back the tiered system elsewhere. “If they manage to get rid of it [at Fiat Chrysler], then I think the UAW’s hand is a lot stronger to get rid of it with the other two as well,” he said.

Why did you join the union

Sunday, October 25, 2015