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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Allmightyduck (talk | contribs) at 03:01, 12 July 2010 (→Origins: Typo fixing, typos fixed: contined → continued using AWB). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Public Employees Federation is a union representing 59,000 professional, scientific, and technical public employees in the state of New York.[1] The union (known by its acronym, PEF) is one of the largest local white-collar unions in the United States and is New York's second-largest state-employee union.[1] PEF also represents employees who work in private-sector jobs and local government agencies such as: Albany County Probation Department; Albany Housing Authority; NYS Canal Corporation; National Development and Research Inc; and, Lockport Memorial Hospital.[1]

PEF publishes The Communicator, its official newsletter, on a monthly basis.[1]

Origins

In 1971, 61-year-old George Hardy was elected president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).[2][3] Under Hardy, SEIU's health care and public employee divisions saw rapid growth.[3] Much of the membership growth, however, came through affiliation rather than new member organizing. Hardy viewed the fast-growing American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) as SEIU's chief competitor.[4] AFSCME had grown from a mere 100,000 members in 1951 to 500,000 members in 1972, and had elected a dynamic and aggressive new leader, 45-year-old Jerry Wurf, in 1964.[5] Not only was AFSCME's growth substantial, its demographics matched those of SEIU's: At least two-thirds of the rival union's members were blue-collar workers, and a fifth of them worked in hospitals and nursing homes.[5] To counter AFSCME's rapid growth, Hardy adopted a strategy of affiliating existing unions rather than organizing unorganized workers. Between 1971 and 1980, SEIU affiliated 22 independent unions.[6] Merger and affiliation accounted for 230,000 new members from 1971 to 1985, and virtually all of the union's growth from 1980 to 1984.[6]

One of SEIU's major growth spurts came in 1979, when it raided the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). In existence since 1910, CSEA had won representation rights for New York State's 140,000 public employees after the state passed a public employee collective bargaining law in 1968. Structured like an association rather than a union, CSEA hesitated to engage in militant labor action or strike, and yet it had a rocky relationship with the state: The union struck for two days at the beginning of April 1972[7] and won a 5.5 percent pay hike.[8] But the strike and dissatisfaction with CSEA's leadership led some CSEA members to ask for representation by SEIU. With Hardy's strong backing, the union was able to gather enough signatures on petitions to trigger a vote in two of the four units where workers were represented by CSEA, but SEIU lost the vote by a 3-to-1 margin in December 1972.[9] A second strike planned by CSEA leaders was called off after delegates overwhelmingly repudiated a strike resolution supported by the union's leaders.[10] The internal strike led SEIU to once again challenge CSEA for a large unit of New York State public employees. In an election held December 5, 1975, an SEIU-led coalition which included the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Laborers' International Union of North America, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and several building trades unions was defeated by CSEA, 10,858 to 10,348 with 1,015 voting for neither union.[11] With neither side winning a majority, a second election was held the first week of February 1976, which CSEA won (14,321 to 10,184).[11]

But Hardy continued to raid CSEA. CSEA leaders initially sought protection by affiliating with AFSCME. Article 20 of the AFL-CIO constitution prohibits affiliates from raiding one another's members, and an affiliation with AFSCME would have won CSEA relief from the raids.[12] But CSEA delegates formally barred their leaders from seeking an affiliation with AFSCME in March 1976.[12] CSEA's contract with the state of New York expired in 1977. Although CSEA leaders once more proposed a strike, the union settled for a 14 percent pay raise in April 1977.[13] Hardy, convinced SEIU could successfully raid CSEA, conducted secret polls which showed that deep unrest in the professional, scientific, and technical (PS&T) unit.[14] Working only with the AFT, SEIU once more obtained enough petitions to challenge CSEA representation in the PS&T unit. The raid was successful, and the coalition (known as the Public Employees Federation) won, 15,062 to 12,259.[15] Hardy and AFT leader Albert Shanker hoped to raid CSEA further, but CSEA affiliated with AFSMCE on April 21, 1978.[14][16] The affiliation made AFSCME the largest affiliate in the AFL-CIO.[17]

CSEA challenged the SEIU/AFT coalition's victory, however. CSEA attorneys alleged that nearly 5,000 of the signatures on the petition forcing an election were fraudulent.[18] A New York Supreme Court (the state's trial court of general jurisdiction) initially dismissed the suit,[19] but it was reinstated by a state appellate court.[20] As the lawsuit progressed, CSEA won a new three-year contract which included a 7 percent pay hike in the first year.[21] But the Public Employees Federation ultimately prevailed in the New York Court of Appeals (the highest court in the state of New York) on March 28, 1979.[22] PEF subsequently negotiated a controversial contract which gave union members a 36 percent pay increase over three years.[23] Submitted to the members without the approval of PEF's executive council, the contract was overwhelmingly approved by PEF members on December 6, 1979.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d PEF web site, no date.
  2. ^ Who Was Who in America, 1991.
  3. ^ a b Cook, "George Hardy, 79, Pioneer Leader of Service Worker Union, Is Dead," New York Times, September 18, 1990.
  4. ^ McCartin, " 'A Wagner Act for Public Employees': Labor's Deferred Dream and the Rise of Conservatism, 1970–1976," Journal of American History, June 2008.
  5. ^ a b Billings and Greenya, Power to the Public Worker, 1974.
  6. ^ a b Moody, An Injury to All: The Decline of American Unionism, 1988.
  7. ^ Clarity, "State Employes Begin a Walkout," New York Times, April 1, 1972.
  8. ^ Clarity, "State Strike Ends As Workers Win Raise and Bonus," New York Times, April 3, 1972.
  9. ^ Stetson, "State Employes Will Vote This Week," New York Times, December 3, 1972; Johnson, "State Institutional Employes to Stay in Civil Service Union," New York Times, December 9, 1972; "State's Professional Aides Vote to Retain Association," New York Times, December 10, 1972.
  10. ^ Carroll, "State Workers Postpone Strike After Rift Develops," New York Times, April 1, 1975.
  11. ^ a b "C.S.E.A. Wins a Test in Albany Election," New York Times, February 8, 1976.
  12. ^ a b "Civil Service Association Bars Merger With Union," New York Times, March 18, 1976.
  13. ^ Stetson, "New York State Employees Plan For a Possible Strike on April 18," New York Times, April 7, 1977; Meislin, "Albany Pact to Give State Workers Raise of 14% Over 2 Years," New York Times, April 18, 1977.
  14. ^ a b "Tom Hobart Interview," CSEA History Project, SUNY-Albany, December 7, 2004.
  15. ^ Stetson, "State's Employees Get Different Union," New York Times, April 16, 1978.
  16. ^ Gupte, "Union of Civil Service Employees to Affiliate With a Longtime Rival," New York Times, April 22, 1978.
  17. ^ Flint, "New York Labor Dispute Hints at a Jurisdictional War," New York Times, May 2, 1978.
  18. ^ "Hearings Consider Union Dispute," New York Times, May 21, 1978.
  19. ^ "Civil Service Union Loses Vote Appeal," New York Times, July 21, 1978.
  20. ^ "Civil Service Union Wins Appeal," New York Times, January 12, 1979.
  21. ^ Meislin, "New York State Agrees to 7% Rise And New Merit Setup for 105,000," New York Times, March 12, 1979; "Governor Announces Three-Year Wage Pact With State's Workers," New York Times, March 13, 1979.
  22. ^ "Union Awarded Right to Represent Professional Employees," New York Times, March 28, 1979.
  23. ^ Stetson, "State Employees to Vote on New Contract Nov. 19," New York Times, November 10, 1979.
  24. ^ "State Employees Approve Pact," New York Times, December 7, 1979.

References

  • Billings, Richard N. and Greenya, John. Power to the Public Worker. Washington, D.C.: Robert B. Luce, Inc., 1974. ISBN 0883310678
  • Carroll, Maurice. "State Workers Postpone Strike After Rift Develops." New York Times. April 1, 1975.
  • "Civil Service Association Bars Merger With Union." New York Times. March 18, 1976.
  • "Civil Service Union Loses Vote Appeal." New York Times. July 21, 1978.
  • "Civil Service Union Wins Appeal." New York Times. January 12, 1979.
  • Clarity, James F. "State Employes Begin A Walkout." New York Times. April 1, 1972.
  • Clarity, James F. "State Strike Ends As Workers Win Raise and Bonus." New York Times. April 3, 1972.
  • Cook, Joan. "George Hardy, 79, Pioneer Leader of Service Worker Union, Is Dead." New York Times. September 18, 1990.
  • "C.S.E.A. Wins a Test in Albany Election." New York Times. February 8, 1976.
  • Flint, Jerry. "New York Labor Dispute Hints at a Jurisdictional War." New York Times. May 2, 1978.
  • "Governor Announces Three-Year Wage Pact With State's Workers." New York Times. March 13, 1979.
  • Gupte, Pranay. "Union of Civil Service Employees to Affiliate With a Longtime Rival." New York Times. April 22, 1978.
  • "Hearings Consider Union Dispute." New York Times. May 21, 1978.
  • Johnson, Rudy. "State Institutional Employes to Stay in Civil Service Union." New York Times. December 9, 1972.
  • McCartin, Joseph A. " 'A Wagner Act for Public Employees': Labor's Deferred Dream and the Rise of Conservatism, 1970–1976." Journal of American History. 95:1 (June 2008).
  • Meislin, Richard J. "Albany Pact to Give State Workers Raise of 14% Over 2 Years." New York Times. April 18, 1977.
  • Meislin, Richard J. "New York State Agrees to 7% Rise And New Merit Setup for 105,000." New York Times. March 12, 1979.
  • Moody, Kim. An Injury to All: The Decline of American Unionism. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Verso, 1988. ISBN 0860919293
  • "State Employees Approve Pact." New York Times. December 7, 1979.
  • Stetson, Damon. "New York State Employees Plan For a Possible Strike on April 18." New York Times. April 7, 1977.
  • Stetson, Damon. "State Employees to Vote on New Contract Nov. 19." New York Times. November 10, 1979.
  • Stetson, Damon. "State Employes Will Vote This Week." New York Times. December 3, 1972.
  • Stetson, Damon. "State's Employees Get Different Union." New York Times. April 16, 1978.
  • "State's Professional Aides Vote to Retain Association." New York Times. December 10, 1972.
  • "Tom Hobart Interview." CSEA History Project. SUNY-Albany. December 7, 2004.
  • "Union Awarded Right to Represent Professional Employees." New York Times. March 28, 1979.
  • Who Was Who in America. 10th ed. New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who, 1991. ISBN 0837901464
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