House votes to make it easier for workers to join unions

By Shay Totten | Vermont Guardian

Posted March 22, 2007

MONTPELIER — Lawmakers approved a measure Thursday that would make it easier for employees at Vermont’s state colleges and the University of Vermont to form unions.

The bill, called the Public Sector Employee Free Choice Act, passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 80-60. In all, 15 Democrats voted against the bill, with a number of Republicans voting in favor.

The bill would require that if a majority of workers — 50 percent plus one — choose to form a bargaining unit that the Vermont Labor Relations Board would be required to acknowledge it without holding a secret election. If more than 30 percent of employees present proof they want to form a union, the bill would allow them to request an election.

This approach, called a “card check,” would not only make it easier for employees to form a union, but would level the playing field, say some union backers.

“Right now, the employer is the one who controls the media, and controls the workplace, and this would give employees more power to make a decision,” said Dan Brush, of the Washington-Orange-Lamoille Labor Council.

Rep. Kurt Wright, R-Burlington, spoke out against the bill on the House floor. He said the bill takes away workers’ democratic rights to hold an election.

Gov. Jim Douglas, also a Republican, spoke out against the bill during his weekly meeting with reporters.

“I don’t think its fair to deny prospective union members a chance to have a free and confidential vote on that very important decision,” said Douglas. “I don’t think the system is broken now, and I don’t know why we need to take away that right of workers to have a secret ballot vote to join a union.”

Douglas would not say if he would veto the bill if it passes the Senate. But, he may not have to worry about making such a decision anytime soon.

Sen. Vince Illuzzi, R-Essex/Orleans, chairman of the Senate General, Economic and Military Affairs Committee, was unsure if the bill would make it out of the Senate this session.

“It’ll be a tough sell,” he said. And, his committee is already committed to working on Douglas’ proposal to expand cellular phone and broadband services, as well as proposals offered by the Next Generation Commission to keep younger workers in Vermont.

Illuzzi said the bill might have a chance of getting through this year, but probably not until next year.

The president of one union heavily involved in organizing staff and faculty at the state colleges was pleased with the outcome.

“In its struggles to improve life for Vermont families, our legislature has increased the state’s minimum wage, and worked on the issues of health care, affordable housing and child care,” said Jen Henry, president of the United Professions/AFT Vermont and the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

“The House has taken a critical and positive step to level the playing field for those Vermonters who want to bargain collectively with their employer,” said Henry. “It provides for a fair process that recognizes that once a majority of workers chooses to form a union, unfair obstacles should not be placed in their way. This bill is good for the working families of Vermont.”

The bill affects about 4,000 workers in Vermont, and mostly those who work at the state colleges and the University of Vermont.

The Vermont State Colleges did not take a position on the bill, according to Chancellor Robert C. Clarke.

The National Labor Relations Board Act governs unionizing activities at private workplaces.

A bi-partisan bill passed the U.S. House earlier this year that would make it easier for employees in those workplaces to form unions in a similar way. That bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Peter Welch, D-VT.

Aside from recognizing card checks, the federal bill also puts in place stiff penalties for employers who pressure employees or willfully fire employees for attempting to form a union.

That bill is now pending in the U.S. Senate.