Again this year, union members are being urged to hold off on ringing bells for the Salvation Army's holiday kettle drive. Like last year, the dispute centers on the Salvation Army's treatment of its only unionized workers: the 50 employees at two Minneapolis detox centers.

This year, however, it's more than a contract dispute. The Salvation Army is shutting down its alcohol and drug treatment services, potentially throwing the workers out of a job.

The employees, represented by AFSCME Local 708, work at the Army's Harbor Lights Center and a larger treatment center owned by Hennepin County at 1800 Chicago Ave. The Salvation Army has operated the detox services under contract from Hennepin County for six years. Earlier this year, the Army notified the county it will not renew that contract, which expires Dec. 31.

Employees' future uncertain
Linda Cobb, business agent for AFSCME Council 14, said the union is seeking bonus pay for workers who stay until Dec. 31, severance pay, and continuation of other benefits from the Army, including six months of fully paid medical insurance.

To date, Cobb said, the Salvation Army has ignored most of the AFSCME package and agreed only to a maximum of 17 days' severance for employees who stay until the end of the year

'Their proposal didn't come close to answering the items on our proposals or to resolving our issues,' Cobb said. 'We would hope the management has more regard for its employees than what they've demonstrated.'

Because of the employees' situation, Cobb said, 'We are asking different local unions, who normally would receive requests to bell-ring during the holidays, to let the Salvation Army know they support these workers and will not consider participating unless they know something more positive is going on with these workers.'

Cobb notes that because the Salvation Army does not pay unemployment insurance, the workers are not even eligible for state jobless benefits.

County seeks new provider
The union has talked with Hennepin County, trying to smooth the way for employees to get jobs with whoever replaces the Salvation Army, Cobb said.

However, it will be up to the new provider to decide whether to retain employees, said Bob Olander, director of chemical health services for Hennepin County.

Hennepin County has sent out 50 requests for proposals to manage the Chicago Ave. detox center, Olander said. Responses are due Oct. 1, and his department hopes to submit a recommendation to the county board by November.

'We will have a new vendor at 1800 Chicago,' he said. 'We can encourage them to hire people with detox treatment experience, but we can't indicate that they must hire the current employees of another corporation.'

Hennepin County is giving detox employees and AFSCME lists of county job openings for which the workers are likely to qualify.

'We've tried to be real assertive and helpful where we can be,' Olander said.

Detox services don't fit, Army says
The Salvation Army says it is closing its detox centers because they don't mesh well with its mission. 'The Salvation Army is a church,' said David Gulner, director of business administration for the Army in the Twin Cities. 'We've come to recognize that detox treatment is outside our area of expertise.?

'The medical detox model is not a good fit for us,' he said. 'It's inconsistent with the holistic treatment we believe is necessary and with our Christian principles.'

Treatment, Gulner said, should respond not only to a person's physical and psychological needs, but to spiritual needs as well. 'The present situation does not lend itself well to the spiritual mission of the Army.'

Cobb said she was unsure whether to think the Army's decision was made in part to eliminate the union. 'That was something we had suggested,' she said, 'and they said no.'

Gulner denied that the workers' union status is behind the Army's decision. 'No, that is not an accurate interpretation at all,' he said. The decision is the result of the Army's routine evaluation of the effectiveness of its programs, he said. 'That's it. End of subject.'

He noted that the Army has given employees and Hennepin County several months' notice to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Bumpy relations
The Salvation Army's relations with unions is checkered in recent years.

Detox center employees won representation rights in February 2000, becoming what are believed to be the only unionized Salvation Army workers nationwide. After difficult negotiations in which the workers authorized a strike, they achieved their first contract last November. That contract, like the Salvation Army's contract with Hennepin County, expires this Dec. 31.

In support of the workers' contract struggle, the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly's Community Services led a well-publicized effort last year to persuade unions to withhold or withdraw commitments to ring bells.

A year earlier, the Minneapolis Building Trades Council withheld its support from Army fundraising because the organization refused to consider bids from union contractors on renovation of its Harbor Lights center. 'We couldn't get anywhere with them,' said John Williams, who was field representative at the time.

However, current field rep Mike Reinking says, 'Since then, we've had an OK relationship with them.' The Salvation Army currently is using all-union labor under a project-labor agreement to build its new Hope Harbor, a transitional housing facility in downtown Minneapolis.

This article was written for The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org