Three of the four AFSCME councils in Minnesota will proceed with a planned merger later this year, even though the fourth council has opted out.
Council 65, which represents about 12,000 AFSCME members in Greater Minnesota, rejected the unification proposal in a special convention Aug. 7 in St. Cloud. The vote was 5,155-4,103 against, said Steve Prebble, director of Council 65.
The Council 65 vote came two weeks after the state?s two largest AFSCME Councils, 6 and 14, both approved unification during separate conventions in Bloomington. Council 96 previously had approved a merger on June 7.
The proposed unification would have united the four councils into a single Minnesota council. Proponents say unification is necessary to improve cooperation and power in organizing, bargaining, communications, and legislative and political activities.
Moving ahead
?It?s unfortunate, but we knew this was a possibility,? said Eric Lehto, director of Council 96.
Nonetheless, Councils 6, 14 and 96 will merge, with some slight modifications in staffing and governance, said Mike Morrell, assistant director of Council 6.
?I think there?s some disappointment,? he said, ?but among Council 6 leadership, there?s also the feeling that a whole lot of the things that folks think would be positive in coming together still exist. The biggest majority of AFSCME will be in one organization.?
?We won?t be able to be as aggressive as we?d like,? Lehto said, ?but we?ll still have a very active political action and organizing program.?
Statewide, AFSCME now has only one full-time organizer; under the merger, that will expand to an organizing director overseeing a full-time staff of up to six. AFSCME also will expand staff dedicated to political action, communications, research, and training.
Easier cooperation?
The new council will represent about 75 percent of the AFSCME members in Minnesota. Council 6 represents now about 22,000 members statewide; they work for the State of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota or related health facilities. Council 14 represents about 15,000 county, municipal and health-care employees in Ramsey, Hennepin, Dakota, Anoka, Washington and Scott Counties. Council 96 represents 4,000 workers in Duluth and along the North Shore.
?We?ve worked together in the past, I don?t know why that would be any different now,? Council 65?s Prebble said. The fact that there will be only one other governing body to consult and coordinate with ?has got to be a plus,? he said. ?We?re certainly willing to work with other councils and head in the right direction, as we always have.?
Prebble said Council 65 delegates seemed concerned about potential loss of autonomy among small locals and about accountability in a single state council. The concept that ?bigger is better? didn?t sell, he said.
But even skeptics seemed to agree with the goals of the merger, Prebble said. As a result, Council 65?s executive board is creating special committees to look at restructuring. ?We need to do some work on the way we operate ? to look at those things that can make us better,? he said.
A unification convention among Councils 6, 14 and 96 is scheduled for Oct. 1-2, with the new, larger council coming into existence Oct. 4.
Michael Kuchta edits the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly. E-mail him at advocate@mtn.org
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Three of the four AFSCME councils in Minnesota will proceed with a planned merger later this year, even though the fourth council has opted out.
Council 65, which represents about 12,000 AFSCME members in Greater Minnesota, rejected the unification proposal in a special convention Aug. 7 in St. Cloud. The vote was 5,155-4,103 against, said Steve Prebble, director of Council 65.
The Council 65 vote came two weeks after the state?s two largest AFSCME Councils, 6 and 14, both approved unification during separate conventions in Bloomington. Council 96 previously had approved a merger on June 7.
The proposed unification would have united the four councils into a single Minnesota council. Proponents say unification is necessary to improve cooperation and power in organizing, bargaining, communications, and legislative and political activities.
Moving ahead
?It?s unfortunate, but we knew this was a possibility,? said Eric Lehto, director of Council 96.
Nonetheless, Councils 6, 14 and 96 will merge, with some slight modifications in staffing and governance, said Mike Morrell, assistant director of Council 6.
?I think there?s some disappointment,? he said, ?but among Council 6 leadership, there?s also the feeling that a whole lot of the things that folks think would be positive in coming together still exist. The biggest majority of AFSCME will be in one organization.?
?We won?t be able to be as aggressive as we?d like,? Lehto said, ?but we?ll still have a very active political action and organizing program.?
Statewide, AFSCME now has only one full-time organizer; under the merger, that will expand to an organizing director overseeing a full-time staff of up to six. AFSCME also will expand staff dedicated to political action, communications, research, and training.
Easier cooperation?
The new council will represent about 75 percent of the AFSCME members in Minnesota. Council 6 represents now about 22,000 members statewide; they work for the State of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota or related health facilities. Council 14 represents about 15,000 county, municipal and health-care employees in Ramsey, Hennepin, Dakota, Anoka, Washington and Scott Counties. Council 96 represents 4,000 workers in Duluth and along the North Shore.
?We?ve worked together in the past, I don?t know why that would be any different now,? Council 65?s Prebble said. The fact that there will be only one other governing body to consult and coordinate with ?has got to be a plus,? he said. ?We?re certainly willing to work with other councils and head in the right direction, as we always have.?
Prebble said Council 65 delegates seemed concerned about potential loss of autonomy among small locals and about accountability in a single state council. The concept that ?bigger is better? didn?t sell, he said.
But even skeptics seemed to agree with the goals of the merger, Prebble said. As a result, Council 65?s executive board is creating special committees to look at restructuring. ?We need to do some work on the way we operate ? to look at those things that can make us better,? he said.
A unification convention among Councils 6, 14 and 96 is scheduled for Oct. 1-2, with the new, larger council coming into existence Oct. 4.
Michael Kuchta edits the Union Advocate, the official publication of the St. Paul Trades & Labor Assembly. E-mail him at advocate@mtn.org