Related Articles

IBEW Defends Rights in Memphis Government Reorganization

June 11, 2010

Municipal union members in Memphis, Tenn. are speaking up and rallying public support to keep from being weakened as a commission proceeds to merge Memphis and Shelby County into a regional government.  And the unions are being heard.

Rick Thompson, business manager of Memphis Local 1288, representing 1,800 members at Memphis Light Gas and Water, says:

The government task force [on consolidation] tried to write the unions out of their plans. Unions representing 10,000 employees working under 24 collective bargaining agreements said we would mobilize against consolidation if we weren’t consulted.

The threat to oppose a November referendum on consolidated government, which is supposed to reduce duplication of municipal services between the city and its 900,000-resident county, came after the task force employed management consultants who proposed to redesign labor relations without consultation with unions.  Municipal unions include AFSCME, CWA and police and fire associations.

Basing their proposals upon models from private employers like FedEx, AutoZone and Methodist Healthcare, consultants recommended a performance-based scheme that would undermine the current seniority system—affecting promotions, job security and pensions and due process for workers.  New employees would be left unprotected by existing grievance procedures and arbitration and have no rights to appeal to a civil service board. Instead, their complaints would be heard by a management committee.

One month after unions voiced their objections, the Metropolitan Government Charter Commission set aside its plans to redesign labor relations. Says Thompson:

 

Talking and listening to the unions was a good first step, but we still are a long way from where we should be.

Thompson is concerned that language undermining existing bargaining rights will be written into the referendum and that existing memorandums of understandings will be in effect for only one year.  Then the new Metro Council will either void the existing language and benefits or eliminate the memorandums altogether.

We got their [commission’s] attention, but this is one of the most serious matters we have ever faced. Now we need to make our case to the public for productive labor relations that respect both parties.  

International President Edwin D. Hill says:

Our governmental bargaining units are always ready to sit down with our counterparts to discuss how to accomplish our mutual goals of good service to taxpayers and decent jobs for workers. But we will always resist municipal leaders who aim to sidetrack our ability to collectively bargain and represent our members.