Editorial By Quinton Nyman, Executive Director

Without a doubt you have read or watched events unfold in states like Wisconsin, Ohio and Illinois regarding attempts to enact legislation that would take way the collective bargaining rights of public employees. Unfortunately, what we’ve all witnessed are not isolated events and most certainly there is an element of that very same mindset towards public employees here in Montana. It was expressed in legislation to weaken collective bargaining by getting rid of meaningful arbitration, returning wages of state employees to their 2005 level and attacks on pension systems. As a result MPEA’s Board of Directors and I have had very serious discussions about how to best protect our many hard earned rights and benefits. It is now more clear than ever that MPEA must take its place in the greater labor movement in Montana. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Montana Public Employees Association I am pleased to announce that MPEA’s Board of Directors has voted unanimously to affiliate with the Montana State AFL-CIO.

By no means was this an easy decision to arrive at given MPEA’s long history of independence and the traditional nature of the Montana AFL-CIO being primarily a traditional trade union organization. However, over the course of the last decade there has been a great surge in unionized public employees and the ratio of public employee union members to trade union members has changed significantly. In fact, with MPEA’s entrance into the AFL-CIO there is now a clear majority of public employees affiliated. There is a great need to band together with the larger labor movement in Montana to help ensure your right to have a voice at the bargaining table in regard to your wages, benefits and working conditions is not lost. In addition our presence and influence in the greater labor movement of Montana will help continue the very need for all organized workers to keep those same rights whether they are members of MPEA or any other union.

Without a doubt there are two significant questions to be answered: Will we lose our independence? And does this mean there will be a dues increase? In regard to MPEA remaining an independent organization, there will be no change whatsoever. MPEA has operated as an independent organization for 65 years. First as an association formed to lobby for a retirement plan for Montana’s public employees and after the passage of the Collective Bargaining Act for Public Employees in 1973 as a bargaining agent for public employees. Affiliation with the Montana AFL-CIO does not take away any of our independence and makes no changes at all to our sole focus on public employees. MPEA’s Constitution and Bylaws will not change, nor will the makeup of its Board of Directors. Instead, there will be a far greater influence to the AFL-CIO. Lee Anne Gills, Region 2 Director, has been appointed by the Board to represent MPEA as an at-large member on the Executive Board of the AFL-CIO. Two years ago I was elected to that Board as a District Representative from the Helena area and intend to run for election again this spring. In short, MPEA now holds two seats on that Board. By affiliating as a direct affiliate with the Montana AFL-CIO we are not affiliating or merging with any international unions. In addition, affiliation creates an opportunity for participation in the local Central Labor Councils for our members who are interested.

While there is a cost associated with the affiliation, MPEA is not proposing a dues increase at the annual meeting this year in May. Based on continued efforts to keep dues levels at a minimum and by leaving a staff position vacant we are in a position to be able to move forward with this affiliation and not increase dues. Discussions of affiliation in one form or another have been going on for years and it could even be said since the 1970’s as public employee labor unions began to form in Montana.

If the future political landscape continues in the direction it is today, MPEA’s role in the greater labor movement of Montana will prove even more important in the future than it does today. There are a number of very vocal elected officials both in Montana and across the country who have determined that public employees are second class citizens and the culprits of budget woes in various states, including Montana. Those ideas couldn’t be further from the truth! Montana’s public employees have weathered the economic crisis with either wage and benefit freezes or minimal increase and continued to provide Montanans excellent service. Some have called you ‘privileged employees’ because of your long fight for and earned benefits. This is absolutely untrue and in fact public employees still lag behind private sector counterparts. By joining in with a larger labor movement in Montana we will be able to carry the message of your value and worth further and carry greater clout in defending your rights and benefits in the future.
updated 03/22/11