Schneider Retires After 35 Years as

MPEA Executive Director

    Tom Schneider, MPEA’s first executive director, retired effective January 31. He will remain active, however, providing insight into retirement and health insurance issues and will lobby, once again, on behalf of public employees in the upcoming legislative session.

    He participated in or is responsible for a great many institutional changes all of which impact the personal and work lives of public employees in Montana. A review of some of these provides insight not only into his career but of the changes made in public employment.

    Schneider first became an MPEA member in 1956. At that time, this country’s most influential lobbyists did not represent business or trade associations. They represented private sector labor unions. Things change.

    In 1970, the Association incorporated, set up bylaws and a monthly dues structure and began to advertise for a full-time staff person. Schneider was hired in March of 1971 and by the time the legislative session ended in April a sick leave provision had been added to statute that provided one day of accumulated sick leave each month and provided for reimbursement for 25 percent upon a person’s retirement or termination.

    Then came the Collective Bargaining Act in 1973. MPEA was no longer just an organization lobbying on behalf of public employees. MPEA won 17 of the first collective bargaining elections with a staff that consisted of just Schneider and a secretary.  This is also the same year that unemployment insurance for state employees was successfully lobbied.

    The negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and all that it entails was off and running. Schneider began to hire additional staff. And, in 1975 a pay plan was put in place by the Legislature. A statewide classification plan was also put in place at this time.

    It would be Schneider who would later serve on the numerous legislative or administrative committees reviewing classification. Schneider also served on the Board of Personnel Appeals as a labor representative. And, serving on the Employee Benefits Advisory Committee has enabled him to guide development of the state’s health insurance plan during a time of exploding costs and changing administrative structures.

    It was Schneider who would negotiated with state management personnel for the wage increases in 1981 that averaged 28.56 percent for the biennium. And in every session there were the efforts to increase per diem and lodging and improve the numerous retirement systems.

    During those sessions in which the state was projected to be running in the red  there would be efforts by Schneider to make early retirement viable, there would be legislation to protect those who may be laid off and there would always be an effort to enhance a benefit, improve a retirement system or squeeze some kind of resource into wages.

    Every session has its share of legislation that would hurt public employees. Sometimes this comes in the form of taking away a benefit that has been hard won, or eliminating a holiday, gutting the collective bargaining process and the always present “right-to-work” legislation. Each must be fought and killed, compromised into oblivion or made the most of. Schneider remains one of the best at this.

    As nearly everyone knows, Schneider came to MPEA from the Teachers Retirement System. Because of his expertness in retirement issues he has been able to steadily improve each of the systems covering MPEA members.

    All of this is only a part of what the executive director has had to be and do. The day-to-day administrative activities of a labor organization with 7000 members requires a knowledge of labor law and of Montana labor law in particular. What’s a legitimate issue to arbitrate? What’s fair to the members and the individual? How are limited resources best spent? What’s in the best interest of the Association? Decisions on these issues are routine. Someone has to go home at night worried about whether or not there is enough money for payroll, or to cover all the costs. Guess who!

    MPEA is after all a small business. It can only survive and thrive if its customers believe in it. And this is accomplished with providing services at the best possible cost.

    Things change. Labor at the national level has lost some of its clout while public employee unions have grown. MPEA has grown in size, retained its original identity and provided decades of service. Thanks in no small part to Schneider and the staff he has hired, trained and overseen.

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