(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/08/2024) Some House staffers working under the purview of House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) have begun taking cards from employees interested in holding an election on whether to be represented by a Teamsters local, multiple sources have told MIRS.
While the origins of the unionization effort are starting on the Democratic side, they are spreading to Republican staff, as well, as employees look for a more stable work environment and compensation that isn’t determined by a legislator’s individual office allotment.
In “turning in cards,” an employee signs a document expressing an interest in voting on whether they want an organized labor union to be their bargaining representative. The effort comes as polls have shown later Millennials and Gen Z adults are more sympathetic toward unions.
In the past, unionization efforts within Michigan legislative staff were snuffed out by leadership or fizzled out when potential bargaining units balked at the potential of conflict with the same legislative leaders they were pushing for policy reforms.
This time, however, the Teamsters, fresh off successfully unionizing the staff at the Michigan AFL-CIO, is emerging as a willing partner to legislative staff that’s looking for a more professional work experience.
The House staff also saw the successful unionization of the Michigan Democratic Party staff by the IBEW, which also inspired them to take the next step to the Legislature.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Rep. Carrie A. Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor). “We should put our money where our mouths are. If we’re a Democratic trifecta, we should be working to protect the workers who work for us.”
The legislative staff in both the Oregon House and Senate voted to unionize last year, she noted, a signal that workers across the country are looking for stability and a better work/life balance, she said. Legislative staff are often required to pay for their parking. They’re asked to use their vacation days to campaign for the caucus or their bosses.
Their compensation is based on what their individual legislator can squeeze out their office allotments. Rheingans noted that when she worked for the Department of Health and Human Services or the University of Michigan, there were ladders and compensation tiers based on experience.
“It feels weird to me that their salaries are part of our office allotments,” she said. “It should be a separate thing.”
Tate Press Secretary Amber McCann’s only response to questions on the matter was, “We are aware of the effort on the part of some staffers.”
For some Democratic lawmakers, a cleaner answer would be for legislative leadership to recognize a bargaining unit without staff going through the process of calling a vote. Either way, Rep. Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph) said he “strongly supports” the effort.
As a part of the Michigan Democratic Party staff’s effort to unionize the coordinated campaign, Andrews said standardizing the work environment can protect staff who may not have great bosses. Unlike other work environments, the bosses of legislative staff can only be fired by their constituents. They’re not going anywhere until their term ends.
This can stick staff in a bad work environment, Andrews said, and contributes to legislative staff positions being viewed as only a step in a career ladder as opposed to a lifetime of service to the people of Michigan.
Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) mentioned this, as well, saying, “If you want the best and brightest working on policy, we need the best staff, and unionization will help in giving us that.”
Like his colleagues, he’d like to see legislative staff paid more standardized wages based on service that is separate from office allotments.
“The pay is not good for what the staff is asked to do,” he said.
Tim Sneller, a former House member and longtime legislative staffer, said he remembers an attempt to unionize legislative staff in the ‘80s that was quickly snuffed out by then-House Speaker Gary Owen. (“We had one meeting and then we were told not to go to another one, and that was the end of it.”)
While he said he’s been fortunate to have “great bosses” through the years, starting with former Rep. Bob Emerson and former Lt. Gov. John Cherry, he understands others are not as fortunate. Staff are taken advantage of and as a “100 percent believer in unions” he can understand why some would prefer to be unionized.
That said, as a former legislator, he can also see that “if you hire some bad workers, you’re stuck with them.”
As a lifelong union guy, though, Sneller's final thoughts were: “I’m not opposed to it. That’s up to the staffers. Let them decide."
On the Republican side, Jeremiah Ward, spokesperson for House Republican Leader Matt Hall (R-Kalamazoo), noted that under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus, public employees can opt out of joining a union. The right is based on the First Amednment's right to free speech and freedom of association in that state employees shuld not be forced to associate with an organization or fund speech with which they disagree.
“Thankfully, state employees still have our Janus rights,” he said. “Democrat staff can’t forcibly cut our paychecks to bankroll a far-left union.”
But for some pro-union Democrats, the attitude is 180 degrees the other way.
“We have to live our values,” Andrews said.
