SCENE: MITCH Berg is walking away from the Capitol building. He runs into Avery LIBRELLE, who is dressed in a green AFSCME tshirt.
LIBRELLE: Well, that was a great session!
BERG: The DFL’s union benefactors made out like bandits.
LIBRELLE: We sure did!
BERG: And with a two-chamber majority, you spent months working on gun grabs that’ll never affect crime, a bullying bill that’ll stop no bullying, a gay marriage bill that is a huge priority for a small part of maybe 2% of the population, and what? Half a day on a budget?
LIBRELLE: You’re just mad because you lost.
BERG: No, I’m mad because you’re screwing up the state. Three more yearsof this and Minnesota will be a cold California.
LIBRELLE: Sweet!
BERG: And the big daddy of them all – the Daycare Union Jamdown.
LIBRELLE: What “jamdown?” All we’re asking for is a chance to vote to organize. It’s democracy! Don’t you conservatives like democracy?
BERG: Don’t get cute. This isn’t democracy – its democracy Mark Ritchie-style. The unions are packing the vote with unlicensed providers that the union knows will vote for them, many of whom haven’t worked in daycare or personal care in years. Look – providers could already join unions. Out of 11,000 licensed providers, less than 100 ever did. 86% of licensed providers oppose the union.
LIBRELLE: That’s a lot of numbers. My head is spinning.
BERG: Now – do you think the DFL, AFSCME and the SEIU wold have wasted a year or two of organizing, and five months of legislative arm-twisting, with several million a year in union dues and DFL money at stake, if they didn’t know they had enought ringers to jam the vote down? Anyone who answers “no” probably also thinks Minnesota has the country’s best election system.
LIBRELLE: But why shouldn’t daycare workers and PCAs have the right to organize for better pay and working conditions?
BERG: Organize against whom? To get better pay from whom?
LIBRELLE: Management! The bosses!
BERG: They’re their own bosses. They manage their own businesses! Many of them went into the field because they wanted to be their own boss, be their own management. And they get paid from their clients – parents and patients.
LIBRELLE: Wait. Back up. What’s this “their own boss” bit?
BERG: They’re independent businesspeople.
LIBRELLE: (stares blankly)
BERG: They run their own business.
LIBRELLE: (Stares; lips move, but no sound comes out)
BERG: They’re their own bosses. They work for themselves.
LIBRELLE: But…everyone has a boss.
BERG: They have clients. Parents. Patients. Te people who pay them.
LIBRELLE: But…no. Everyone has a boss!
BERG: Ummm…
LIBRELLE: EVERYONE HAS A BOSS!
BERG: Medic! I think I broke Avery…
Mitch:
One reason why the unions wanted to do this was because they saw a big pile of free cash (something like $50 per month from each daycare provider).
So I guess the strategy for these daycare providers is that they should turn this pile of cash which is a profit to the unions to a loss. Some steps they can do include:
* Maybe try to create their own union on paper to organize against AFSCME for the card signing campaign.
* Have each daycare owner demand that their contract be negotiated separately because there are unique issues with each daycare center. And if the union says no then file an individual complaint to labor boards about not getting their fair representation. More on this approach latter:
* AFSCME gets lots of their lobbying power because they encourage the unions to pay for day on the hill with their expenses. So next year not only ask to go to Day On The Hill get the union to pay your expenses.
* You’re a member of AFSCME now. Start calling up your lawmaker and demand to see them as a member of AFSCME. They can’t refuse to see and have a whole bunch of visible AFSCME members telling them stuff which isn’t with the main AFSCME line it will weaken the lobbying cloat.
* I assume these daycare providers have troubles with their customers. They’re late. they might have paid with a bounce check, etc. Once they are officially AFSCME members start complaining to AFSCME and say that they wanted to make our lives better by asking to make us their responsibility. And if they seem to be ignoring the complaints go and file those individual complaints again.
And now for the fun part on asking for the separate contract:
When the daycare provider sits down to negotiate the contract with AFSCME (after all who will AFSCME deal with on those special issues) the union will object. The daycare owner asks so don’t you think that I’m a business owner who operates this business. If the union says no file a defamation of character lawsuit since they can’t afford to have somebody say that they aren’t a business person.
Now if they breakdown and say yes then throw at them well if I’m the employer and not the employee I can’t be a member of the union and throw them the paperwork not only demanding that they be removed from the union, but have all of their dues refunded.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Walter, you have some good ideas. This unionization of home child care providers idea is even dumber than deciding to build a new Vikings stadium. There’s gotta be some way this law can be tossed out by the courts.