Voting for union will give staff stronger voice

Editor,

Spring is coming, and you know what that means. It’s time for a union election! Yeehah!

United Staff UNM has affiliated itself with the American Federation of Teachers union and called for a collective bargaining election on March 22.

A little more than 20 years ago, I was an officer in the Communications Workers of America unit at the Physical Plant. At first, we didn’t do much, and the University toyed with us. But we organized and formed a group of dedicated stewards. We met regularly, learned how to file grievances and shared strategies, and we won almost every grievance we filed!

As a result, we won the respect of our supervisors. We were suddenly being asked for our opinions and no longer treated like children. It was an exciting time.

My job was temporary, however, and I transferred to another department that had no union protection. I was only there for a year when my position was eliminated. I found work in the electronics industry for four years but came back to UNM. However, I found that my job, like many, was considered “exempt” from union membership.

I joined a Staff Council committee. We resurrected the failed attempts to improve tuition benefits, got the approval of Staff Council and, with the support of the Faculty Senate, had tuition benefits extended. After years of failed attempts, it had taken two more years of research, meetings, meetings and more meetings to have something changed that made sense and benefited everyone, including the University.

There is a better way. It’s called collective bargaining. We meet and decide what we want, and tell our much higher-paid administrators exactly what we want and when we want it. Isn’t that better than having them tell us that their strategic plan is our strategic plan? Was UNM Pact your idea?

Compensation has been a “top priority” of every administration since the 1970s, but we have consistently fallen behind our peers. Even if we believe that some administrators are well intentioned, they still do not know exactly what we want, nor will they pursue it with the vigor that our own collective strength can.

Maybe you feel your current boss is nice, and maybe you think you can do OK on your own. Maybe. What happens when your boss is replaced? What happens when your department is eliminated or merged? Will your boss really back you up all the way? Even if so, not everyone has such perfect conditions. We need to stand up, stand out and show the University our solidarity here.

Not voting means that you are happy with the University’s determination of what you’re worth. Not voting means you are happy with the way the University spends our money and enforces its policies. Not voting means you want no part of decisions that affect you directly.

Let’s vote “yes” for collective bargaining.

Terry Mulcahy

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department