Publications

Bargaining for Political Power (2000)

Because public employees, unlike other workers, can actually elect their bosses, it is critically important for AFSCME members to engage in a wide range of political activities. Through political action, AFSCME members can help elect officials who are sympathetic to our interests and unelect those who are not. AFSCME can communicate with those elected officials who influence and establish laws that directly affect our bargaining activities and success. Competing interest groups, including both public and private employers, are also very involved in the political process. Unless our members are active, only the employer’s point of view will be heard. The bargaining table is one often overlooked vehicle for increasing the union’s political activity. Here are some ways to increase the political power of AFSCME members through collective bargaining language:

1) A PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality) checkoff provision that allows employees to contribute to AFSCME’s political action committee (PAC) through payroll deduction. PEOPLE is the official name of AFSCME’s PAC registered with the Federal Election Commission. Federal law prohibits the use of union dues or treasury money to support candidates for federal office, so AFSCME’s contributions to political candidates must come from members’ voluntary PEOPLE contributions. In addition to direct contributions to candidates at all levels, PEOPLE supports the active participation of AFSCME’s own political activists. The PEOPLE committee is among the top 10 PACs in the nation, and continues to grow each year.

(1) Sample language:

The Employer agrees to deduct from the wages of any employee who is a member of the Union a PEOPLE deduction as provided for in a written authorization. Such authorization must be executed by the employee and may be revoked by the employee at any time by giving written notice to both the Employer and the Union. The Employer agrees to remit any deductions made pursuant to this provision to the Union together with an itemized statement showing the name of each employee from whose pay such deductions have been made and the amount deducted during the period covered by the remittance.

2) A Voting Time Leave clause that allows employees to leave work in order to vote on Election Day. Although some local polling places have extended voting hours, it is still difficult for many employees to find the time to vote due to long work hours, child care, the extracurricular activities of their children, or other commitments.

(2) Sample language:

Any employee who is eligible to vote shall be allowed up to two paid hours for the purpose of voting provided the employee does not have sufficient time before or after regular duty hours to vote, and further provided that the employee has made prior arrangements for such absence with his or her immediate supervisor.

3) Language that counters restrictions placed on public employees’ political activity by the Hatch Act, 5 USC §§ 1501-1503, and similar state legislation. The federal Hatch Act, enacted in 1939, prohibits public employees from engaging in partisan political activity. Hatch Act restrictions, however, can be balanced through contractual language clarifying employees’ rights to participate in the electoral process so long as an employee is not using his or her official position to influence an election.

(3) Sample language:

Except for employees subject to the restrictions of the federal Hatch Act, all employees have the right to engage in political activity on their own time without fear of penalty or reprisal. Only employees who are employed in an activity that is paid for in whole or in part by a grant or loan from the federal government are subject to Hatch Act restrictions. Such an employee will receive an annual notification that he or she is subject to Hatch Act restrictions and that such an employee may not:

(1) use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or a nomination for office;

(2) directly or indirectly coerce, attempt to coerce, command, or advise a State or local officer or employee to pay, lend, or contribute anything of value to a party, committee, organization, agency, or person, for political purposes; or

(3) be a candidate for elective office.

4) In a non-discrimination clause, include language that prohibits discrimination against employees because of political activity, affiliation, or beliefs:

(4) Sample language:

Both the Employer and the Union agree to not discriminate against any employee on the basis of race, sex, creed, color, age, religion, marital or parental status, national origin, sexual orientation, or political affiliation and/or beliefs.

5) Distribution and, time permitting, completion of a voter registration application during orientation:

(5) Sample language:

Where an orientation program is conducted for new employees, the Union shall receive advance notice and be afforded the opportunity to make a presentation, respond to questions, and distribute a packet of informational material to include union membership, representational fee, dues authorization, and voter registration cards.

In addition to language specifically tied to political action, many agreements contain clauses that provide for “lost time” or short-term leave without pay. While generally used for more traditional union “inhouse” activities, the time could potentially be used for lobbying or campaigning purposes. Recogni-zing that there is strength in numbers, AFSCME affiliates have set up specific lobbying days on which their members use lost time, or a vacation or personal day, to visit the statehouse, county board, or city council en masse.

Even with the aforementioned language included in a collective bargaining agreement, it remains imperative that AFSCME members vote and actually take part in political activities in order to protect their rights and their jobs.

Perhaps AFSCME’s Task Force on the Future put it best: “We have the ability to help hire and fire our bosses. These elected officials determine ... whether corporations will receive tax breaks, whether departments will be consolidated, and whether labor laws will be strengthened or weakened. They negotiate our pay raises, our pensions and our health benefits. They set health care policies that deeply affect our members as workers and consumers.”

Print Version