Labor Endorses Reed for Mayor; Norwood Responds

By Matthew Cardinale and Jonathan Springston, The Atlanta Progressive News (July 10, 2009)

(APN) ATLANTA – Yesterday, July 09, 2009, the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council (ANGLC) AFL-CIO, a group of 42 affiliates representing 87,000 union workers in Metro Atlanta, endorsed State Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) to be the next Mayor of Atlanta.

For the last 20 years, the group has endorsed every winning candidate for Mayor, including Shirley Franklin. However, the group called Franklin a major disappointment.

"I told Kasim, Shirley has not done the things she said she would do, and that hurt me," Charlie Flemming, President of the ANGLC, told Atlanta Progressive News.

APN talked with Flemming in depth regarding why the labor council decided to endorse Reed over other candidates, particularly Mary Norwood, a front-runner who has been progressive on other issues.

Flemming said key issues for the labor unions include the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and privatization of city services.

APN also interviewed Mary Norwood regarding her positions on the various issues raised.

"Kasim came with ideas about growing our movement and the middle class, if you will," Flemming said.

"He supports the Beltline, which we support because there's jobs there. We certainly hope we get some of those jobs. He supports MARTA... a regional transportation piece with MARTA as the spine," Flemming added.

"Over the last 11 years on labor issues, whether unemployment insurance, raising the minimum wage, the State AFL can't tell me one time Kasim voted against labor issues," Flemming said.

Flemming said Reed's support for a 1 mill tax increase in order to re-open the fire stations in the current budget was also seen as favorable. Norwood opposed the proposed property tax increase of 3 mills, which passed. It was unclear, though, how Reed came up with the 1 mill figure in his proposal given the obtuseness of the City's current financial documents.

"Nobody wants a tax increase. But you can't close a fire station," Flemming said, adding that while in the State Senate, Reed had proposed a dedicated funding mechanism for public safety.

"I know he [Kasim] is not the easiest person to get to know or deal with. Sometimes he is perceived as very aloof, reserved, and introverted," Flemming said, adding he believes that is a "misconception."

"Our concern with Kasim is that people perceive him as arrogant and unresponsive," Flemming said.

Regarding Norwood, "I think she was open," Flemming said. "The deal breaker was a resolution in support of the EFCA in City Council. She took a walk. She knew it was labor's issue nationally. I met with her twice for her support [on EFCA]. It's a core issue- the right to organize."

"If you can't support my right as a worker to organize, Mary Norwood needs to know, she's not gonna get labor support," Flemming said.

Mayoral candidate Jesse Spikes also would not commit to supporting EFCA, Flemming said. He added that the union representatives thought candidate Glenn Thomas was "pretty good," but that they wanted someone with more experience in government.

"I am deeply grateful that the Atlanta North Georgia Labor Council has decided to support me in my candidacy for mayor," Reed said in a statement.

"Through my 11 years in the Georgia General Assembly, I have been a consistent supporter of the hard working men and women of labor and this will continue if the people of Atlanta honor me by allowing me to serve as their next mayor. Labor serves as the backbone of so many of our industries in Atlanta and their contributions to our economy are immeasurable."

Other speakers at Thursday’s annoucement, held at the downtown International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) building, included Walter D. Andrews, President of CWA Local 3204; Eric Robertson, Political Director of Teamsters Local 728; Verdaillia Turner, President of AFT Local 1565; Isaac M. Gobern, Business Agent at BCTGM Local 42; Beatrice Andrews, Assistant Business Agent at IBEW Local 613; and Greg Fann, President of AFSCME Local 3.

Each mayoral candidate went through a screening panel composed of ANGLC members.

The council represents union employees working for corporations like AT&T, UPS, Kroger, Nabisco, Kaiser, Owens Corning, Lockheed, and Northwest Airlines as well as the City of Atlanta, Fulton County, MARTA, and the Pilots Association at Delta Airlines.

EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

The Employee Free Choice Act is a proposed new federal policy which would change the process by which workers could form a union. The EFCA is very contentious policy, although the labor movement has been involved in a big push for its passage by US Congress.

Currently, when a union wants to organize a group of workers, they first have to get at least 30% of the workers to sign a card. Then, currently, the employer can decide whether to accept the union based on the cards, or whether to require a secret ballot.

The EFCA would change the process so that if more than 50% of workers in a given company sign cards, they do not have to have an election in order to be recognized. If more than 30% but less than 50% sign the cards, the employer can still require a secret ballot election.

Currently "The companies control the process. They control the paycheck. They control whether you can get on the property. They can do one-on-one's [with the employees]. They can close the plant. The union doesn't have access to those people [the workers]. This is what the EFCA is about. The worker decides whether they want a secret ballot," Flemming said.

Reed supports the EFCA unequivocably.

Norwood, on the other hand, told APN she has some concerns.

"At the national level, it was one of those bills people were expecting to go sailing through, but that has not happened," Norwood told APN.

"What I'm hearing is, there are lots of negotiations going on, as people are looking at the implementation, exactly how that would work," Norwood said.

"I'm very interested in taking a look at it when we know what its final form would be nationally," Norwood said.

"It was not a city issue. It was a very important issue to Charlie, and I understand that, but when it's as fluid as it is, the information I'm getting from the national level, it's something I feel it's important for me to take a look when we know what the actual law may be," Norwood said.

"As much as people have talked about the secret ballot, another big component of it is, if labor and management don't come to an agreement, then the government will appoint someone to come in and make the decision. And I think that is a point where the various groups that are looking at this are in discussions, what that would look like, what it feels like, how it would be implemented," Norwood said.

Indeed, the EFCA would require mandatory binding arbitration for workers and employers who cannot reach an agreement, with the arbitrator's decision binding for two years.

"There was a resolution presented to City Council. That is something that has always been troubling to me- resolutions at the end of the day of the Council meeting that have not been discussed. Particularly, where the City has no direct impact on the issue. Without the Council having had that go before Committee, be discussed before Committee, have work sessions, and really have a full vetting of an issue," Norwood said.

"That legislation already had 7 co-signators, it was already going to pass. I explained to the Labor Council, I did not vote for it, I didn't vote against it. It wasn't vetted in City Council, we didn't know what the final form would look like. I made the best response in that case."

PRIVATIZATION OF CITY SERVICES

"Kasim supports keeping those things in-house," Flemming said. "Again, it's a core issue with us, he said he would fight privatization to the end."

Norwood, on the other hand, kept privatization on the table.

"What I said is, I wanted to look at each service the City is delivering, to deliver it cost effectively and efficiently. I know wonderful great front line workers in the City. There are ways they know how to carry things out more efficiently. I would look at it on an individual basis, talk with the front line workers," Norwood said.

"I am used to working with good people and getting the hassles out of the way so they can do their jobs. If there is an opportunity... if it looks like we should take a look at some other method of service delivery for a specific part, the commitment I have made is marketization," Norwood said.

Explaining what she means, "You come up with RFP [request for proposals]. City employees can, without constraint, can say how they would deliver that service. In some instances, it may not be able to be done for less in a way that delivers quality," Norwood said.

"I know there's a pro-privatization movement and an anti-privatization movement. The answer is, what does it cost the City to cut the grass in the parks? What I wanted two years ago was to get the functionality of every employee. What are you doing? Are you cutting the grass? Are you driving the truck?"

"When you go through our budget there are still thousands of people on the payroll. As Mayor I would have access to that information, I wanted access to that information one and a half years ago."

"When you've got a fiscal crisis, it is not time for operations as usual," Norwood said.

Norwood added she prefers city employees to private ones, and that she has concerns about privatization.

"To privatize just to say you did it doesn't make any sense. You have to write the RFP effectively. Here's what needs to be delivered, here's the standards, here's how we're going to hold people accountable."

About the author:

Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and is reachable at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com. Jonathan Springston is a Senior Staff Writer, reachable at jonathan@atlantaprogressivenews.com

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