What's Wrong With Latest AFSCME Contarct

 According to yesterday's news release about the latest AFSCME contract, "This agreement is the latest example of the County Executive’s continued efforts to invest in frontline workers and honor the essential role of organized labor in delivering public services." It's improper for a person paid by taxpayers, not McClure, to use our tax dollars to heap praise upon him. At this point, it becomes propaganda, not information. Besides, it's incorrect. Rather than investing in frontline workers, it continues a serious wage disparity in the residual unit.

The residual unit consists of the clerks that people see when they visit the Prothy (County Civil Clerk) to get a passport or the Recorder's office with questions about their Deeds. The Prothy's office has suffered with a high turnover for many years. precisely because the salaries mere pittances. People either bid on other jobs in the county or go to the private sector. And this is very precise work. When motions or lawsuits must be filed by a certain date, it's important to have people in that office who are familiar with the process. The low pay guarantees the opposite and is no investment in frontline workers. 

The county knows this. The Prothy herself has told Council at budget presentations that the salary is too low. It has been discussed and lamented by Councils and Executives alike. But the situation continues. 

I believe the reason for this is because the AFSCME local that serves as the bargaining agent for the residual unit also represents too many different types of employees from too many different departments. It is looking at a package deal for all, but that just perpetuates an existing wage disparity. 

County Council's pay study failed to include union workers so this wage disparity was unaddressed. But everyone knows it exists. Isn't it time to do something about it? 

McClure Admin Agrees to 11% in COLAs Over Three Years For 379 Workers Represented by AFSCME

According to a NorCo news release, county administrators have hammered out a deal with a bargaining unit (AFSCME Council 13 Local 1265) representing 379 county workers in Residual, Court Appointed, Court Related, and Youth Care. Under a proposed three-year contract, which has yet to be presented to County Council, these workers will receive an 11% increase in the form of COLAs over the next three years. Moreover, there will be no changes to healthcare coverage.

NorCo employs about 2,200 workers (full and part-time), and roughly two-thirds belong to a union. The nonunion workers are called career service.

In Case You Think Unions Are Unnecessary

"If we must grind up human flesh and bone in the industrial machine that we call modern America, then before God, I assert that those who consume the coal, and you and I who benefit from that service because we live in comfort, we owe protection to those men first, and we owe the security for their family if they die. I say it, I voice it, I proclaim it, and I care not who in heaven or hell opposes it!" - John L. Lewis (1947)

(First published here in 2019.)

Why NorCo Administrators Stopped Baratta's Detective Hire

I told you yesterday that NorCo DA Steve Baratta wants to hire a retiring Bethlehem police officer to add to his stable of county detectives. At the same time, he proposed giving all county detectives what amounts to a 15% payhike over what they are currently paid. But when Baratta and First Assistant Bob Eyer appeared before County Council last week, a resolution that authorized the hire and salary increases was missing. That's because Executive Lamont McClure pulled it. He had good reason to do so.

One of my readers slammed McClure: "He must have it his way and will push back on anything that doesn't get him donors or publicity." But as McClure himself advised Council, county detectives are in a collective bargaining agreement, and the county administration is the sole bargaining agent when it comes to doling out money. 

This appears specifically in the Home Rule Charter's enumeration of the powers of the Executive branch. Among them is the authority to "supervise and direct the negotiation and administration of any collective bargaining agreements with employees ... ." This applies to all union contracts, including the courts and the DA. 

Without question, as an independently elected official, the District Attorney has authority to hire and fire. But he has no authority to raise or lower salaries. That is the province of County Council. If a union contract is involved, it is the province of both the Executive and County Council. The Executive negotiates. County Council approves any collective bargaining agreement. 

Baratta argued that he has the right to "move pieces" as he sees fit so long as he stays within his budget. But that view is wrong. Under the Home Rule Charter, they, and not he, set the salaries.  

In addition to defending the Home Rule Charter, McClure has another reason to put the brakes on Baratta's proposal. Baratta is proposing a 15% wage hike for detectives who already are paid pretty well and drive a county car home every night. He is doing this just as contract negotiations are beginning for a new contract. How does he justify this to Human Services workers who are also getting 15% raises, but spaced out over three years? How does he justify this to other county workers? And how does he justify it to county taxpayers? 

County Council solicitor Chris Spadoni told Baratta last week to just prepare his own resolution so County Council can vote on it. That would also be a mistake and would be just as meaningless as the various toothless resolutions being hurled at County Council in recent weeks. 

Morning Call Guild Is Overdue

When I was younger and had more hair than I do now, both local newspapers would send squads of reporters nightly to cover municipal meetings all over the Lehigh Valley. They also had someone on hand to cover every high school athletic contest. I remember watching Peg Rhodin phone in stories from the Easton courthouse and give flawless accounts of criminal cases. Or reporters hounding an Executive so much that he would insist all questions must be in writing and faxed to him in advance. Times have changed. The Express Times no longer covers county government, and is content to just run news releases sent by the county. The Morning Call will sometimes send a reporter, but he misses the most important stories discussed in committee hearings. This is bad for democracy. People who have no idea who is representing them will naturally align themselves with their tribes and might vote for a terrible candidate simply because of his party. What's worse, this lack of coverage is an open invitation to political corruption. We need newspapers, but they are now owned by corporations who care more about dollars than actually telling you what is happening. Though we still have two dailies, the Lehigh Valley has become a news desert. WFMZ-TV69 actually provides vastly superior local coverage than you'll find in your daily. So that's why I think the efforts of Morning Call reporters to unionize is long overdue.

Morning Call reporter Tom Shortell tweets, "I've worked as a newspaper reporter for 11 years, all for non-union papers. It's a brutal industry. My newsrooms have been downsized 5 times, including a round where I was laid off. This step is to protect our local newsroom and provide job security for the journalists in it." Reporter Steve Essack adds that reporters have formed a guild to combat "Tribune’s corporate nonsense that wastes money and people."

I've certainly seen both newspapers waste good people.

Although I understand newspapers need to make a profit, they also need to tell us what is going on or people will stop buying them. While a union offers no protection against short-sighted corporate cuts, a contract would ensure better working conditions. More importantly, a guild will enable reporters to continue to act as watchdogs instead of lapdogs licking up news releases.

They explain more in this FAQ.

Labor Day and the Molly Maguires

Today is Labor Day. Most view it as once last Summer picnic . Few recognize it as a day to honor American labor. Even here in the Lehigh Valley.

Before the Bethlehem Steel was allowed to organize in 1941, the answer to workers who sought a fair wage was a state trooper on horseback. During a 1910 strike, one of them got carried away and shot a Hungarian immigrant who was getting some wine for his ailing wife. No matter. Charles Schwab could never let a trivial thing like murder interfere with his plans to sell H-beams to the Imperial Japanese Navy and Czarist Russia. These two great nations would ultimately embark on military campaigns in which far greater numbers would die.

Slightly north of Bethlehem, along 309 North, is the site of the 1897 Lattimer Massacre. That's where 19 striking miners were shot and killed by a sheriff's posse. Evidence showed that most of those killed had been shot in the back. But the Sheriff and his posse were acquitted.

A few miles away is the site of the 1934 Kelayres massacre. That's where five Democrats were shot and killed when they dared march past the home of "Big Joe," the local GOP boss.

Before unions, there were the Molly Maguires, based upon an agrarian group in Ireland. Some say there really was a Molly Maguire. According to the story, she was a widow who refused to leave her cottage when authorities came to remove her as part of an attempt by England to populate Ireland with Scots.

A more likely explanation is that the leader would be a man dressed in disguise as "Molly." He would visit shopkeepers as a poor mother to demand fair prices for her children. If refused, "Molly" would instruct her followers to enter the store and help themselves. The merchant would be warned of dire consequences if they were reported.

In America, the Mollies were an active and violent labor force confronted by child labor, company towns, unsafe working conditions and lousy pay. In addition, they existed at a time when anti-Irish and anti-Catholic discrimination was rampant. As the Chicago Post then wrote, "The Irish fill our prisons, our poor houses. . . . Scratch a convict or a pauper, and the chances are that you tickle the skin of an Irish Catholic. Putting them on a boat and sending them home would end crime in this country."

Sound familiar?

Bethlehem Daily Times, 6/20/1877

During these dark days in coal country, 16 people would be murdered over a period of about 15 years. Most were mine bosses and foremen.

The Mollies were blamed and charged.

Based on the use of informants, 20 Mollies saw their lives end as they dangled from the gallows in Pottsville and Jim Thorpe. They went through a trial in which no Irish Catholics were permitted to serve as jurors. The prosecuting attorneys worked for the railroads and mines.

As the hangman tightened the noose, the Coal and Iron Police were at the jail in force.

These Mollies died, but 13 years later, the United Mine Workers was born.

This was too late for my grandfather on my mother's side. As a little boy, he lost a thumb and a finger working in the mines. Deprived of an education, he never learned how to read. But he was very proud of his signature, and often practiced writing his name.

He would die of emphysema. The mines eventually killed him.

I have many more relatives who died in mine collapses.

To those who say unions have outgrown their usefulness, I am sure the mine owners are smiling from hell.

Las Vegas Security Officer Honored by Local Labor Leaders

Earlier this month, I shared a small story about Jesus Campos. He's the unarmed security guard who took on the Las Vegas gunman in the tragic shooting death of 58 people on October 1. In addition to these deaths, over 500 people were wounded.  On the Ellen show, Campos explained that his attention was first drawn to the gunman by what he thought was a drilling sound, and he did not even know at first that he had been wounded. He was shot in the leg when he approached the shooter's room, but was able to give police information over the phone.

Campos belongs to the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA). That union was organized right after Bethlehem Sands ratified their first contract.

Gregg Potter and John Werkheiser of the Lehigh Valley Labor Council honored Campos last week during a visit to Vegas. They brought some clothing for Campos, along with a gift card to which Superior Court Judge Jack Panella was kind enough to contribute.

Potter met with David Hickey, the President of the SPFPA, as well as local president Dennis Lang.

Campos himself was unavailable.

"The people here are frankly unbelievably resilient and compassionate," said Potter. "I am overwhelmed by them."

After this incident, the SPFPA website was hacked and numerous videos that included Campos were mysteriously deleted.

Guard Who Helped Police Locate Vegas Gunman Was Union Member

Jesus Campos is an unarmed security guard who took on the Las Vegas gunman in the tragic shooting over the weekend. He was shot in the leg when he approached the shooter's room, but was able to give police information over the phone.

Campos belongs to the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America. That union was organized right after Bethlehem Sands ratified their first contract.

Gregg Potter of the Lehigh Valley Labor Council said his group will be honoring Campos later this month.

Are Labor Unions on the Rise?

These days, only 11% of the US workforce belongs to a labor union. That's down from 20% in 1983. But a Gallup poll released yesterday reveals that 61% of Americans now view unions favorably. That's the highest it's been since 2003. The all-time high was 75% in 1953 and 1957.

Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, said yesterday that it's difficult to work with the Trump administration because they are either racists or Wall Streeters.

Authoritarian Donald Trump is reportedly considering restrictions similar to what exists in Wisconsin, which that will prevent federal workers from organizing. But auto union worker in the Midwest helped elect him.  

Calling All Non-Union Workers ... Again

Northampton County's Home Rule Charter was intended to make unions unnecessary. The County's constitution establishes a merit personnel system designed impartial standards and competitive testing for promotions. It creates a pay plan as well as a procedure for resolving grievances. But things haven't worked out that way. Instead of rewarding people based on what they know, promotions have often depended on connections. The grievance procedure has become a bad joke, with fired jail lieutenants waiting more than a year for hearings. As a result, Northampton County now has a hodge podge of 11 different unions representing 75% of its 2,200-person workforce.

Surprisingly, it is a union business agent who wants that to change. Ken Kraft, who chairs Northampton County Council's Personnel Committee, represents the painters' union. He would like to restore some sanity to a crazy public sector in which nonunion supervisors make less money than the people who report to them. Until a new pay study can be completed, he is proposing a 4.5-5% across-the-board wage hike for non-union workers.

President Judge Stephen Baratta has already budgeted a 4.5% wage hike for non-union personnel who report to the courts. Executive John Brown agreed to defer to Judge Baratta, but his spending plan limits raises for non-union workers everywhere else to just 2.5%.

Northampton County DA John Morganelli has already urged Council to make this wage hike uniform. He warned Council that his assistant DAs could decide to unionize, as has happened in several other counties. He said there should be "consistency."

We'll have none of that on Northampton County! It is this inconsistent approach that has resulted in the current, 11-union stew. County officials have run from pay studies or any attempts to treat employees fairly, and unless that changes soon, we'll have a few more unions.

If you are nonunion and want that raise, you need to let Council know about it at the Budget hearing on Wednesday, starting at 4 pm.

Two Union Contracts Headed To NorCo Council

Two union contracts are reportedly on their way for approval by Northampton County Council. Once I have details, I will share them with you.

LV Building Trade Unions Pick Hunter Over O'Donnell

Last week, the LV Labor Council made their election picks in contested local races. Now the Greater LV Building and Construction Trades Council have chimed in with their own endorsements. The LV Labor Council went with Tom O'Donnell is the NorCo Council race. But the trade unions like Deb Hunter.

O'Donnell is, quite simply, a terrible candidate. Don't believe me? Check out this video, taped during the primary race. He irresponsibly accuses Gracedale's Administrator of a conflict of interest. After lobbing that grenade, he complains about open space and accuses Executive John Stoffa of "bias", citing no specifics.

As a state employee, O'Donnell was fired in 1988 when it was discovered he was doing Township business as an elected Supervisor while on the clock for the state. Of course, he used his public sector union to file a grievance, though it's unclear whether he ever got his job back.

He's a nut. But for reasons known only to the LV Labor Council, he was picked over numerous other candidates who still have brains. Some have suggested that Lamont McClure and Charles Dertinger are pushing O'Donnell because they can control this guy. I don't know.

But the trades unions, who are private sector unions, have a bit more on the ball. They went with a candidate, Deb Hunter, who just negotiated two union contracts and can think for herself.

Northampton County Exec:  John Callahan

Northampton County Council:

Peg Ferraro
Ron Heckman
Jerry Seyfried
Deb Hunter
Christen Borso

Bethlehem Mayor:  Bob Donchez

Bethlehem City Council:  Bryan Callahan

Allentown Mayor:  Ed Pawlowski

Allentown City Council:

Darryl Hendricks
Joe Davis

Easton City Council: James Eddinger

Lehigh County Exec: Tom Muller

Lehigh County Commissioners:

Susan Wild
Geoff Brace
David Jones
Wes Barrett

LV Labor Council: We Don't Need No Steenkin' Gregory

Jim Gregory has another outfit to sue. The Lehigh Valley Labor Council has dumped him as one of their Vice Presidents. He received word at a meeting earlier this week. President Gregg Potter declined comment.

Labor Endorses McClure, Misspells His Name

From my good friends at the LV Labor Council.

Good afternoon,
      On April 1st and 2nd the Lehigh Valley Labor Council COPE Committee met and held a candidate interview process.  Northampton County candidates presented first, followed by Lehigh County.   I have to say that there are many, many outstanding candidates running and we were hard pressed to reach the numbers necessary for endorsement. 
      On a personal note, I would rather not get involved in primaries but the Labor Council operates through a Democratic process and the majority voted to have a primary endorsement process.  Although both parties in both counties were notified, we only interviewed one member of the GOP.  I hope to change that in future cycles and have made some progress earlier today.  We only endorsed and voted in races where there was competition.  Endorsements for the general election will come out in the early Summer.
       The candidates that were endorsed by the CLC include:
Northampton County Executive----Lamont Maclure
Northampton County Council------ Bill Wallace
Northampton County Council-------Ron Heckman
Northampton County Council-------Jerry Seyfried
Easton School Board-------------------Dominic Buscemi

We were unable to reach consensus on Lehigh County candidates.
       In unity & solidarity,
       Gregg J. Potter
       President, Lehigh Valley Labor Council
       610 360-9491
       www.lehighvalleyclc.org 
     

PPL HQs Uses Out-of-State Laborers For Window Glazing

  The Union Rat is visiting PPL's Allentown HQs on N. 9th Street in Allentown as this post is being written. This utility is using out-of-state workers to do window glazing while many local tradesmen are looking for work.

New Jersey-based Window City apparently has the job, drawing the ire of local union tradesmen. They are picketing the site.

Here Come the Steelworkers!

Bethlehem Steelworkers celebrated Labor Day with their annual parade on September 2. Nearly two hundred union members, including the United Auto Workers and Bethlehem Firefighters, participated. The Moravian College Marching Band also participated.

Bethlehem Firefighter Sean O'Hearn participates in the march, holding his daughter's hand.

State Rep. Steve Samuelson smiles as he marches down Main Street.

Main Street brunch crowd, along with a police officer, show their solidarity with the labor movement.

Anna Maria Caldera and Jeff Vitelli hold the banner for LEPOCO, the Lehigh Valley's premier peace organization.

Is that Barack Obama going north on Main Street?

UAW members Simon Kadingo (left) and Ron Steckel (right) would rather be driving.

Bob Brooks and his son, Austin, proudly hold the banner for Bethlehem firefighters.

State Rep. candidate Kevin Deely can smile because he's finally going downhill.

Congressional candidate Rick Daugherty and daughter Sarah hurry to catch up.

Police Officer Brendan Schlegel prepares to escort the marchers.

Is that President Obama going down New Street?

LEPOCO, the Lehigh Valley's geriatric hipies.

The Moravian College Greyhound Marching Band made it a parade.

The UAW even had a float!

Coming up the Main Street hill.

Steelworkers President Jerry Green is happy now that it's all over.

Slideshow of 96 pictures.

A Bethlehem Labor Martyr Is Remembered

Bill Lewis, Pa. Historical & Museum Comm'n

Pierce and East Third Streets, in South Side Bethlehem, is the site of a 102 year-old homicide. Today, the intersection is bordered by parking lots and the National Museum of Industrial History. But on February 26, 1910, it was where thousands of angry Bethlehem Steel strikers rioted. They were upset over 12-hour days and 12-cent per hour wages.. Despite local police and hundreds of Deputy Sheriffs, South Side Bethlehem descended into chaos. Twenty-five state troopers from Philadelphia were requested, and greeted with rocks, bottles and shots.

Trooper John Moughan, on horseback, fired when he thought he saw someone pull out a revolver. His bullet struck an unarmed Joseph Szambo, a striker who was inside the then Majestic Hotel during the melee. Szambo was enjoying a beer, but it would be his last.

Hours after his death, his wife gave birth.

Trooper Mougham was charged with homicide, but the DA dropped the charges. 

Marker being unveiled

Szambo's death was commemorated on September 1, with a memorial marker made possible by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Lehigh Valley Labor Council and Pennsylvania Labor History Society. It is one of thirty historical markers that adorn Bethlehem, and one of over 2,000 throughout the state. It is the only one in the Lehigh Valley that recognizes the labor movement.

Rick Bloomingdale, Pennsylvania's AFL-CIO President, told a group of about forty people that the 1910 Bethlehem Steel strike was not about higher wages, but for a "right to have a say on the job." He argued that judicial decisions, both then and today, are slanted in favor of big corporations. He claimed that before unions, there really was no middle class or single-family homes.

LV Labor Council's Greg Potter thanks Mayor Callahan

Mayor John Callahan observed that many people like to point out that the Golden Gate Bridge and Manhattan skyline were made possible by Bethlehem Steel. "It wasn't the steel that built it, but the people who worked there," he said.

According to the Mayor, Szambo's death is significant because "the seeds of the labor movement in this country were sewn right here in this corner."

Callahan, pointing to Amazon in Lehigh County, cautioned that working conditions will always be a struggle, and one that people should remember when they vote in November.

Interestingly, the United Steelworkers Union and its local President, Jerry Greene, were conspicuously absent from a dedication to the labor movement in the steel industry. But Superior Court Judge Jack Panella, along with Congressional candidate Rick Daugherty, were in the audience.

After the marker was unveiled, Frank Behum, President of the Steelworkers' Archives, led everyone in a few union songs. When he finished, he looked up at Szambo's plaque and said, "May he rest in peace."

The Plaque: “In February, 1910, over 9,000 steel-workers went on strike over wages, overtime, and work conditions. A striker was shot and killed here during hostilities that ensued. The subsequent federal investigation substantiated workers’ claims and contributed to industry reforms.”

This is the Steelworker's Archives group. Frank Behum is the bearded gentleman. Dennis Pearson is to his right.

Superior Court Judge Jack Panella was mesmerized by the entire story.

Blogger's Note: My Facebook Photo Album is here.

Updated 10 AM: Michael Molovinsky has a post concerning the Hungarians drawn to Bethlehem by the steel company. Szabo was Hungarian.

Is It Time to Ban Teacher Strikes?

That's what State Rep. Justin Simmons thinks. He's sponsoring legislation that will ban teacher strikes. Calling Pennsylvania the "teacher strike capital of the United States," Simmons claims that the Keystone State is now home to 60% of all teacher strikes.

"We have constantly led the nation in one category, and that is teacher strikes," Simmons stated during a news conference. He added that he believes teacher strikes violate the Pennsylvania Constitution, "and it's time to put a child's education first by banning them." Pointing to the Saucon Valley School District, located in his legislative district, Simmons notes there have been two strikes within the last four years.

Thirty-seven other states already ban teacher strikes, according to Simmons.

Other prime sponsors of this legislation are Reps. Todd Rock (R-Franklin) and Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler).

According to the PSEA, there is no evidence that teacher strikes have an adverse impact on education.

What concerns me about a ban is the binding arbitration that will follow. Police officers, who are unable to strike, do pretty well with arbitration.

Inflatable Union Rat Invades Forks Residential Neighborhood

Upset by what they consider unfair treatment, union workers descended on a Forks Township residential neighborhood last weekend to complain about and picket a Verizon boss at his own home. They brought the giant inflatable rat, megaphones and lots of garbage. According to the Express Times, police were on standby for a possible repeat this weekend.

Forks Supervisor Lilly Gioia assures everyone that unions have every constitutional right to terrorize little kids in their homes. What Gioia fails to point out is that she was never even elected to her position, but appointed to fill a vacancy.

Whatever their problem, the First Amendment is no license to invade someone's privacy at home. Here's what some Forks residents say at the Express Times.

"I live in this neighborhood and this kind of protest does not belong in a residential area. They were spitting on his driveway, taking pictures of his house and were very LOUD. I think there were more than 100 people and they WERE blocking the street, how could they not? No one came out of their homes and none of the kids could play outside while this was going on. They left behind trash and tons of discarded cigarettes. It's inappropriate and unfair to the tax payers in this community. Keep it at the commercial sites or business and stay out of our community. It's harassment and they get no sympathy from me. We have nothing to do with their issue, nor do we care. Our police have better things to do than babysit a bunch of union workers with an attitude problem."
* * *
"These people literally terrorized a neighborhood! Private citizens who had nothing to do with this union matter were prevented from quiet, peaceful enjoyment of their yards and community. Children could not go out and play, homeowners could not do yard work, families could not go for a walk. The union members WERE trespassing on people's property, and left behind tons of trash and cigarette butts for others to clean up. When my sister went to leave her home because my nephew was scared of the 'mean men outside'...the protesters surrounded her vehicle and shouted at her with fists raised!"
* * *
"I'm not a constitutional law scholar, but I would be willing to bet that the Framers of our Constitution did not envision a mob of union rabble-rousers with an inflatable rat protesting in an American citizen's neighborhood and frightening residents to the point where they would leave their homes."

After Tuesday, AFSCME will have a new lease on life at Gracedale. Gee I wonder if Controller Steve Barron was there. He's at every other union function.

Mea Culpa! In the original version of this post, I mistakenly stated that Lilly Gioia works for the Peter Angelos law firm. I have deleted that reference, and apologize for getting one of my facts wrong.

AFSCME - Making Sure Your Kids Don't Drink Piss