Public Employee Press

Under a nationwide siege
AFSCME elects fighting new leaders

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

Amid a severe economic downturn and concerted nationwide assault on public service employees, DC 37's 1.6 million-member national union has elected new leaders.

Lee Saunders, its first African-American president, is a battle-tested fight-back leader, top political strategist and skilled negotiator, and Laura Reyes, AFSCME's first woman secretary-treasurer, is a fiery and accomplished organizer who grew United Domestic Workers Local 3930 from 20,000 members to over 60,000 within a few years.

The two won the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' first competitive election in decades June 21, at AFSCME's 40th national convention in Los Angeles. "As of right now, we are beginning again, with the knowledge that what lies ahead is far, far more important than the campaign we've just been through," said Saunders after he was sworn in the next day. "We have to fight for the future, not re-live the past."

Saunders comes from a union family in Cleveland and was a rank-and-file member at the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services before he joined AFSCME's staff. He has deep roots at District Council 37, where he served as administrator for four years after a corruption scandal came to light in the late 1990s. He kept DC 37 working with no interruption of services for members after the 9/11 attack closed its headquarters building for six months. The DC 37 Executive Board overwhelmingly endorsed his bid to head AFSCME.

"You couldn't ask for a better - or more battle-scarred - leader for our union at a time when public workers have a bull's-eye on their backs and as we approach the crucial election in which we will work our damndest to help re-elect President Barack Obama," Executive Director Lillian Roberts said. "Lee helped turn DC 37 around when we faced our most difficult times. In the last two years, he has led AFSCME's fight to protect public services and the jobs of public workers throughout the country."

DC 37's convention delegates unanimously re-elected Lillian Roberts and Eddie Rodriguez, president of DC 37 and Local 1549, as international vice presidents. SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells nominated Roberts, and Local 1549 Executive Vice President Alma Roper nominated Rodriguez.

Fierce attack

The fierce nationwide attack on government services, public employees and their unions was a top, existential concern of the delegates, who knew AFSCME has lost thousands of members recently because of budget cuts in many states and Wisconsin's elimination of collective bargaining rights.

A feeling of anxiety hung over the Los Angeles Convention Center during the week-long gathering. The union activists found the vicious attack on the public sector frightening, but they were united, fired up and proud to be on the frontlines in the fight-back effort, especially in the 12 "battleground states," where governors are determined to ram through a conservative agenda of shredding the safety net, cutting the standard of living of working families and sabotaging the economic recovery.

Saunders recognized the high stakes in his first speech as AFSCME president:

"This is a defining moment, not only for our nation but also for our union," he said. "What we do will determine whether collective bargaining survives, whether our members' lives get better, whether retirement security is restored, whether public services are strengthened, and whether the American Dream is renewed."

Saunders defeated Danny Donohue, president of AFSCME's Civil Service Employees Association Local 1000, by a vote of 683,628 to 582, 358, or 54 to 46 percent. (In AFSCME elections, the votes represent membership, not individual delegates.)

Reyes defeated Council 36 President Alice Goff, by 661,413 to 603,624. Local 1549 Recording Secretary Carmen Flores seconded the nomination of Reyes, and Local 372 President Santos Crespo seconded Goff's nomination.

A voice for the community

The convention devoted its opening day to retiring President Gerald W. McEntee. Special guest Nancy Pelosi, minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, recalled her years of collaboration with McEntee, who spearheaded the nationwide campaign that torpedoed President George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security in 2005. Bush later acknowledged the defeat as the greatest failure of his presidency.

"His leadership went beyond the workers and really addressed the needs of the community," said Roberts, who spoke about McEntee from the convention floor, recognizing how he turned the national union into a political juggernaut. "He didn't restrict himself to our narrow issues but made a point of defending the people in the community without a union who need the voice we provide."

McEntee helped lead the rebellion that replaced tepid AFL-CIO leadership with greater activism in 1995 and since then has turned the labor federation's political arm into one of the country's most effective electoral operations.

Other highlights of the convention included addresses by Vice President Joseph Biden, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and MSNBC's Ed Shultz.

In a video presentation, the union bestowed AFSCME's "Spirit of Public Service" award on former Arizona Congress member Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in a 2011 shooting in Tucson. Her aide Ron Barber, who was also hit and won a special election to succeed her, is an AFSCME member.

On June 20, the day before the election, the candidates outlined their visions for the future in AFSCME's first union officer election debates. Delegates submitted questions for the candidates, who discussed such topics as organizing and politics.

"The convention was a wonderful opportunity to hear the experiences of members around the country," said Local 2627 Vice President Michael Lanni, a delegate. "You got a real taste of how important AFSCME is as a national political force."

At an AFSCME Executive Board meeting right after the convention, Saunders called for the creation of a national task force on pensions. "It's very encouraging that our new president has indicated that protecting retirement security and fighting privatization will be his top priorities," said Roberts, commenting on the agenda Saunders laid out at the meeting.

(Convention coverage continues on 'Convention movers and shakers'.)