Is Donna Shalala Anti-Union?

    Over the past few months, I've made it a habit to try to hold Democrats accountable for their votes or actions when it comes to labor-related votes. A few people yelp: why are you picking on Democrats? My friends, we know how Republicans are going to act (sure, that's an over generalization--there are a few "moderate" Republicans, mainly from the Northeast, who sometimes will side with labor). But, if Democrats play footsie with Wal-Mart or vote for so-called "free trade" agreements like CAFTA, what exactly is the point of electing Democrats?

    Or when they act anti-union when they get into positions of powers. Which brings me to the story of Donna Shalala. When we last heard from Shalala in public service, she was Bill Clinton's Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), a position she held for eight years. She had a reputation as a liberal--though it's hard to understand how a liberal would stick around to help implement Clinton's so-called "welfare reform," which cast millions of poor mothers and families into deeper poverty.

    Then, Shalala picked up a nice cushy job: president of the University of Miami. One of the reasons Shalala comes into her comfortable office every morning and doesn't have to stumble over trash is the university's janitors. The janitors work for a contractor, UNICCO, which pays them as little as $51 a day and provides no health benefits. The janitors are trying to unionize.

    That's where we come to Shalala's behavior. Publicly, she has said that the university has no role in the negotiations and she displays all sorts of nice quotes about how the university needs to be a good corporate ciutizen. But, privately, she has allowed UNICCO to run an antiunion campaign; union organizers from SEIU were kicked off the campus when they were handing out food and water to the workers after Hurricane Wilma, the organizers aren't allowed on campus and students are prohibited from posting information about the union (so much for free speech).

     Here are some facts to show how truly disgusting Shalala's behavior is. The union estimates that the Shalala would have to agree to shell out  $9.4 million over 3 years to pay the janitors a living wage with healthcare. That would add up to just 0.6 percent of total revenue for one year which is ...ready for this number?...$1,416,863,964 (that would be more than $1.4 billion). Or just 4.3 percent of the funds the government pays out to the university. Or just 0.7 percent of its net assets ($1.2 billion).

     Or think of the rich versus poor comparison. The university pays its president and officers a total of $4,347,977.80 (clearly, I went into the wrong line of work).  Over three years, they earn $13,043,933.40.  A UNICCO worker would have to work for 2 months or 326 hours to earn what Shalala earns in one day; her annual salary is a cool half a million (actually, $516,904.19). Pay the president and officers just 28 percent less (they can probably make due) and you can pay a living wage AND healthcare for the 400 UNICCO workers.

    I'm sure Shalala goes to parties where she and her friends decry the outrageous behavior and low moral values of heartless Republicans. But, while she is sipping her cocktail in some swanky apartment, it probably doesn't occur to her that her behavior is no less appalling. I'll pose the question: what kind of values does a university instill in its students when it pays its rulers huge salaries while consigning to poverty and poor health the people who keep the rulers' empire running?

Comments

[John A. joslin]

Shalala no doubt thinks the janitors are "fortunate" to be paid anything for tidying up her office & environs.
Often a university " environment "creates the WORST possible situation for the people working there because the swell folks "in-charge" are daily unable to resist beating you over the head with the good news that because THEY are" *EDUCATED " ( * trained like rats on a short leash is more like it... ) they are somehow entitled to make the " tough" decisions , get the good seats at the compensation trough, remind you (whenever necessary) , to tuck in your uniformed shirt , AND to soberly examine your doctor's excuse under an electron microscope in the event you have to leave early one day to be w/ the family....
Nobody really knows how Donna Shalala votes (..well maybe in Florida they do ..) when ,or if , she musters the civic virtue to don her mickey-mouse BIG "D" cap & dashes down to the local butterfly ballot box to do her electoral duty , but we all know who would have to show up to her office pronto w/ a mop in case she ever had the spare time to honestly reflect on her miserable tenure at U. of Miami. Self-induced vomiting would be all in a day's work for her and the maintenance dept.

[fergie]

I've been a union member for over 30 years and I totally agree that the kings and queens are being paid way too much. even if you cut their wages a small percent it could help the real workers with wage and benefits. They don't understand this because they are in a whole different world and most never had to really work for a living. If you do your homework you will see that NO Democrat or Republican has ever really backed the unions. The unions always had to fight on their own. There is no republican or democrat who has the authority to make this decision. All political decisions are made by the rich, not the president or congress. I'm not either a democrat or Republican but can tell you that in my 30 plus years as a union member we have gotten more support and backing from the Democrats. Never once has a republican helped our union in over 30 years. We have had several independents back our labor issues. the only trouble with that is a Democrat is going to vote for a Democrat and a Republican will vote for a Republican. The independent doesn't have the big business backing to get elected and worst of all the American people are the most spoiled and ignorant people in the world. I would guess that over 70% are brainwashed and the people who have their own mind and opinion are considered radicals or as terrorists by the George W. Hitler's modern day Nazi party called Homeland Security. I'm hoping someday the labor unions will do exactly as our constitution says. To rid the government when it is getting out of hand and become a free nation again.

[DannyBoy]

Unfortunately, the University of Miami is a private university.

[John Halle]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Jonathan.

In general, whenever labor-management disputes arise at universities the true colors of some (and I stress some, not all) liberal academics can reveal themselves pretty dramatically. This became particularly glaring for me during the Yale strike of 2003 as the following anecdote attests:

A bunch of faculty circulated a letter which took what was a very moderate position, namely in support of binding arbitration to resolve the dispute. The university rejected BA on the grounds that a "final solution" was needed to the union problem-a not so subtle code for breaking the union and they knew they wouldn't get that from a neutral third party.

While we eventually acquired more than 200 signatures, what was schocking was the number of faculty who refused to sign and supported the administration's union busting position. These included self-described "Marxists" as well as some who are now being groomed to take their place in the pundit class as representing the progressive side. (I'll be glad to mention these by name, if anyone's interested.)

This was not an isolated instance. More or less similar battle lines are (and were) drawn when grad student unionization comes up. All of a sudden, the committments expressed in the classroom or in academic journals turn out to be purely theoretical.

So I suppose the bottom line is that while Shalala is showing herself to be particularly odious, there are lots of others rising through the tenured ranks who could be counted on to do exactly the same thing.

These people need to be watched like hawks.

[al peppard]

I think that 21st century liberalism has made it's peace with corporate dominance. The tiny fringe of pro-labor liberals that the Democratic Party retains are window dressing to get the labor vote in heavily union states.

Labor people need to stop talking about liberalism and start talking about Social Democracy, and work toward building a party to accomplish that end.

[Rob]

John Halle wrote:
"While we eventually acquired more than 200 signatures, what was schocking was the number of faculty who refused to sign and supported the administration's union busting position. These included self-described "Marxists" as well as some who are now being groomed to take their place in the pundit class as representing the progressive side. (I'll be glad to mention these by name, if anyone's interested.)"

John: Please do name names, there should be a public record particularly if, as you say, some of these professors are members or soon-to-be members of the "pundit class" who we can expect to see presented as our so-called "progressive" representatives.

[belleunion]

Wasn't UNICCO the company involved in the janitors' strike in Boston a few years ago? I guess they didn't learn that lesson very well...

[Bill Johnston]

I worked for Unions for 30 years - half of that time as an Organizer.

It is beyond me why pro-labor progressives believe Liberals are pro-labor. They are not - LIBERALISM IS THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY DEVELOPED TO JUSTIFY CAPITALISM. (read Hobbes, Locke, etc.)

Conservatives will happily shoot workers down in the streets (actually send other "workers" like the cops to it) - the only difference is that the Liberals will have a smile on their faces when they do it. This bunch of losers we have had running labor since the end of WWII have actually helped the both capitalist parties and candidates! Why do you think there are Labor Parties in Europe?

FDR saw a workers revolt if the National Labor Relations Act wasn't passed - Truman was a progressive populist and was pro-labor and JFK actually intellecually understood the benefits of unions and organizing for the nation and the working class. From Johnson on .....forget it! Clinton was a diaster for labor so why shouldn't his Sec of Welfare be as well?

[Jan]

We have the same problem here-our ESTEEMED prez i dent makes $659K a year but won't pay our contracted housekeeping, food service and janitorial staff a living wage. Says they can't tell their vendors what to pay THEIR employees. However, the STATE workers grandfathered in to these jobs only make $8.19 an hour. And UVA CAN pay them more if they want to. Problems is, the don't WANT to. So this year the living wage coalition here is slightly more radical and I am trying to get them to consider a sit in.
And of course they refuse to meet with the union or recognize us.

[vegasobserver]

The problem with too many Democratic politicians of the Baby Boomer generation is that they sold out their principles at the altar of careerism and "competency". Think Dukakis. They became "post ideological", Third Wavers, to appeal to the business community, and in so doing sacrificed all their core values. I think we can get it back, but the first step is to acknowledge it.

[Kevin]

Democrats are as loyal to labor as we make them. If you have a political program that they respect, they will work with you. When you are in a state without a strong labor movement there is no pressure to do the right thing. Make no mistake, there are great labor democrats. There just aren’t enough of them. We simply need to take the party back from the corporations. The way to do that is by doing the heavy lifting, walking precints and running your own candidates.
Part of our problem is our own crappy job promoting ourselves. Most campuses have 'Students against sweatshops' and other organizations but they typically aren't thinking about local fights. It is not their fault we are not reaching out to them. (I am generalizing here, but it's a blog so that’s o.k., right?) Younger people don't know what a union is, or does. Brothers and sisters we need a makeover.

In some parts of the country our labor movement is very weak. The SEIU is starting to organize in Florida and are seeing fruits of their labor. But they are years from reaching the kind of density that they enjoy in other parts of the country. It takes time and money to get respect, especially if the labor movement skipped a generation of workers in your area. When you work where there has been only a small union presence, it takes a while but you will eventually see gains. Just keep fighting and run your own candidates.

[Andrew Pollack]

If the university has prohibited students from posting pro-union flyers why isn't that being defied en masse? Students ought to be posting union flyers on every single inch of university wall space in a free speech fight!

[Dr. Gary K. Busch]

In 1974 we were attempting to re-negotiate a labour contract with the University of Hawaii, in the face of a rejection of the proposed contract by the faculty. Reluctantly I agreed to head the new negotiating team for the AFT affiliate HFT. I had had years of labour negotiations prevously with the UAW in countries all over the world, and was head of the Labour-Management Centre at the University. I have never seen anything like the way in which the university and faculty approached labour negotiations. The faculty did not recognise that they were workers. Members of my negotiating committee refused to let me use the term 'employee'. They told me that, despite the fact that they were employed in a state university, they looked upon themselves as 'self-employed' and felt the term 'employee' demeaned them. More importantly, they wanted (demanded) the right to hire and fire their fellow employees via 'peer review' and the granting of tenure. I explained that all the faculty, from the teaching assistants to the full professors, were equal parts of the union, and that they all deserved to have their specific rights promoted in the contract. The top levels of the faculty disagreed; they felt that they were the employer of the junior ranks and would set their terms themselves. The female faculty demanded a veto over any contract demand unless it promoted, not equal rights, but affirmative action plans to promote women faculty; setting quotas for all jobs, promotions and tenure.

Not surprisingly the university was able to play off one group of faculty against the other and the HFT was decertified in the election which was called; thus preventing us from actually negotiating. I testified at the Public Employee Relations Board hearing on the matter, suggesting that there should be an election for bargaining agent and whoever lost the election got the right to bargain for the faculty. "Let the punishment fit the crime" I decided to leave academe and went back to the international labour movement in Geneva. So, when I hear these stories about universities and their high-handed behaviour I can only reflect that an absence of what used to be called before it went out of fashion "class-consciousness" amongst the professors, nothing they do surprises me.

[Deepak Madala]

Thanks for highlighting the injustice at the University of Miami. I have been working with SEIU organizers in Miami to support their efforts with an online campaign directed towards President Donna Shalala.

We have already sent hundreds of letters to President Shalala telling her to treat her service employees with the dignity and respect they deserve. The UNICCO employees have devoted themselves to the University and as you clearly show in your post it is sad how little President Shalala cares for their well-being.

You can join the campaign and send a letter to President Shalala by going to: http://seiuaction.org/campaign/miamiaction

[bigfall]

Gary,

You're absolutely right that faculty don't like to see themselves as "employees" -- especially back when you were at HFT, faculty still believed that the post-War, GI-Bill boom in university investment and hiring was the "natural" way things worked. And when 25-year-olds were getting PhDs and immediately being offered tenure-track jobs at prestigious univerisities (which is likely the experience of the senior faculty at UH when you were there), who the hell needed a union?

Not that I think AFT is a model of strategic union building, but I think the attitudes you identified explain the significance for both sides of the graduate employee organizing going on all over the country. Both unions and university bosses realize that a grad student who fights to organize a union is more likely to come to an earlier, political analysis of the academy, and to want to be part of a union as a faculty member. The current trend of hiring adjuncts, part-timers, and lecturers only strengthens this tendency.

When enough grad employees organize, then universities will face faculties (to the extent that they continue to exist) of academics who were raised as union members. And that's when we can get Yeshiva tossed and the AFT or someone can organize university faculties in large numbers. That's all assuming, of course, that we haven't all been imprisoned in HSA reeducation camps by then.

[John A. joslin]

KEVIN ..... I think very few people of any age know what a union is , and I've been in a couple unions for 20+ years ..... I grew up "attending" Democratic fund-raisers/ meet the candidate nights in my backyard as a 6-yr. old.... I honestly have to ask you : 1) Can you name a strong union state where the Dems are in Labor's corner OR are about to be? Or even , please name a strong union state. I am not trying to irritate you , I just want to know how you assess these things.

In the last 17 years , I can't think of a major issue when Democrats rode out any storms on Labor's side ( outside of some wonderful , but ineffectual individual Dems... )... Seriously, I am drawing blanks... - J.J., IBEW in MIchigan ( Detroit )

[Kevin]

The strong union state I am speaking of is California. California is the only state in the country where the Labor Movement has grown in the last few years. We have a generally pro labor assembly. The speaker of the Assembly is the former political director of the LA county federation of labor. The mayor of Los Angeles is a former union organizer etc. We have a very progressive Caucus in congress as well. Now I know that you will all find examples of crappy Californian's,and there are plenty. So spare me the pig pile and just think about what I am saying. My contention is this; politicians from low density union states will not feel pressure for selling you out. They support labor more here because we have taken some key dems out of office. Another factor is that redistricting has created safe districts where very strong Democrats can be elected. (This also makes it possible to elect crazy right wingers as well. So we also have the worst politicians as well.) The metro L.A. area makes it possible for State wide candidates to win while doing poorly in the rural counties. Therefore they seek our help and work well with labor.

[Patrick]

I'd recommend keeping your eye on the University of Miami. I am a founding member of Students Toward A New Democracy (STAND) and we've been leading the student side of the Living Wage Camapaign now in motion here at UM. Despite being a new organization, we're getting more support and better organized each week. We're getting excellent media and have extensive plans. Check out our website at www.standum.org

[Mike Morgan]

Constrovery Concerning President Bush's Appointment

Dr. Shalala sits on the Board of Directors of Lennar Corporation, the nation's third larges home builder. In this position, she has influence over the actions of Lennar Corporation. As noted on the website www.Lennar-Homes.info Lennar Corporation has issues with building and delivery of defective homes. Dr. Shalala refuses to address these issues, as Lennar Corporation turns the American Dream into the American Nightmare for thousands of American. Clear evidence of Lennar's defective homes is documented at http://www.Lennar-Homes.info

As a Board Member, Shalala is compensated by Lennar Corporation, and the University of Miami received a $100 million donation from the Miller family to rename the medical school to the Leonard Miller School of Medicine. It becomes clear that Shalala puts personal financial gain and recognition over the interests of American homeowners. She will do the same in her position on the President's commission to investigate our nation's military and veteran hospitals.

It is interesting to note that Shalala is teamed up with Senator Bob Dole on this project. Senator Dole's wife, when she was on the Federal Trade Commission, state: " . . . for too many Americans, the dream home has turned into a nightmare. You know as well as I do that as families move into their own little Garden of Eden, more and more are finding the apple full of worms. As a result, some homebuyers believe they are being bilked for thousands of dollars, and they are expressing not only anguish but outrage. Shoddy building practices can be concealed from many purchasers who cannot be expected to have the technical expertise to evaluate the structural soundness of a home or the quality of electrical, plumbing, or air conditioning systems…The patience of the American consumer is rapidly running out. . . . Consumers are demanding more protection from the government, not LESS. The consumer movement is no longer made up of small bands of activists with no troops standing behind them; the consumer movement is now part of our culture – it embraces every one of us. And it will not be denied over an issue so fundamental as decent housing . . ."

This statement was made in 1979, but nothing has changed, and Shalala's position on the Board of Lennar has demonstrated her lack of empathy and respect for the American public. President Bush should clearly remove her from her current appointment on the commission to address problems in our military and veteran hospitals.

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