Tribal employees to vote on whether to form union
By Bill Donovan
Special to the Times
WINDOW ROCK, July 28, 2011
Navajo Nation employees got a surprise when they received their pay stubs this week - a ballot asking them to vote on whether they want to be represented by a union.
After decades of talk about unionizing the tribe's 6,000 employees, the Navajo Nation recently certified the United Mineworkers of America to act as the employees' bargaining agent.
The UMWA, one of the oldest labor organizations in the U.S., began representing non-mine workers on the Navajo Reservation in 2005 when the tribe's Human Resources Committee approved a tentative agreement allowing it to represent Head Start teachers.
According to UMWA officials, the current agreement between the tribe and the union allows employees to vote on the bargaining agreement between the union and the tribe but first they have to vote on whether union membership should be mandatory or voluntary.
Tribal personnel officials said the ballot sent out this week to all eligible Navajo employees will decide the question. Ballots must be turned in - a stamped envelope was included - within two weeks.
Employees of tribal enterprises are not affected. If employees of the enterprises want to unionize, they would need separate agreements between the enterprise boards and the union.
"For this first election to be valid, a majority of the covered employees must vote," union officials said in the announcement.
UMWA recently won the right to represent employees of McKinley County. The union already represents Gallup city employees. But these agreements cover 150 to 300 employees, a fraction of the tribal workforce.
Membership is voluntary under the city and county contracts - New Mexico does not allow mandatory union membership.
If the tribal employees vote to make membership mandatory, all would begin paying union dues of $10.01 per paycheck, plus $10 once a year to fund the union's political action committee. If a majority votes for voluntary membership, the dues would be exacted from members only.
"The amount that union members will be required to pay as union dues will not be increased, unless the Navajo Nation also increases the hourly wages (of employees)," according to the union.
"In any event, biweekly union dues will not exceed one and one-half times the lowest hourly wage earned by an employee," the union stated.
No matter which way tribal employees vote on this issue - mandatory or voluntary - it will not affect the fact that the collective bargaining agreement has been approved and will be presented to union membership for a vote in the fall.
If the tribal employees vote to make membership mandatory, all eligible employees will be allowed to vote on whether to accept the collective bargaining agreement. If the employees opt to make it voluntary, only those members who join the union will be allowed to vote.
Union officials stressed that if tribal employees vote in this election to make union membership mandatory, another election would be held if 30 percent or more subsequently sign a petition asking for the vote to be held again.