Feb. 17, 2000
Concerning the recent 'Ask the Director'
I would like to clear up some misunderstanding that may have resulted in a couple of questions answered recently in Ask the Director.
One question (No. 3) asked if the Laboratory had negotiated with employee organizations such as CLER or UPTE on its recently revised complaint or grievance policy. The director responded by saying that the Laboratory did not meet or negotiate with any of these organizations, but did accept individual comments from employees via RevCom, etc. Until Jan. 1 of this year that was all the Laboratory needed to do, and it did not recognize any employee labor organization such as those mentioned. The law changed on Jan. 1. Since that time the Laboratory is legally required to "meet and discuss" with employee labor organizations any new or revised policy that affects the terms or conditions of our employment, including any change in a grievance policy. The director's answer dealt with one of several policies that were hurriedly released in December, perhaps to beat the "meet and discuss" requirements.
The current status, since January, is that the Laboratory now has to "meet and discuss" with employee labor organizations. Laboratory management is then free to adopt whatever policy it chooses whether employees like it or not. It can legally ignore all the comments made by employee groups at the "meet and discuss" sessions. When, or if, employees vote to be "represented" by an organization such as the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), a much more important employee right becomes legally required. The Laboratory must then "negotiate" with the employee organization before adopting new policy that affects our terms and conditions of employment. In negotiations there must be agreement of the employees through their elected representatives. Before the Laboratory management could demand lie detector tests, the employees would have to agree. Before the Laboratory could adopt new parking fines, the employees would have to agree. If we vote to be represented by an employee organization, then before the Laboratory could adopt any policy that affects our terms and conditions of employment the employees would have to agree. We don't have that right now, the right to negotiate and agree or refuse, but we could have if we, collectively, want it. The choice is now ours.
The director was accurate in his current answer. The new policy was adopted prior to the change in law on Jan. 1, and the Laboratory did not meet with or negotiate its new policy with any employee organization.
In Question No. 5, the question implied that labor organizations are an "external union structure" that will "come in here and trample all over us without our approval." That may be a common misunderstanding but it's not the case at all. The two organizations mentioned above, CLER and UPTE Local 1663 are both local organizations made up of employees who work right here in Los Alamos at the Laboratory. As an officer of UPTE Local 1663, I can speak more particularly about it. We work here at the Lab, all the officers and members of the local organization. When it became apparent that the HEERA law would change we sought support and asked for help from other employees who also work for our employer, the University of California. Many of the policies and benefits we have here at the Laboratory are directed or managed by UCOP in Oakland the very same benefits and policy that UC employees at Berkeley, San Diego and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also have. One difference is that other UC employees have been organizing themselves together and negotiating with UC for years while we have only just now acquired the legal protection and rights to do so. We asked for their help. The question (No. 5) in the director's page also says "Your LANL-EMP27 e-mail makes it very clear that the unions are totally external to this organization." Nothing could be farther from the truth of the matter. Unions here, UPTE Local 1663, CLER, etc. are made up of Laboratory employees. The (UC) systemside UPTE (also controlled by UC employees) has offered to help us when we asked them to, but only if we Lab employees want their help and only if we Lab employees take the responsibility to organize ourselves. UPTE members all work for the University of California at campuses, hospitals and other national laboratories, and now at the Laboratory as well. We can share much of their knowledge and expertise gained from years of negotiations with our same employer, the University of California. They will help when we ask, but UC employees from UC San Diego or Los Angeles, or LBNL will not come here and do the work for us.
Under the new law changes in the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) we Lab employees have legal rights to form our own organizations, such as UPTE Local 1663, and to meet and discuss regarding policy such as lie detectors or grievance policies. If we vote for representation we will also have a right to negotiate those policies and therefore to disapprove them if we don't agree. But it will be us, collectively, here at the Lab who makes that happen. We have legal rights but nobody is going to do our work for us. We will have to do it ourselves. But don't take my word for it; see your UPTE representative or attend one it its meetings and learn for yourself.
--Brad Kemp