Tallahassee City Workers Sign Up for IBEW

June 2, 2005

More than 400 municipal workers in Tallahassee, Florida could soon have the benefit of IBEW representation if, as expected, the city recognizes hundreds of signed authorization cards and accepts the union as their bargaining agent.

A strong majority of public employees providing city services have indicated their interest in joining a union in the joint campaign by the IBEW and the Service Employees International Union. Parks and recreation, custodians, painters, mechanics and carpenters would join the SEIU. Electricians at the city’s two power plants, bus drivers, wastewater plant operators, technicians and others would be IBEW members. Organizers expect the Tallahassee City Council to recognize the unions on June 15, said IBEW Fifth District International Representative James Anderson.

Uneven enforcement of rules and favoritism have caused low morale in the ranks of workers, particularly the transportation employees, said bus driver Phyllis Andrews. “It’s a good place to work but you have crazy management,” Andrews said. “They don’t do it by the book. Certain people get away with things and certain people don’t. It’s favoritism.”

Management is in the practice of rewarding favorites through wage increases and hiring and job status, Andrews said. Management has retaliated against workers who question their decisions. “Once you tell the truth and tell it to their face, they target you,” Andrews said. “If you see something that’s wrong and you tell them, they don’t like that.”

In the event the city fails to voluntarily recognize the unions, organizers are prepared for a National Labor Relations Board vote, Anderson said. “We’re still getting cards,” he said. “Just in case we do have go through an election, we’ll be ready to go.”