ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 4, 1997 TAG: 9702040083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
BUT BUSINESS OFFICIALS cite federal figures that show union membership in Virginia has dropped from 8.4 percent of workers in 1990 to 6.7 percent in 1995.
The General Assembly has never been known as a place where organized labor wields much clout.
But union leaders say they're making gains in the legislature, thanks to stepped-up organizing and political activism around the state.
They say a deal engineered during the weekend by House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, included some noteworthy victories for workers on unemployment benefits and on compensation for repetitive motion injuries.
Nobody's saying unions can keep pace yet with the well-financed business lobbyists who patrol the legislature, but union leaders say they see signs of hope.
"It's an educational process," said Jim Leaman, a former AT&T technician in Roanoke who is the state AFL-CIO's secretary-treasurer. "What we've been doing the last five or six years is educating members of the General Assembly to the plight of working people."
Business officials, however, scoff at the idea that unions are making a turnaround. Federal figures show union membership in Virginia has dropped from 8.4 percent of workers in 1990 to 6.7 percent in 1995, mirroring a national trend that experts say is fueled by global competition and the shift from factory jobs to service jobs.
"I think that pretty well speaks for itself," said Keith Cheatham, public policy manager for the state Chamber of Commerce. "The numbers in Virginia are not that indicative of strong union organizing." The economy is good and "people tend to be less interested in the services of organized labor."
The number of union organizing drives - as indicated by the number of elections to bring unions into workplaces - has been "fairly static" in Virginia, Cheatham said.
Still, Cheatham acknowledged, "labor made a very convincing argument" that Virginia should expand unemployment benefits.
Before Sunday's deal, Gov. George Allen had not planned to expand unemployment help. But Allen opened the door for that when he supported his proposal to cut taxes by arguing that there was a surplus in the state's unemployment trust fund.
"The business community was disarmed in its old standing argument" that raising benefits would bankrupt the trust fund, state AFL-CIO president Danny LeBlanc said. "We were able to seize the moment."
Cheatham said labor officials did win some concessions, but "the General Assembly is always a place of compromise" and jobless benefits and workers comp were issues where there was clearly middle ground.
LeBlanc said the deal doesn't provide everything the AFL-CIO fought for, but it is one of the biggest victories for organized labor in recent years. The deal would allow workers suffering from hearing loss and repetitive trauma to file workers' compensation claims, provided they could prove with "clear and convincing evidence" that the condition is work-related.
He said organized labor is seeking new ways to fight economic trends that make it tough on unions. They have become more active politically in state and out, pouring money into a national advertising attack last year on House Speaker Newt Gingrich and other Republicans.
Despite the drop in unions' share of the work force, LeBlanc said labor is turning things around by focusing on janitors, office workers and other service employees who've often been ignored by organizing drives.
Recent corporate layoffs and stagnating wages show it's not just factory workers who are vulnerable, LeBlanc said.
"We're getting calls from doctors, from nurses, from people who work in architectural and accounting firms," he said.
Virginia AFL-CIO officials say they've won something of a victory in recent years by stabilizing their membership at about 188,000. But the group's share of the state's work force has dropped as the overall number of jobs has grown.
With the tough economic trends, LeBlanc said, unions have to put more into organizing.
"Proctor and Gamble spends 20 to 30 percent of their money on marketing," LeBlanc said. "You've got to sell your product."
Cheatham is skeptical. "I'm not saying unions are bad," he said. But the numbers show "those folks who sell these services have a much harder time selling what they have."
COMPROMISE ON WORKER BENEFITS
An agreement between labor and business leaders, negotiated Sunday by Del. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, would:
Ease the qualifying requirements for jobless benefits.
To qualify, workers in Virginia currently must earn at least $3,250 over a six-month period before they lose their jobs. The agreement would reduce that to $2,500 by 1999, making it easier for part-time and seasonal workers to earn benefits. Virginia ranked last in the nation in 1995 in the share of unemployed people - less than 18 percent - who qualified for jobless benefits.
Increase the state's maximum unemployment benefit from $224 a week to $232 a week over the next three years. Virginia has ranked in the bottom half of the nation in benefit levels.
Decrease the proposed unemployment tax break for businesses from an estimated $199 million to $175 million.
Allow employees suffering from hearing loss and repetitive stress injuries to file for workers compensation. At the same time, it would require "clear and convincing" evidence the injuries happened at work - a level of proof that business leaders wanted. This is one part of the compromise that Gov. Allen has not endorsed, leaving the door open to a veto.
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB