Pro-Union parade draws more than 50 people

Havre saw a "Union Strong Car Parade and Celebration" last Friday evening, with almost 50 cars, many with more than one occupant, drive through Havre in support of local union workers in response to right-to-work bills making their way through the Montana Legislature.

The event saw participants from the Teamsters, the Montana Federation of Public Employees, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way, and others drive through town with vehicles adorned with the logos of their unions, honking in support as they made their way east on First Street then down Fifth Avenue.

Havre Education Association Vice-President Lindsey Ratliff, also a member of the Havre City Council and one of the organizers of the event, said attendance was good and the number of unions represented was encouraging.

"We're happy with the turnout," she said.

She said the intention of the event was to show support for unions and their workers and hopefully send a message to Helena.

Ratliff said the right-to-work bills, which are widely considered anti-union, making it more difficult for unions to collect dues and manage membership, have the potential to seriously weaken or even destroy unions in Havre, and consequently have negative effects on wages, working conditions, and general quality of life for workers.

"When states becomes right-to-work it essentially means the right to get paid less for more work with less rights," she said.

Proponents of these bills argue that they will benefit the state economy and make sure people in unionized workplaces don't have to pay dues if they don't want too.

The Economic Policy Institute recently released a report that indicates that Montana has outpaced its right-to-work neighbors in income growth and larger economic growth in the last decade and the benefits that proponents of right-to-work bills tout just aren't there.

It said these laws have not boosted employment in states that have adopted them and no causal impact on job growth or unemployment has been found, despite significant study.

It also said that in recent years, private-sector job growth in Montana has outpaced that of its right-to-work neighbors.

"Although the phrase 'right-to-work' implies some expansion of workers' rights or a guarantee of employment, RTW laws do neither of these things," the report says, "They were designed to subvert the growth in unions by restricting unions' resources and making it harder for workers to negotiate and enforce contracts with employers." 

Ratliff said given the history of strong unions in the Havre area, and the fact that the unions are supported by locals from across the political spectrum, many feel this legislations is a kick in the teeth, especially with the involvement of the American Legislative Exchange Council, which drafts right-to-work bills and sends them to states across the country.

"ALEC has no business writing laws for Montana," she said. "For some corporate think tank a thousand miles away writing laws that just get shipped out to states for willing legislators to pass off as if they're their own is a slap in the face to hard-working Montanans."

Ratliff said a lot of people don't know how much unions have done for places like Havre, and destroying them would be devastating.

"We're losing our understanding of what unions have done for our economy and keeping food on the table for the average worker," she said.

She said Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin have passed similar legislation that has resulted in teachers losing a great deal of their ability fight for better working conditions, and lower wages.

"We have other states that serve as an example of what not to do," she said.

Ratliff said she's afraid that Gov. Greg Gianforte may sign these bills, which have failed in previous legislative sessions, if they make it to his desk.

"It's scary, because we've got people in the Legislature that don't support workers' rights and have been trying for a long time to take away the power of unions, and I'm afraid that our governor may well agree with them," she said.

This worry was shared at the eventby Frank LaTray, a member of the Maintenance of Way Union who worked as a smelterman in Anaconda.

"We need to all stand strong right now and buck the governor," he said. "... I mean, without the union we ain't got nothing. Right-to-work just isn't right."

He said he came to the event to back up his fellow union workers and make sure they maintained their ability to fight back against potential exploitation by companies.

"(If these bills pass) I think workers will have less power, and the companies will get what they want," he said. "They can push us around and tell us how many days we can have for vacation instead of our union sticking up for us."

Former Havre City Council President Allen "Woody" Woodwick, a school bus driver and member of the Teamsters used to work for the railroad, said he has been been a member of multiple unions over the course of his life.

Woodwick said the bills going through the Legislature are appalling to him especially now, which is why he came out that night.

"We need our unions now more than ever, and I want to help," he said.

He said Havre's unions have been chipped a way at slowly but steadily since the height of their prominence, starting with the railroad unions, and their legacy is at risk with this new legislation.

The bills have been opposed by many unions across the state, including the Montana Nurses Association.

That day, the House Business and Labor Committee voted 11-9 to advance HB 251, one of the right-to-work bills in question, for consideration on the House floor, and MNA put out a press release shortly after condemning the bill. 

MNA CEO Vicky Byrd said right-to-work bills don't just affect the quality of life of nurses, but the quality of care in hospitals as well.

"For MNA members patient care is the heart of the matter," she said in the release. "It is why we have strongly opposed HB 251 since it was introduced."

"Nurses have a professional commitment to advocate for the highest standards of care for all of their patients," she added. "One of the ways MNA members do that is through collective bargaining and ongoing collaborative dialogue with hospitals and other health care providers to address the day-to-day details of quality patient care."

She said the very title right-to-work is misleading, citing the Economic Policy Institute Study.

"Despite the claims of the out-of-state backers for HB 251, so-called right-to-work laws do not confer any rights - to a job, to a voice, or to anything else," she said.