Unionization of non-engineer employees of geotechnical engineering firms in the Chicago areaMay 28, 2004Dear Section and Branch Geotechnical Group Leaders: This letter is to provide Section and Branch leaders with an update on ASCE's latest actions regarding the issue of unionization of field representatives, engineers, and other professionals. This correspondence is strictly informational and requires no action on your part. Feel free, however, to share this information with any potentially interested parties in your region. Since the fall of 2002, ASCE's government relations staff has been monitoring the issue of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150's attempts to unionize the non-engineer employees of geotechnical engineering firms in the Chicago area. It is important to note that ASCE has no position on engineers being unionized, and in fact, a large number of ASCE members are also members of unions - primarily those in the public sector. At the request of the Committee on Government Affairs, the ASCE Board of Direction formed the Task Committee on Engineering Ethics and Union Membership in May 2003. This task committee worked very quickly- focusing on the key issue for ASCE - engineering ethics and conflict of interest. This resulted in Policy Statement 502 "Professional Ethics and Conflict of Interest" being adopted by the Board of Direction in July 2003. The Task Committee achieved its goal of developing a well-reasoned and openly debated policy which takes into account the many opinions on this issue and balances union membership with our obligation to protect the public health, safety and welfare. ASCE continues to publish and promote policy 502 and encourages its geographic and technical Organizational Entities to do so. Following the Board action, Executive Director Pat Natale and ASCE's government relations staff met with both the president and top lobbyist of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) on October 14, 2003. During that meeting, the attendees discussed the conflict of interest issues, to which the IUOE president suggested that the "no rat" rule was past history and that the public health and safety was just as much a concern for the union membership. During the December meeting, the task committee also discussed putting together a series of educational outreach possibilities, such as seminars or other distance learning on the unionization issue. The goal of such activities would be to discuss the rights and responsibilities of engineers facing an attempt by a union to organize its employees. On January 14, 2004, ASCE was served with a charge from the National Labor Relations Board in relation to ASCE Policy Statement 502. ASCE responded to the charge, and on February 11, 2004 the charge was dismissed. The task committee met again on January 17 during Board Committee week, and task committee chair Lou Graef made a presentation to the Board of Direction on this issue on January 15t At that time, the committee decided to explore the possibility of forming a coalition of interested parties at the national level. In February, ASCE hosted a meeting of interested organizations in Chicago, Illinois, and the local groups present agreed to form a coalition at the state level to address these issues from both an education and legislative perspective. The group is currently opposing Illinois SB2435/HB 3992 which requires each professional engineer, employee or project representative and his or her vehicle to be clearly identified whenever he or she is on a project site. ASCE assisted the Illinois Sections by sending a Key Alert on this issue to all ASCE members in Illinois in early March. We also are looking into how other white collar professions have handled the issue. For example, the American Bar Association labor policy summaries include the following entry: "Lawyer Unionization. (No position)". The ABA apparently appointed a committee to study this issue many years ago and elected not to issue a policy on the matter. In addition to the above, Deputy Executive Director Larry Roth testified on behalf of Engineering Consulting Services, LTD. in December at a National Labor Relations Board hearing in Chicago regarding unfair labor practice allegations. A copy of ASCE's policy 502, which was adopted by ASCE's Board of Direction on July 11, 2003 in response to this matter, was admitted into evidence at the hearing. Finally, none of this should be interpreted as an argument for or against the right of engineers to engage in collective bargaining. Whether or not the trend toward unionization continues, it seems clear that union rules must be developed that recognize and support the ethical obligations of licensed professionals to protect public health and safety. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or if we can provide any further information. Sincerely, Sandra L. Houston, Ph.D., P.E., President Board of Governors Geo-Institute of ASCE |
