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Bolling Air Base Workers Vote IBEWMarch 10, 2005 The IBEW’s Service Contract Act initiative was successful in its first organizing campaign to represent 30 contract maintenance workers at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.An overwhelming 22-6 vote February 24 of maintenance electricians, carpenters, laborers, locksmiths and painters was accomplished with the dedication and hard work of the internal organizing committee, assisted by a group of three new organizers from Baltimore Local 24 and Washington Local 26 hired as part of a new push to organize workers under the Service Contract Act. Employed by Chugach McKinley, Inc. (CMI), the future IBEW members will be represented by IBEW Local 26. The employer, an Alaska-based, Native American-owned company, has contracts across the country with a few IBEW-represented units. Although CMI did not hire a union-busting consultant, it did stage several captive audience meetings, said lead SCA organizer Larry McGlamary. The fact the company did not hire union busters is unusual in itself in today’s avoid-unions-at-any-cost environment. "We have a good working relationship with CMI throughout the country," McGlamary said. Similar to the Davis-Bacon Act, which sets prevailing wage rates in the construction industry, the Service Contract Act was passed in 1965 to ensure the federal government pays community wage scales and benefits. The federal government’s ongoing efforts to privatize its functions has provided unions an increasing number of targets under the Service Contract Act. In 2004, the Bush administration announced plans to move 850,000 federal jobs to the private sector. Among the issues that prompted the workers in the base military housing section to vote for IBEW representation were favoritism on the job, low benefit levels and stagnant wages. Under the Service Contract Act, wage increases are difficult to obtain without a government survey. But if the workers are organized while the contract is in effect, the federal government will honor the terms and conditions in an agreement negotiated by the employer and union above the current wage determination survey, McGlamary said. Local 26 negotiators, along with two members of the new unit, will start negotiating for a contract in the next few weeks. The local will attempt to model the agreement used on other SCA contracts it has with other employers in the area. Bolling Air Force Base is the headquarters for all U.S. Air Force operations in the national capital region. The installation also hosts the Defense Intelligence Agency Center, one of the country’s largest intelligence services.
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