Public sector workers blast poor working conditions

Kenny Myatt, an employee with the North Carolina Department of Administration, testifies May 19 before the Raleigh public hearing for the IWJC about the hostile and discriminatory work environment in state government.

The fifth public hearing for the International Worker Justice Campaign in Raleigh, N.C., occurred on May 19. Held at Truth in Jesus Christ Holiness Church, the event drew workers and activists from all over North Carolina who are concerned about the conditions facing public sector workers in this right-to-work state.

Organized by North Carolina Public Workers Union United Electrical Local 150 in conjunction with Black Workers For Justice, the purpose of these hearings is to press the need for collective bargaining for public sector workers in North Carolina.

The main state agencies with workers represented at this hearing were the Department of Administration, the Mail Service Center (a division of the DOA), the Department of Health and Human Services, Dorothea Dix Hospital and North Carolina State University. Workers from these agencies told the panel of state legislators and community leaders jaw-dropping tales of blatant harassment, wage and benefit discrimination, horrific and dangerous working conditions, and constant favoritism in hiring, compensation and promotion.

The state of North Carolina has a contradictory track record regarding the treatment of its workers. On one hand, the state has benefit and retirement packages for its employees that rival anything in private industry, with workers receiving full medical insurance, dental care, and sick days after less than one year on the job. At the same time, the state has one of the worst track records with regard to equal treatment and fairness toward its workers.

Race, age and gender discrimination are a constant presence at most state agencies regardless of job position and salary. And African American workers are routinely paid thousands of dollars less in annual salary compared to whites performing the same work.

In addition, North Carolina is the only state that legally forbids collective bargaining for all of its public-sector workers---state, county and municipal. Although this does not legally prohibit workers' right to unionize, it effectively weakens the power of unions.

Less than 3 percent of all the state's workers are unionized. Many bosses in North Carolina have no problem telling their workers that joining a union is against the law, and many private-sector businesses proudly declare themselves "union-free" work places.

A worker from the Mail Service Center told of being routinely denied the federally mandated benefit of Family and Medical Leave to take care of her ailing mother. Another MSC employee told of dangerous working conditions, such as poorly secured biohazard materials sent through the state's post office.

The worst story, however, has to be the gross racist and misogynistic verbal harassment from a white male co-worker who has yet to be disciplined for his actions.

This racist employee regularly refers to African American employees as as "b-----s" and "n-----s," and once called a Black female worker a "Black s--t" to her face in the presence of their direct supervisor. The bosses at the MSC have declared the offensive actions of this employee "harmless" and he is still on the job.;

A former case worker from Health and Human Services told of being pushed out of her job of nearly 18 years by her supervisors so they could hire younger workers. She produced documentation showing that she was grossly underpaid by thousands of dollars every year even though she had the most education, training and experience of anyone in her division. As a Black female, she was paid around $46,000 annually while white and male co-workers were paid between $55,000 and $65,000 annually.

These stories had a huge impact on most of the audience, but whether they made any impression on the elected officials on the panel remains to be seen. All of them promised to "look into the situation," and that the public would hear from them "as soon as possible."

State Rep. Bernard Allen told the audience that he would convene a study on the issue, and then exhorted the workers in the audience to "be patient" because changing the conditions in state government is going to take time. This drew an angry rebuke from a worker at Dix Hospital, who declared that state workers "have been patient for 25 years, and nothing has been done."

The people of North Carolina are the only ones who can change conditions for state workers. They must demand that the people who perform vital services are treated fairly and equitably. Public-sector employees need solidarity against the abuse, harassment and discriminatory treatment that the bosses use to keep people in line.

For more information about the IWJC, call (919) 593-7558 or email [email protected]