Union leader reorganizingChapter aims to help health care workers By Brian Hicks (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Alan Hawes Mary Moultrie looks at photographs Friday in the lobby of Local 1199, a branch of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, at the union’s office on King Street. The union hall is decorated with photographs commemorating the hospital workers strike of 1969. 
Provided At the head of the May 12, 1969, protest march in support of striking hospital workers are Walter Reuther (from left), president of the United Auto Workers of America; Mary Moultrie, president of Local 1199B; and the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Previous StoriesMary Moultrie's legacy includes civil rights battle, helping families, published 12/15/05 Quest for dignity, published 02/23/07 Every morning, Mary Moultrie walks into a King Street office and faces the black-and-white images of her famous past. The photographs that line the walls tell a story of one of the most troubled times in recent Charleston history: picketing workers in white uniforms, thousands of people marching down Calhoun Street, petite women tussling with police officers. The photographs won't let her forget. They remind her why she's here. Back in 1969, Moultrie tried to organize a local union to force hospitals to pay their "nonprofessional" workers the federal minimum wage. Her efforts sparked a bitter, months-long feud that eventually reached the White House. It led to a 20th-century siege of Charleston, a national event that brought in labor and civil rights leaders. Her work made her a star, a symbol of the working class and, ultimately, cost her plenty. Now, after nearly 40 years, Moultrie has returned to her early calling. She is fighting once again for the rights of health care workers, recruiting converts to her cause one at a time. In her little King Street office, Moultrie is an organizer for a local union chapter. "A lot of people say history repeats itself," Moultrie says. "But right now, I'm living it. I just feel good that I'm a part of seeing it happen again." Some people would say that she is trying to do the impossible: earn recognition for organized labor in a right-to-work state. But they don't know Moultrie. This is a woman who once went to jail for her beliefs and eventually forced local hospitals to raise their wages. And she says that a change is coming, she can feel it. And some people, the ones who have seen her at work, believe it. "She is the ideal person to do it," says Bill Saunders, a community activist. "She has the power." The past repeats This all started, or restarted, in February 2007 at the premiere of a documentary on the 113-day Charleston hospital strike. The screening had turned into something of a reunion for veterans of the strike, and one of those people was Henry Nicholas. Nicholas, who lives in Philadelphia, is president of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, an organization that represents 150,000 workers in 14 states. He remembered Moultrie from the strike and struck up a conversation with her that night. Moultrie recalls Nicholas saying, "Maybe it's time to take another run at Charleston." That's all she needed to hear. By July, she was deep in planning a Local 1199 office. "Her heart was in it," Nicholas said earlier this week. "I told her if she felt the commitment and interest was there, we would be willing to assist." For Moultrie, it was an easy decision. This has always been about the rights of workers, nothing else. She was a reluctant organizer in the 1960s, taking up her role only after seeing a few Medical College (now Medical University of South Carolina) workers fired for what she considered unjust reasons. Some of the people — mostly women, mostly black — could not use the same break room as whites, had to endure racial slurs. On top of that, many of the hospital's nurse's aides, dietary staff and cleaning crews were paid 30 cents less than the minimum wage. In 1969, Moultrie pushed for relief until she and some of her colleagues finally got a meeting with the hospital president. He didn't show, and they were fired for walking off their jobs even though the president had called them to his office. The strike soon followed. It was not the best advertisement for Charleston, or the best sequel to the Civil Rights Act. At one point, Moultrie was marching down Calhoun Street with Coretta Scott King, and soldiers were camped out around the city. The governor refused to recognize the unions, and eventually the Nixon administration got involved. The Medical College was threatened with the loss of federal funding if this wasn't settled and off the nightly news. Finally, an agreement was reached, pay was increased and most workers went back to their jobs. Moultrie's efforts made her a darling of the unions, and she was flown around the country to speak to chapters. She was uncomfortable with it. Moultrie remembers once seeing her picture on a union poster in a local chapter office. She turned around and left without telling anyone she was there. A few years after the strike, Moultrie left the hospital and moved to New York. When she came back to Charleston a few years later, she finished out her career running the Julian Devine Community Center. She retired a few years ago. A new beginning It's Friday night at the 1199 office, and sanitation workers are rolling in. Because they handle hazardous waste, the city's sanitation crews are eligible to be in the union, and so far, about 90 percent of them have signed up. As they gather for their meeting, they find themselves in the midst of strike veterans. Rosetta Simmons, who organized workers at Charleston County Hospital, says it feels great to help a new generation of workers. "It brings back memories, some that are joyful and others that are sad," Simmons says. "It is so stirring and ironic, some of the things that are going on now are just like they were 39 years ago." Simmons, Moultrie and other organizers talk to health care workers regularly, and they hear various complaints about working conditions. But some things never change; only a few dozen have joined the union. "They'll say, 'I can't go on strike!' " Moultrie says. "And I say, nobody said anything about a strike? Nobody here wanted a strike. We were forced to strike." The sanitation workers at Friday's meeting are not talking about such dramatic issues. They are worried about sanitary conditions: where the drinking water is stored on the truck, the kind of gloves they are issued to work on the truck and who pays for them. Saunders, who attends the meeting as an adviser, says the sanitation workers are the backbone of the city, and their health and safety are important issues. But it's unclear what the union can do about those issues at this point. City officials say right-to-work laws in South Carolina prohibit them from formally recognizing unions or entering any collective bargaining talks over pay or benefits. Susan Herdina, assistant city attorney for Charleston, says that the city is happy to talk to anyone, union member or individual employee, about workplace concerns. In other words, unions can lobby for change but have no legal authority. Nicholas says the chapter is "on pace," and he thinks it eventually will be successful. Janie Campbell, the acting president of Local 1199, admits that it's a struggle to put together a union chapter, but notes that they have gotten help from the longshoremen and are bringing in more organizers. And it doesn't hurt, she says, to have Moultrie around. "She's definitely a good role model," Campbell says. "Without them (Moultrie and Simmons), it would be even harder to do this." Moultrie says she hopes the mood of the country, and its attitude toward unions, is changing. She points to the election of Barack Obama as president as proof. He courted union voters and won endorsements, and Moultrie said maybe Obama can nudge the country forward to achieve union goals. But she's not waiting for anyone to tell her she can do this. It's what she tells the workers she talks to daily. "When it comes to change, you can't just sit around waiting for it," Moultrie says. "You've got to make something happen." That is something Moultrie knows a lot about. Reach Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or bhicks@postand courier.com |
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This article has 23 comment(s)
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Posted by BillytheKid on November 23, 2008 at 3:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ya can't beat city hall. Yes you can but ya need help.
Posted by B_Fwank on November 23, 2008 at 7:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unions and the greed of the union workers are the biggest reason for the failed auto industry. Unions and their members are outdated and cause more harm than good.
Unions think that industry will fall apart without them.
The UAW is largely to blame for the bloating costs of making a competitive product and the inability for domestic companies to compete with foreign.
There is already anti-union sentiment sweeping the nation right now.
Why is it that unions fear free trade? could it be competition ?
Posted by palmettoruckus on November 23, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Colbert Report had an interesting little blurb about the downtown hospital strike a couple months ago, about the same time as the Hollywood writers strike. Kinda funny you should Youtube it.
Posted by B_Fwank on November 23, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jim, you really need to get help. You are becoming dangerously deluded and get a grip on reality.
BTW, there is an article about ERs and the metally ill you should read, its in todays paper. I bet if you print out some of your posts, the Dr.s at the ER will admit you and hold you until they come with at straight jacket to take you away.
All evil in your mind started with Bush, do you know how demented and psychotic that is?
"Take that same example of a bicycle shop. Let's say the employer pays four employees $10/hr and standard healthcare benefits that requires the employees to pay $40 per month to use. Imagine this is what it costs to run the shop:
$83,200 yr in wages for 4 employees, who make $10hr
$16,640 yr in minimal employee benefits (based on 20% of wages)
$36,000 yr in rent for the shop
$100,000 yr in bicycles and parts to sell to people
$14,160 yr in electricity, insurance, office supplies, misc. expenses
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
$250,000 Total Yearly Expenses
This means that if the shop keep wants to break even, they must sell the bicycles for $250 ($250,000 / 1000 bicycles = $250/bike)
This doesn't even leave the store owner with any profit, which means the owner got absolutely nothing out of the deal."
http://www.lestdarknessfall.com/Pages/Un...
Posted by moonpie on November 23, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes this was one event, reason a union WAS needed when companies paid slave wages. But this doesn't happen any more in the US. It's called competition. Of course we keep the illegals employed around here and the low slave wages will return. Why do you think employers hire them? I keep telling you people that it's for the cheap labor only! They pay cash under the table, do you know what that saves a company and cost the states?
Break that down for us B_FWANK...That would be interesting to let people see an actual dollar amount as your illustration just showed the leagl effect.
Posted by WSM on November 23, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
JimIslander-"Do you have little republican flash cards with pithy stupid sayings written on them?"
So much for openmindedness, tolerance and compassion.
Anyways, I was a union member with the Telecommunications Workers Union in another state because IF I wanted the job, it was 1. REQUIRED by Federal law for the Railroads, 2.A closed shop....meaning essentially the company had to ask permission from the union in order to hire someone.
My experience as a union member? A gigantic waste of time and resources. It is kniving and cronyism of the worst order. Your own talents and merit to advance in the workplace? FORGET IT! In fact, not one of my union magazines featured anything about my job or trade, but photos of professional protestors screaming about prescription helath care, against social security reform, etc. Not one iota of representation was given to members regarding workplace safety, etc. In fact, if anyone was a "bootlicker," it is your general union member. And YES, as JimIslander pointed out, when they speak, only it is like they are vomiting Jim Carville!
I can't understand how a blue collar worker earning in excess of $100,000 a year is a "poor man?" Especially when you have millionaire union bosses getting there by taking from my paycheck to help themselves and ALL Democrat elected officials.
And YES, the intimidation violence and is true.
We are wise as a state to have laws protecting those who don't want to organize. The only reasons that the Deomocrats are even listening to unions as it is the single largest cash cow for them, as they have poured billions into their campaigns. Small business owners have a right to determine their own future without having to ask extortion artists permission!
Posted by zekemire on November 23, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes the media gorifies socialist radicals! Unions had a place in the steel, textile and oil indutries in the 1020's and 1930's, but, now they are a constant drain on our economy, an affront the the Constitution, anti capitalism, pro socialism, anti private property rights guaranteed by the Founding Fathers, the Federalist Papers and the Constitution! UNIONS MUST BE ABOLISHED TO INSURE THE SURVIVAL OF THE USA AS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD INSTEAD OF ALLOWING UNIONS, ANARCHIST RADICAL ACTIVIST GROUPS, AND LIBERAL DEMOCRATS FROM TURNING US INTO SOCIALIST EUROPE, CUBA, RUSSIA, OR VENEZUELA!
Posted by Neponset on November 23, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
WSM
1. You have some good stuff in your comment. My only experience working around a union was in a roofing mill in N. Charleston. The union workers would make it differcult for the nonunion worker to do his job - a kind of intimidation to force the nonunion worker to join.
2. I think it is best not to feed the troll or whatever wonder boy jim is.
Posted by yird on November 23, 2008 at 11:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Jim I Slander everyone and everything.
Your up and running with your moronic Democrat talking points.
What do you know about unions? Obviously nothing.
During the hospital walkout in 1969 I was involved with the late Robert Bateman, ILA 1422A, attempting to resolve some issues with the State Ports Authority.
International Ladies Garment Workers Association, (ILGWA) had a hall on E.Bay street near the old cigar factory, and agent Isaiah Bennet, offered the use of the hall to Mary Moutrie.
In a show of solidarity Bateman and myself offered assistance and things progressed to the hard strategy stage.
Two things that made for an ugly situation. The Charleston police department at the urging of the medical university overreacted to many minor incidents and Southern Christian Leadership Conference(SCLC) showed up to muddy the works.
I sat in on a number of meetings at the Brooks motel downtown and know first hand of the shenanigans that go on behind closed doors in these settings.
SCLS stalwarts,Ralph David Abernathy, Andrew Young,and (Rev)Orange, plus Patrick Flack
from the justice department, along with a goodly number of attractive well attired young ladies were regular attendees at these, what could mildly be described at social gatherings.
Only Chivas Regal for these scotch drinkers, plenty of food, and for the smokers, well they were looked after also.
God bless those who tithe.
The SCLC is a far cry from the sanctimonious image it portrays for public consumption and unions are even more Machiavellian in their deceptive practices.
Mary Moultrie and the workers did get some concessions and that was a good thing but the medical university and the police department were collectively wrong and SCLS and the union supporters were also wrong in their approach.
I got involved in a union in later years as a rank and file member but because I was a close friend of the agent was privy to much of the machinations of the organization.
One word describes them, dirty!
What little good unions accomplish is far outweighed by the evil they engage in. Unions compete with management for a portion of the wages of the employees.
The difference between upper management and top level union officials is negligible.
Jim I Slander, as usual your raving about something you know nothing about.
We'd all be better served if you just shut off mommy's computer, went to the park, and fed the pigeons.
Posted by chucktonian on November 23, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unions no longer serve any purpose. They did when government protections weren't available, but now they are no longer needed.
Unions are nothing more than political slush funds to elect Democrats. The UAW finally milked the cow dry in Detroit. With the death of GM, Chrysler and Ford, they will have shot the golden goose.
Posted by geekboy on November 23, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unions are worthless.
I used to work for an employer in the central US that had a self funded health insurance program... that is, they funded their own insurance plan.
Costs were skyrocketing for them to operate the plan, so they announced they were increasing premiums to help cover the costs. And premiums for retirees would unfortunately have to be raised higher than the premiums for those of us still working. It was the only way to keep the self funded insurance afloat.
Then the worthless union (which I had wisely told to take a hike when they tried to recruit me.) decided that wasn't OK with them, and they threatened a strike unless the self funded plan was continued... WITHOUT a premium increase, claiming that they were looking out for the retirees.
So the company said "OK, we've shown you the numbers and told you we HAVE to do this, but you don't believe us. So effective immediately, the health plan is canceled for everyone. We're shutting it down. Go get your own health insurance."
Now, instead of those retirees having to pay $75 to $100 a month more for insurance, they're having to pay $500, $600 or even more, if they can afford it, and IF they can even find someone willing to write a policy on them.
Did I mention that unions are worthless?
Posted by Native_Ink on November 23, 2008 at 12:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Unionization would be the best thing to happen to South Carolina. I've worked blue collar jobs here and know many other people who do, and the abuses perpetrated by greedy companies toward their workers is unbelievable. I'm talking overtime that pays less than minimum wage (known as flexible workweek overtime or "Chinese overtime"), bad working conditions that could be easily improved if the company actually cared, terrible healthcare plans that barely cover a day in the hospital, and on and on.
Like everything else, unions can go too far, but without unions, you either are in a "hot" career field or you're in a race to the bottom. No future. Just longer and longer hours, lower wages, and bad working conditions.
South Carolina never got over the Civil War. If you can't have free labor (aka slavery), you go for the next best thing: cheap labor. It's been that way for over 100 years and look where it's gotten us. The sad thing is that many South Carolinians think they benefit from other people's cheap labor when actually they ARE the cheap labor.
Posted by Neponset on November 23, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lets face it, a lot of the jobs we are talking about require min. ed. and no skills - just show up, be willing to work and we will show you what to do. When these folks become militant (unionized) and difficult to work with, the co. will move on to another state or the pacific rim. The answer is to work hard at crap jobs, get your children educated, make sure their attitude is agreeable and your children will move on and upward - look at Obama. Generation after generation of emigrants have followed this plan.
Posted by sccoast1700 on November 23, 2008 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Those right to work laws are the reason that the median wages in South Carolina are 38% below the national average.
Posted by dawhetsell on November 23, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think they have the right to strike ( NOT WORK ) and I think they need to be replaced with people who need to work and support their families. Its the way that has worked for centuries ( NO WORK NO PAY ). Unions have priced themselves out of jobs. Look at the auto workers.
Posted by sccoast1700 on November 23, 2008 at 12:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I disagree with your statement about the auto workers. First of all the executives at American auto companies are the ones who are overpaid. Compare the compensation of GM executives to that of Toyota or Hyundai and you will see that's true. That is the first place to cut.
The legacy costs of American auto workers are because other countries have health care systems run by the government. That is why those companies aren't saddled with those costs. National Health Insurance would make all of our industries more competitive. Why should an employer be responsible for health care? We should be like the rest of the industrialized world if we want to compete
Posted by B_Fwank on November 23, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WSM - great post.
Dont waste typing time on JimIslander, he is a race baiting, hate filled troll.
Posted by Neponset on November 23, 2008 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
An earlier post commented on the excessive comp packages of top executive of large corp - that is a problem - Mr. Welch of GE comes to mind or the head of the NYSX. This has been a concern of right thinking folks for quite a while, and I hope it will be resolves. But this does not diminish the concerns of unskilled folks making wages far beyond their productive value such as our local long shore men and obviously the auto workers of the big three. If this keeps up, we will no longer be an imported of those nice goods that Walmart sells, since everyone will be out of work - down and out in the low country and else where
Posted by sccoast1700 on November 23, 2008 at 7:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I disagree with Neponset. I think that the economy works best when people are paid well and you have a broad middle class. The 1920's was a time similar to now in that the unions were beaten down and there was great inequality of income between the upper classes and workers. During the Depression the government made it a policy to help workers unionize in order to increase wages , get money into the hands of people, and get the economy moving again. When you have low wages as a policy , no one can buy anything and the whole economy spirals downward and collapses like dominoes. You are seeing some of that now with the deflation taking root in the economy. Ask a car dealer if they think that low wages are good for his business, ask a restaurant owner, or any other type of business. The way we've been headed in the last 8 years, with more of the nations wealth being funneled into the hands of the wealthiest people, is coming home to roost.
Posted by justjerry on November 23, 2008 at 8:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sccoast1700 - "The way we've been headed in the last 8 years, with more of the nations wealth being funneled into the hands of the wealthiest people, is coming home to roost."
Can you give supporting data for this statement? I am not trying to insult but things like this are said all of the time and usually they are just repeating impressions given by the pundits without actually examining the facts.
As for the rest of the pro union crowd I would make a suggestion that if the unions and their structure were so beneficial to the companies that need the labor why don't they participate in the free market and allow competition. For example, if there is a UAW labor force and they are so good and so worth the price that the companies have to pay why would they have to worry if another union wanted to offer it's members labor services to a particular company.
Also, if you are pro union, please identify whether or not you are in a union, how much percentage wise you pay in dues and what specifically your union has done for you that is NOT already covered by local or federal regulations.
As to the article above, the things that the hospital were doing were already illegal. Granted, at that point in time the laws were not as well enforced as they probably should have been but the laws were there. I doubt seriously that the union involvement had any more effect than involvement from a loud protest in the media, a good attorney and a congressman could have had at the time at no cost to the workers.
Posted by tashabecca on November 24, 2008 at 10:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Being a healthcare worker and having been mistreated unjustly by coworkers, supervisors, and colleagues alike, I know what the "union" would represent for me. Profit can take a back seat to saving a life, I don't have to make a dime, I have compassion! Benefits can take a back seat to saving a life, my family is understanding! I am here to help others not to simply generate another dollar. This "job" is my bread and butter, however it is also my passion. How many know what it is like for someone who does not know you to negatively assume you should not be intelligent, aloof, pretty, classy, hard-working, intuitive, and not at all like the stereo-typed picture they are so used to seeing or what they have conformed in their minds. Hell, I like Rock and Pop music, I wash my hair almost daily, I have a family, go on picnics, let the dog sleep in my bed, mow my lawn, sunbathe, eat sushi, get facials, speak plain english, etc...I do those things that other races assume I do not do or should not be doing, but I AM STILL BLACK!!! For this is one of the main reasons unions exist!!!
Posted by cinnabar on November 24, 2008 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why are SC wages 38% lower? Many of the peeps here are 75% stupider...Check SAT/ACT scores and number of graduated HS vs dropouts...
A local plant manager told me recently that of six plants owned by his company, the lowest wages were paid to the union plant in the middle of the country. The non union sites here and elsewhere got higher pay and the union mgmt was so slack they didn't know this...Also, the pay split between skilled(electricians & millwrights) and unskilled was tighter because the union reasoned 'why should anyone get more because of their skill level'...Union is just another form of Govt that takes your money and returns an empty wallet. Cut your own deal, don't turn your destiny over to those SC droupouts running the union.....
Posted by dunbinpunkd on November 24, 2008 at 7:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
First of all, unions down south are run by folks whose only desire is to get rich and wield power. They have no concept of actual union/labor practises. Grew up in unions all my life; but now its a much different animal.Few prosper at the efforts of many.
You think union bosses suffer the same as workers when a strike is going on? Sometimes for more than a year? Hell no!
There is a very large extremely powerful union presence in SC. And in many cases, some union members are "double dipping"-members of one union are fraternally "grandfathered in" to a completely different union entity- and given preference because of dual membership.
i was a brother in that most powerful entity- that is till i found out my paperwork had never been processed by the inernational main office- and that my fellow "brothers" had been pocketing my dues and laughing about it behind my back.
Did they rectify the situation? No! instead they engaged in a full out vendetta aimed at destroying my professional rep
utation. They have openly disparaged me because i brought the facts out; and caused an investigation which resulted in these little locals widespread malfeasance- exposing the fact that my fellow "brothers and sisters" were also being embezzled, misled and similarly disparaged.
Unions are a business; a labor business no different than Manpower or any other labor provider. But down here, they're run like a "good ole boys club". The "executives" and their families and girlfriends prosper while the peons run around, having to brownnose like maniacs trying to even make $10,000 a year. Forget getting injured on the job, they'll find some way to get around it. You're on your own!
And exposure? Well, they'll just do to ya what the did to me-destroy your life. The only reason Dem candidates pander to them is that they offer services free of charge, and pad the campaign coffers to the hilt.
Some of these union idiots down here are so full of themselves that they'll even violate the taft-hartley act right to your face- and not care!
Thirty years as a respected professional- a decade with "THE UNION"- now i'm homeless and broke. Thanx my "brothers!