“Over the past two years, we have proven that unity and determination can lead to some incredible wins for our members across the state,” said President Willie Brown during his State of the Union address at the start of the 14th Biennial Convention of UE Local 150, the North Carolina Public Service Workers Union. “Unite, Empower, and Transform” was the theme for the convention, which drew in over 70 delegates and guests from across North Carolina. The union leaders met at the Franklinton Center at Bricks on August 15 and 16.

Many delegates gave reports on recent workplace victories and important struggles. The local leaders also discussed rising threats to labor and strategies for winning rights in the workplace without collective bargaining, elected new officers, and debated and adopted policy resolutions.

In his opening address, Brown said, “We understand that we don’t have collective bargaining in this state so we have to be strategic in how we approach everything that we do.” Local 150 represents public-sector workers across the state of North Carolina, where General Statute 95-98 prohibits public-sector workers from negotiating collective bargaining agreements with their employers. The members of Local 150 must rely on direct action in the workplace to improve their working conditions. The local, which represents workers at Department of Health and Human Services facilities, local municipalities, county libraries, and campuses in the University of North Carolina system, has relied on petitions, rallies, support from community members, and actions at city council meetings to win raises and workplace justice. Brown emphasized these strategies in his speech, saying it has been “very important that our victories have been driven by grassroots campaigns and relentless advocacy for the membership by [organizing] for the members, by the members. But our rallies, petitions, and community outreach also built… public support that helped us as well.”

Brown spoke at length about the need for the local members to be united as a team. He explained that while there have been major wins in cities like Durham and Charlotte, where members have won $25 an hour minimum wages, there are many other cities like Greensboro, Raleigh, and Rocky Mount where workers still need to fight. He stressed the importance of staying united and pushing the whole state forward.

Recording Secretary Alexandra Fox read the agenda and Vice President William Young gave the credential report. Trustee Dr. Rakesh Patel gave a financial report and reminded everyone that you cannot fight for others if you do not fight for yourself. He advocated for workers to take care of themselves physically and mentally in and out of the workplace.

“Forward together, not one step back”

Dr. Rev. Rodney Sadler, a candidate for the North Carolina House of Representatives, spoke to the delegates and guests about the current political climate and the importance of working people. “The future of our nation tomorrow is in the hands of the union today,” he said. “In a battle between organized money and organized people, the people will always win.” Sadler also called the local members an unstoppable force that can change the state, not just over time, but overnight. At the end of his speech, he led the convention in a chant, “Forward together, not one step back!”

That message set the tone for the delegates as they debated and passed eight resolutions during the convention. The resolutions were on fighting racism, defending immigrant workers, condemning the war in Iran, collective bargaining rights for all workers, healthcare for all, independent political action, organizing the South, and AI for public good, not private profit.

During the discussion of the resolution on independent political action, Donald Cavellini, a member of the Coalition Against Racism in Pitt County and retired Local 150 member, said, “It is in the interest of the entire state to support the liberation of Edgecombe County and to support political candidates that will make that happen.” The members cheered after this sentiment was expressed and when Kahlisemon Ortiz read the following passage from the resolution: “Neither of the two largest and most dominant political parties in the U.S. today are representative of or willing to stand for working people in this country.”

AI For Public Good, Not Private Profit

A major point of discussion throughout the convention was the threat of AI and the increasing numbers of data centers around working people’s homes. North Carolina Environmental Justice Network Co-Executive Director Dr. Rania Masri was a guest speaker on Saturday and gave a powerful speech on the detrimental effects of data centers on local communities. Dr. Masri also emphasized the threat that AI poses to workers’ jobs and wages, and highlighted that the first negative impacts are being felt by Black and brown communities. She said, “Let us be the ones that say yes to a technology that is for us, by us, and owned by us, and no to a technology that uses our labor, uses our land, our energy, our tax dollars, and our water, gives us pollution, and is designed to simply be the most efficient transfer of wealth.” 

Dr. Masri said that while AI is a threat, it can also unite the working class and be used as an organizing tool. She used Edgecombe County’s recent win against a proposed $10 billion data center as an example of how the working class can fight back. “We are going to win if we organize strategically and effectively to stop it. Even if we don’t stop it, we will have organized strategically and effectively, and in so doing, we can win and build a political tsunami that would be so strong that every representative that says yes to a data center… will be replaced by one of us.” The sentiment was met with applause from all the delegates.

After Dr. Masri spoke, the delegates unanimously passed a resolution entitled, “AI For Public Good, Not Private Profit,” which states that, “The U.S. labor movement must be prepared to fight for AI to be used to improve people’s lives, not to drive mass unemployment, climate disaster, war, and increased profits for the ultrarich.” The resolution calls for public and worker control of AI and the protection of workers’ jobs. It also calls on the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal state tax incentives for data centers, to “stop Duke Energy from raising utility rates to pay for more data centers,” and to pass a statewide ban on the construction of new data centers.

During the discussion, members announced their intentions to speak in opposition to a proposed data center at an upcoming city council meeting in Raleigh. One hundred community members had already signed up to speak at the meeting. Immediately after the passage of the resolution, Dr. Masri announced that the Raleigh data center proposal had been withdrawn, which was met with loud cheers.

Them and Us Unionism

“Them and us” unionism [1], the UE philosophy that highlights aggressive struggle, rank and file control, political independence, international solidarity, and uniting all workers, was referenced throughout the convention. In his guest speech to the convention, Dr. Rev. Rodney Sadler said: 

It is not the immigrants who determine prices for the goods and services that we need to survive, it is the wealthy one percent that set prices. It’s not Black and brown workers who are taking good paying jobs away from us, it’s the wealthy one percent that chose to make good paying jobs a thing of the past… It is not us who are the problem.

Dr. Rev. Sadler’s speech invoked the sentiment that it is us, the united working class, versus them, the wealthy one percent. He said, “Over and over again it's the wealthiest one percent who are trying to take more from us, give less to us, and sacrifice our sustainability in order to protect their profits.”

UE General President Scott Slawson also highlighted “them and us” unionism in his speech to the convention. He said, “What we need is a dignified living and that’s all any of us are asking for. Our employers however, or the ‘them,’ would make you believe that you are just being greedy… It’s not about greed, it's about rising that tide for all of labor. That’s what ‘them and us’ unionism is.” Slawson also spoke about the local’s recent wins, saying that it has been inspiring to hear what the members have accomplished despite the challenges they have faced.

Ashaki Binta of Black Workers for Justice and the Southern Workers Assembly gave a presentation on the differences between social justice unionism and business unionism. She presented a film on the creation of Local 150 which featured founding members of the local speaking about rank and file leadership. She then presented the seven tenets of social movement unionism for the U.S. South: rank and file leadership; the centrality of the Black working class; fighting for and in the interests of the working class; industrial- and sector-based organization; anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism, and anti-patriarchy; independence from the Democratic and Republican parties; and fighting for collective bargaining rights in the public and private sectors across the U.S. South.

Guest speaker Carlos Perez of the Durham Association of Educators and North Carolina Association of Educators spoke about the rise of unions in his students’ collective understanding. They now know what unions and strikes are thanks to the work of Local 150. He highlighted the Durham sanitation workers’ strike as being an action that “shook the city.” Perez said that when he thinks of UE, he thinks of the principles it has — “them and us” principles such as rank and file control, international solidarity, and aggressive struggle. He also said the Durham Association of Educators have recently won “meet and confer” rights (an alternative to collective bargaining rights, which are illegal in North Carolina), and urged the members of UE to continue fighting for it as a right in each workplace. Perez said “them and us” unionism is “the kind of spirit we need to be bringing into our organizations, into our unions.” At the end of his speech, he led a chant of “it’s them versus us!”

Unite, Empower, Transform

On Saturday afternoon, local members attended two rounds of workshops, covering topics including how to have an organizing conversation, how to speak publicly at actions, how to turn a grievance issue into a campaign, how state and municipal governments work in North Carolina, and how to fight back against attacks on healthcare.

Leaders from different chapters gave organizing reports throughout the weekend. A delegation from CAAMWU, Local 150’s private-sector manufacturing chapter, composed of President Jimmie Thorne, Vice President Timothy Hunt, Oscar Boyd, and Tacoma Lynch, spoke about a current battle with their employer, Rocky Mount Diesel Engine Plant-Cummins, to have Boyd, who was unfairly terminated from his position, rehired. The members spoke about the importance of a strong union in the workplace and collectively fighting for individual members. Throughout their report, they emphasized using grievances to organize and strengthen the union. At the end of their report, the delegates loudly chanted, “re-hire Oscar!”

Charles Owens, a DHHS worker at Cherry Hospital-O’Berry Center and vice president of the chapter, gave the report for his workplace. He said that over the last two years, there were many victories. Owens said the members focused on actions at the state legislature to increase funding for their wages. Denna Jenkins and Kahlisemon Ortiz, municipal workers from Charlotte, and Michael Pearson, a municipal worker Greensboro, reported on the recent raises they were able to win but emphasized that there is still a lot of work to be done. Ortiz said that he and other workers spoke at a recent city council budget hearing in Charlotte to push for a living wage. He said many of his co-workers are unable to live in the city they work in. Jenkins said that she is one of the workers that does not live in the city of Charlotte despite working for the city. The delegation explained that they perform strenuous and dangerous work and are still not compensated fairly for it. Jenkins also talked about organizing other workers in the city of Charlotte to grow their chapter. Pearson said he has been focused on speaking constantly at city council meetings and recruiting more members.

Pascale Bouchard, president of the UNC chapter, gave the organizing report for the UNC system and reported that the members recently found that the university is sitting on $1.9 billion of uninvested and unrestricted funds. Bouchard explained different approaches that the workers are currently using to recruit more members, including “lab walks,” where union leaders will enter different departments on campus to educate workers about the union. They also talked about the chapter’s successful May Day action which Bouchard described as “invigorating” for the membership.

Zac Morgan, a worker for the Wake County Public Library System, gave a report on library workers’ recent actions. Morgan said that in the last two years, Local 150’s Library Workers United council expanded to now include Wake county. Their recent successful actions have included a walk on the boss, a petition, button days, and actions at the public budget hearings. Morgan said that over 40 library workers showed up to a recent hearing to fight against budget cuts and for higher wages. Morgan also said the workers successfully fought to keep up a pride display in the library which the county threatened to take down.

Following the organizing reports, delegates elected a slate of officers to lead the union for the next two years. Sekia Royall from the Cherry Hospital-O’Berry Center chapter was elected as president. Darrion Smith was elected vice president and Charles Owens was elected as chief steward. Oneisia “Nissi” Hunt was elected as the recording secretary. Jerome Harrison and Jake Charlet were elected as trustees. Denna Jenkins and Dominic Harris both ran for treasurer. The election was a tie and the runoff for treasurer will be held at a later date. Kahlisemon Ortiz of the Charlotte municipal workers chapter also ran for president.