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CWA Strategic Research Manual
Public Employers
Most information you need about a public employer is available to any member of the public. If an agency does not voluntarily honor a request for information, many states, cities, and towns have freedom of information laws which you can use.
It often is necessary to check with a number of offices or departments before finding what you need. Workers from the unit may be able to point you in the right direction or collect the information themselves.
If necessary, you can ask elected officials to use their political clout to get the information. Another source may be the clerk's office for the legislative body which has jurisdiction over the agency.
A newsletter called the Government Employee Relations Reporter (published by the Bureau of National Affairs) may be a good source on arbitration and contract settlements and other developments.
Other sources of information on public employment personnel practices, budgets, tax policies, and management programs include The Book of the States, The County Yearbook, The Municipal Yearbook, and The State Policy Data Book. These are available through your local library or the CWA Research Department.
With help from CWA staff, if needed, you can look for and analyze information such as:
- The agency's annual budget for recent years, the most recent year-to-date financial report, and budget projections for future years. You should ask for both what the agency requested, what was actually authorized, and what was actually spent. You also want figures broken down by program or part of the agency, salaries, expenses, and so on.
- Employment levels for recent years in each part of the agency, and projected employment for future years.
- Job titles and descriptions, number of employees in each classification, number of part-time or temporary employees, pay scales, benefits, etc.
- Civil service rules and procedures which apply to the workers, including procedures on hiring, discipline, layoffs, grievances, promotions, etc.
- Department manuals containing personnel policies and regulations.
- Contracts between the agency and outside firms. These should include a description of services provided, fees, and other terms. Also request copies of other bids submitted for the same work.
- Biographies of key management personnel.
- Work plans, program goals, or other documents showing what the agency is doing and has promised to do.
- Statistics on work load. Depending on the service the agency provides, there may be figures available showing the number of individual members of the public served, claims processed, inspections made, etc.
- Health and safety hazards in public offices identified by inspectors from the local or state health department or another agency.
- Management consultants, including financial arrangements between them and the agency and a description of the work they have been hired to do.
- Labor relations history. If there is a public employees relations board which oversees representation elections and other matters, it may have records showing past attempts at unionization, grievances or other disputes that have come before the board, etc.
Working with workers from the unit and CWA staff, you may be able to use the information you gather to develop proposals for other ways the agency could allocate money and personnel in order to improve pay, benefits, or conditions for workers and maintain or improve services.
You can also use the information to determine whether the agency is following state or local law and its own regulations.
Since public employees are not covered by the National Labor Relations Act, you need to know the state or local statute governing organizational and collective bargaining rights for the workers you are organizing. About half the states (in the south and mountain states) do not allow collective bargaining for most state and local workers, but sometimes there are carve-out rights for specific categories of public workers. Federal employees are governed by the Federal Labor Relations Act.
The CWA Research Department or the CWA Public Workers Department can provide information about public sector bargaining laws. In states with public sector bargaining laws (about half the states), the public employee relations board can provide this to you. For local governments, contact the city or county clerk or attorney's office.
You also need to research the political situation you face.
- Who controls the agency or department - a city council or state legislature, a mayor or governor, a county board or commission?
- Which of the relevant politicians can we influence because of past ties with CWA or other unions or because they need the support of public workers and CWA members?
- Which are likely to oppose us, and how can we pressure them in their home districts?
In addition to the information workers themselves can provide, you can get help from CWA local union and district COPE coordinators and from AFL-CIO lobbyists.
Check public or college libraries, which may have files of articles about prominent politicians.
You also can ask the offices of the politicians themselves. They normally will supply information about a politician's background, positions on key issues, copies of speeches, constituent newsletters, etc. (If the politician is likely to be friendly, the request should probably come from the union or organizing committee. If not, an individual constituent may have more luck.)
CWA staff can help you determine whether studies have already been done comparing pay, benefits, or working conditions for public workers in different jurisdictions, agencies, job classifications, etc. If not, they can help you determine whether a comparison study would be feasible.
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