Labor & Employment Law

Montana Public Employees Join National, State AFL-CIO

By James Parks

Public employees in Montana have a stronger voice today after the Montana Public Employees Association (MPEA) announced it will affiliate with the national AFL-CIO and the Montana AFL-CIO. This affiliation will bring Montana?s public employees into the larger union movement at a time when support for the rights of public employees is stronger than ever.

The MPEA is a Montana-born union that has operated independently for 65 years before joining the AFL-CIO. The affiliation of MPEA will expand the size of the Montana State AFL-CIO by 7,500 members bringing the current membership to 46,000.

Quint Nyman, executive director of the MPEA, said:

We realize that by affiliating with the national and Montana AFL-CIO we become a stronger voice for our members and for all workers in the state of Montana. My organization believes in the power of one voice for the Montana labor movement and solidarity with the larger labor movement as it works to defend the rights of workers across the country.

This is the second major affiliation with the Montana state federation in three years.  In 2008, the Montana State AFL-CIO welcomed 2,400 newly affiliated members of the Montana Nurses Association.

?When workers stand together on the job, in our communities, and at the voting booth we can do great things,? said Montana AFL-CIO President Jim McGarvey. 

I am so pleased to welcome the MPEA into the Montana State AFL-CIO.  I am grateful for the contributions they have made to the condition of working families in Montana over the years. I look forward to working with Quint Nyman and the MPEA to promote sustainable Montana jobs so every worker can support their family and have health insurance they can count on and a secure retirement.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka added:

Over the past few weeks we have seen unprecedented strength and solidarity growing within the labor movement ? which makes this news so exciting. The Montana Public Employees Association has a long and proud history of successful representation of its members.  We welcome them to the broader labor movement and look forward to even more success as a partner and an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on March 21, 2011 (boomark / email).