Dissent, Dwindling Ranks Plague CEA

The County Employees Assn., beset by internal dissension for the past two years, now faces new woes, partly because of contracts it made with the county this year.

After losing more than 1,000 members within the past two years, the 6,000-member union now stands to lose another employee unit, county nurses, and has failed in its bids to gain two other units. The final touch was a lawsuit filed last week against the union’s board by dissident members.

Leaders of the CEA, the biggest county-government union, dismiss these as temporary setbacks, and point out that the settlements reached this year make it harder for other labor unions to make inroads into the group’s membership.

Still, instead of settling the unrest that has plagued the CEA in the past two years, the labor pacts have stirred new arguments among the membership, some of whom complain that they got a bad contract. The current dissent arose about a year after the association fired its former general manager and her top assistant in a costly move that split the group’s ranks.

Some labor observers say the association has been seriously harmed by the dissension in its ranks, raising the possibility that some CEA units will vote to break away from the group when the contracts expire in 1992.

“Over the years, CEA has had a reputation for settling contracts and taking less than they could from the county. This year proved to be no exception,” said Roy Rocchi, a member of the bargaining unit for Social Services supervisors. “This has definitely hurt the association to the extent that other county units chose not to affiliate with us.”

In the past two years, the CEA lost three units--made up of about 1,000 members from health services, construction and crafts units--to Service Employees International Union, Local 102. In addition, the previously independent Superior Court clerks and Probation Officers units rejected CEA bids to merge and instead were absorbed by locals from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and SEIU. And now, the Public Defenders’ unit is attempting to merge with the United Auto Workers.

The rift within the group has not gone unnoticed in local labor circles. Waiting on the sidelines are several labor unions looking for an opportunity to snatch some of CEA’s units.

CEA Vice President Carol Goss acknowledged the defections from the group, but played down their effect on the association.

“We pick up new members all the time from people who come to work for the county,” Goss said. “We’re the biggest of all the county employee groups and we use our large size as an effective bargaining tool.”

Nevertheless, the CEA problems are far from over.

CEA officials have all but conceded losing the 400-strong county nurses unit in the next three months. The nurses were the only one of the group’s eight units who rejected the contract negotiated with the county.

The unit’s leaders were unavailable for comment, but some CEA officials said the nurses are being courted by SEIU, Local 102 and the California Nurses Assn. Officials at both unions confirmed they are interested in merging with the nurses unit.

Such unions have from July 1 to the end of September to decertify the CEA. The nurses would have to vote on whom they want to represent them and then vote to break away from the CEA.

Meanwhile, dissident CEA members have sued the group’s leadership, charging that a handful of executive committee members have taken over the association and denied seats to some members elected to the board of directors.

The dissidents have directed their grievances to the CEA executive committee. CEA General Manager Richard Stearns, who is not a member of the committee, has managed to keep above the fray, even though some board members have complained about his leadership.

According to the lawsuit filed last week, the board of directors should number at least 110 members, but there are now only 18 board members. The dissidents who filed the lawsuit alleged that 36 directors nominated to the board by the membership were denied seating by the executive committee and 16 who were on the board were removed.

In a telephone interview, Gail Cole, a board member who joined in filing the lawsuit, charged that board members have failed to assemble a quorum at the last two meetings.

“By denying seating to the 36 directors and removing the other 16, the executive committee has rendered us and the association useless,” Cole said. “We can’t conduct any business because we don’t have enough people for a quorum.”

Cole, who works as a clerk-typist for the County Department of Revenue and Recovery, said that some board members are worried that “the executive committee is misspending the association’s money.”

Goss, who is an executive committee member, acknowledged that the board of directors’ ranks have been depleted, but denied that the association’s ability to conduct business has been affected.

“Give me a break,” Goss said. “That’s ridiculous. We’ve been taking care of the association’s business all along. They’re making a lot of generalizations to give people the impression that we’re in a crisis.”

Goss said the dissidents are hurting the union’s efficiency.

“We would like to get some work done, but they’re being disruptive,” he said. “The membership deserves to have things go smoothly.”