Look for today’s union label…on flip flops?
Before there were laws that protect workers in the workplace, unions used to fight for things like prohibiting child labor, safe workplaces, the eight-hour workday, better wages and health care.
For their services, unions would charge a small stipend—dues—to help workers in the workplace.
In California, however, where so much of the workplace is already regulated by federal or state rules and union-dues payments are mandated, the Service Employees International Union is collecting millions of dues dollars and fighting for the right to wear flip flops.
In San Diego, according to the Voice of San Diego, the SEIU’s flip-flop battle has become rather intense.
In June, the county put out a memo straight out of “Office Space”: It was OK, county chief administrative officer Helen Robbins-Meyer declared, for county workers to wear business casual attire all summer, instead of just on casual Fridays.
That prompted Service Employees International Union Local 221 to file a formal complaint with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board.
The union argued that the relaxed dress code, known as “Cool Summer Days in the County,” was an illegal move by the county because the union wasn’t involved in coming up with it. Worse, by suggesting employees couldn’t go too far – jeans and sneakers are OK, but shorts, flip flops and torn or revealing clothing are not – the union argued the county was de facto imposing a dress code for the rest of the year, which the union rejects.
On its website, the SEIU claims to its members that the County “continues to violate your rights and break the law.”
To recap the situation, in June the County made an illegal change to the dress code called “Cool Summer Days 2017.” The County denied SEIU Local 221’s request to meet about the change, so SEIU Local 221 filed an Unfair Labor Practice about this change. The County responded with a memo that was both unclear and illegal, which seemed to backtrack from their illegal change and the Union declared victory. However, because of the memo’s ambiguity, some managers are still trying to enforce the illegal dress-code change. This is all just another case of the County trying to punish its members for having the audacity to want to bargain a fair contract.
The SEIU has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the State of California’s Public Employee Relations Board.
Apparently, the right to wear flip flops is that important to the SEIU.
It’s NOT the fight to wear flip flops that’s important. What’s IMPORTANT is the right to NOT have dress codes imposed upon us without representation. What if I want to dress “cool” in December; that should be my choice.