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A RIGHT-TO-WORK MODEL, the UNIONIZATION of FAIRFAX COUNTY GOVERNMENT WORKERS By

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A RIGHT-TO-WORK MODEL, the UNIONIZATION of FAIRFAX COUNTY GOVERNMENT WORKERS By A RIGHT-TO-WORK MODEL, THE UNIONIZATION OF FAIRFAX COUNTY GOVERNMENT WORKERS by Ann M. Johnson A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sociology Committee: ___________________________________________ Director ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Department Chairperson ___________________________________________ Program Director ___________________________________________ Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: _____________________________________ Spring Semester 2017 George Mason University Fairfax, VA A Right-to-Work Model, the Unionization of Fairfax County Government Workers A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University by Ann M. Johnson Master of Arts University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 1995 Bachelor of Arts Hamilton College, 1986 Director: Dae Young Kim, Professor Department of Sociology Spring Semester 2017 George Mason University Fairfax, VA COPYRIGHT 2017 ANN M. JOHNSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii Dedication This is dedicated to the memory of my beloved parents, Wilfred and Ailein Faulkner, and sister, Dawn “Alex” Arkell. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the staff and members of the Fairfax County Government Employee Union who generously gave of their time and expertise: Kevin Jones, Jessica Brown, LaNoral Thomas, David Broder, Karen Conchar, Joseph Wilhelm, Lisa McCorkle, Kirk Cleveland, Tammie Wondong, Lindsey Dawson, David Lyons, Daniel “Bart” Hutchins, Kevin Pittman, Carol Taylor, Jessica Oxley, Jewel Farley, Mark Travis, Michael Lawrence, Natalie Woodruff, Yvonne Wallace, and Theodora Stringham. I would like to thank my professors, each one of your classes contributed to this project: John Dale, Rutledge Dennis, Karen Rosenblum, Joseph Scimecca, Shannon Davis, James Witte, Patricia Masters, Mark Jacobs, Nancy Hanrahan, and Johanna Bockman. Amy Best, thank you for your encouragement and support. Thank you to Linda Stafford for your editorial comments and support of the project. Thanks to Katharine Rupp for the reading materials and support of the project. Thanks to Jacqueline Williams for assistance with defense preparation. Thank you for your love and support: Jonathan Smith, Ena Hemming, Dawn Jackson, Cameron Bonitto, Michelle Bonitto, and Joyce Duggurs. Many thanks to my dissertation committee: Dae Young Kim, Rutledge Dennis, and Joseph Scimecca. iv Table of Contents Page List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... x Abstract .............................................................................................................................. xi Chapter One Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Citizens Respond to Inequality ....................................................................................... 4 Labor’s Decline ............................................................................................................... 9 Public Sociology and Labor Studies ............................................................................. 12 Social Movement Unionism .......................................................................................... 17 Research Methods ......................................................................................................... 21 Chapter Two Labor Union Debates ................................................................................ 27 Public Opinion............................................................................................................... 27 Defining Unionization ................................................................................................... 32 Legal Frameworks of Unionization............................................................................... 34 The Right-to-Work Debate............................................................................................ 39 The Public Sector .......................................................................................................... 44 Virginia.......................................................................................................................... 51 Chapter Three The Early Years ....................................................................................... 54 Slave Labor and Free Labor .......................................................................................... 54 Women Have Always Worked ...................................................................................... 61 Civil War Years ............................................................................................................. 64 Class conflict ................................................................................................................. 65 Gender ....................................................................................................................... 66 Race ........................................................................................................................... 68 Immigration ............................................................................................................... 71 Worker Revolts ............................................................................................................. 73 v American Federation Labor (AFL) ............................................................................... 78 Chapter Four The Modern Years ..................................................................................... 86 Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) ................................................................... 86 New Unionism and Immigration ................................................................................... 88 A Changing Society ...................................................................................................... 90 Neoliberalism and Widening Inequality ....................................................................... 98 The Human Cost.......................................................................................................... 106 Chapter Five The Beginnings of Fairfax County Government Employee Union ......... 113 Northern Virginia ........................................................................................................ 113 The Virginia Way ........................................................................................................ 116 The Origins of FCGEU ............................................................................................... 120 SEIU ............................................................................................................................ 125 FCGEU Strategic Planning ......................................................................................... 130 Issue Based Organizing ............................................................................................... 142 Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS) .............................................................. 145 County Executive ........................................................................................................ 146 5 Years Later ............................................................................................................... 149 Chapter Six Organizing the Rank and File .................................................................... 155 “FCGEU Power Grows As Part of SEIU VA 512” .................................................... 155 Growing Membership ................................................................................................. 164 SEIU Organizers ......................................................................................................... 165 Chapter Seven Leadership ............................................................................................. 178 FCGEU Executive Board of Directors ........................................................................ 179 The Five Year Pursuit of a Pay Plan-“An Issue of Fairness”...................................... 188 Dignity and Respect .................................................................................................... 199 Member Services ......................................................................................................... 202 Diversity: Gender, Race and Class .............................................................................. 208 Natasha McKenna’s Death and the Criminalization of the Mentally Ill ..................... 210 Voting Rights .............................................................................................................. 215 Chapter Eight Conclusion .............................................................................................. 221 Can Local Campaigns Revitalize the Labor Movement? ............................................ 222 Partisan Political Reality
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