Gov. Kathleen Sebelius helped the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) unionize as many as 7000 family child care providers.

Her 2007 executive order authorized the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) to enter into an agreement with the AFSCME Kansas’ Child Care Providers Together union.

From Sebelius Executive Order 07-21:

WHEREAS, over 7,000 family child care providers deliver an invaluable service to families by providing a quality learning environment for their children, often during non-traditional and flexible hours in order to accommodate the needs of working families; and

…

WHEREAS, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (“AFSCME”)/Child Care Providers Together (“CCPT”) has been certified by an independent third party jointly appointed by authorized representatives of the KDHE, SRS and AFSCME/CCPT as the exclusive majority representative of all registered and licensed family child care providers.

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Kansas, I hereby order:

1.The Secretary of KDHE and the Secretary of SRS, on behalf of the State of Kansas, shall recognize AFSCME/CCPT as the exclusive majority representative of all registered, licensed, and group family day care homes (hereafter referred to as “family child care providers”) and work in good faith with AFSCME/CCPT in developing a mutual written agreement regarding the following:  …

SRS Secretary Don Jordan explained the sentence in bold above:

The SRS representative to this process was Janie Coates. Ms Coates is an Attorney for SRS specializing in labor relations. The third party selected was Peter L. Pashler of Ahlers and Cooney, PC. Mr. Pashler was appointed to determine the certification of majority representation based upon signed cards and petitions declaring membership in CCPT. SRS does not have any of the documentation regarding these transactions.

Mr. Peter Pashler did not respond to an E-mail request to explain his role as the “independent third party” in this process.

The legal agreement between AFSCME-CCPT and the KDHE/SRS (see below) was signed in Feb. 2009.

Last week Kansas House Majority Leader Ray Merrick said he had no knowledge of this agreement.

In 2008 AFSCME gave Gov. Sebelius’ Bluestem Fund PAC over $100,000 for Kansas elections (see below).

SEIU and Kansas home health care providers

A similar attempt last summer by SEIU to unionize Kansas home health care providers appears to have failed.  SEIU used open records to request the names of Kansas home health care providers.  The request appears to have been blocked when State Rep. Richard Carlson (R-St. Marys) asked Attorney General Steve Six if it was appropriate for the State of Kansas to collect information on behalf of SEIU that did not already exist.

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Chronology

AFSCME Council 72:  “Beginning in January 2007, child care providers from around Kansas came together to build a union and offer a powerful voice for providers all across the state.”

May 26, 2007, Wichita Eagle: “Union Wants To Organize Day Cares – — The American Federation Of State, County And Municipal Employees Is Approaching Local In-Home Providers In An Effort To Create A Union”

July 18, 2007, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius issues Executive Order 07-21 Family child care providers, which authorized KDHE and SRS to sign agreement with Kansas CCPT-AFSCME.

July 20, 2007. Kansas and Pennsylvania join a growing list of states where child care providers are organizing unions with AFSCME, including New York, California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin.

Aug 16-17, 2007. “About one hundred members of CCPT from around Kansas gathered in Wichita for a Founding Convention by which they formally created a Local Union. Kansas CCPT-AFSCME is now officially affiliated with AFSCME Council 72, which covers the states of Kansas and Missouri.”

Sep 3, 2007, Hutchinson News. Laboring unions – Organized labor struggles to survive, but is making strides

“Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed an executive order July 17 granting collective bargaining rights to state-regulated child care providers represented by the American Federation of State and County Municipal Employees.”

“Parsons and close to 100 other providers in Hutchinson – as well as about 7,000 providers across the state – are now members of Child Care Providers Together. The union is now organized and recognized in more than a dozen states.”

April 9, 2008. About 100 family child care providers from throughout the state lobbied their legislators at the Capitol in Topeka in March, seeking an increase in subsidy rates that have not been raised since 2002

Feb 27, 2009.  KDHE/SRS/AFSCME/CCPT agreement signed.

Sept 10, 2009. SEIU tried a similar technique to get names of and unionize home health care providers in Kansas in summer 2009, but so far, that request has been blocked.

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Legal Agreement between AFSCME-CCPT and State of Kansas KDHE and SRS

AFSCME-CCPT agreement with Kansas KDHE and SRS –

This agreement requires the State of Kansas to provide one piece of union literature with a renewal application packet sent to any prospective Provider in the state of Kansas. However, Chris Ross-Baze from KDHE explains this is not happening yet:

This provision of the agreement has not been implemented as the Union/CCPT has not provided KDHE with the document to be included in the renewal packet.

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Political Money from AFSCME to Sebelius’ Bluestem Fund PAC
Even though Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was not on the ballot in the Nov 2008 general election, she used her Bluestem Fund PAC to funnel a huge amount of money to her political friends in Kansas.

$300,000 of the $415,000 received in this reporting period was from three unions:

• American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC ($100,000)
• AFSCME, Washington, DC ($100,000)
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Washington, DC ($100,000)

In addition to two $50,000 contributions, AFSCME spent $6279 on phone calls in four State Senate districts and eight State Rep districts.

AFSCME also gave directly to three State Senate candidates:

Contributor	Date	Dollars	Contest	Recipient	District
AFSCME	8/16/2007	$1,000.00	Senate	KELLY, LAURA	18
AFSCME	7/19/2008	$1,000.00	Senate	SCHMIDT, VICKI	20
AFSCME	10/4/2008	$1,000.00	Senate	SCHMIDT, VICKI	20
AFSCME	7/9/2008	$1,000.00	Senate	UMBARGER, DWAYNE	14
AFSCME	10/3/2008	$1,000.00	Senate	UMBARGER, DWAYNE	14

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Related

• More Proof Big Labor’s Unionizations Costs Jobs, Townhall.com, May 1, 2010.  [video]
• NFIB Asks Secretary of Labor to Investigate DHS-Union Daycare Scam, April 27, 2010.
• Union could benefit from pending legislation, Kansas Liberty, April 1, 2010.
• Kansas state agencies push union membership on day-care providers, Kansas Liberty, March 31, 2010.

• Are You My Employer?, Mackinac Center, March 4, 2010.  [video]
• Is the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council (MHBCCC) Defunded?, Mackinac Center, Feb 12, 2010.  [video]
• Whose Business Is It Anyway?, John Stossel, Fox News, Feb 11, 2010.  [video]   Alternative video source
• Day Care Union Scheme in Michigan Part of Union Push Nationwide, Watchdog.org, Feb. 11, 2010.
• Mapping Out an Underhanded Scheme, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Jan 20, 2010.
• State Legislators Concerned Over Forced Unionization of Private Business Owners, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Jan 19, 2010.
• Day Care in Wonderland, Mackinac Center, Nov  24, 2009.  [video]
• Controversy grows over SEIU request for provider names and addresses from State of Kansas, Kansas Watchdog, Sept 10, 2009.
• SEIU Health Care Kansas in KCK and their request for provider names, Kansas Watchdog, Sept 10, 2009.
• Unionization of Home-Based Child Care, Smart Start, Helen Blank, May 7, 2009.

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Contact: Earl F Glynn, earl@kansaswatchdog.org