**For Immediate Release**
MEDIA CONTACT
Megan Green, President CWA Local 7076
(513) 314-6790 · megan.green@cwa7076.org
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — “Permanently temporary” workers at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) will fight for their right to full benefits and to unionize at a hearing at the Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) on Friday, January 16 at 9:00 am.
Eleven workers unionized with CWA Local 7076 in March last year, spurred by the State of New Mexico revoking their benefits. The State has refused to recognize these workers’ Union rights and their fight is culminating at a Hearing of the Merits with the body tasked with providing fair labor practices for Public Employees in New Mexico.
“When this group of workers told us that — for years — they have been hired for one-year contracts, let go for one day, then rehired for another year so that the State could claim they were “temporary” workers and deny them benefits, I was appalled,” said CWA Local 7076 President Megan Green. “They’re not getting the same sick leave, vacation leave, insurance coverage, or pension accrual as other State employees. Not only does this violate basic human decency, we maintain it violates multiple State laws and administrative code. Now, the State is using this illegal practice to try and prevent these workers from joining their Union!”
NHCC Security Guards, Set and Exhibit Designers, and Customer Service Representatives — positions that Local 7076 already represents — filed a petition to add their positions to Local 7076’s State bargaining unit. During the 10-day window for State to respond, the State Personnel Office (SPO) Labor Relations Manager stated “The Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) does not dispute the petition for the accretion of the positions identified into the bargaining unit.” That Labor Relations Manager has since been fired.
SPO and DCA then argued that the workers couldn’t join the Union because they never completed the State’s mandatory one-year probationary period. After multiple failed attempts to reach a resolution with both SPO and DCA, Local 7076 filed a Prohibited Practice Complaint (PPC) with the PELRB.
“I work here because I love the NHCC and love the work that I do serving the community. We unionized so that we could get the same benefits as other DCA workers doing the same jobs, like retirement benefits and paid time off. It’s frustrating that SPO and DCA are obstructing this process,” said Rosemary Gallegos who has worked at the NHCC as a Set and Exhibit Designer for over 20 years. Workers like Gallegos do not receive the cost-of-living increases or health insurance that other state workers enjoy. They generally work full-time hours, yet some of them have had to reduce their hours in order to qualify for Medicaid.
“I oversee labor policy, and what is happening at the National Hispanic Cultural Center fails the basic test of fairness,” said Patricia Roybal Caballero, Representative of House District 13 and Chairwoman of House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. “One-day terminations followed by immediate rehires are not workforce management, they are benefits avoidance. I urge the PELRB to stand with workers, apply the law as written, and affirm that long-term, regular service earns real protections. Protecting workers’ rights protects families, stabilizes communities, and strengthens the institutions we are proud of. Permanent work deserves permanent jobs, and New Mexico’s cultural institutions must lead by example with dignity, not exploitative practices.”
The PPC could not be resolved through motions for summary judgement. Friday’s Hearing on the Merits is the next step in the NHCC workers’ fight for collective bargaining rights. This will come down to the definition of “regular employee” in the Public Employee Bargaining Act, which will have an impact on public sector unions across New Mexico.
“We are prepared to take this fight all the way to the courts, if we have to,” said Green. “These workers, like all workers, deserve the rights to fair benefits and to join a Union.”
CWA Local 7076 represents thousands of state employees at 13 agencies across the State of New Mexico.
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