By: Alex Szwarc | Mount Clemens - Clinton - Harrison Journal | Published October 31, 2019


HARRISON TOWNSHIP — Employees in the Michigan Air National Guard recently voted for the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, to become their exclusive labor representative.

The election solidifies AFGE as the exclusive representative for all Title 5 and Title 32 bargaining unit employees in the Michigan Air National Guard. The Association of Civilian Technicians, or ACT, previously represented Title 32 technicians across the state, while AFGE represented Title 5 civilians at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township.

In May, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, or FLRA, ordered a new union election for employees in the Michigan Air National Guard after a reorganization blurred the distinction between Title 5 and Title 32 employees. The vote was 2-1 in favor of joining AFGE over ACT, according to results certified by the FLRA on Oct. 4.

AFGE District 7 National Vice President Dorothy James, whose district includes Michigan, credited the district’s organizers and national representative for their instrumental work in winning the vote.

“AFGE fought hard to win the right to represent these workers, and we could not be more excited to roll up our sleeves and get to work,” she said.

AFGE Local 2077 now represents 602 employees in the Michigan Air National Guard, including 213 who were previously part of AFGE and 389 who were previously covered by ACT. Most of the employees work at Selfridge performing basewide operational and support functions, including air traffic control, civil engineering, aircraft maintenance, firefighting and deployment.

AFGE is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.