By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor
St. Clair Shores General Employees have been with their prior union for as long as they can remember, but in recent years costs and service prompted them to become members of the Governmental Employees Labor Council (GELC).
St. Clair Shores Employees left the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and joined the GELC for a more personal experience.
“I’ve been here 26 years and, as far as I know, we’ve always been AFSCME since the City was formed — since we went from the Township to the City. I would say as long as we’ve been around, forever,” said Mike Gilmore, St. Clair Shores General Employees Local Union President. “Dues kept going up, and it was hard to get representation from AFSCME. We just weren’t happy, and it was time for a change.”
In September 2025, the group voted unanimously to become GELC members.
“We had three or four members that didn’t want to be unionized with AFSCME,” he said. “Now we have 100 percent membership and the vote was unanimous. We fluctuate between 62 and 65 members right now. We used to be 200 members strong and we watched membership erode through attrition and downsizing. Right now, there is so much going on with healthcare.”
This is not the first time the group decided to seek out new representation, but this time they didn’t stop the forward momentum.
“We went with a de-certification vote before and AFSCME lobbied hard against it, and we just didn’t do it,” Gilmore said, adding that AFSCME raised concerns that they would not have comparable legal protection with another Union. “We had gone through tough negotiations, and a few items with retiree healthcare we couldn’t agree on. We have a new board now and everybody is pretty headstrong."
Gilmore spoke with different unions and area officers about their representation experiences.
“I sent out feelers to a lot of different (unions),” he said. "We heard how GELC replaced other groups in Warren with AFSCME and other groups in the area. I was at a work function and talking to another member from another city and they mentioned GELC and they sounded interesting. We met with (GELC Labor Rep.) Joe Stone and we really liked what he had to say. He talked to our members and it felt like a good fit at the time. I feel like GELC was small enough where we would have individual attention.”
With their existing contract set to expire July 1, 2026, the timing was right to make the change. That became even more evident to St. Clair Shores General Employees when Representative Stone got out ahead of negotiations with City management.
“We haven’t started negotiations, but had preliminary discussions, and we had a meeting with management that Joe participated in. So, we started laying some foundations for groundwork and expectations for certain things,” Gilmore said.
After AFSCME Council 25 in Detroit was placed in receivership by its international union in late 2023, the group’s longtime labor representative was replaced. “In the past, AFSCME was just fine for us. This new Rep. really rubbed us the wrong way. She liked to talk a good game, but never introduced herself to any of our management,” Gilmore said. “She had a lot of excuses and lip service. So far, it’s been night and day as far as our last Rep. with AFSCME and our new Rep. with GELC.”
While GELC is representing them under their existing contract for now, St. Clair Shores General Employees greatly appreciate Stone’s overall availability when they need assistance.
“I have to say GELC is Joe Stone — that’s really all we’ve known. Joe has been our point guy,” Gilmore said. “Every time someone calls him he’s been there; he’s answered the phone. He is having meetings. Whenever we need him, everything has been good so far. Right now, the communication has been great and we have a lot of confidence with Joe. Joe has been very open to talking to our members individually about stuff.”
It was difficult to change Unions after such an extended history with their former representation, Gilmore said, but after doing their homework and ‘some deep soul-searching,’ St. Clair Shores General Employees feel they made the best decision.
“GELC has gotten really good reviews from other groups,” he said. “The beauty of it is (GELC) is small. We were trying to stay away from big bureaucracy with maintenance fees. A lot of times that money gets sent out to political candidates. I like the autonomy of GELC. Joe didn’t seem to want to jam any political philosophy down our throats. We’re just trying to feed our families.”
