Allstate Agent Group Ratifies Pact with OPEIU

GULFPORT, Miss., Aug. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- One week after a lopsided vote in favor of affiliating with Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), AFL-CIO, the board of directors of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, Inc. (NAPAA) convened yesterday via teleconference and voted to approve the affiliation. The roll call vote by the board follows the stunning outcome of a secret ballot in which NAPAA membership voted nearly unanimously to affiliate with OPEIU.

The membership vote was administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Ballots were counted at AAA's New York office on Wednesday, August 17. The effective date of the affiliation agreement is September 1, 2011. NAPAA members will now be granted membership in OPEIU, the national AFL-CIO and all State Federations of Labor.

"There is no doubt about it, the 94.4 percent vote by our members is a bellwether and should serve as a wake-up call to all captive carriers throughout the insurance industry," said Jim Fish, executive director of NAPAA. "Agents are saying they've had enough of the excessive controls, threats of termination and wage cuts. We look forward to working closely with OPEIU to develop strategies that will both help our members prosper and ensure they are treated fairly."

"We look forward to working with NAPAA to better serve their members by providing the legal and legislative support necessary to level the playing field and ensure they receive the wages and working conditions they've earned and deserve," said OPEIU International President Michael Goodwin.

While Allstate has downplayed the results of the ballot vote in the press, the company has suddenly taken a more conciliatory approach toward its agents; an effort that began with a video featuring CEO Tom Wilson released shortly after the ballot count was announced. "Coincidence? I don't think so," said Fish, "We saw the same pattern following the agent uprising in 2002 and once the company was able to lull the agents into believing things were better, the pattern of mistreatment began all over again."  

ABOUT NAPAA

Based in Gulfport, Mississippi, NAPAA is a non-profit organization whose members are predominantly insurance agents under contract with Allstate. In addition to offering a variety of benefits and services, NAPAA further serves its members by acting on their behalf and speaking with a distinct and unfettered voice on a wide range of issues. To contact NAPAA, please visit its Website at www.napaausa.org or call (877) 269-3474.

ABOUT OPEIU

The Office and Professional Employees International Union represents more than 125,000 employees and independent contractors in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada in banking, insurance, higher education, shipping, hospitals, medical clinics, utilities, transportation, hotels, administrative offices and more.

Professional organizations and Guilds affiliated with OPEIU are a diverse group that includes physicians, pharmacists, chiropractors, appraisers, podiatrists, clinical social workers, hypnotists, teachers and helicopter pilots.

SOURCE Office and Professional Employees International Union, AFL-CIO (OPEIU)