Everybody knew Jeep. At least, everybody in organized labor in New Mexico. And almost everybody in the web of multilayered relationships that is the political and policy community of our state.<\/p>\n
George \u201cJeep\u201d Gilliland died a few weeks ago and is justly celebrated for his rich contributions to New Mexico.<\/p>\n
When I met him, Jeep \u2013 as he was universally known \u2013 was the business representative of the Sheet Metal Workers union. Shortly after the workers’ compensation reform was enacted, he was elected president of the New Mexico Federation of Labor AFL-CIO. Workers’ comp is my connection to him.<\/p>\n
There is an obscure public body called the Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Disease Disablement, whose task is to initiate legislative proposals and make recommendations on legislation introduced by others. By law, its members are appointed by the governor: three representing employers and three representing workers. By law, the members representing employers have to be actual employers and not lawyers, insurance execs or others who make their living from workers’ compensation. By precedent established in 1991, the members representing workers are labor leaders. Jeep had the tedious job of recruiting the labor members.<\/p>\n
Prior to the reform, advocacy for the pro-worker side of workers’ compensation was done not by the unions but by their lawyers. The lawyers understood the intricacies of the system as well as their business-side counterparts. Labor leaders did not. The reform led to a split between labor and the lawyers and forced the labor people to represent themselves.<\/p>\n
Behind the Advisory Council, there used to be a private group called the Business and Labor Coalition, where the business leaders and insurance people could talk frankly without the pesky intrusion of the Open Meetings Law. For several years Jeep was the sole labor representative in that group, holding up labor\u2019s side by himself.<\/p>\n
It was helpful that Jeep\u2019s background was construction. In construction, business and labor are not antagonists but have to be partners, however reluctantly, because everybody understands that workers only have jobs if business has the money to build.<\/p>\n
Construction industry labor leaders were largely responsible for dragging the rest of organized labor into supporting the 1990 workers’ compensation reform that saved our state\u2019s economy. Keeping that coalition together was the task Jeep inherited.<\/p>\n
The reform was needed to tame out-of-control costs, partly driven by excessive litigation.\u00a0 It was largely aimed at reducing that litigation and related costs. It also affected the benefits paid to injured workers.<\/p>\n
During Jeep\u2019s tenure on the Business and Labor Coalition, a few amendments were enacted. Most of them were targeted improvements in benefits for injured workers. None of those improvements have been rolled back.<\/p>\n
Thanks to Jeep\u2019s daughter Ronda, he is making one final contribution to New Mexico. Ronda has asked that donations in his honor be made to the Toby Wright Scholarship at the Workers\u2019 Compensation Association of New Mexico Foundation.<\/p>\n
The scholarship pays for complete college expenses for a young person whose parent was permanently or catastrophically injured or killed in an employment-related accident, resulting in a New Mexico workers\u2019 compensation claim. The student must attend a New Mexico college.<\/p>\n
Since its inception in 1996, the Foundation has assisted 52 students with more than $800,000 in scholarship funds.<\/p>\n
Every year at the association\u2019s annual conference, those students line up on stage and talk about their accomplishments. The audience consists of workers’ comp professionals, some of whom might have worked with the students\u2019 parents. I have seen at least a dozen of those presentations and it is a proud accomplishment.<\/p>\n
Donations can be mailed to the Workers\u2019 Compensation Association of New Mexico Foundation at 2900 Wellesley Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107.<\/strong><\/p>\n Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Everybody knew Jeep. At least, everybody in organized labor in New Mexico. And almost everybody in the web of multilayered relationships that is the political and policy community of our state. George \u201cJeep\u201d Gilliland died a few weeks ago and … Continue reading