An Allstate agents' group is asking its members to consider aligning with a union and forming a guild to aid in its fight against what the group says are unfair business practices toward agents by the company.

The National Association of Professional Allstate Agents Inc. (NAPAA) says it is asking members to vote on a proposal for the association to affiliate with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) as a guild.

“Agent morale at Allstate has hit rock bottom, which cannot be good for the company, the agents or the shareholders,” says Jim Fish, NAPAA executive director, in a statement. “This is not a matter of political philosophy; it's a matter of defending the interests of ill-treated small-business owners.”

The decision, NAPAA says, was made after “an enthusiastic response” from those attending a recent meeting of the association board.

Fish says ballots are to be mailed out soon and will be administered by the American Arbitration Association. The results will be announced soon after they are counted on Aug. 17.

Fifty-one percent of the membership must vote in favor of the proposal, Fish tells NU. He says NAPAA represents 12 percent of the Northbrook, Ill.-based carrier's agent workforce.

The OPEIU represents 125,000 employees and guild members and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. If affiliated, NAPAA will be granted membership in the OPEIU, the national AFL-CIO and all State Federations of Labor, “giving the agent group better access to legislative assistance and legal expertise.”

Fish says the affiliation will not give the group collective-bargaining rights, but he says NAPAA feels it is the best way to protect agents. With the backing of more than 11 million AFL-CIO members, he indicates that the collective clout could have some impact on company policy in the future.

“The corporation is taking advantage of agents, and you just have to defend yourself,” says Fish. “The company has been firing agents for little or no reason,” focusing on older agents—and that is causing stress within the agency ranks, he adds.

“With more clout with the company, more members may join NAPAA; and with more members, the more the company will listen,” says Fish.

Allstate agents were once employees of the company, but in the late 1990s they were fired and re-hired as independent contractors. Since then, there has been an ongoing feud between certain agents and the company over the relationship, with NAPAA contending that agents are treated like employees despite the fact they are independent contractors—a point the company has disputed.

The latest round of acrimony began when Allstate revealed plans to consolidate smaller agencies' books into larger ones for the sake of efficiency. It also plans to cut agency commissions on new and renewal business, but increase variable compensation for obtaining certain business goals.

This marks the second time an attempt was made at unionization of Allstate agents. In 2002, a terminated agent and NAPAA board member sought to unionize agents, but the plan went nowhere.

A request for comment from Allstate was not immediately returned.

Allstate Protection President Leaves

Meanwhile, in a short statement, Allstate announced that Joseph P. Lacher Jr., president of Allstate Protection, is leaving the company, effective immediately. 

Allstate says various presidents as well as claims and product-operations executives of the Allstate Protection units will report directly to Thomas J. Wilson, Allstate's CEO.

The Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer gave no other details about the change in leadership and says it does not comment on personnel matters.

Lacher, who led all of Allstate's property and casualty offerings as president of Allstate Protection, no longer appears on a list of executives on Allstate's website.

Lacher was hired by Allstate in late November 2009 from Travelers, where he served as CEO of personal insurance and executive vice president at Travelers. He succeeded George Ruebenson, who was with Allstate for about 40 years.

Last month at an investor conference, Lacher outlined a business plan to grow Allstate's P&C segments with a new distribution model. The NAPAA did not look upon the plan favorably.  

Lacher told investors Allstate will be increasing homeowners' rates and tightening underwriting standards in an effort to achieve a combine ratio in the low 60s, excluding catastrophes, by 2013.