On the picket line

Shaw workers end strike

On July 8, four months after they went on strike, more than 300 warehouse workers at Shaw’s Methuen, Mass., distribution center ratified a four-year contract. The workers, represented by Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 791, went on strike when they were offered a contract that would have resulted in a loss of $28 per week, or about $1,456 annually, for members enrolled in the family health insurance plan. The mediated contract includes wage increases and also higher health contributions from both the company and the workers. Though not a decisive win, the workers showed fighting spirit as they rallied support from labor, politicians and community activists.

NYC support for Mott’s workers

Thirty-seven members of the New York City Council took the unprecedented step July 19 of sending a letter to Dr. Pepper/Snapple to protest the outrageous contract terms demanded of Mott’s workers in Williamson, N.Y. The 300 applesauce workers, represented by Local 400 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store union (part of the Food and Commercial Workers union), opted to go on strike May 23 rather than have their wages cut by $1.50 per hour and the cost of their health care increased. Pointing out how profitable DPS is — its top three officers received multimillion-dollar raises in the recent past — the letter concluded, “The workers who are responsible for the company’s success should not be forced into a contract that cuts their income at a time when the cost of living in this state increases with each passing year.” On to a fair contract, Mott’s workers!

Solidarity after attack on SW Workers Union

Unions and community groups from all over the U.S. have been sending messages of solidarity to the Southwest Workers Union in San Antonio, Texas. The reason: a drive-by shooting at SWU’s Solidarity House on July 11 sent a young college intern to the hospital with severe injuries. The SWU, a highly respected and accomplished labor/community organization that represents “low-income, people of color and disenfranchised communities,” is calling on the city of San Antonio for a complete investigation. At the same time it plans to go forward with its summer graduation and Harvest Festival for Peace and Hope at its Roots of Change community garden on July 31. WW joins in condemning this violent attack, which appeared to be motivated by anti-immigrant racism, and joins in saluting SWU’s ongoing commitment to economic justice and equality for all. (mayfirst.org, July 14)

Catholic hospitals in Mich. unfair to nurses

More than 700 nurses at three Catholic hospitals in Michigan, affiliates of the Ascension Health System, are without a contract because the hospitals, according to a new Interfaith Worker Justice study, are engaging in anti-union behavior and worker disrespect. The study is based on an IWJ fact-finding visit in May with Ascension reps and the nurses, represented by the Michigan Nurses Association, an affiliate of National Nurses United. Adding fuel to the study’s findings, the National Labor Relations Board, no friend to organized labor, charged one of the hospitals, Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, with multiple unfair labor practices the week of July 12. The charges include “illegally restraining and coercing employees, unlawfully discriminating against employees in terms and conditions of employment, and refusing to bargain in good faith with MNA.” Borgess RN Moncia Walker told the AFL-CIO blog that the nurses are going to “hold firm” until they “are allowed to deliver quality health care.” (July 19) Meanwhile, after more than three months of intense negotiations and a 24-hour strike, 12,000 nurses at 14 area hospitals in Minnesota’s Twin Cities ratified a three-year contract with no concessions or givebacks and the continuation of its pension plan on July 6. Way to go!

SF Labor Council demands immigration reform

The San Francisco Labor Council passed a unanimous resolution July 12 with multiple demands for immigration reform. Among the demands are that Congress reject all proposals that “promote the firing of immigrant workers, open the doors to new guest worker programs, and do not contain a program for the quick and inclusive legalization of undocumented workers” and that Congress pass a law that includes “the renegotiation of NAFTA, CAFTA and all other trade agreements, in order to stop the enforced poverty that displaces communities abroad and to protect jobs in the United States, and [opposes] any new trade agreements that cause such displacement and [do] not protect jobs.”

Unions endorse Oct. 2 march for jobs

The AFL-CIO joined the growing list of unions and labor federations, community and progressive groups in endorsing the Oct. 2 march on Washington, D.C., that the NAACP and the Service Employees Local 1199 called in early July. When the AFL-CIO’s National Executive Council voted July 19 to support and mobilize for the March for Jobs, Justice and Peace, it added the following demands: jobs, economic security, “a safe and renewable energy policy, and a reversal of national priorities from making wars to meeting human needs.” On July 14 the California Labor Federation, in addition to endorsing the Oct. 2 march, added the demand for a new Works Progress Administration-type jobs program to “Put America Back to Work.”