BY MANUEL MARTÍNEZ
KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina - "This is one company that did
not want a union, that would do anything to resist the union.
Beating them is real history," declared Marlin Rice, who has
worked at the Fieldcrest Cannon textile mill complex here for
four years.
The Fieldcrest Cannon workers voted in favor of joining the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) June 22-23. Of the 5,100 eligible voters, 2,270 voted for the union and 2,102 against. This historic victory comes after 25 years of unionizing efforts at this complex, which was bought by Pillowtex in 1997.
North Carolina's textile industry is the largest in the United States. The vote for the union marks an important win for the labor movement and registers a shift in workers' attitudes.
At the plant gate outside of the mill, David Johnson, 42, who has worked here 17 years, said, "I voted for the union and I'm glad we finally won. It's time for a change, a change for the better."
There are 166,800 textile workers employed in North Carolina. Only 4.2 percent of workers in the state are unionized, the lowest level in the country. The national average is 14 percent of the workforce.
Some workers at the mills said they weren't surprised by the union victory. Ricky Gray, 35, with three years at Pillowtex, said, "I knew the union would win. Young workers made the difference. Young people are more susceptible to change. They want to make a change."
There has also been a substantial change in the composition of the workforce throughout the last decade. There are now sizable numbers of Asian, Mexican, and Central American workers at the mills, which previously employed overwhelmingly U.S.- born workers, Black and white.
Alfredo Pérez, a worker from Mexico, noted this as one of the reasons for the union victory. "Some brought their experiences from other countries. Others said they would vote union because they had nothing to lose," he said. Pérez described his experiences with a farm union in Mexico and how helpful it was to have a union.
Falling wages and speedup
Workers at the mill of all nationalities cited worsening
working conditions as reasons for voting for the union - a
decrease in wages, speedup, harassment by supervisors, and
broken promises and company lies.
Arnold Murdock, who has worked 18 years at the mill, explained, "The work loads were increasing, putting more and more work on the people. Workers who were for the union in the last vote came out for the union again."
Rodney Haskins, a 19-year-old worker with two years at the mill said, "Last time they lied to us about selling the company. That's why a lot of people voted union."
Previous unionizing drives and elections have taken place in 1974, 1985, 1991, and 1997. Federal regulators found that in both the 1991 and 1997 elections the company intimidated union supporters.
Pearly Flowe, an order coordinator and 22-year veteran of drives to organize the mill, told the Militant that in the recent election, "at least one temp worker that I know of was distributing the `vote-nó T-shirt inside the plant and getting paid $8 an hour for it."
Alfredo and Armando Pérez, brothers who both work at the mill, spoke to the Militant about the union victory and politics.
Alfredo, 39, has nine years at Fieldcrest Cannon. He noted there were very few immigrant workers in the early '90s. But since 1996, there has been a influx of immigrants. He described the intimidation by the bosses who threatened to deport workers if they voted for the union in the 1991 elections.
In the 1997 elections, the company promised workers a 35- cent hourly pay raise if they voted the union down. The union was defeated and when Pillowtex bought the company later that year, the raise was taken away, new machinery brought in, and workers laid off.
In addition, under new work rules, if some workers on a job don't meet production quotas, none of the other workers on that job get paid piece rate premiums.
Alfredo also noted that monthly health insurance premiums doubled and pay went down. In addition to the premiums, "Now we pay $10 for each doctor's visit, before we paid nothing," he added.
Armando described the speedup in production and the high quotas workers must meet under piece-rate wages. Both recall being constantly reprimanded by supervisors for not meeting the high production quotas when working as sewers.
Armando also described the company's antiunion propaganda, which included distribution of "vote-no" T-shirts and an antiunion video mailed to each worker. Vicente, a pipefitter at another factory and friend of the Pérez brothers, added, "That is the usual company propaganda. I know instinctively that a union is needed from my experience in a steel mill in Mexico City."
Company tries to stall recognition
Currently, 285 additional ballots are being challenged - 228
by UNITE, 57 by the NLRB, and none by the company. According to
a UNITE flier, the ballots the union is challenging were cast
by supervisors, industrial engineers, secretaries, computer
technicians, and head instructors, all of whom voted. Another
63 ballots are "unknowns" - people who voted but were not
identified by the company as working in the plant.
Chuck Hansen Jr., CEO of Pillowtex, the current corporate owner of Fieldcrest Cannon, claimed the challenged ballots will eventually swing the vote against the union. The union will not be recognized until all the challenged ballots are resolved and the election is certified by the NLRB.
The victory in Kannapolis is having a positive effect on other workers in North Carolina. At the Continental General Tire picket lines in Charlotte, the victory won by the textile workers was a topic of discussion.
Striker Robert Cousar, who has worked at the tire company for 31 years stated, "Winning that election was one of the best things that could ever happen for the people of that town. It means a better life, a better future, especially for the younger generation. It will make the older people feel better too."
Steelworker Walter Anderson, with 27 years at the plant, said his father worked all his life at a J.P. Stevens textile plant in Bessemer City, North Carolina. "I'm very glad that they finally got some justice in Kannapolis," Anderson said. "They need the union."
A day after the UNITE victory, the NLRB ruled June 24 the nine-month strike at Continental General Tire is the result of unfair labor practices and the company violated labor law.
A union newsletter reported a two-hour walkout by 800 rubber workers at Continental's tire plant in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, also occurred that day.
In response to the ruling, strikers waved "pink slips" at scabs during the 7:00 p.m. shift change. Taunting the scabs, strikers shouted "Are you sure you'll keep that job?"
Referring to the Kannapolis textile workers' fight, striker Robert Cousar drew on his experiences in the Continental Tire strike. "They won because it was a `do-or-dié situation - like our strike. When you are willing to sacrifice, that's when you win."
Mike Italie and Arlene Rubinstein contributed to this article.