One hundred thirty members of Local 2739 of the Western Council of Industrial Workers, an affiliate of the carpenters union, have been on strike since August 1999 for better wages and against forced overtime and increased medical premiums.

The NLRB called the election just three weeks after receiving a petition April 24 signed by a scab named Tony Cavazos. The petition alleges that a "substantial number of employees assert that the certified or currently recognized bargaining representative is no longer their representative."

According to the NLRB order, both the 130 strikers and nearly 200 replacement workers will be eligible to vote. Voting will be held within Valley Manufactured Housing's (VMH) production facility in Sunnyside, Washington, and an outside location.

A majority "no" vote would end union representation at VMH and cripple the strike. It would also encourage other employers to attack the few unions that do exist in the Yakima Valley and deal a blow to the union organizing drives going on among farm workers and packinghouse workers. Strikers are appealing to new hires to vote for a union, leafleting workers crossing the picket line and visiting them at home to explain why they should support the union.

Since the strike began, the company has refused to negotiate with the union and immediately hired replacement workers. The last negotiating session, held April 11, lasted five minutes. The bosses claim they have nothing new to offer. Company attorney Ryan Edgley told the Yakima Herald-Republic, "For the type of workers we have, we're offering a reasonable proposal."

The vast majority of the workers--both strikers and replacements--are immigrants from Mexico. The bosses original and unchanged offer would keep starting wages at $6.65 an hour with a top wage of only $8.50. Out-of-pocket medical expenses would be increased to about $150 per month.

According to union members, the company orchestrated the petition and decertification campaign by pressuring replacement workers with threats of layoffs and firings if they didn't decertify the union.

Workers have been picketing daily. Strikers also organized a large march and rally in Sunnyside April 8 joined by 100 locked-out Steelworkers from Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane.

Strikers have questioned the quality of the manufactured homes built by scabs, leafleting VMH outlets in Yakima, the Tri-Cities, and Spokane. The union has asked the Washington State Labor Council to put VMH on its "Unfair/Do Not Patronize" list.

Strikers have participated in the planning of the June 4 march and rally in nearby Pasco called by the United Farm Workers union. This action demands higher wages for farm workers and a new amnesty law for undocumented workers, who make up a sizable portion of the 40,000 farm workers and 15,000 packinghouse workers during the harvest season in central Washington State. Strikers plan to urge those participating in the march to bolster their picket lines in Sunnyside the next morning.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home