Vol. 74/No. 18      May 10, 2010

Negotiations between the union and the Realty Advisory Board (RAB) ended April 21 with announcement of an agreement. Workers had authorized a strike if no contract was reached by that time.

The union represents workers at co-ops, condos, and rental apartments. The last time SEIU Local 32BJ doormen struck was for 12 days in 1991. In addition to two tiers, the RAB was demanding cuts in sick days, no pensions for new employees, and a worker copayment for health care. They failed to get any of these.

“In exchange,” reported the New York Times, union negotiators “agreed to try to help the owners find ways to reduce the cost of providing the workers’ health benefits by $70 million annually starting in 2012.”

The negotiated contract provides for doormen’s hourly pay to go from the current $15 to $23 by 2013.

Union members will be voting on the new contract over the next few weeks.

—Sarah Katz

Hundreds march in Boston
to support grocery strikers
BOSTON—Hundreds of workers rallied April 15 in downtown Boston to show support for more than 300 warehouse workers on strike against the large grocery chain store Shaw’s. They are members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 791.

“What do we want?” shouted strikers, with the crowd responding, “A contract!” Marchers wound their way to a downtown Shaw’s store to discourage people from shopping there until the company settles with the union. The strikers work at the distribution warehouse in Methuen.

At the rally Hector Medina, 37, who has worked at the warehouse for more than nine years, said, “We were paying about $28 a week for health coverage. We would have to pay about $50 or $55 a week under their proposal, and for less coverage.”

He said the company proposal would also force workers to pay $50 to see a doctor. They now pay $20 for each visit.

“Instead of a raise each year they wanted to give us a Shaw’s card which could only be used to go shopping at their stores,” Medina added. The company wants to lay off some workers while bringing in contract workers who would not be in the union and have no benefits.

On April 1 the company stopped paying for health-care coverage for the strikers. About three dozen workers have crossed the line to return to work, strikers said, but the majority continues the fight.

Yobany Diaz, 27, worked six years at the warehouse. Interviewed while picketing at one of the stores a few weeks earlier, he said, “By doing the strike we showed we do have a backbone and we’re not going to take them cutting our wages.”

—Laura Garza  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home