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LONDON - "We are winning more and more support," said Gurdeep Singh, one of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) strike committee members at LSG Skychefs. Singh was on the picket line outside the Heathrow-based factory where he and 277 other strikers have maintained a 24-hour, seven-day per week protest since November 20. That day the TGWU members carried out a 24-hour stoppage to protest changing work practices and pay. This became a strike when the company sent dismissal notices to all who were taking part in the action, offering them a return to work conditional upon accepting all the company's proposals.
"More and more workers, especially at the airport, are recognizing that what's at stake is union-busting," Singh said. "If Skychefs can get away with this then other companies will try to follow suit." He said there have been three airport-wide meetings of senior shop stewards aimed at broadening support for the strike. There are 30,000 TGWU members at Heathrow.
As a result, a rally has been called for February 1. "It's happening to them today...but it could be you tomorrow," read the rally flyer issued by the Luftansa SkyChefs Support Group. The January 22 edition of the Heathrow airport paper, Skyport, reports the rally is expected to get the support of TGWU ground staff members at British Airways, Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Cargo Service Center and United Airlines.
"We've already had a lot of financial support from union members at Heathrow," Singh said. "To date the strike committee has received around L14,000 [L1=$1.65] in financial contributions. We're now trying to build on this support."
Strikers have begun to address union meetings outside the airport. On 21 January, strike leader Garth King addressed the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) workers union branch at Eurostar. The branch voted L150 to the strike fund and pledged to build the February 1 rally. Other workers who visited the picket include TGWU members from Glaxo Wellcome in Dartford, RMT members at South West Trains in London, and striking UNISON care workers in Manchester.
They're also getting support from members of the local Sikh and Hindu temples, who bring food to the picket each morning. The bulk of the strikers are Punjabi. Strike leaders attended prayers at the Park Avenue Sikh Temple in Southall, January 17, where they appealed for more support in the dispute.
Trips are being planned to the United States, France, Germany, and Spain to step up the pressure on the company. The company claims that it's continuing to provide a full in- flight catering service for Turkish Airlines, Air France, and Iberia. In addition to these, the company services Canadian Airlines, Kuwait Airlines, Saudia Airlines, Olympic, Qantas, and American Airlines. But many of the short-haul flights are being "back-catered," loading food in France, Spain or Greece for both outward bound and return journeys.
A company spokesperson admitted that the start of its new contract with Lufthansa has been delayed and Singh said that negotiations for Skychefs to handle in-flight services for SAS in Stockholm have been shelved because of the dispute.
Some work in the factory is still being done by supervisors, by some workers who never joined the action, and by some agency workers recruited as strikebreakers during the strike. But the company is clearly hurting and has been advertising on London radio stations for more replacement workers.
Women are the big majority of the daytime pickets, and are proud of the fact. "In the hot kitchen where I worked, the women - even the trained chefs - were paid about L2 per hour less than the men employed as chefs," said one picket, who preferred her name not be used. "That's why the overwhelming bulk of the women are out here standing firm and why we can never go back on the terms dictated by the company. Either we go back with our union or we must stay out here until the company closes down," she said. The other seven women nodded or voiced their agreement.
Hospital workers win strike for union in Seattle
SEATTLE - About 150 supporters attended a celebration to
honor striking workers at West Seattle Psychiatric Hospital
January 20. After a 138-day strike the workers, represented
by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District
1199NW, won their first contract. The celebration was held in
place of the regular meeting of the King County Labor
Council.
Strikers unanimously ratified a three-year contract January 9. The hospital workers won the main issue of the strike - recognition of the union. The contract also included a 4 percent across-the-board raise April 1 and 2.5 percent increases in the second and third years. A grievance procedure is established, as well as seniority rights, a new pension plan, and improved medical benefits.
All workers hired from the start of the strike - August 15, 1998 -must pay union dues. Workers hired before the strike can choose. The private, nonprofit hospital, funded mostly by King County, hired temporary workers to stay open during the strike. Some members of the bargaining unit crossed the picket line.
The workers joined SEIU District 1199NW in August 1997. They struck a year later when the hospital refused to negotiate an acceptable contract. At the celebration a photo display depicted how strikers kept up their picket lines and reached out to the community for support. They intervened at King County Council meetings, organized rallies at the picket line, went to meetings in the Black community, and labor events.
Strikers at the celebration were proud of their accomplishment. Alvin Oliveros, 40 years old and a certified nursing assistant, said, "It's great to have a union in the hospital now. I've been working two days and I feel so good to go back there with confidence and pride. I feel stronger and it feels great to work with the patients."
John Kazaras, a certified nursing assistant, told the Militant, "One more bad boss is out." He was referring to Cliff Borda, who retired as CEO of the hospital just before the final negotiations that led to the contract. "An average worker can make a difference," Kazaras insisted. "This became a reality for me during the strike. I learned how strong the labor movement is and how much stronger it needs to be."
Sewing workers win gains in Detroit strike
DETROIT-After five weeks on the picket line, workers at
John Johnson Textile Manufacturers in Detroit returned to
work October 23. The nearly 160 members of United Auto
Workers (UAW) Local 417 went on strike September 28. They
sought better pay and working conditions. UAW members
demanded raises totaling $2.70 over three years, with $1.10
up front.
The workforce is mostly women who are Black and Chicano. They sew heavy tarpaulins for trucks, water barriers for U.S. Army boats, awnings, and covers for Hummers. A number of workers suffer back injuries from the heavy work.
While expressing frustration that they didn't get everything they wanted, Reggie Benjamin said, "We are definitely stronger, we are more united. We went out with dignity and we came back in with dignity."
Since the strike, supervisors and office personnel have treated production workers better. Seniority is more strictly observed by bosses. Supervisors have even organized several brunches. Prior to the strike top pay was under $9 per hour. A wage freeze had been imposed for three years under a contract signed six years ago. During each of the last three years the workers received a 50-cent raise.
The boss initially offered only a $.39 raise this time around. Talks stalled, resulting in the strike, when he refused to budge from a $1 per hour raise spread over three years. Three weeks into the strike the offer was lowered to 90 cents, with the threat it would continue to go down if the strike continued.
The contract that was finally ratified was for an immediate 50-cent raise, to be followed by another 50-cent raise in a year, and then a 10-cent raise the third year.
In addition workers now have a 401K retirement plan and the insurance co-pay is lower. Company benefits now include eye and dental coverage; previously workers relied on a plan through the union. The company has hired additional people to lighten the load in some of the more stressful jobs and the night shift has been recalled.
This was the first strike at John Johnson. One union member crossed the picket line. During the strike the company ran employment ads; two people took jobs but quit after two days.
Jonathan Simpson in London; Chris Rayson, a member of the United Transportation Union in Seattle; Jay Ressler, a member of the United Steelworkers of America in Detroit; and Erica Johnson, a member of UAW Local 417 at John Johnson Textile Manufacturers in Detroit, contributed to this column.