Vol. 74/No. 32      August 23, 2010

With negotiations stalled, Honeywell on June 28 accused the union of not giving 24 hours notice of a strike, and locked out 220 union employees. Workers have been picketing around the clock ever since. The company is attempting to run the plant with salaried Honeywell employees and contract workers.

The factory, which is located on the Ohio River at the southern edge of Illinois, is the nation’s only uranium conversion plant. Unionists have erected 42 crosses nearby in memory of workers who died of cancer. “Many workers believe that the plant contributed to their fellow employees’ illnesses,” reported the New York Times, “which is a central reason the union is refusing to accept the plant operator’s plan to reduce pensions for newly hired workers and health benefits for retirees.”

—Brian Williams

Transit workers in Arizona
strike 7 days for new contract
Transit workers in Tucson, Arizona, struck for seven days in early August, beating back the city government’s attempt to reduce workers’ health-care coverage. The three-year contract between Sun Tran, which operates the transportation system for the city, and Teamsters Local 104 expired at midnight July 31. In a 369-7 vote, the unionists rejected the city’s final offer, which included a wage freeze, and set up picket lines August 2. Sun Tran has 627 employees, 526 of whom are represented by the union.

In an effort to cut across solidarity for the striking workers, the local media emphasized the “inconveniences” facing bus riders. But the workers held firm.

A new two-year contract was ratified August 8 with a vote of 250 to 76. According to KOLD-TV, workers medical insurance will be fully covered. They will receive no wage increase. If there are any layoffs over the next two years, the pact requires negotiations for five days. If the issue is not resolved, the union could then terminate the contract and go on strike.

—Brian Williams

Miners halt production
at British Columbia mine
A strike by members of the United Mineworkers of America shut down production August 7-8 at the Coal Mountain mine in southeastern British Columbia. The workers are demanding a wage raise and a new contract. The mine is owned by Teck Resources Inc., one of the world’s largest producers of metallurgical coal used in making steel. The 168 workers at Coal Mountain point to the lower wages they’re paid compared with workers at other Teck mines as the main issue in dispute, reported Toronto Globe and Mail. Their contract expired at the end of 2009.

In June the company was forced to shut down its Greenhills mine, also in British Columbia, after an explosion there.

—Brian Williams

Mill workers in Illinois
strike ProBuild Lumber
YORKVILLE, Illinois—Sixty mill workers on strike against ProBuild Lumber here and in nearby Wheaton are fighting company demands to cut wages and increase health insurance costs. The members of Teamsters Local 673 walked out July 28.

“We just can’t accept what the company is asking for—a 5 percent wage cut, and especially their medical plan, which will cost workers $280 a month for family coverage,” said Bryan McKenna, a 10-year worker in the mill shop. Currently workers are covered under the Teamsters health plan, which is free to union members and their families. The company also wants to reduce callback rights and take away paid holidays, McKenna explained.

ProBuild is the country’s largest supplier of building materials for home building and to professional and contract builders.

“We’re the ones that made this company,” said Tony Cruz, a mill worker since 1987. “Now they don’t want to guarantee us an eight-hour workday anymore. They want to control us, but they can’t.” Joe Galto, with 27 years at the company said, “This is the first time we’ve been on strike. We had to stand up.”

—Betsey Farley
 
 
Related articles:
U.S. bosses press wage cuts amid joblessness
Bay Area transit workers fight givebacks
Workers told to accept ‘new normal’  
 
 
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