Vol. 77/No. 15      April 22, 2013

NY fast-food workers strike for ‘$15 and a union’

NEW YORK — “We can’t survive on $7.25!” could be heard for blocks from Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem where some 300 fast-food workers and supporters rallied April 4 for higher wages and union representation. Following the rally, they marched to a nearby McDonald’s.

The action was the culmination of a one-day strike by some 400 workers at dozens of the city’s fast-food chains, including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC and Domino’s.

“I make $7.25 an hour, I get 30 hours a week,” Kenya Osborne, 20, told the Militant at the rally. She has worked at a McDonald’s outlet in Brooklyn for a year. “Six of us went out on strike, but it’s a big place so we didn’t shut it down.”

More than 50,000 people work in the city’s fast-food industry, which is almost entirely nonunion. The average pay is $8.90 an hour, but many are paid the minimum wage of $7.25, and a large proportion work less than 40 hours a week.

Osborne participated in the first strike by 200 fast food workers in New York in November. She said she was a bit nervous then, but not this time.

“I really support the demands for $15 and a union,” Osborne said. “They’ve talked about raising us 75 cents, but nothing has happened.”

The day of actions kicked off in Times Square at 6 a.m. Prior to the afternoon rally, pickets were held outside a McDonald’s and a Wendy’s in midtown Manhattan.

The strike was organized by Fast Food Forward, a community organization. Sponsors include the Service Employees International Union, the Black Institute and UnitedNY.org.

—Emma Johnson

East and Gulf coast longshore workers to vote on 6-year pact

Some 14,500 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association at 14 ports on the East and Gulf coasts are scheduled to vote April 9 on both a six-year master contract and local agreements covering work schedules and conditions at each port.

The contract negotiations have been lengthy and heated. The port bosses, organized into the United States Maritime Alliance, have been demanding extensive concessions and have made it clear “they were willing to endure a strike if necessary to lower costs and improve productivity,” the Journal of Commerce reported.

The New York local agreement would abolish “continuous operation.” This means instead of crews unloading container vessels until the job is done, they would work regular shifts, ending a practice in which workers get paid for more hours and, as a safety measure, get a two-hour paid break for every four hours worked. The New York contract also sets new productivity standards — 30 moves per gang per hour, to rise to 35 moves per hour by the end of the contract.

—John Studer

Machinists at United Airlines reject concession contract

SAN FRANCISCO — Members of the International Association of Machinists at United Airlines voted March 30 to reject tentative agreements on contracts for some 32,500 baggage handlers, customer service agents, and storekeeper employees.

Union officials had urged a “yes” vote. United Continental Holdings bosses and IAM officials have asked federal mediators to intervene.

Workers told the Militant that concessions demanded by the new company that spurred the “no” vote included an increase in the use of part-timers and contracting out work; separate contracts for the first time for ramp workers, customer service, and stores; and big increases in the cost of medical insurance.

“It’s time to retrieve what we have lost,” Robert Rubio, a forklift driver at United’s maintenance base here, told the Militant. “We gave a lot back on wages and took concessions on working conditions and benefits for more than a decade. They are filling the planes again and making money, but we have never recovered most of what we gave up.” The tentative agreement included lump-sum bonuses instead of retroactive pay to make up for lost wages.

“After having to pay 80 percent/20 percent medical, I will be making less money than I am now,” said Mary Murphy, a United storekeeper at the San Francisco airport who said she voted “no.”

“We believe these tentative agreements are in the best interests of our co-workers and the company,” United announced March 30 on its website. “We will work with the IAM and National Mediation Board to determine our next steps.”

—Joel Britton

 
 
Related articles:
Hong Kong dockworkers’ strike ties up port traffic
Contract workers win solidarity in fight over pay
Mine workers build actions to confront Patriot Coal attack on retirees, union
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home