The Militant - July 15, 2013 -- On the Picket Line

Vol. 77/No. 27 July 15, 2013

On the Picket Line

Expanded picket backs striking Wash. Machinists
AUBURN, Wash. — Members of Machinists Local 79 on strike at Belshaw Adamatic, a manufacturer of bakery equipment here, held an expanded picket line and cookout June 18 that drew 175 unionists and other supporters throughout the day. The local’s 62 members have been on strike since March 25.

“I have to be here on the picket line,” Hari Shankar, a Local 79 member at Belshaw Adamatic who was hit by a scab truck some weeks ago and is recovering, told the Militant. “We have strength in numbers.”

“Here today we had representatives of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 19, Teamsters Local 117, IAM District Lodge 751, Organize Workers Labor Solidarity, the Democratic Party, a candidate for Auburn city council, a representative of the Martin Luther King County Labor Council and others,” Cliff LaPlant, shop steward of Local 79 told the Militant. “We may be small but our brothers and sisters are many and standing with us.”

Workers say Belshaw Adamatic is seeking to cut back company costs for workers’ health care and use subcontractors and temporary workers to weaken the union and lower wages.

“When we are on strike we have to support each other. That’s the whole point of being in a union,” Kenda Mc-Kinzey, member of IAM District 751 at Boeing in Everett, told the Militant. “You can do better with a group in a union than on your own.”

Tom Wroblewski, president of District 751, which represents Boeing workers, donated a $1,000 check to Local 79’s strike fund. “There are more than 30,000 members standing right behind you,” he said.

— Mary Martin

SF Giants concession workers fight for raise, against takeaways
SAN FRANCISCO — “Enjoy the game, but no fries, no lemonade, no peanuts, no food!” ballpark concession worker Anthony Wendleberger told fans as they streamed into the San Francisco Giant’s AT&T Park for a game with the San Diego Padres June 18.

Several hundred picketed the game demanding a raise and a contract for 750 concession workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 2.

“The biggest issues are job security and health care,” said Wendleberger, who works at the park in food preparation.

Centerplate, the San Francisco Giants’ food and beverage subcontractor, wants to increase the number of games a worker must work before getting health care coverage. Workers are also seeking guarantees that they will be able to maintain their jobs and contract terms if the Giants change food companies.

Centerplate spokesperson Sam Singer said that the company is bargaining in good faith, offering a 1.7 percent wage increase, CBS reported. Concession workers are paid between $15 and $20 per hour, according to Singer.

Flyers being handed out by the workers point out that with two recent World Series championships under their belt, ticket prices are up 20 percent, beer prices up 13 percent and the Giants’ earnings up by $57 million. Yet wages for the workers have been frozen since 2009.

“I support the workers,” said Dafna Wu, a fan who stopped with her children to talk on her way into the game. “Too much of the money is going to the top.”

Several dozen picketers bought tickets to the game and staged a sit-down protest inside the ballpark near the Gilroy Garlic Fries stand. Ten were cited for trespassing and arrested.

—Betsey Stone

Stockholm bus drivers strike to defend seniority rights
STOCKHOLM — “There is massive support for our strike,” said Bus driver Björn Jirdén at the picket line at the Råsta bus depot on the outskirts of Stockholm. “One woman told me, ‘I would rather walk all the way to Kiruna. You have to win your fight,’” as she stopped by the picket line during her long trek to work.

One thousand bus drivers organized by the Kommunal union struck June 19. Five days later, 400 more walked out in several places around the country. The union vows to escalate the fight further if the bosses don’t back down.

The bus operators association wants to take away all seniority rights when a new subcontractor takes over a service. Similar to the school bus drivers in New York, workers would have to be rehired as a new worker with no seniority, at entry-level wages and a probationary period. The bosses also want shorter paid breaks and the elimination of the 11-hour minimum daily rest period.

The bosses want to do the same kind of things to other workers in Sweden that they are doing to the bus workers, said Fillipos Kvavatsiklis. “It is not just our rights that we are fighting for. This concerns all of society.”

— Dag Tirsén