Vol. 78/No. 47      December 29, 2014

— Maggie Trowe

Iowa unionists raise funds for Illinois uranium workers
KEOKUK, Iowa — Uranium workers, members of United Steelworkers Local 7-669 in Metropolis, Illinois, were once again locked out Aug. 1 by the Honeywell Corporation and their ruthless CEO David Cote.

Many of those unionists haven’t worked much since the 2010-11 lockout.

Members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 48G here were also fighting a lockout at that time. We joined the uranium workers in solidarity actions in Metropolis and elsewhere, and they did the same for us.

For the holiday season the Lee County Labor Council, the Keokuk Fraternal Council and the Breakroom Lounge have set up a “helping hands tree” at the Keokuk Labor Hall.

There are paper cutout hands hung on the tree with dollar amounts written on them. You simply take a hand into the lounge, sign it with your name, union local or organization, and pay the dollar amount. As of Dec. 13 we have received $1,000. Money collected by Dec. 18 will be sent to Local 7-669 to help the families have a nice Christmas while they carry on their fight — and our fight.

— Buddy Howard

Kitchen workers at New Zealand hospitals fight outsourcing
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Some 70 kitchen workers from the three main public hospitals here, joined by cleaners and other hospital staff, protested outside Auckland Hospital Dec. 2, demanding the District Health Board reject a government proposal to replace on-site food preparation with food prepared by an outside contractor, Compass Group.

Health Benefits Limited, set up by the New Zealand government in 2012 as a “cost-saving entity,” proposed the outsourcing, touted to save $90 million (US$70 million) over 15 years.

“It’s all about budget cuts,” Mereana Uaperea, a Service and Food Workers Union delegate for the kitchen staff, told the Militant. “We like to cook the food and deliver it to the patients fresh.”

When the District Health Board decided to proceed with the outsourcing Dec. 15, Alofa Lemalu, head union delegate at Auckland Hospital, told the Militant, “We were so upset we decided to go outside and take a break. People were still upset, so we decided to call it a day and go home.”

— Annalucia Vermunt

Washington, D.C., rail workers push back 12-hour shift plan
WASHINGTON — Yard workers at Amtrak here have headed off a management plan to cut labor costs by eliminating an entire shift and making all remaining jobs 12 hours long, a move that would have negative consequences for worker alertness and safety.

The proposed change generated concern and opposition among the workforce. Having seen the employer make many changes to the detriment of workers in the past, some said, “They’re going to do what they’re going to do.” But that’s not the way it turned out.

Workers organized meetings at shift change times in which everyone could learn about the 12-hour shift proposal, express their opinions and discuss what could be done to prevent it. Many concluded that if we spread the word about what was wrong with the plan to everyone we could reach on the job and off, we could lessen the likelihood of its implementation. The bosses’ proposal met growing opposition.

Union representatives from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET) and the Trainmen and the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) held meetings with management expressing opposition. In early November, company spokespeople said they had decided not to implement the plan at this time.

— Tom Headley

Striking Toronto can workers win solidarity in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA — A delegation of Canadian Steelworkers on strike against Crown Holdings were joined by unionists here Dec. 4 in a picket at Crown’s corporate headquarters. Crown is one of the largest can makers in the world.

The 120 members of United Steelworkers Local 9176 at Crown’s Toronto plant have been on strike since September 2013 against company demands for a two-tier wage scale, cuts in cost-of-living allowances and other concessions. Strikebreakers are running the plant.

“This is union busting,” said Cheryle Dollimory, one of six women in the workforce. She makes $23 per hour (US$20). The company wants to pay new workers doing her job $15. The last company offer, which would permanently replace 75 percent of the strikers, was voted down 117-1 in February.

Dollimory and others have traveled throughout Canada and several U.S. cities speaking before USW locals and other unions about their fight.

At the picket action, representatives of USW locals 10-1 and 404 presented strikers with a check for $4,189 raised at a plant gate collection organized by the Women of Steel chapter at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery.

— Osborne Hart

Truck assembly workers in Quebec end lockout
STE-THERESE, Quebec — Paccar truck assembly workers here, members of Unifor Local 728, voted 58 percent to approve the company’s second contract offer Dec. 2.

Paccar, the maker of Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks and one of the world’s largest truck production companies, locked out 900 workers as the contract expired at the end of the day Nov. 29. The next morning the workers voted 76 percent against the company’s “best and final” proposal and set up pickets.

This was the second lockout by the American-based company in 10 years. Sticking points in the negotiations were company proposals for cuts in insurance, wages and pensions.

“The new people get a lot less,” Mark Tremblay, who has worked at the plant for 25 years, told the Militant on the picket line Nov. 30. Another worker called the company’s proposals “divide and rule.”

Since 2009, when a two-tier wage structure was imposed, it takes 48 months for new hires to reach the wage and benefit level of those previously hired.

While the wage increase of 12 percent over five years applies equally to all workers, the two-tier wage structure established in 2009 remains, Local 728 President Johanne Duplantie said.

— Annette Kouri and John Steele

NY phone workers rally for contract: ‘Ready to fight in 2015’
NEW YORK — Several hundred telephone workers, members of Communications Workers of America Local 1101, rallied outside the Verizon corporate offices here Dec. 4, marking the 25th anniversary of the 100-day strike in 1989 against NYNEX, Verizon’s predecessor. The union’s contract with the telecommunications giant expires in August 2015. In 2011, 45,000 union members struck for two weeks.

Placards read, “We remember 1989, ready to fight in 2015” and “We walked then and will strike again.”

“Every contract they try to take away everything we’ve gained,” Brian Williams, a field technician and 17-year union member, told the Militant at the rally. “The time for givebacks is over. They always start with the retirees’ benefits. We have to be the voice of the retirees.”

— Candace Wagner