—ON THE PICKET LINE—

Maggie Trowe, Editor

 

Wash. Machinists at Triumph approve contract, end strike

SPOKANE, Wash. — Workers at Triumph Composite Systems here returned to work June 27 after voting by an 82 percent margin to approve a four-year contract, ending a strike that began May 10.

Key points of contention were the two-tier wage structure, health care costs and the lack of pensions for newer workers. According to officials of International Association of Machinists District 751, the company backed off on some of its demands. A wage gap of 12.5 percent between the two tiers will be cut in half over the next three years. The contract also caps increases to health care costs for the next four years.

“The contract wasn’t everything we wanted, but stingy as the company is, we were able to close the gap partly between tier-one and tier-two pay and improve the pension plans for both tiers,” Bob Porter, who inspects floor panels, told the Militant. “This is something we can fight further on in the future.”

Triumph at first said it planned to keep 50 of the replacement workers it had bused in during the strike for a month longer and have them enter the plant by a separate door. Porter said the unionists told bosses, “No Way! It’s either take all of us back and send the scabs out or you can keep them without us!” The company backed off and sent the scabs home, he reported.

— Mary Martin

St. Paul nurses: ‘Bosses never take human factor into account’

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association returned to work June 26 after a seven-day strike by 4,800 nurses against five hospitals owned by Allina Health in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

One demand in the contract offer that the nurses rejected is to switch health insurance from the union plan to Allina’s inferior plan, which includes higher deductibles, to save the company $10 million a year.

“Allina wants to use a computer system to determine staffing numbers to increase productivity,” Bunny Engeldorf, a chief steward at United Hospital, said on the picket line. “They never take into account the human factor.”

Tracy Mitchum, one of 1,400 nurses hired to scab on the strike, walked out of Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and joined the picket line. She told the Star Tribune that “she was dismayed Tuesday night when a child recovering from an appendectomy languished in the post-anesthesia care unit for hours. Another nurse also provided inadequate attention to a man with declining oxygen saturation levels, she said.” Allina denied the allegations.

“It’s not just that they want to take away our health insurance or just about saving that money,” said Kasey Herrera, an operating room nurse at Abbott. “They are out to break the union.”

— Kevin Dwire

LA Kaiser nurses hold 4-day strike over staffing, contract

LOS ANGELES — Some 1,300 nurses at Kaiser Hospital began a four-day strike June 23 against short-staffing and for safer patient care. The members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United are pressing their fight for a contract.

Joel Briones, a nurse who has worked at Kaiser Hospital for six years, led chants at a June 26 rally.

“Patients admitted to the wrong department,” Briones chanted. “Profits before patients. Patients discharged too early. Lack of working equipment. Use of travel nurses. We stand for our patients.”

“Many days we are so short-staffed that many of us are not able to take our breaks,” Kaiser pediatric nurse Sandra Hanke said in a union press release.

— Deborah Liatos

 
 
Related articles:
Locked out Honeywell workers: ‘We won’t accept union busting’
Quebec court gives green light to frame-up trial of rail worker
Steelworkers at ArcelorMittal ratify contract
 
 
 
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