MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The nearly 200 members of United Auto Workers Local 2406 at the General Motors ACDelco Parts Distribution Center here walked off the job Sept. 22, joining thousands of other autoworkers on strike against the Big Three. Local President Jeffrey Thomas told the press they will strike until their demands are met.
“We will just stand here one day longer, one day stronger,” he said. “The timeline is however long it takes.”
Local 2406 shop chairman Sherman Ward told the Militant Sept. 27, “This strike is past time. Our biggest issues are cost of living, pensions, two tiers. About two-thirds of workers here are on the second tier. They start at less than $17.”
Keena Ross and Shakedria Lester were part of the enthusiastic picket line. Both are second-tier workers who started two years ago. “We started at $16 an hour and max out at $25 after eight years,” said Ross. “The maximum for ‘legacy’ employees is $31 an hour.”
“And you can’t miss a day of work,” added Lester. “They treat us like we don’t have families!”
There is another important strike taking place in Memphis: The nearly 200 members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 390G at International Flavors and Fragrances. A caravan from their picket line joined the strikers at ACDelco Sept. 27.
“We are here with a message to the auto companies and to IFF down the street where my union brothers and sisters are on strike,” David Woods, BCTGM international secretary-treasurer, told UAW strikers. “Our message is: We are standing up for our rights. We are standing together. And we aren’t going to stop until we win!”
Woods was here to build support for the strikers at International Flavors and Fragrances. He was joined on both picket lines by BCTGM Vice Presidents Roger Miller and Zach Townsend; Letitia Malone, president of BCTGM Local 149 in the Memphis area; and Les Jones and Jose Villalta from Local 118 in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.
BCTGM Local 390G members have been on strike since June 4 after working for almost a year under an expired contract. The workers make soy protein products that are used by Nestle, Nestle Purina, Kind Bars, Abbott Nutrition and other companies to manufacture baby formula, pet foods, nutritional powders and other goods.
International Flavors and Fragrances bosses want to end paid lunch breaks, stop paying overtime after eight hours and cut contributions to workers’ 401(k) retirement plans. Health insurance costs have gone up dramatically since the company changed insurers two years ago after merging with Dupont. IFF has 158 plants worldwide and its 2021 profits were $11.7 billion.
“We’re still hanging tough after four months,” Cedric Wilson said on the IFF picket line. Wilson is a dryer operator in the plant and president of BCTGM Local 390G.
That afternoon two UAW members stopped by after their shift on the picket line at ACDelco. Jackie Buggs has been a regular on the IFF picket line to show solidarity. She said she and her friend Nikki “thought it was important to come by to show our support for the BCTGM too,” she told the Militant. Wilson said the UAW “has been the strongest in showing us support. I plan to be out on their picket line too. We’re all fighting for the whole working class.”
Bosses try to bust strike
Early the next morning, strikers explained that IFF bosses have been calling workers to convince them to cross the picket line. But very few have done so.
“They know better than to call me,” said Mary Randolph, a boiler operator and 26-year veteran worker. “I’ll work five jobs before I’ll go back in to be treated the way they treated us.”
“If you go back in you’re losing everything,” Thad Beckman, a Local 390G trustee, said.
Most strikers have had to find other jobs to pay their bills. Strikers lost their health insurance after 30 days on strike and many took jobs with medical coverage. A couple workers came by the line after getting off night shift, including 27-year-old Malcolm Black, who works four 10-hour shifts at Amazon and also does substitute teaching.
There have been no negotiations since the bosses’ “last, best and final” offer four months ago. The union has offered to go back to the table numerous times but the company refuses.
“They’d rather run it into the ground and take the loss instead of treating us fairly,” said Beckman.
“During the pandemic we worked like dogs,” striker Zandra Lee said. “We got their product out so people could have their baby food and pet food and protein powder, while the CEOs sat at home safe from COVID. Now they treat us like we’re garbage.”
“They only offered us a 3% raise, which is an insult with the level of inflation,” striker Chuck Seals said. “The autoworkers have the right idea with demanding 43% raises like the CEOs got.”
“IFF didn’t offer us anything,” said Lee, “They just want to take and take. That meant we had to fight!”
Both picket lines are up 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Strikers welcome others to join them night or day. The BCTGM line is at 4272 S. Mendenhall Road and the UAW pickets at 5115 Pleasant Hill Road.
Contributions are needed for the IFF strike. Go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/bctgm-local-390g-iff-memphis-workers-on-strike.