On the picket line

SF newspaper workers in struggle

Workers in the five unions at the San Francisco Chronicle and their supporters rallied July 11 to demand decent contracts. The rally was called in response to the June 30 expiration of the contract covering the 900-member Northern California Media Guild. The Guild, which represents staff writers, has been in around-the-clock negotiations since mid-June.

The Hearst management at the Chronicle won’t budge. The workers can tell the bosses have been preparing for a strike-or maybe even a lockout-since Jan uary. That’s when Hearst hired Frank Vega as publisher. Vega headed the Detroit Newspaper Agency for 14 years, during which time he earned the name “Darth Vega” because of his role in the hard-fought newspaper strike there 10 years ago.

Vega is using the same anti-worker tactics in San Francisco. He recently hired an outside security company; in Detroit he ordered the hired guns to attack the strikers. And he’s trying to divide and conquer the five unions that represent the workers at the Chronicle.

But the unions have pledged not to ratify or sign an agreement until every union has an agreement. While the unions concede that some job cuts may be inevitable based on their examination of the Chronicle’s books, which show the paper has been in the red since 2002, they are determined to stick together. Their pledge has been in effect for more than 40 years, reported the website of The Newspaper Guild (www.newsguild.org). (June 17) That gives new meaning to the old labor slogan: An injury to one is an injury to all!

Guild holds the line in Youngstown

Though they’ve been on strike for the past eight months, staff writers represented by the Newspaper Guild at the Youngstown, Ohio, paper owned by the Vindicator are hanging tough. The Detroit Guild hosted a party July 9 to raise funds for the Youngstown strikers. They also billed the event as a 10-year reunion to commemorate their hard-fought battle in Detroit.

The last federally mediated negotiating meeting in Youngstown ended May 31 without progress. The National Labor Relations Board heard three complaints against management on June 14.

Immokaleeactivists target other chains

In June, after the Coalition of Immoka lee Workers’ recent precedent-setting agreement with Taco Bell, activists announced the second phase of their campaign. Now they’re targeting McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway.

After a nearly four-year boycott, Taco Bell agreed to pay a penny-per-pound increase to nearly 1,000 workers who harvest tomatoes for its suppliers. That marks about a 75-percent increase over the usual rate of 1.3 cents per pound. In addition, the fast-food chain’s parent company agreed to lead an industry-wide effort to provide greater protections and better working conditions for the migrant workers, predominantly immigrants, who earn about $8,000 each year.

California nurses vote to strike July 21

Some 9,000 registered nurses who work for University of California hospitals have voted overwhelmingly to reject the contract offered by UC administrators and call a one-day strike for July 21. It is believed that it will be the largest single strike by RNs in this country.

Issues of retirement security, safe staffing and a safe lift policy-all linked to previous attacks by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger-are at stake. While Schwarzenegger wants to privatize pensions for all state workers, UC wants to mandate that 8 percent of the workers’ pay be automatically put into the pension system. The California Nurses Association wants no changes in the nurses’ pension, retiree health or other benefits for the life of the contract.

Safe staffing is a critical issue. Last year the governor issued an emergency order postponing from 2005 to 2008 the implementation of a one-to-five RN-to-patient staffing ratio law. The State Supreme Court overturned the governor’s order in June, but he filed an identical emergency order in early July to appeal the court decision. The CNA insists that the safe staffing ratio be included in the UC contract.

In addition to competitive wages, the nurses are demanding a safe lift policy. Schwarenegger vetoed such a CNA-sponsored bill last year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nursing personnel lead the nation in work-related back injuries, with 37.5 percent more than truck drivers. Surveys show 52 percent of all nurses report chronic back pain.

“Failure to listen to what nurses need to care for their patients and families will lead to a revolving door of inadequate care,” said nurse negotiator Maureen Dugan in a July 8 CNA news release. The release noted that four CNA leaders were suspended after the strike vote, though such anti-worker retaliation is illegal.