On the picket line
By
Sue Davis
Published Jun 14, 2008 7:55 AM
Immigrant workers’ hunger strike continues
Lured in 2006 with promises of green cards for themselves and their families,
more than 550 metal fitters and welders were devastated to discover soon after
they arrived from India that Signal International was only offering them
short-term H-2B visas.
The maritime oil rig construction company based in Pascagoula, Miss., hired the
skilled immigrants to rebuild its holdings in the Gulf after the 2005
hurricanes. Not only had recruiters forced the men to pay $20,000 for the
“privilege of working in the U.S., but the workers were subject to
slave-labor living and working conditions.” No wonder 100 workers bravely
walked off the job on March 6! To further dramatize their struggle against
human trafficking, the workers took their protest to Washington, D.C., where
about a dozen workers have been on a hunger strike since May 14. They are
demanding that the Justice Department and immigration officials investigate
charges of fraud and exploitation and offer them protection, since they lost
legal immigration status when they left the job.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, working with the Indian Workers Congress and
the Alliance of Guest Workers for Dignity, an affiliate of the New Orleans
Workers Center for Racial Justice, filed a federal lawsuit against Signal and
the recruiters on March 6. (New York Times, June 7)
Burger King will pay more for tomatoes!
Florida tomato pickers, mostly immigrant workers from Latin America, have been
fighting for livable wages for years. On May 23 they won a long, important
battle when Burger King finally dropped its aggressive, dirty tactics and
agreed to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ demands to pay a penny more
per pound for tomatoes. With the one-cent increase, workers will earn 77 cents,
instead of 45 cents, for a 32-pound bucket of tomatoes. The 71 percent increase
will go a long way toward raising the workers’ current annual poverty
wages that range from $10,000 to $12,000. (CIW press release, May 23)
When Burger King joined Yum! Brands (Taco Bell) and McDonalds in supporting the
workers’ demands, its CEO “apologized” for BK’s vicious
tactics, which included spying on and lying about CIW. But that didn’t
faze the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which represents 90 percent of the
state’s growers. Though the FTGE dropped its threat of imposing $100,000
fines on members who ante up the penny-a-pound pay raise, it advised members
not to go along with it. (New York Times, May 24) ¡La lucha
continúa!
Delta flight attendants continue union fight
The National Mediation Board refused to certify the Association of Flight
Attendants-CWA to represent Delta flight attendants on May 28. Though the vast
majority of the 5,306 members who voted cast ballots for the union,
that’s only about 40 percent of the total number of workers, and federal
rules require that a majority participate in the vote.
The AFA-CWA cited an aggressive voter suppression campaign involving—no
surprise—intimidation and coercion by Delta management as a major factor
in the outcome. Nonetheless, the union vows to keep fighting. Patricia Friend,
international president of AFA-CWA, is optimistic that the upcoming vote in
connection with Delta’s merger with Northwest will result in winning
AFA-CWA representation. (AFA-CWA press release, May 28)
Two UAW locals win strikes
Like members of four United Auto Workers locals at American Axle plants, Local
602 in Lansing, Mich., and Local 31 in Fairfax, Kan., were forced to go on
strike this spring. Unlike the American Axle workers—who must be
commended for putting up such a valiant fight on behalf of themselves and all
U.S. workers—both UAW locals won better contracts for their
sacrifices.
The 2,300 workers in Local 602, who build SUVs for General Motors, went on
strike April 17 and reached an agreement May 15 that restricts subcontracting
of skilled trades and provides a say in job organization. The 1,800 workers in
Local 31, who went on strike May 5 and went back to work on May 22, were able
to stop GM from suspending seniority rules for various job assignments and won
better terms for overtime and job classifications. (www.uaw.org)
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email:
[email protected]
Subscribe
[email protected]
Support independent news
DONATE