On the picket line
By
Sue Davis
Published Mar 2, 2005 11:14 AM
Youngstown strikers hang tough
Battle lines in Youngstown,
Ohio, hardened Feb. 7 when Newspaper Guild Local 34011 members again rejected a
contract offer they had voted down in December--this time by an even wider
margin. The 107-20 vote--compared with the earlier 99-36 vote--assured that the
strike against The Vindicator, which began Nov. 16, 2004, will drag into a
fourth month. Owners of the newspaper have refused to negotiate or even consider
concessions offered by the union. They're sticking to their initial demand: a
1-percent raise and rollbacks in health-care coverage. An "adopt-a-striker"
program started spontaneously in the heavily unionized city, with the first two
pledges arriving Feb. 8. The union has begun appealing for more, with the goal
of raising an extra $100 a month per striker. Guild members are also
intensifying their community support campaign. Their alternative paper, Valley
Voice News (www.valleyvoiceonline.com), now features a full-page Advertisers'
Hall of Shame. A subscription boycott, with coupons in the Voice that readers
can clip and mail, is gathering steam. (newsguild.org)
Verizon
workers win strong contract
The Communication Workers negotiated a
strong agreement for 2,000 workers in Verizon's North Central region on Jan. 30.
But the workers didn't win without a struggle. They used a variety of tactics,
including practice picketing, a health-care action day, Christmas cards to
Verizon's top officer, work-place stand-ups and wearing stickers and T-shirts on
the job. Wage increases amount to 10.5 percent over the course of the five-year
contract. The medical plan currently offered to active employees in Ohio and
Michigan will continue, and the plan was expanded to include workers in
Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. The contract protects retiree health benefits
and increases pension minimums by 5 percent.
A first in Houston:
a union hotel
It took a long union-community-legislative
struggle, but 500 workers at the Hilton Americas Hotel won a first in Houston
history: they unionized on Dec. 16, 2004. The mostly immigrant labor force in
UNITE HERE Local 251 signed a contract with decent wages and improved benefits,
including increased employer contributions to health insurance, better
retirement terms, sick days, vacation time, a seniority system and a grievance
procedure. (February/ March 2005 America@Work)
Cingular workers vote to
strike
In mid-February, 5,300 members of the Communications Workers
at Cingular Wireless voted overwhelmingly--by an 88 percent yes vote--to call
work actions including a possible strike if negotiators are unable to win a fair
contract. Key issues for the workers are job security--essential given the
recent merger with AT&T Wireless--a fair wage increase, and matters
concerning technical, call center, network and retail sales work. The contract
continues to be extended on a day-to-day basis. (www.cwa-union.org/cingular)
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