On the picket line

Detroit teachers’ strike continues

The 9,500 teachers in Detroit have been on strike since Aug. 28. The primary issue is pay—the teachers, who last year agreed to million-dollar concessions to avoid a strike, are demanding a 5 percent raise for each year of a three-year contract.

The Detroit Public School District is demanding a 5.55 percent pay cut and increased payments for health insurance, which amounts to $89 million in concessions.

The district asked the county court for an injunction barring the strike on Aug. 29. Instead, the judge ordered round-the-clock negotiations. The Detroit News reports that, as of Aug. 30, about 97 percent of Detroit’s teachers have not reported to work.

School officials announced that Detroit’s 225 schools would be open on the first day of school, Sept. 5, only for half a day. The school board plans to get the court to order an injunction on the strike on Sept 5. But the teachers are in no mood to obey an injunction. Fed up with concessions, the teachers’ slogan is “No contract, no work.”

Gary teachers’ strike wins overdue contract

The Gary Teachers Union hadn’t been able to get the Gary, Ind., school board to renew their contract since 2004. But going on strike for 10 days beginning Aug. 21 finally got the board’s attention. On Aug. 31 the teachers were offered a three-year contract with 2 percent raises each year, which they voted unanimously to accept.

This is the first time since 1984 that the teachers were forced to strike for a decent contract. Since the agreement is retroactive, the contract will expire next year. Healthcare benefits top the list of items to be negotiated in the next contract.

NWA flight attendants implement CHAOS

Even though a U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction against a strike by Northwest Airlines flight attendants on Aug. 25 and has not yet issued a final ruling, the flight attendants have begun making CHAOS at major airports around the country.

Twice union members voted to reject a contract that would cut their earnings by up to 40 percent. But NWA imposed it on them anyway on July 31. Under the Railway Labor Act, workers are allowed to strike if there is a unilateral change in a contract.

CHAOS—Create Havoc Around Our System—is the flight attendants’ rolling-strike strategy, which has been used effectively for many years. For instance, all members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA who work at New York’s LaGuardia Airport held informational picketing Aug. 28, 29 and 31 between noon and 6 p.m. outside the NWA terminal.

Kroger workers fight for fair contract in N.C.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 204, which represents 1,917 Raleigh-Durham-area grocery-store workers, has been negotiating with Kroger for a fair contract for over a month. On Aug. 31 Kroger suddenly broke off talks. No further bargaining has been scheduled.

The big issue, as in most negotiations these days, is healthcare benefits. In late July, Kroger proposed a plan to raid employee-healthcare reserve funds and force workers to pay $1.4 million from their own paychecks to cover the difference.

UFCW Local 204 members voted at the beginning of August to authorize a strike. On Aug. 29 they held a press conference and a “Walk the Block” demonstration in Raleigh-Durham neighborhoods to inform customers of the attacks on their health benefits.

“I think the customers have a right to know how Kroger really treats their employees,” said Monique Wilkerson, a Kroger employee, in an Aug. 31 union press release. Wilkerson pointed out that workers would have to choose between healthcare and things like rent, food and other basic necessities.