On the picket line

UMich grads’ ‘historic’ contract

After nearly five months of contentious negotiations and a one-day strike on March 25, the Graduate Employees’ Organization at the University of Michigan won a three-year contract for graduate student instructors. The threat of a second-day work stoppage pushed the administration back to the table.

“This is a major, major victory for our union,” GEO lead negotiator Colleen Woods told The Michigan Daily. (March 26) “It is a historic contract.” What made it historic is expanded health care coverage for all GSIs regardless of the number of hours they work. GSIs also receive a 6.2 percent raise in the first year of the contract, followed by 3.5 percent raises in the second and third years.

Red Sox players’ support strike

On March 19, right before they were scheduled to fly to Japan for their opening game, Red Sox players went on strike. But not for themselves. They struck for team coaches, trainers, equipment handlers and staff who weren’t scheduled to get paid for the trip. It only took 66 minutes of negotiations with Major League Baseball bosses to turn that around. Now that’s labor solidarity!

Endorse anti-war protest on May Day

On March 19, the 7,000-member New York area postal workers union voted to observe two-minute periods of silence on all three shifts to show their opposition to the Iraq war and occupation on May Day. The resolution was inspired “in solidarity with the actions of our brothers and sisters in the ILWU,” which will shut down all West Coast ports for eight hours on May Day, and with the San Francisco letter carriers who will act in solidarity with the ILWU. The resolution also urged members to “wear a button, ribbon, badge or some other symbol of protest of the war on May Day.”

On March 24, the San Francisco Labor Council passed a resolution in solidarity with the longshore workers and S.F. letter carriers. In addition, the resolution “encourages other unions to follow ILWU’s call for a ‘No Peace/No Work Holiday’ or other labor actions on May Day to express their opposition to the U.S. wars and occupations in the Middle East.”

NYCLAW condemns Israeli attack on Gaza

On March 23, New York City Labor Against War issued a precedent-setting statement of international solidarity. It joined the Congress of South African Trade Unions in denouncing Israel’s recent massacres in Gaza that killed at least 130 Palestinians. It also condemned the AFL-CIO and Change to Win for backing U.S. support for Israel and U.S. Labor Against the War for remaining silent. In addition, the statement included three demands: an end to U.S. military and economic support for Israel, divestment of U.S. business and labor investments in Israel, and withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from the Middle East.

Student Labor Action Week

Spanning Cesar Chavez’s birthday on March 31 and the April 4 date when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, March 28 through April 4 has been designated Student Labor Action Week. Students on campuses in 29 states are taking a variety of creative actions to demand living wages for all campus employees, university codes of conduct that support workers’ rights both on campus and overseas, development of “green jobs” that support workers in communities and promote a healthy environment, access to higher education for all, and fair wages and working conditions for people who grow food and harvest crops. To learn more about SLAW, visit the Jobs with Justice Web site: www.jwj.org.

Nurses staged strike in the Bay Area

On March 25, more than 4,000 registered nurses at eight Bay Area hospitals began a 10-day strike against Sutter Health. The members of the California Nurses Association are striking over serious problems with patient care, medical redlining and health care for nurses. This is the third time that nurses have struck Sutter Health Facilities. The main reason for the 10-day walkout is the safety risk caused by Sutter’s refusal to schedule RNs to care for patients when nurses are on legally mandated meal and rest breaks. The CNA is also concerned about Sutter’s practice of closing hospitals in medically underserved areas.

This reporter walked the picketline with striking nurses on March 30 in front of Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley. Most nurses are not crossing the picketlines, and some patients also refused to enter the hospital for their appointments. One nurse mentioned that “replacement” nurses are being brought in from as far away as Mississippi and Louisiana to cross the picketlines. What’s ironic is that, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, CNA sent hundreds of volunteer nurses to help with emergency medical care in those states.

—Judy Greenspan