On the picket line

UFCW reaches agreement with Smithfield

After more than 15 years of totally vicious, sometimes violent, always racist anti-union activities at its Tar Heel plant in North Carolina, Smithfield Foods agreed that the roughly 4,600 employees at the world’s largest slaughterhouse could vote this December for union representation by the United Food and Commercial Workers. Smithfield also dropped its federal racketeering lawsuit against the union. As part of the settlement, the UFCW agreed to drop its public campaign against Smithfield. (New York Times, Oct. 28)

In a related development, the 1,400 workers in UFCW Local 440 who work at Farmland’s pork processing plant in Denison, Iowa, approved a four-year contract in late September. Farmland, which is a subsidiary of Smithfield, agreed to wage increases that keep Denison workers among the highest paid in the industry, innovative health and safety standards, and quality, affordable health care coverage. (UFCW press release, Sept. 28) Tar Heel workers deserve as much!

Immokalee workers target Subway and Chipotle

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has extended its fight for economic justice for workers in Florida’s tomato fields by picking two new targets: Subway and Chipotle chains. That’s why Southern Illinois University students demonstrated on Halloween in front of a Subway in Carbondale, Ill. CIW’s Fair Food campaign, which was initiated in 1993, has successfully negotiated agreements with Taco Bell in March 2005, McDonald’s in April 2007 and Burger King in May 2008. To request postcards to mail to the CEOs of Subway and Chipotle, send an e-mail to [email protected].

SAG/AFTRA meet to discuss commercials contracts

Joint Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Wages & Working Conditions meetings are being held in Los Angeles and New York to prepare for negotiations of commercials contracts that were extended from Oct. 31, 2008, to March 31, 2009. SAG has not yet signed a new contract for TV and film work, and a strike vote is still under consideration. Stay tuned.

Employee Free Choice Act Now!

Now that the U.S. labor movement successfully organized from coast to coast to get out the vote to elect Sen. Barack Obama president, one of its first priorities is passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Known as the “card-check bill,” it gives workers the right to join a union as soon as a majority of employees sign cards saying they want one.

After passage of the bill, the 16-million-member union movement estimates that its ranks will swell by at least 5 million workers in a couple of years. Long opposed by the corporations and the Bush administration, the bill has been called “Armageddon” by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (New York Times, Nov. 9) Even the Times characterized corporate opposition a declaration of war against the bill. To add your name to the American Rights at Work petition supporting the EFCA, go to www.freechoiceact.org.

Other demands of the labor movement include universal health care coverage and a huge stimulus package to create jobs and help workers get through the deepening recession. It’s important to remember that the struggle for jobs needs to be spearheaded by the demand that jobs are the property right of all workers.