Woodlawn cemetery workers rally to fight bosses’ threats
By
Dee Knight
Bronx, N.Y.
Published Jan 20, 2011 9:45 PM
The 350,000 permanent inhabitants of Woodlawn Cemetery in the northwest Bronx
were not disturbed by the militant crowd that rallied at the main gate during
the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. But Woodlawn
management was definitely disturbed, as they cowered behind the gate, protected
by New York City police. The Jan. 17 rally was organized by Teamsters Local
808, representing the Woodlawn workers led by the Band of Brothers, who have
conducted a three-year campaign against plantation-style racist abuse on the
job.
Bronx, N.Y., on Martin Luther King holiday, Jan. 17.
WW photo: Brenda Ryan
|
The Brothers and their union are now fighting Woodlawn management’s
threat to abolish almost two-thirds of the union jobs at the cemetery and
replace them with a contractor who employs immigrant workers on “special
visas.” Despite the intensified anti-immigrant frenzy fueled by
right-wingers, Woodlawn management and other bosses prefer workers whom they
can bully into thinking they have no rights and no recourse to sub-minimum-wage
pay and miserable working conditions.
Enrique Coss, a leader of the Band of Brothers and union steward, told Workers
World he felt “an overwhelming feeling of love at the amount of support
we received.” He added, “Many standing with us know these issues
affect all workers, not just the Woodlawn workers. We are lighting a torch for
the sake of all workers and all union workers in a climate in which they want
to bust unions and kill union contracts.”
Coss pointed out that newly elected Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and
New York City billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg are bringing a long-predicted
storm to the workers of New York. “The storm is in the shape of Cuomo and
Bloomberg, who want to bust unions, freeze pensions and get rid of union
workers,” Coss said. “Today we showed the Bronx and New York that
this is only the beginning of a volcano that is slowly erupting in response to
this storm.”
Youth at Band of Brothers protest.
WW photo: Monica Moorehead
|
Teamster power
Teamster power was evident at the rally. “I noticed a large group of
Teamsters there: Locals 831, 805, 814 and 804, as well as 808,” Coss
observed. These locals cover warehouse workers, UPS drivers, MetroNorth
railroad employees and others. Local 805 President Sandy Pope, a leader of
Teamsters for a Democratic Union who is running for Teamsters general
president, expressed strong support for Local 808 leader Chris Silvera.
Silvera said Woodlawn management talks about needing to save $750,000 per year,
so they must either eliminate 23 of the 38 union jobs or impose a 35 percent
pay cut. But management has not discussed eliminating some of the super-high
top management salaries. Cutting just two of these, plus perks like chauffeured
limos and other luxuries, would close the gap while helping to beautify the
cemetery.
Silvera points out that Woodlawn is not just robbing 23 people of jobs, but the
community and state itself, which would lose the wages circulating in the
community and the tax money to pay for public services. Instead workers would
be forced to become recipients of public services while their families would be
severely hurt.
Silvera said: “This is the beginning of a struggle. We are going to make
the president of this cemetery uncomfortable at his house. We’re going to
take it to his house so his neighbors will know the crap that he is. This is a
country that has in excess of 10 percent unemployment, and if you are telling
me you want to kick me to the curb and bring a guy from 2,000 to 3,000 miles
away to take my job, you got a war. The bosses are going to see an
insurgency.”
Speaking of Cuomo, Silvera said, “He is anti-labor. He wants to throw
100,000 state workers off the payroll, but he doesn’t want to raise taxes
on the rich — that’s wrong!
“There’s a lot wrong in this system,” Silvera continued.
“This war is wrong. This war is sucking money out of the society that
could go toward dealing with these budgetary problems that we face, or that
they claim we face. ... We need to end the war and still tax the rich! We need
to become part of a global struggle that supports people in Guatemala,”
Silvera said. “NAFTA destroyed Mexico. CAFTA destroyed Central America.
We are going to assault all of these trade bills. We are not going to stop here
— Dr. King lives!”
Teresa Gutierrez, coordinator of the May 1 Coalition for Workers’ and
Immigrants’ Rights, said that while we want jobs for all workers,
including undocumented immigrants, we’re not for Brickman and Woodlawn
management using the plight of workers in other countries to drag them here and
use them to break unions or replace the jobs of workers here.
Strong union solidarity
Most notable in the outpouring of union solidarity was District Council 37
Local 374, workers at the world-famous New York Botanical Gardens. When these
workers heard of the Band of Brothers’ struggle at nearby Woodlawn,
steward Fredy Fret declared, “We’re the Band of Brothers,
too.” Their banner showing unity between Local 808 and Local 374-DC37 was
prominent at the rally and showed up on television reports on several channels.
It was hoisted by Local 374 members wearing newly minted “Band of
Brothers” sweatshirts.
Another notable delegation was workers from other cemeteries around New York
City as well as Westchester County, which is just north of the Bronx. Enrique
Coss commented that these workers “are going through the same issues and
harsh treatments as we are. They all feel this is not just happening to us but
to workers throughout the cemetery industry.”
There were also strong delegations from Transport Workers Union Local 100,
including President John Samuelson, District 32BJ-Schools Division, and Service
Employees union District 1199-Health Division. Also United Federation of
Teachers and New York State United Teachers, as well as the Professional Staff
Congress/American Federation of Teachers at City University of New York,
UNITE-HERE and the New York State Nurses Association, with members from nearby
Montefiore Hospital. There were also members of the solidarity committee with
the Stella D’Oro bakery workers, who put up a protracted battle a year
ago.
Community joins in
The New York Labor Chorus brightened the march and rally with labor songs.
There was also a delegation of high school and college students from FIST
(Fight Imperialism, Stand Together). Bronx high school students carried a sign
that read: “The working class has a right to a job.” Many
workers’ families were present. At one point Chris Silvera noted that
“if our kids are to have a future where they can actually afford to live,
we have to fight back now.”
Community groups included the South Bronx Community Congress, of which the Band
of Brothers are members, the Freedom Party’s Bronx chapter, the Bronx
Green Party, the Bail Out the People Movement, BAYAN-Alliance for Filipino
Concerns, May 1 Coalition for Workers’ and Immigrants’ Rights,
Picture the Homeless, the Million Worker March Movement and Workers World
Party.
In addition to union representatives, speakers included a BAYAN leader who
placed the Woodlawn workers’ struggle in the context of the international
fight against imperialist exploitation. Brenda Stokely of the MWMM highlighted
the importance of involving the broadest possible support from all unions in
New York. She and Chris Silvera highlighted the fact that there are 1.4 million
union workers in New York City and that they need to be mobilized.
Gavrielle Gemma of Bail Out the People Movement called for all to pledge that
if management tries to bring in contractors, “they will not get through
the gates — Teamsters work at Woodlawn!” BOPM’s Larry Holmes
pointed out that if Woodlawn management is permitted to prevail, it will be a
setback for all workers, while a victory at Woodlawn will stimulate many more
victories to come for both organized and not-yet-organized workers of all
nationalities.
Pastors Lydia Lebron of the Church of the Resurrection in the south Bronx and
Doug Cunningham of the New Day United Methodist Church in the northwest Bronx
both spoke on behalf of their congregations, whose many members were present.
Both underscored the importance of this fight against racism. Cunningham
highlighted Martin Luther King Jr.’s prophetic observation that over and
over in history the side of the oppressed has been able to win against
overwhelming odds because the power of justice and right is on our side. Bronx
State Assemblyperson Jose Rivera also spoke, expressing strong solidarity with
the Woodlawn workers.
Next steps were announced. Chris Silvera declared that plans are underway for
another rally on Presidents’ Day, Feb. 21. He added that he and other
union leaders are planning a major Labor-Community Forum at Hostos College on
Jan. 29 to broaden this struggle and link it to a fightback against
Cuomo’s and Bloomberg’s union-busting programs.
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