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Vol. 79/No. 39 November 2, 2015
—ON THE PICKET LINE—
Maggie Trowe, Editor
Militant/Eric Simpson
California Nurses Association members picket Contra Costa Regional
Medical Center Oct. 7 during two-day strike for higher nurse-to-patient
ratio and pay. Their contract ran out in July.
Help make this column a voice of workers’ resistance!
This column is dedicated to giving voice to those engaged in battle and
helping build solidarity. ATI Steelworkers are locked out; major
contracts in rail, auto, basic steel and East Coast Verizon have expired
or are approaching expiration. I invite those involved in fights against
concessions to contact me at 306 W. 37th St., 13th Floor, New York, NY
10018; or (212) 244-4899; or themilitant@xxxxxxx. We’ll work together
to ensure your story is told.
— Maggie Trowe
Airport contract workers in Florida win wage hike
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Airport workers, members of Service Employees
International Union Local 32BJ, and supporters rallied outside the
Broward County Commissioners meeting here Oct. 13 to celebrate the
extension of the Broward Living Wage Ordinance to employees of
contractors at major airlines.
The wheelchair pushers, cabin cleaners, baggage handlers and other
employees of contractors G2 Secure Staff and Eulen America held a
one-day strike Sept. 1.
The commission voted unanimously to end the exclusion of contract
workers from the county minimum wage. Starting Jan. 1, workers will make
at least $11.68 an hour if they’re getting health benefits and $13.20 if
not.
Before the vote more than 1,200 contractor employees at the airport
earned an average of $8.14 an hour with minimal benefits.
“The treatment we’ve been receiving is completely unjust,” said
Esperanza Ariza, a leader of the G2 workers. “We make just $8.50 per
hour and they pay us only for the flights we work on. Most of us have to
work two jobs or more just to make ends meet. It took us four years of
organizing and struggle to reach this point and it’s a big victory.”
— Steve Warshell
Brooklyn warehouse workers demand union recognition
NEW YORK — Workers at two B&H Photo Video warehouses in Brooklyn made
their yearlong fight for union recognition public at a rally here Oct.
11. According to union organizer Arturo Archila, 85 percent of the 240
workers have signed cards saying they want to join the Steelworkers.
Some 75 of the mostly Mexican- and Guatemalan-born workers along with
more than 150 supporters marched from a nearby subway station to B&H’s
superstore in midtown Manhattan. A delegation of workers went inside and
delivered a letter to the company demanding the union be recognized.
The workers want higher pay and an end to forced overtime and abusive
treatment by supervisors. “There is no regular work schedule or quitting
time,” Raúl Pedraza told the Militant. “Sometimes we start at 7 a.m. and
then at the end of the day they say you have to stay until 11 p.m.”
“There is no medical insurance,” he said.
“Sometimes they tell you to climb way up the storage bins,” said Juan
Sosa. “But they don’t provide a safety harness.”
— Seth Galinsky
California county hospital nurses strike for better staffing, pay
MARTINEZ, Calif. — Registered nurses at the Contra Costa Regional
Medical Center and health clinics here organized a two-day strike for
better staffing and pay. The California Nurses Association members have
been working without a contract since July.
“When I visited your hospital I saw that every single nurse had a strike
button on,” Katy Roemer, a leader of the California Nurses Association,
said at an Oct. 7 rally.
“We had a six-week strike at the Tesoro oil refinery earlier this year.
I want to thank you for the energy you brought to our picket line. We
are fighting for adequate staffing in the refineries, too,” Mike Smith,
a member of United Steelworkers Local 5 told the strikers. He was one of
more than a dozen oil refinery unionists who came to the nurses’ picket
line.
“Stand up, look around, there’s a health care crisis in this town,”
chanted hundreds of nurses marching from the hospital picket line to a
meeting of the County Board of Supervisors Oct. 6.
“I come here to advocate for the patients, not for dollar signs,”
emergency room nurse Judy Gonzalez said, adding she was appalled that
the county spent $3.7 million to hire strikebreakers.
“Short staffing means nurses can’t provide safe care,” nurse Norma Irazo
told the Militant. “We’ve been pushed to the point where enough is enough.”
According to the union, wages at the county hospital are 30 percent
lower than at nearby private hospitals, leading to a high turnover rate.
About one-third of the nurses are employed on a “per-diem” contingent
and on-call basis, without health coverage. The union demands a single
contract for all nurses.
— Eric Simpson
Related articles:
Steelworkers press fight against concessions, lockout
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