A victory for Organized Labor

[Bluzmann57]

The strike against the grocery stores in California has been settled! For more info, go to http://www.aflcio.org. Thank you to all Californians who supported the workers. It is a rare victory for Labor and we need to rise and be heard.

[oldleftguy]

1. Good News!

:toast:

[Crachet2004]

8. There was no victory.

Labor hasn't had a victory in years. We need help in government, but it's partly our fault. As time goes on, and things continue rightward, it should become easier and easier to organize.

We need to get rid of 'Right to Work' laws. And legislation needs passed to allow organizer access to workers, and PRISON sentences for company representatives who break these and existing laws. Exp: If you fire someone for 'talking union' at work, I think you should go to prison.

But labor needs to get off their collective butts and ORGANIZE. And the Democrat Party needs to help us and stop voting the corporation line. The corporations need kicked OUT of the Democrat Party!

[TroglodyteScholar]

2. Victory?

I hate to be a downer in my first post on the DU, but I don't understand how anyone (in labor) can construe this as a victory. Yes, the stalemate is over, and people can go back to their regular lives. But if I understand the situation correctly, this can only be seen as a victory in the present and the immediate future.

What I heard is that the agreement sets up a 2-tier plan: on one tier existing employees keep their current wages & benefits, and on the other tier all new hires will have substantially reduced wages and benefits. This means that there will soon be people doing the exact same job as the next person, but one will be enjoying an all-around better lifestyle. Furthermore, this "victory" will run dry as soon as the current workers move out of the workforce or on to something different.

Do I have a mistaken impression of the situation? I mean...I'm all for optimism, but not when the future is bleak.

[doc03]

3. I have to agree with you

The news of the victory came from the AFL/CIO. I belong to a union and every time for the last 25 years when we take another step back the union leadership claims a historic victory. They seem to think it is a victory as long as they have enough dues paying members to pay their bloated salaries.

[alcuno]

5. A two-tiered system?

Is that actually legal? I had heard that they settled for insurance and a cash bonus. By doing the bonus, it adds nothing to the base on their salary schedule. I didn't know about a two-tiered plan.

[salin]

6. I heard that on NPR last friday

framed as new system (rates/benefits) but that current employees are grandfathered and keep the old benefits/salaries. Definitely two teir.

[doc03]

4. I am not anti-union

It's just that in our union for example they keep giving us back-loaded contracts. They will bring us a 5 year contract that has nothing in it until the 4th or 5th year, then they will renegotiate
it in the 3rd year and extend the improvements out to the 4th or 5th
year again. They have been doing this to us for the last 25 years. Instead of admitting they have little power today and this is the best we can do they keep up these same lies. I think they have done
us more harm by doing this, it just turns people against the union in the long run.

[pinto]

7. it's a two-tiered plan, the Corp outlasted the Union. from my vantage here

in CA, the strike was marred by a failure at any real good faith negotiation. the Teamsters kind of came and went....the Corps were willing to go to the wall. And the local workers were really struggling to make ends meet....there's a lot of single parents in that work force. I hear some locals say they will not "go back" to the stores and have established other buying habits (local independent stores).

[Athame]

11. I am definitely not going back

This was a four month long wasted effort, IMHO. Not that the workers were not committed and the support was there, but the corps won. All the workers get was to keep their jobs and pay somewhat less, for the moment, for their health care.

The grocery chains have lost me for good. I don't blame the strikers at all. They could only hold out so long. But this is a sad time for American labor.

Ma

[dax]

9. Definitely not a real victory...two tier wages divide and conquer

This strike was a disaster! Many of us in the labor movement sent money and picketted but there was no way we could do enough. Part of why we have to get rid of the rw repukes is that they have been adjusting labor law and definitions of rico to apply to unions and allowing damages against unions and on and on- a union can be wiped out by a long strike like this one was, leaders can be put in jail etc. Just the new LM-2 (Tax law) requires my union to spend an estimated SEVEN HUNDRED HOURS to fill out and identify what every pencil is used for and how each piece of eqyuipment or supply is used for how many hours etc. If corporations had to do that, we wouldn't have no ENRONS that is for sure. UFCW will regroup and those who were out will be stronger and they will fight to roll this contract over in another few years. WE NEED TO FIGHT COLONIZATION FROM WITHIN. Make your congress people fight for the freedom to form a union bill when it comes up and demand accountability from the WalMarts why should the public services have to subsidize their workforce?? Who do they think will buy products if the "second tier" is the market and can't afford housing and food and health care? This was about health care and it really is destroyuing us all-we need to control our health care system like every other industrialized country does and control the costs-no reason for drug companies to have tax funded research and then charge 100$ a month for the results. we are paying for over 600 lobbyists for big pharma in our health care dollars. NO NEED FOR IT> HEALTH CARE ACTION DAY IS MARCH 4 stand up in all your communities and BE HEARD- we could scrap BUSH's Mars program and PAY FOR UNNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE! it isn't as hard as they try to make you think-they are hoping you won't (think that is) ON a dark day, I ponder whether the real goal is to have people start DYING YOUNG so they can suck the rest of the Social Security fund into their greedy mitts-it feels that way sometimes

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. how do you see victory in this disaster? This will be the settlement

path for all future disputes, and will be used as justrification for all kinds of corporate crap.

Victory?..... The only sure victory the working man has in this country is death.

[Clovis Sangrail]

12. NOT a victory

people are going back to work, but they are going back to essentially the same deal that they went on strike (and were locked out) over.

A regional strike against national companies is ridiculous, and this proved it.
The corps have enough stores in other areas that they could let these ones operate at a loss for a while and not really be hurt.
The UFCW should have acted like a union and struck nationwide.