San Francisco Bay Area GMB

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Workers Picket Outside Lighting Store

Posted Wed, 08/15/2007 - 1:33pm by x344543
Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW.  The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.  
 
By Stephanie Ludwig, Contributing Writer, Daily Californian, Monday, August 13, 2007 
 
A group of employees from a Berkeley light fixture and home accessories store gathered yesterday to protest what they said were unfair labor practices and unsafe working conditions at the company’s San Pablo Avenue showroom and workshop.

Approximately 30 protesters, including employees from the Metro Lighting and Crafts, showroom and workshop and members of the Industrial Workers of the World union have been actively picketing the company since Friday, said Gabe Wilson, who has worked in the store’s workshop for three years.

Why the IWW is in a labor dispute with the owners of Metro Lighting in Berkeley

Posted Tue, 08/14/2007 - 1:27pm by x344543

Metro lighting in Berkeley claims to be a "socially and environmentally correct 'green business'," but on Thursday, August 9, 2007, workers feared caustic alkaline may have been releasesd into the air as a result of unsafe disposal.

IWW members and pro-union workers were locked out that morning after complaining about a potentially serious chemical exposure in their workplace.

The lock-out is yet another union-busting move on the part of Christa and Lawrence Grown, co-owners of Metro Lighting.  Workers have been taking collective action to improve their working conditions over the past five months and are demanding the following before they return to work:

Locked-Out IWW Workers Picket West Berkeley Store

Posted Tue, 08/14/2007 - 1:19pm by x344543

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW.  The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines. 

By Judith Scherr - Berkeley Daily Planet, August 14, 2007

Charges and countercharges are flying between workers locked out by the owners of West Berkeley’s Metro Lighting.

The immediate question for the seven workers of the retail store and manufacturing plant at 2121 San Pablo Ave. was the cleaning of a drum containing allegedly hazardous materials.

NLRB faults Real Foods - fired IWW union members vindicated four years late.

Posted Tue, 08/14/2007 - 1:08pm by x344543

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW.  The union referred to in the article is the IWW.   This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

By George Raine, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer, August 4, 2007

The National Labor Relations Board has concluded that the owner of the Real Foods store in San Francisco's Noe Valley neighborhood committed a series of unfair labor practices in 2003 when the store was closed and 31 employees, who had begun discussing the possibility of forming a union, were fired.

Editorial - Four Week Lockout Ends In Defeat For Teamsters

Posted Wed, 08/08/2007 - 11:17am by x344543

Disclaimer - the following editorial is not by a member of the IWW, nor do they necessarily agree with or endorse our organization. The editorial is posted here because it closely matches the perspective of many IWW members and the Preamble to the IWW Constitution. It also affects IWW members in Industrial Union 670 directly.

By Richard Mellor - AFSCME Local 444 Retired, Oakland CA, August 2, 2007.

San Leandro CA - After absorbing the severe financial stress of being locked out for a month, members of Teamsters Local 870 suffered further setbacks in the contract deal brought to them by Teamster officials. The employers, Waste Management Co, imported scabs from other parts of the U.S. during the lockout and brought in their other allies, a mediator and Oakland mayor, Ron Dellums. The liberal community and the heads of the labor movement in this area have revered Dellums, a former congressman and mentor of another popular liberal Democrat, Barbara Lee.

When asked by the press if the lockout “was a test of his leadership” Dellums replied, "I don't take it to have anything to do with me. It has to do with a company in a dispute with a labor union. It would be a gigantic mistake for me to personalize this. That's a journey I choose not to go on." (1)

With friends like these, it should come as no surprise that Waste Management got what they wanted. According to press reports, management got a five-year contract while workers got a 5% raise which with inflation will most likely be a wage reduction