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

February 29, 2008

What Has Happended To UAW Local 292?
by Kari And Adam Bird/UAW Local 292

Some of our elected union officials have not proven their ability to represent, let alone protect, union members—the people who pay their dues and elected these officials.

We are losing pay, benefits, work rules and the contracts are eroding.

LEGACY PROBLEMS

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 campaign is not an IWW campaign, but it is being reported here, because it is an example of rank & file struggles within the pro-capitalist mainstream business unions. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

By Arthur J. Miller

Under capitalism the value of a worker's life is measured in the ability to produce profit, consumption for profit and to reproduce the next generation of workers. For the maximum profit in production, the cost of production must be kept as low as possible even at the expense of the safety and well-being of those that do the producing. Even in the union shops of the business unions an injured or dead worker can be placed with a simple call down to the union hall for a dispatch for a replacement.

Down at the local shipyard we were told to go down into two different tanks on a barge a remove some valves. In the first tank the lines contained Caustic Soda, which is highly corrosive. We were told to wear rubber gloves, safely glasses and the spray down the flanges with vinegar water. I asked what the danger was and the foreman told us that if we were to get any on our skin it might burn a little. When I got down into the tank, which was the pump room for the produce, I noticed that there was a full decontamination station. That set an alarm off in my head because why would they have a decontamination station down in a tank if the produce were such a minor danger. The next thing I noticed was that the valves, suction and discharge, were closed at the bulkhead, which meant the produce was isolated from the tanks that held it, and that the valves at the pumps were closed, which meant that more than likely the pipes still had the produce in and it was possible it could be under pressure.

By Paul Krehbiel - Labor Notes, July 2006

Want a stronger union at work? Consider building a stewards council.

I was a rank-and-file worker at a company with a good steward structure years ago, so I knew something about how it worked. After I began working as a union representative for Service Employees (SEIU) Local 660, I was assigned to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. I saw immediately that the union there was weak.

With only five stewards for 1,700 workers, demoralization was high. Many members complained that the union did nothing, and they wanted out. The only solution was to build the union at the facility. . .

. . .Soon, word was out that the union was alive and growing.Workers in other areas asked to become stewards. We asked them to help on a project and then brought them aboard.

Within a year and a half, we had 35 stewards and the union was winning some victories. Things were far from perfect, but management knew that the union was there. 

By Kdog - Twin Cities IWW GMB Friday, Jun 16 2006 

In August 2005 the mechanics and cleaners at Northwest Airlines (NWA), the world’s fourth largest passenger airline went out on strike. The workers were rejecting the company’s final offer of massive concessions, including 53% job cuts, 26% wage reductions and sharp cuts to their benefits and pensions.

This battle is in response to a new round of attacks by the old large industrial corporations, such as the Airlines and Automakers against their heavily unionized and relatively better-off workers. Out-sourcing (reducing unionization), and sharp scaling back of pay, benefits, and pensions are the general thrust, part of their drive to make US workers more “competitive” with the rest of the world. The enormous power and prestige these brand name corporations have means these attacks set the tone and establish the trend for all class relations in the US. As the necessary norm for doing business in the global market.

Today’s unions for the most part accept the logic of the capitalist market and are completely out of practice of any kind of militant struggle. This poses the question how are workers going to be able to resist these attacks, and how are we as revolutionary anarchists and class partisans going to be able to best aid our sisters and brothers given our extremely limited size, resources, and influence? Let’s look at this strike and try and draw out some lessons so far.

Disclaimer - The following article is reposted here because it is an issue with some relevance to the IWW. The views of the author do not necessarily agree with those of the IWW and vice versa.

By C. Alexander - Originally for publication April 2006 

On October 8, 2005, Delphi Corporation filed for business reorganization under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the end being: the elimination or downsizing of 25 of it’s 45 U.S. plants - resulting in an estimated 20,000 job losses (2/3’s of it’s total U.S. labor force); a 60% slashing of wages, dropping pay to an estimated $9.50 an hour for it’s remaining production workers; increasing the healthcare costs it’s workforce must pay from 7 to 27 percent; and the scrapping of worker programs such as the “Jobs Banks” which provides workers with schooling and alternative work assignments when laid-off.

The following month during a November 2nd speech to union leaders, international United Auto Worker (UAW) president Ron Gettelfinger, called for a "work to rule" in which auto workers would do the bare minimum of labor required of them stating, "We should not do one thing more than what is required". Nearing a month since Delphi announced its intent, and as fear and frustration mounted among workers, Gettelfinger was forced to respond and attempt to exhibit some oppositional spine.

Within days, militants from the auto industry gave meaning to Gettelfinger’s words. In a non-UAW sanctioned meeting auto workers said they would organize to fight Delphi. Using Gettelfinger’s statement as justification, the militants have embarked on a campaign to build a grassroots fighting movement whose aim is to engage and prepare fellow rank and filers for an unfolding struggle to resist corporate attacks – both within the auto industry and on the broader working classes.

Disclaimer - The following article is reposted here because it is an issue with some relevance to the IWW. The views of the author do not necessarily agree with those of the IWW and vice versa.

By Paul Finch - external secretary of Northwestern Anarchist Federation, formerly FNAC; reposted from nefac.net

The most significant period of labor unrest in British Columbia since 1983 took place in late April and early May of 2004, as a result of the failed province-wide “General Strike” movement. During this period, dissatisfaction with government policies and ensuing legislation escalated into wildcat strikes, walkouts, and significant mass public support for the actions of labor unions, community groups, and students in opposition to the government.

By Charles Sullivan.  The views expressed here are the author's alone.

More than fifty years ago two of the most powerful labor unions—the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Workers—merged into one. Since that time union membership has steadily declined. In 1953, thirty-six percent of private-sector workers belonged to unions; today that percentage has dwindled to less than eight percent. Most American workers are now classified as ‘at will’ employees who have no protection against their employers. At will employees can be terminated at any time at the discretion of their employer, for no reason at all, with virtually no recourse to the legal system for redress of their grievances. This is an intolerable situation that exposes workers to widespread abuse by their employers.

Now view the situation against the larger economic back drop in which inflation has outpaced salaries for the first time in fourteen years. This in effect equates to lower wages for working people. The result is erosion in the living standard of working class people across the board. During this same period of time the economy has expanded at a four percent rate.

Meanwhile, corporate profits are soaring to record levels because management has squeezed significantly more production from the workers, without raising their wages. In addition, businesses—even the most profitable among them—are paying fewer benefits to their employees, thereby placing yet another financial hardship upon them. As evidence of this, pay rose only 2.4 percent in 2004, while benefit costs jumped seven percent. The result is less income in the pockets of the workers, and more money into the bank accounts of the employers.

It is clearly a big bonanza for business whenever workers increase productivity, without a corresponding increase in wages, with the result that wages are no longer keeping pace with inflation. Furthermore, this is occurring as CEO salaries rise astronomically and exponentially. Thus the fat cats on Wall Street are reaping enormous profits, as always, on the backs of the workers who produce the wealth. In effect, the work force is being raped by their employers, and only a small percentage of them have union representation.

The decline of labor unions is two fold. Business, with the aide of the commercial media, has been enormously successful in portraying unions as the culprit of the mass exodus of American jobs to other countries. The claim is that union wages increase the cost of products so much that American companies cannot compete in the global market. This is nothing more than propaganda. Corporate profits, especially CEO salaries, increase whenever cheaper sources of labor are found. Remember that corporate profits are soaring. The real culprit responsible for the exportation of jobs is corporate greed. The pervasive exportation of jobs adversely affects the work force globally by driving down wages, and creating the deplorable working conditions known as sweat shops.

At home, it results in widespread job loss, which impacts local economies as well as families. Abroad, it results in slave wages, deplorable working conditions, environmental degradation, and sweat shops. The effect is to drive down wages in the global economy, while simultaneously increasing corporate profits. Wal-Mart, the largest corporation on earth, is the most egregious example of how global economics hurts local economies and exploits cheap labor markets. It is NAFTA and GATT, not unions that are exporting jobs to countries like China, Sri Lanka and Thailand—to the detriment of workers everywhere.

The second prong of the problem stems from the unions themselves. Most unions have become bureaucracies that closely resemble the corporations they purport to oppose. When unions compromised and capitulated to corporate demands, in effect, they jumped into bed with management and abandoned the workers they are supposed to represent. Too many union reps are more concerned about their personal welfare than they are with the needs of the workers. The result is a precipitous decline in union membership, loss of trust from the rank and file, and feelings of betrayal. Corporate profits are shooting through the roof; worker productivity is increasing sharply, but real wages are on the decline. What is wrong with this picture?

If working class people are ever to receive their fair share of the wealth they produce for their employers, they must organize on a grand scale. They must form more powerful unions that represent the workers by electing workers, not bureaucrats, to union offices. Unions were at the height of their powers when they were most militant and strongly advocated on behalf of the workers; when they did not cut deals with the company. They had leverage when they called general strikes, when members of all unions walked off the job in support of their brethren in trades other than their own. The strike is labor’s most powerful weapon. It has always been so. Yet strikes are infrequently utilized these days.

Labor needs a new breed of organizers who understand labor history, as well as the history of the corporate exploitation of workers. We need militant organizers who see employers as the enemy they are. The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. New unions have to be built by the rank and file. They must adopt a tough, aggressive approach to representing the workers.

The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the Wobblies, had it right. Especially in this era of economic globalization, we need to organize the work force on a global scale. One Big Union. This affords the best opportunity to protect workers from the corporate predators they are forced to work for. It is also the best way to counter the injurious effects of globalization upon working people, and the planet. The IWW still exists as a mere ghost of its old self. We could revive it. It deserves our support.

Finally, we must make anti-union political candidates pay a great price for their betrayal of the working class. This means that none of us can afford to vote Republican. We must create a political atmosphere that is favorable to workers by developing a medium that values people above profits. United, the people truly cannot be defeated. There can be no justice anywhere until there is justice everywhere. Workers across the planet are connected by their common struggle for justice, a living wage, reasonable hours, and a decent work place.

If we do nothing, our employers will continue to exploit us. Real wages will continue to decline. Our employers will demand more from us while paying less. The corporate CEOs, the managers, and the corporate investors on Wall Street will continue to prey upon us. Workers must have more self respect than to allow this trend to continue. We have only our chains to lose.