Key to the UE’s appeal for graduate workers has been its respect for local autonomy, its emphasis on rank-and-file democracy, its confidence in member-driven campaigns, its focus on facilitating worker-to-worker solidarity, and its old-fashioned, militant organizing playbook that has quickly proven itself in practice.
In reference to public comments made by Rafael Santana, CEO of Wabtec, [UE Local 506 President Scott] Slawson said, “Your CEO has publicly stated that employees are your No. 1 asset. Employees need to be treated like your No. 1 asset.”
He also expressed frustration with the company's rejection of union proposals concerning matters such as work rules and temporary transfers. Disagreements over how to interpret the current four-year contract have led to an unprecedented number of grievances and arbitration cases, he said.
“They don't seem to be listening,” Slawson said. “So far, the union has not proposed anything other than avenues to alleviate the conflicts we have had over the last four years.”
“Every time we turn around the language seems to get interpreted different and it leads to a lot of conflict,” [UE Local 506 President Scott] Slawson said. “So our primary goal is obviously to open communication and reduce conflict and it just seems to be something the company's not interested in at this moment.
“It's frustrating you know when you read about things like $750-million in stock buy backs, increased dividends and the company turns around and offers you a 2% pay raise over the life of a contract.”
“Please, tell me in these days in 2023 in the city of Charlotte where you can buy anything worth 60 cents?” Davidson, who is also a member of the Charlotte City Workers Union, asked during Monday’s Charlotte City Council meeting. He joined a crowd of city employees who walked from Marshall Park to the government center Monday night to ask the council to double the raise in the current proposed budget to 12% instead.
One current flashpoint for labor and private equity centers around the Refresco bottling factory in Wharton, New Jersey. Refresco is the largest independent bottling company in the world, producing brand name drinks from Gatorade to Arizona Iced Tea.
Anthony Sanchez is a machine operator who has worked at the Wharton plant for over 16 years. He told Truthout that working conditions at the plant — especially the 12-hour shifts the company imposed, he says, to avoid paying overtime — have had ruinous impacts on his life. He’s also suffered injuries that he says are work-related but that Refresco won’t take responsibility because they want to avoid paying workers’ compensation.
A new study done by the Keystone Research Center found that if Wabtec produced more green locomotives at their Erie plant, it could bring thousands of more jobs to the area.
Scott Slawson, the President of the U.E. Local 506 explained, "It was a report we had commissioned and what we wanted to see was if we increase locomotive production, what that would look like for the Erie facility. And, you know, as we move forward, everybody is looking towards cleaner and greener forms of energy and locomotives play a big portion in that."
Scott Slawson, who has been the president of Local 506 since 2014, said he's hopeful the union and the company can come to an agreement before the June 9 deadline without a work stoppage.
"We would never enter into negotiations with the intent of a lockout or strike. If you think that is what is going to happen, you are approaching it all wrong."
The threat of the strike is a powerful tool, one that Slawson doesn't intend to surrender before talks have begun.
"Our No. 1 goal is to get a contract," he said. "But there is a reason they call it a struggle. If you think things aren't going satisfactorily, at some point withholding your labor is always a real possibility."
In its first 24 hours, the new union—affiliated with the United Electrical Workers (UE)—gathered more than 1,700 authorization cards representing nearly half the entire bargaining unit. Eight days in, they had a strong majority. And this week they filed for election with 65 percent support.
Such a first day bodes well for the success of the campaign, despite five—count ’em, five—previous election losses in graduate union drives at the University of Minnesota.
The timing couldn’t be better. In a space of just a few months, graduate employee unions across the country have won tremendous victories, by margins that would be the envy of dictators holding sham elections.
Irma Ibarra has worked as an ultrasound tech at the hospital for 19 years without taking a day off, she said in a phone interview Monday from the picket line. However, she said she joined the protest because she didn’t feel like the hospital was treating its workers fairly.
“I need to support my co-workers and we really need to be heard by the hospital and our management,” said Ibarra, who added that since the pandemic, she regularly works about 30 hours of overtime each pay period.
“They have refused to continue bargaining with us and won’t come to the table to hear our proposals,” said Stacy Suarez, a surgical tech at the hospital and a member member of union negotiating committee.
Workers say the hospital is experiencing high turnover because of low wages and chronic chronic understaffing — factors that undermine patient care.
Suarez said some of the lowest paid workers at Henry Mayo earn less than $17 an hour, while management has offered to boost that to $17.50.
“These are poverty wages,” she said. “In-N-Out pays its workers anywhere from $17 to $19 an hour, and some of our employees went to school for their jobs and carry carry professional certifications.”