Picketing by UE Local 1008 members at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Center in California paid off in early June when the negotiating committee for employees of lead contractor Stanley reached a tentative agreement with the company on its reorganization plan.

The agreement – reached on June 11 and ratified by UE members on June 13 – protects employees from layoffs, discipline related to production, and cuts in pay. As the UE NEWS went to press, employees of subcontractor Choctaw at USCIS centers in both Vermont and California – members of Locals 208 and 1008 – had achieved similar agreements.

Over 70 Local 1008 members had marched out of the California Service Center during their lunch break on June 5 and engaged in a spirited protest demonstration demanding protection from what at that time was Stanley’s unilateral reorganization scheme, which placed workers’ jobs and pay at risk.

Later that day, another 70 members from the second shift picketed before going into work. The picket line swelled to over 100 UE members at shift change when second-shift workers were joined by many of their first shift co-workers.

CONTRACT STRUGGLE

June was a busy month for bargaining in all six UE bargaining units at the St. Albans, VT and Laguna Niguel, CT centers. Numerous tentative agreements on specific contract provisions have been reached. (For bargaining updates, visit www.justiceatuscis.org [1].) But as of the last week of June, the union was pushing the companies to agree to more bargaining dates in order to resolve the contracts by August 1.

The August 1 union deadline also has support in Congress. This is especially important because all of the employers involved are federal contractors performing federal work, and subject to the requirements of the federal Service Contracts Act and oversight by Congress. In a May 5 letter to the heads of Stanley Associates, Choctaw Archiving, Northrop Grumman Technical Services and SPS Consulting, Senators and Representatives from both states wrote, “We urge you to fully respect the rights of these workers – our constituents – and to collectively bargain a fair first union contract by August 1, 2008.” The signers of that letter are Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA.)

USCIS workers in both UE locals have activities planned away from the bargaining table that will keep the heat on the employers for rapid progress at the table. July 3 was designated as a UE T-shirt day at both locations. Rallies were planned for both locations in mid-July, and locals across the UE Northeast Region are mobilizing to join the Vermont rally. Locals 1008 and 208 are providing regular bargaining updates to allies of their struggle – including key Congressional committees with jurisdiction over USCIS.