The Jobs With Justice Workers’ Rights Board heard from several panels of workers who shared their experiences and frustrations. A panel of immigrant workers and advocates talked about employers using immigration status to threaten workers to keep them from joining a union and INS raids and employer intimidation at construction sites.

A panel of contingent workers spoke on challenges facing workers in alternative employment arrangements. The final panel consisted of workers whose right to organize and bargain has been attacked by anti-union employers and stunted by unfair labor laws.

Members of the Workers’ Rights Board include Filipino community leader David Della, Washington Association of Churches executive minister Rev. John Boonstra, Father Peter Duggan from St. Peter’s Catholic Church, police accountability activist Harriett Walden, Native American community activist Helaire Echohawk and Juan Bocanegra from the Downtown Human Services Council.

The involvement of people outside of the labor community is essential to the success of the ‘Voice @ Work’ campaign. A major goal of the plan is to enlist and engage elected officials and community leaders to support workers. Justice at work is an issue that affects everyone, not just employees. Broader support will help send the message to employers that denying workers the right to organize impacts entire communities.

Similar actions were held in 37 states across the country as organized labor and communities came together to shed light on problems encountered by workers.

Past conference turnout has generally been around one hundred union officers and staff from the Washington, D.C. area, with limited representation from other parts of the country or rank and file union members due to the location and high cost of travel and accommodations. In breaking with tradition and holding the conference else-where, hundreds of workers and activists from across the country were able to participate.

The conference focused on the issues faced by AFL-CIO constituency groups, whose members are at the forefront of the civil rights struggle and explored ways that workers and communities can advance an agenda of civil and workers’ rights. Participating groups included the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, King County Union Retirees Council, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and Pride at Work.

On the agenda for the conference were forums on coalition building, right to organize issues, new challenges in civil rights programs, political participation and social and economic justice. There were also many workshops on subjects such as hate crimes, handling discrimination complaints, leadership development, immigrants and organizing and disability rights. King County Executive Ron Sims delivered an inspired keynote speech on the importance of solidarity and building strong coalitions.

Following KCLC Executive Secretary Ron Judd’s presentation on right to organize issues, conference participants marched down Pacific Highway South to the Alaska Airlines headquarters to protest the company’s unwillingness to bargain in good faith. Holding the march and rally directly following the right to organize forum provided a tie-in that attendees could really relate to, giving them a chance to act on principles discussed during the forum and protest employer unfairness.

Verlene Wilder, KCLC Union Cities Organizer and one of the main driving forces behind the success of this conference, said, "The AFL-CIO was very impressed by our turnout. The KCLC Diversity Committee and local constituency groups really came through and made sure anyone who wanted to attend was able to. The benefits of the increased participation will be evident in a more unified labor community and a stronger voice for diversity and constituency groups."

A big step in helping these workers was the creation of the Rainier Brewing Company Reemployment Committee. The committee has been successful in getting certification for NAFTA benefits for the workers, presenting budgeting and stress management work-shops, sponsoring a career fair and signing them up for unemployment before the actual layoffs to help avoid income lapses. Their next goal is to get a National Reserve Grant, which would mean more monetary assistance.

As Charlie Best, director of the Reemployment Support Center, pointed out, "This is just another example of how working together works better."

Organizing Committee
The main focus of the Organizing Committee is to help build solidarity among unions with organizing campaigns. When presented with an affiliated union that is working on an organizing drive, committee members help by spreading the word in their unions and working together to develop strategies to support various activities of the campaign. The committee also offers support to affiliates who are trying to commit more resources to organizing efforts and ‘changing to organize’. Seattle Union Now works closely with the committee and is available to help affiliates with organizing issues.

The committee worked on organizing site visits for the ‘Freedom Rider’ Bus Tour and often helps out with special projects. The group meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. and is open to union officers and organizers.

Education Committee
The Education Committee is focusing on presenting the AFL-CIO’s Common Sense Economics (CSE) and Membership, Education and Mobilization for Organizing (MEMO) trainings to affiliates and community organizations. CSE study groups and condensed training presentations have made it possible to bring the training to more people. The committee is developing training materials for delegates on KCLC structure and involvement, as well as Global Economy Training in preparation for the World Trade Organization ministerial that will be in Seattle later this year. At the KCLC Labor Day Celebration, the committee will sponsor an inter-active family game booth, where attendees can learn about economic realities affecting their lives through fun, high-energy games. The Education Committee meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m.

Diversity Committee
The goal of the Diversity Committee is to support rank and file members in civil and human rights and affirmative action issues. Recent projects include their ‘Hate Free Zone’ campaign, which arose from the desire of community members who are also union members to combat the hate mail and literature that is showing up in King County neighborhoods. Displaying brightly-colored signs proclaiming a ‘Hate Free Zone’ has given people a way to proactively spread their message of tolerance without confrontation or violence. The committee is also working on diversity training materials for union members and is planning to have a strong presence at the upcoming KCLC Labor Day Celebration. The Diversity Committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

Political Action Committee
Laura McClintock, KCLC’s new Political Organizer, is in the process of establishing a Political Action Committee to function as the guiding force behind the Council’s political program. The committee will work with affiliates to develop strong internal mobilization structures to elect local officials who will be advocates for working people. The committee will meet on a regular basis, to be determined. It should be up and running this August and will be open to rank and file activists and union staff and officers. Contact Laura at 206-441-3473 for more information.

As our new Political Organizer, Laura will be forwarding the Council’s goals of developing the electoral mobilization capacity to help worker-friendly candidates get elected to public office. She will also be working with affiliates on electoral and legislative efforts, voter registration drives, voter involvement projects and helping our local unions become more involved with the legislative and electoral processes. Another important duty will be heading up the Political Action committee and organizing the efforts of the Committee on Political Education (COPE), which is the body that makes candidate endorsement recommendations to the KCLC delegates. Laura works out of the KCLC office at 2800 First Avenue, Suite 206, and can be reached at 206-441-3473. Please join us in welcoming her!

The rally, which was a stop on the ‘Freedom Rider’ bus tour, was in support of union recognition at MacMillan Piper, Elliott Bay, Conex and United Motor Freight. A majority of the workers at these companies have joined Teamsters Local 174. Just two days after the action, faced with renewed protests by Teamsters and other union supporters, Hanjin (the Pier 46 terminal operator) lifted the ban on the workers and Elliott Bay rehired the worker they fired. This victory was made even better because it helped wrap up the ‘7 Days in June’ activities on a positive note.

Shuttle drivers choose union: Later that same day, shuttle bus drivers and dispatchers at Microsoft voted 33-10 for union representation by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Laidlaw Transit Services, the company that operates the shuttle service, opposed workers’ efforts to join a union.

The workers have already benefited from the campaign with a fifty cent increase in starting pay and paid holidays for first year employees.

Machinists continue struggle: Members of IAM Local 2202, with support from the labor community, continue their campaign for fairness at Alaska Airlines. A bill-board put up near SeaTac Airport reads "At Alaska Airlines for the same wages (Since 1984) you just get more: More employee turnover, more disgruntled workers, more poor morale" and urges fair negotiations.

Local 2202, which represents Alaska ramp workers, service agents and stock clerks in Seattle, Portland and Spokane, wants the public and Alaska’s management to know that labor unrest will continue until all groups have industry standard contracts. There are currently two contracts open, one of which has been in negotiations for almost three years. Simple issues such as a union shop, elimination of tiered wage scales, wages in line with industry standards and stopping the abuse of forced overtime remain contentious.

While union members continue to be victims of the abusive use of forced overtime, John Kelly, President and CEO of Alaska Air Group, conveniently abandoned the corporate office and allowed management employees to take the afternoon off on Friday, June 4th, the date of a huge rally and march on the Alaska headquarters in conjunction with the AFL-CIO’s 1999 Civil and Human Rights Conference.

The members and leadership of IAM Local 2202 wish to express their gratitude for the support they have received from the labor community in their pursuit of fair contracts at Alaska. The letters to John Kelly are having an impact and the moral and financial support have been terrific.

Editor’s note: At press time, the situation at Alaska had not improved. Talks between the company and one of the negotiating committees will resume July 15th. A federal mediator has been asked to assist with negotiations on the other open contract, as Alaska’s final economic package offer was far below the union’s expectations.

NLRB rules in favor of drivers: The National Labor Relations Board has notified Teamsters Local 174 that it has found grounds to issue a complaint against T-Max, Silver Streak and McCann trucking companies for illegally attempting to stop their employees from joining the union.

The NLRB found that T-Max and Silver Streak had locked out their employees and McCann had illegally threatened to close in retaliation for its workers unionizing.

They also found that Silver Streak and T-Max illegally fired a clerical worker and that all three companies had illegally threatened to permanently replace the drivers. The three companies are owned by members of the same family.

While this is a significant victory for the workers, they realize that they can’t rely on the NLRB to protect their right to organize. However, the election process has finally been unblocked and is moving forward. An election should take place in the next few months, though workers are expecting the companies to use the typical legal delay tactics.

Native American workers group: Attention Native American union members! Are you interested in building a more efficient and progressive Native American community? Please share your ideas and experiences to help develop a strong foundation for a new coalition. A few areas of interest are education, economics and promotion. Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in Room 208 of the Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 First Avenue. For information, call Frank Reynolds at 206-542-4266.