King County Labor Council

Labor's Voice
Winter 2001

Strike rebuilds Guild — Newspaper bargaining redefined
January 8th marked the end of the 49-day strike by Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild-represented workers at The Seattle Times, with about 75% of the main Guild and composing units voting to accept the contracts.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer workers, who went on strike at the same time, voted to accept their contract on January 2nd, returning to work after 43 days on the line.

According to Larry Hatfield, Newspaper Guild administrative officer, there are many victories to celebrate. The contracts are the best the Guild has seen in Seattle in more than two decades. Though they don’t include all or even most of what the bargaining team wanted, gains were made in areas such as wage scales, medical coverage and pension plans. By taking a stand against the Times and P-I, Guild members have taken steps to assure that the two newspapers won’t take their employees and their unions for granted in future negotiations.

He also cited another victory, perhaps one more important in its long-term effect. The unions inside the Times and P-I are revitalized, and their leaders and members see the many advantages of unity and cooperation. The Guild has been rebuilt and members have rediscovered why they have a union and what solidarity is all about.

Striking workers had the opportunity to reach out to other unions and their members, meeting labor activists who embraced this struggle as their own by giving up free time to walk the line, attend rallies, and help out any way they could. Their strike publication, the Seattle Union Record, gave 321 striking workers a creative outlet. The quality of the publication, offered three times per week free of charge, was a testament to the dedication and talent of the strikers.

Now that the strike is over, workers are starting the process of getting back to work. The 51 replacement workers hired by the Times a month into the strike will need to be redistributed to other non-bargaining unit positions in the company to accommodate returning Guild members. The Times has indicated they expect to ultimately cut about 20 percent of Guild-represented jobs, but due to the early retirement and severance packages being offered almost all striking workers should be back to work within the next few months.

Thanks to those who helped win this victory!

Executive Secretary's Report
Innovation begins with basics
It was a big year-end for our local labor movement. A new affiliate, the United Auto Workers, won the right to represent over 1,500 graduate student teaching assistants, readers, graders, and tutors at the University of Washington in November. They won recognition without a strike — a first at a major university — by being fully prepared to strike if necessary. Attention to organizing basics paid off; over 80% of the workers signed cards authorizing union representation.

The Newspaper Guild also prepared to strike. In fact, they methodically rebuilt their union for over a year leading up to bargaining. As it turned out, it was the right move at the right time because newspaper management had plenty of takeaways on the table. By striking, the Guild beat back all the takeaways and redefined the bargaining process at The Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer. Going back to organizing basics enabled the Guild to forever change collective bargaining at Seattle’s newspapers. Dictation disguised as bargaining will no longer be tolerated, and very significantly in the newspaper industry, this was the first Guild-led strike on Guild issues.

SEIU District 1199NW kicked off the new year in a very big way. In the largest NLRB election victory in King County in over four years, SEIU combined basic organizing skills (recruiting a solid committee, etc.) with new tactics to win recognition for nearly 800 workers at Northwest Hospital. One of the new tactics was SEIU’s asking King County Labor Council affiliates who had members residing near the hospital to urge their members to call on hospital management to refrain from the typical union bashing election scare campaign. A coalition called NW Neighbors for Fairness was formed. While management wasn’t exactly welcoming, the maximum anti-union campaign with which we’re all too familiar was toned down considerably.

Recent media coverage of the labor movement has focused on new tactics, new leadership, and a new direction. That’s fine... and it’s true. But as each of our year-end struggles demonstrates, organizing truisms remain. Committees must be strong. New worksite leadership must be constantly recruited. Organizing only works if it’s grounded in relevant worker issues. Strike threats must be real; the boss may test the union. All of this is true.

But if the basics are covered, it’s also encouraging to witness innovative tactics and strategies working right here, right now.

ACORN organizes working families - by Doug Bloch
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots organization of low and moderate-income people, with over 125,000 members in over 30 cities.

ACORN organizes working families to fight for social and economic justice through direct action. Here in Washington, ACORN includes over 500 member families in South Seattle and South King County, with neighborhood chapters in Rainier Valley, Delridge, South Park, Kent, White Center, and Burien.

Successful ACORN local campaigns in 2000 organized immigrants to win repairs from slumlords, fought for better community policing, improved garbage collection in underserved neighborhoods, won sidewalks and curbs for the Rainier Valley, and increased lending from banks into our neighborhoods.

Recognizing the importance of strong community-labor ties, ACORN members have walked countless picket lines, lent their support to workplace organizing campaigns, and been involved in living wage campaigns nationwide.

As we move into 2001, we will continue to fight slumlords, we will hold banks and lenders accountable, we will fight to get more working families on utility bill assistance programs, and we will continue to work on neighborhood issues such as traffic, safety, and crime.

We look forward to deepening our relationship with labor. Many unions are supporting our work by purchasing space in our adbook. Contributions are tax-deductible. For more information on supporting ACORN or getting involved in local campaigns, contact Doug Bloch at (206) 723-5845. You can also visit our web site at www.acorn.org.

Huge victory for workers at UW
The King County Labor Council would like to welcome the Graduate Student Employee Action Coalition (GSEAC/UAW) as a new affiliate. GSEAC is the union formed to represent University of Washington teaching assistants, readers, graders, and tutors.

We are also very pleased to report that GSEAC became the first graduate student employee union in the country to have their union officially recognized without resorting to a strike.

Last spring, 84 percent of these graduate student employees signed union cards requesting GSEAC representation. In November, after months of seeking voluntary recognition from UW administration, 86 percent of 1,148 employees voted to strike should the UW decline to officially recognize their union.

Fortunately, in early December the group won recognition and an agreement with management to meet and confer about wages, benefits, and working conditions, averting a strike during finals week. In addition, the union and administration pledged to work together for passage of state legislation to formalize collective bargaining for the workers.

According to Maureen Boyd, a UW teaching assistant, the administration "has moved 30 years in three weeks. We have won the right to meet and confer over the conditions of our labor."

Graduate students around the country are seeking similar victories in their efforts to form unions with UAW and AFT.

Reasons to cheer 2000 elections
It’s easy to focus on the debacle of the presidential race and lose sight of our state’s victories in the 2000 elections, but we have many reasons to be proud on a local level.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell’s victory is a huge deal for Washington State. With two strong Democrat senators working for us in Congress, working families have a much better chance at fair legislation and political justice.

Voters rejected Initiative 745 (Tim Eyman’s initiative dedicating 90 percent of transportation funds to roads only) and I-729 (supporting charter schools), both of which were opposed by labor, and approved labor-endorsed I-728 to reduce class size.

In King County, U.S. Representatives Inslee, McDermott and Smith were all re-elected, as were many labor-friendly state senators and representatives.

There were victories in the State Supreme Court, as well as in King County Superior Court. An unusually large number of judicial candidates came in for COPE interviews, giving us a chance to get to know them and strengthen those relationships.

Kat Overman, KCLC’s interim political organizer, did a wonderful job of mobilizing workers and getting out the vote in King County. Her work helped assure victories we can all be proud of!

Cooperative efforts helping to keep Sea-Tac projects worker-friendly
Everyone has heard about the major redevelopment projects at Sea-Tac Airport that are keeping lots of union construction workers busy — three billion dollars worth of work for a new runway, major renovations to the garage and main terminal, and the addition of a new north terminal. The Port Commission is also considering options and policies that could dramatically affect how services such as food and beverages are delivered and the jobs of the union workers who serve the flying public.

The King County Labor Council has been working with the Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac, along with a coalition of service unions, the Worker Center, and the AFL-CIO, to insure that the following principles are adhered to at the Airport: the contributions of existing airport service employees must be honored; no airport employees should lose their jobs because of the redevelopment; the airport redevelopment must promote high quality, family wage jobs; and the expansion should promote the best employment practices, including the benefits of collective bargaining and union wages and benefits, for all who work at the facility.

The Port Commission is expected to address these issues later this year.

Labor Ready stockholders meeting finds opposition
More than 1,200 union members, community activists and Labor Ready workers marched in Tacoma on October 25th to protest Labor Ready’s treatment of its workers and to demand that the company adopt a code of conduct that would help ensure safe working conditions and fair treatment. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, accompanied by national and local building trades officers, attended the giant temporary labor agency’s stockholders’ meeting at La Quinta Inn.

Sweeney, together with Terry O’Sullivan, president of the Inter-national Laborers Union, Mike Monroe, president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, and Labor Ready worker Brandon Dobrovolsky of Des Moines, addressed stockholders and demanded justice for day laborers. Labor Ready, the nation’s fastest growing temporary labor agency, operates 850 ‘stores’ in the United States, Canada and the UK.

The march and demonstration was organized in a cooperative effort between the national AFL-CIO Building & Construction Trades Department, the Pierce County Labor Council, the Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council, the Washington State Labor Council, and the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council. Pierce County Labor Council Executive Secretary John Thompson and Mark Martinez of Roofers Local 153 in Tacoma co-chaired the organizing committee. Peter Coates and John Littel of the Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council, along with SUN organizers Gretchen Donart and Jonathan Rosenblum and SUN intern Brandon Blanchard, staffed the effort with the cooperation of Carl Shaffer of the national Building Trades.

The rally, which was endorsed by the King County Labor Council and attended by workers from across the state, was the largest labor rally Tacoma has seen in 20 years, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

The event was made more successful by working with community groups such as Casa Latina, a non-profit dispatch agency for day workers, and Real Change newspaper, which is the voice of Seattle’s homeless community with sales directly benefiting homeless vendors.

After marching on the meeting, union delegations presented thousands of signed petitions to Labor Ready calling on the company to disclose its mark-up and give workers the right to refuse unsafe and scab work. Labor Ready workers presented petitions signed by company employees demanding a $10 per hour minimum wage.

In the months leading up to the October demonstration, dozens of building trades organizers and community allies made early morning visits to Labor Ready offices in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties to survey workers about their working conditions and job concerns. Leading the list of complaints were low wages, averaging about $7.50 per hour, check cashing machines that extract $1.50 per check, and charges for transportation. Discrimination in dispatching was also a major concern, especially for women workers. Several workers reported serious on-the-job injuries, which Labor Ready dealt with in ways designed to minimize the company’s responsibility for workers’ compensation.

Organizers from the building trades unions involved will be reviewing the stockholders meeting action, the contacts made with Labor Ready workers, and the experience gained through this work to see how to most effectively organize day laborers and other temporary workers, protect them through legislation, and work for community standards that protect all workers.

WTO anniversary events offer continued education
November 30th, 2000 marked the first anniversary of 1999’s historic Seattle protests of the World Trade Organization (WTO), when tens of thousands of us marched in the streets, exposing the WTO’s devastating impact on us all and ultimately stopping a new anti-worker and anti-environment trade round.

It was an international turning point in the fight for fair trade. It was also a turning point in labor’s work with coalition partners in the fight for social and economic justice. In meetings, marches, rallies and vigils, we built strong alliances with religious, student, fair trade, environmental, human rights, and other activist groups.

At this year’s anniversary, with the worldwide fight for fair trade continuing unabated, we carried forward our joint efforts with an all-day teach-in and a November 30th joint press conference and celebration at the Seattle Labor Temple.

Downtown, a number of labor union members participated in a 2,500-person, community-led protest during the day. The protest stood in remarkable contrast to last year’s events, when police overreacted and arrested hundreds of demonstrators, the vast majority of whom were nonviolent.

Unfortunately, when night fell, police again moved in and made mass arrests, including KCLC Executive Secretary Steve Williamson, AFL-CIO Organizer Jonathan Rosenblum, and Robby Stern from the Washington State Labor Council. The three had gone downtown to help get protesters back to the celebration at the Labor Temple but were caught up in the arrest sweep.

Locally, the Labor Council is participating in discussions with the city and with community allies to ensure that the rights of peaceful protesters are protected in the future. By standing up for the rights of all peaceful protesters, we are solidifying our own right to picket, protest, and support working families in our community.

"The lessons of 2000 are the same as the 1999 WTO lessons," said KCLC’s Williamson. "We must unite with our community and religious allies, because we can’t win the fair trade fight by ourselves. It’s going to take everyone pulling together."

The struggle for global justice continues. If you want to get involved, there are many groups working toward that goal.

For general information on efforts against free trade agreements, contact Lois Canright, United for a Fair Economy, at (206) 322-1517, or Sally Soriano, Ballard Institute for Trade Education, at (206) 782-8292.

Citiaction is a group working on educating activists on the role of the Citigroup "banking empire" in the destruction of the environment and workers’ rights. Contact Vanessa Lee at (206) 353-9304 for information.

Third world debt and free trade issues in Africa are being discussed by LELO, (206) 860-1400, and USTAWI, (206) 297-0311.

SEIU celebrates big victory at Northwest Hospital
Led by a strong volunteer organizing committee, 755 workers at Seattle’s North-west Hospital voted January 4th and 5th to join forces with SEIU District 1199NW. It was the largest private sector union win in Washington state since 1997.

In separate elections conducted by the NLRB, service and maintenance employees voted by a margin of 339-146 for union representation, while professional employees voted 72-46 for the union. Technical employees, the smallest group, turned down the union 21-48.

"The union victory at Northwest Hospital is a win for working people throughout our community who are increasingly mobilizing for a voice at work and against growing economic disparity," said Steve Williamson, executive secretary of the King County Labor Council.

Key to the win was a large and diverse organizing committee, who watched the vote count eagerly and erupted in cheers as the NLRB agent conducting the vote announced the union victory. The workers first began meeting in May 2000. In October, a delegation of 40 activists demanded voluntary recognition of their union from the hospital, with a commanding majority of support.

"I’m ecstatic that we won with such a big margin," said Michelle Landis, a member of the organizing committee. "Now we go on to bargain a great contract for all Northwest Hospital workers."

Northwest workers were bolstered by support from the community. Northwest is in one of the most union-friendly neighborhoods of Seattle, according to 1199NW Organizing Director Curt Williams, who headed up the team of staff organizers that mobilized the big yes vote. Seattle Union Now, AFL-CIO staff Sue Wall, Jonathan Rosenblum and Gretchen Donart assisted on the campaign.

Thousands of union members were contacted by the King County Labor Council and the volunteer organizing committee to show community support for the right to organize. A new group, Northwest Neighbors for Fairness, has pledged to stay involved during the contract campaign.

Community ally Washington Citizen Action, which claims 3,000 members in the area, has joined Northwest Neighbors for Fairness. "We believe that when employees have a voice at work, health care quality is improved," stated WCA Executive Director Barbara Flye. Flye spoke at a community press conference in November, where Northwest Neighbors for Fairness challenged the hospital to follow a code of fair conduct during the election and to accept the results of the election if the union won.

KCLC’s Williamson thanked labor’s allies in the community, along with elected officials who stood with Northwest Hospital workers. Some 16 local elected leaders contacted Northwest Hospital administration to urge the hospital to adhere to community standards and allow workers the freedom of choice in the union election.

"We give the Hospital credit for not hiring a union buster," said Curt Williams. "This was a fair election and I think we can look forward to an atmosphere of mutual respect when we go to the table."

Williamson noted that the victory adds growing momentum to the pace of organizing in King County, led by a diverse range of unions. "Like a growing number of workers in all walks of life in the Seattle area, Northwest Hospital workers formed a union because they became increasingly concerned about the need for workplace rights, stable jobs, and reliable benefits. They are concerned that workers are not benefiting from the prosperity that they help create. The Northwest Hospital vote shows that workers are determined to gain a measure of control over their destiny and a voice at work."

Sincere thanks to the elected officials who wrote letters to Northwest Hospital President Bill Schneider calling on him to agree to a quick union election and refrain from anti-union activities such as mandatory "captive audience" meetings. In doing so, these elected leaders are following through with their commitment to support the right to organize:

• U.S. Congressmen Jim McDermott and Jay Inslee

• King County Councilmembers Maggi Fimia and Cynthia Sullivan

• Seattle City Councilmembers Heidi Wills, Richard Conlin, Judy Nicastro, Peter Steinbrueck, and Nick Licata

• State Representatives Frank Chopp, Carolyn Edmonds, Ruth Kagi, Phyllis Kenney, and Eileen Cody

• State Senators Rosa Franklin and Darlene Fairley.

Northwest’s CEO Schneider was also contacted by community allies such as Washington Citizen Action, ACORN, and individual neighbors, many of whom are current or former NW Hospital patients.

Coalition working on solutions to health care crisis
What’s wrong with our health care system? What’s the solution? These are some of the questions being asked, and answered, by the Just Health Care Coalition of Washington.

We all know that many workers have either insufficient medical insurance or no insurance at all. In fact, the number of uninsured Americans has more than doubled since 1976. Over 80 percent of these uninsured people are workers or dependents of workers.

The Just Health Care Coalition is a partnership among labor, faith-based and community organizations, health care providers and consumer groups. It was created in 1999 to organize broad support for a national health care program on the belief that the health care system can’t be run both for people and for profit at the same time. Coalition partners are working to educate the public about health care issues and mobilize demand for publicly financed and administered comprehensive benefits for all.

The King County Labor Council endorses the coalition, along with the Washington State Labor Council and many local unions. KCLC Vice President Ron McGaha recently attended a leadership breakfast sponsored by the Just Health Care Coalition, along with KCLC Executive Secretary Steve Williamson. According to Brother McGaha, "health coverage reform is an issue that should concern us all. It affects every one of us and each of our members. I’m proud KCLC is involved in this unprecedented effort to mobilize for better health care within the community."

Immediate goals of the coalition include raising public awareness, continuing to organize support, and connecting with elected officials.

News from our affiliates
Amazon.com workers organizing: Customer service workers at e-commerce leader Amazon.com have launched a campaign for union recognition with WashTech/CWA Local 37083. They have called their union "Day 2" — a pun on the corporation’s repeated assertions that it is still "Day One" at the company and that employees must therefore make sacrifices concerning their working conditions.

Day 2 is working to address their workplace issues — job security, compensation, mandatory overtime, career advancement, and a viable voice on the job — as they work to build a majority at the company. This resulted in a solid victory over the holidays; for the first time, customer service workers were not required to work long overtime hours during retail holiday season.

Despite Amazon.com’s position in the new economy, customer service workers have been met with a 1930s-style anti-union campaign by management. The company has chosen to use captive audience meetings, misinformation, and intimidation in an effort to discourage workers from joining Day 2.

To find out how to help these workers win their struggle, visit the website at www.washtech.org/day2.

Admitting staff win union vote: Patient registration representatives and admitting staff at Swedish Medical Center voted on January 12th to join SEIU Local 6. The group of 64 workers includes workers at all Seattle-area Swedish facilities.

Swedish remained neutral in the campaign, which culminated in a 45-4 vote for the union.

KCLC Delegate Training: The KCLC Education Committee is presenting regular training sessions for delegates. The training is recommended for all delegates, both new and existing, and gives an overview of the structure of KCLC, the role of workers, and how to get involved.

The training sessions take place in Hall 6 of the Seattle Labor Temple starting at 5:30 p.m. before the first evening meeting of each month. All participants will receive a special active delegate pin upon completion. Call KCLC Union Cities Organizer Verlene Wilder at (206) 441-7102 for more information.

Pride Foundation honors mentors: The Trades Mentor Network (TMN) was recently notified that they have been selected to receive a grant from the Pride Foundation during their Fall funding cycle. Funds were awarded to projects in education and advocacy, AIDS education and support, arts and recreation, youth and family services, lesbian health, and other health and community services.

The Trades Mentor Network’s grant is in the education and advocacy category and covers costs of the training class for mentors on the topic of Sexual Minorities. This is one of the 15 topics covered in TMN’s training classes that prepare mentors to be aware of issues and resources that might be helpful to their apprentices.

In addition to funding the training, the Pride Foundation was generous enough to fund a very nice dinner for the class. Grants like this help TMN keep the Mentor classes up to date with accurate information and dynamic speakers.

If you are a journey-level building and construction trades worker who likes to see apprentices successfully journey out, please contact TMN Coordinator MJ Davidson at (206) 621-0878 about getting involved with this worthwhile project.

Farm Workers grape boycott ends: United Farm Workers President Arturo Rodriguez announced on November 22nd that the 16-year California table grape boycott is over.

According to Rodriguez, "Cesar Chavez’s crusade to eliminate use of five of the most toxic chemicals plaguing farm workers and their families has largely been successful."

Additionally, there has been a recent string of farm worker victories that included the elimination of many of the pesticides the embargo had targeted. The three pesticides of most concern are no longer used in the fields, and others are being phased out or are under greater restriction.

The Farm Workers have won 20 union elections and signed 24 new or first-time contracts with growers since 1994.

First contract victory at Children’s: Technical employees at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle recently voted 70 to 10 to accept their first contract. The unit, which consists of about 140 workers, voted for UFCW Local 1001 representation last summer, winning the first union shop ever at Children’s.