BY MICHEL DUGRÉ
MONTREAL - The struggle by the 1,300 members of the Union
of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), who
work for the Bas Iris stocking company in Montreal, "reached a
new stage in mid-February when we decided to end our strike,"
said Jean-Wilford Sanon. "We did make gains through our
strike," he said. "But I think that we deserve more. This was
a strike for respect. And this fight is not over yet."
Iris workers make stockings in two different plants. More than 90 percent of them are Black, the vast majority are from Haiti. About half the workforce are women.
Workers went on strike January 21 after rejecting the company's contract offer by a 93 percent majority. This offer would have meant a wage freeze for hundreds of workers, especially among the older and more experienced. Iris workers earn CAN$8 (US$5.20) per hour on average, less than most other garment workers in Quebec.
After more than three weeks on the picket lines workers voted 83 percent in favor of a contract, agreeing to a 70-cent wage increase over three years for all workers. Unionists will be allowed to either take the wage increase or get the equivalent in lump sums. Workers also won a 20-cent bonus for the afternoon shift and an increased bonus for night shift from 30 to 40 cents. The company will also pay 40 percent of health insurance premiums. Until now workers were paying the entire cost of insurance.
Many workers say they will take the lump sums, especially those who think they will go back to school or look for another job soon. Sanon said many of those paid by piecework, like himself, will take the lump sums, "because we know that the company will do everything possible to deny us a real wage increase."
"While we need more than what we got, it is important to appreciate what we have accomplished through our strike," said Sanon.
This strike was for a first contract. The union at Iris was certified in July 1998. "Before we had a union and we went on strike each worker at Iris had to negotiate their wage individually with the boss. This created divisions among us. Now our wages are the results of what we won together."
During the strike workers described the conditions in the plant. "Before we built our union we were treated like animals," said Marie-Florence Sanon. "You couldn't even scratch yourself without a supervisor yelling, `Get back to work.' " Workers instited that the conditions have improved with the introduction of the union. They waged a strike a year ago, even before the union was certified, in order to get improvements in their working conditions. In December workers waged another strike over the company's refusal to give them their annual bonus. In some cases this represented hundreds of dollars. The recent strike was before members of the UNITE local had even elected an executive. Sanon said the it was organized by the most combative workers.
The gains made by workers at Iris follow the victory won in December by 4,000 UNITE members in the Montreal men's clothing industry. And 2,500 other garment workers at the Peerless company in Montreal are currently fighting for their first contract. They joined the Teamsters union a few months ago.
Michel Dugré is a UNITE member at the SFI Apparel plant in Montreal.