BY CLIVE TURNBULL AND OLYMPIA NEWTON
NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia - "Six, two, two! Six, two, two!"
chanted some 4,000 members of the United Steelworkers of
America Local 8888 (USWA) as they marched from their union hall
past the shipyard gates to a rally outside the Newport News
Shipbuilding (NNS) corporate office here March 18. Local 8888
is demanding a $6 per hour increase in the first year and a $2
per hour increase in each of the subsequent two years after the
current contract expires April 4.
Union members also chanted "88 -Close the gate! 88 - Close the gate!," a slogan from the organizing drive and hard-fought 85-day strike in 1979 that forged the Local. Other chants were "Shut her down!" "What's the time? Union time!" and "What's the time? Contract time!"
Nearly every unionist at the rally wore a Local 8888 hat and T-shirt. Many workers carried signs reading, "Union Solidarity." Others read, "Local 8888 - No Justice No Peace," and "USWA Local 8888 will overcome."Annie Thomas, a material supply clerk for 17 years, carried a sign, "I love building ships, but I have to work at Hardee's to make ends meet." Many shipyard workers have had to take second jobs.
"I think we work for a group of corporate slave owners," said Adam Gardner, a pipe fitter for 16 years. "They want us to work and make them billions of dollars in profits, and they give us peanuts. It's not going to work this time. We're going to get our share of the pie this round, by any means necessary."
Jorge Vicente, who works as an outside machinist and was born in Puerto Rico, said, "The company says in its safety program that its most important asset is the employee. If that's true, how come we are forced to work overtime nearly every weekend just to make ends meet? Another problem is low wages."
The 1995 contract imposed a wage freeze with three lump-sum payments of 5 percent, 4 percent, and 3 percent of basic pay. It also included cuts in vacation and paid holidays.
Most workers have not had a wage increase in 10 years. "The cost of living goes up every year, but our wages haven't gone up," said Dwayne Wilson, a 10-year material handler. "The company says we're world-class shipbuilders, but the company treats us like second-class citizens."
Walter Haynesworth, a ship-fitter with 27 years at the yard, added, "Retirement is another big issue. An average man, after 44 years in the yard, would retire with $280 pension per month, which is a disgrace. You can't live on that."
Constance Warthen, a material supply clerk for 18 years, said, "They took 2 and a half days vacation from us in the last contract. I just want us to get our fair share."
"We're going to have to stand together like never before," said Arnold Outlaw, Local 8888 president, at the rally. Other speakers included representatives from the International USWA, the state AFL-CIO, the Longshoreman's Association, and members of the Local negotiating committee.
In some parts of the yard, union members were not permitted to leave work for the 2:00 p.m. rally. Some of those forced to remain refused to do any work until the 3:30 p.m. shift change as a protest. Elsewhere nonunion members left, even if not attending the rally.
Gearing up for the contract fight, some 2,000 workers rallied at the yard gates on January 26, blocking traffic for nearly an hour. More than 1,000 members attended the union local meeting February 27 to hear a report on the negotiations.
The 6,900-member local is negotiating on behalf of 9,200 yard workers. Since negotiations began January 14, the local has been on an organizing drive to increase union membership. According to Outlaw, Local 8888's membership at the yard is at an all-time high (73.4 percent) in this right-to-work state. When the concession contract was negotiated in 1995, union membership was at 58 percent.
As if anticipating a labor battle, the Newport News Daily Press reported March 13, "Newport News police are preparing for possible shipyard strike." The article noted that police chief Dennis Mook had been "in contact with the State Police about the need for assistance from troopers."
In 1979 city and state police attacked Local 8888's picket lines in an attempt to crush their strike. The cops tried to storm the union's headquarters, but were driven back by the determined Steelworkers.
Union officials announced a meeting would be held April 1 at the Hampton University convocation center, where all USWA members would be able to attend, to report on the company's contract proposal.
Mary Martin contributed to this article.