Workers told the Militant that the big majority of CWA Local 1105 members at the Bell Atlantic building at 213th Street and Broadway in Manhattan wore black T-shirts the union had made, emblazoned on the back with the words "Respect or strike."

Mugabe Innis, a customer service representative with six years at the company, explained that the unionists sought "to show that we were really serious, straight to the point," with the action and the T-shirt message. Innis said Bell Atlantic is "trying to take away medical benefits" and "take our work and give it to others for less money," two issues that were at the heart of the successful two-day strike the CWA waged against the telecommunications giant in August 1998.

Innis and other workers saw the action as a building block toward the unity in action needed to win a contract with no takebacks this year. They noted the importance of prior preparation in their victory two years ago.

Mitchel Rosenberg is a meat packer and member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 174 in the Bronx, New York.  
 
 
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