Roy Bower, who previously worked at Hollander, "was helping hold back a tractor trailer when [a guard] stomped on his foot, breaking it in two places," explained his son, James Bower. The guard is employed by Huffmaster Crisis Management, which was brought in by Hollander bosses to help break the strike. Two days later he was back on the picket line with a cast and crutches. Bower's wife Sandra and his son James are both on strike. According to Sandra Bower, her husband is not the only former worker who has volunteered for a regular picket shift.

The next day another picket was injured in the same way, suffering torn ligaments and a contusion on his leg. Union members are maintaining discipline on the picket line despite these provocations.

The strikers, members of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), walked out May 1 demanding better wages, a pension, and dignity on the job. Out of 120 union workers, 91 are on strike.

They join more than 450 fellow garment workers on strike at Hollander's two plants in Vernon, California, and others in Tignall, Georgia, who are honoring a picket line set up by strikers from California. Two Frackville strikers have traveled to Georgia to lend support to the workers at the Tignall Hollander plant.

On May 10 a Schuylkill County court ruled in favor of the company in Frackville and imposed an injunction limiting the number of pickets allowed at the plant entrance to eight. All others must remain 300 feet away.

Joanne Strenkowski pickets the afternoon shift. She is a pillow bagger with four years on the job. Strenkowski explained that she and her co-workers have to bag and box 300 dozen pillows a day to make just over $7 an hour on piece rate. "We're not machines," she said. "We're human beings." Strenkowski's father was a member of the United Steelworkers of America for years and had always told her, "If you want something, you have to fight for it."

Strikers report that no additional union members have returned to work since the strike began. One newer employee worked a few days into the strike to complete his probation period, signed up with the union, and then joined the picket line.  
 
 
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