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   Vol.65/No.22            June 4, 2001 
 
 
Laundry workers strike for a union in Baltimore
(front page)
 
BY BETH FLETCHER AND KATHIE FITZGERALD  
BALTIMORE--Blowing whistles and chanting "Who's got the power? Union power," 450 strikers at Up-To-Date Laundry and their supporters rallied here May 16 at the University of Maryland Medical Center. A sea of red-shirted members of the textile and garment workers union and a number of other unionists demanded the university cancel its contract with Up-To-Date.

Nearly 250 workers at Baltimore's Up-To-Date Laundry walked off the job April 23 to protest the firing of 16 of their co-workers for trying to win company recognition of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). The strikers are fighting to organize a union to press their demands for a living wage and health benefits, and to address conditions on the job.

At the rally several strikers described the dangerous working conditions they face. "We handle laundry with blood and infectious waste," said Rodney Prater, who works in the soil room. "Workers get stuck by syringes that are caught up in the laundry. We don't have protective clothing. The company is supposed to provide hepatitis shots, but they don't. Sometimes the temperature rises to over 100 degrees in the plant, and the ventilation is poor," Prater said.

Workers at Up-To-Date, the majority of whom are Black and Latino, have been fighting for a union for two years. They have filed numerous complaints with the Maryland Commission on Human Relations and the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission over racial discrimination and sexual harassment.

Maria Espinoza, who was hired by the company to recruit Latino workers, spoke at the rally about young female workers who were sexually harassed and faced physical abuse. "I felt awkward because the company wanted me to tell workers they would be deported if they joined the union," Espinoza said. "The union is my people. We want decent lives and opportunities for our families. I couldn't take this any more, and I resigned two weeks ago."

Susana Flores, a worker with one year at the plant, described a recent fire. "The fire extinguishers didn't work and the company officials didn't tell us to exit the building. We make $6 an hour after one year, and we have to pay $96 a week for health insurance. So you have to think twice about whether you pay for baby-sitting or medical coverage."

The rally was translated simultaneously into English and Spanish. An organizer led chants of "Si se puede!" (Yes, it can be done!) and "Viva la huelga!" (Long live the strike!). "For those of you who speak English, just yell 'Que viva!'" he said. The entire crowd responded enthusiastically with "Que viva!"

Garment and textile workers came to the Baltimore rally from shops in Philadelphia and Reading in Pennsylvania, and from Maryland and Virginia. Ten workers drove in a van from the Flushing Shirt plant in Jefferson, Pennsylvania. Other unions represented included the Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, United Steelworkers of America, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Nearly 50 striking workers and family members from Hollander Home Fashions in Frackville, Pennsylvania, organized a bus to the rally. "This is what the union is about," said Diane Beckett, one of the Frackville Hollander strikers. "We have to stick together and help each other out."

The rally was addressed by Kweisi Mfume, national president of the NAACP, who described the laundry workers' fight for dignity. Other speakers included Bruce Raynor, secretary treasurer of UNITE; Richard Trumka, secretary treasurer of the AFL-CIO; and other union leaders and elected officials from Maryland.

Students from Towson University in North Baltimore, the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and Johns Hopkins University joined the rally with signs and banners. They have been organizing to demand the university hospitals cancel their contracts with Up-To-Date Laundry until they recognize the union.

Striking laundry workers continue to picket the plant, located on De Soto Road in Baltimore.

Kathie Fitzgerald is a member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Local 622 in Jefferson, Pennsylvania.
 
 
Related articles:
Returning 'proud as peacocks'
Hollander workers approve new contract
In Los Angeles, UNITE strikers are stronger at end of walkout  
 
 
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