In September the NLRB filed an unfair labor practices complaint charging that the company firings were part of a range of acts of illegal interference against union supporters, including threats to close the plant and denial of overtime to pro-union workers. It is asking the court to reinstate the three fired unionists. The workers at the clothing plant of some 350, located north of Miami in Oakland Park, are members of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE). Point Blank is a subsidiary of DHB Industries, Inc.

The three victimized unionists testified at the hearings, which began December 2. The first to be fired was Isma Sadius, whom workers had chosen to lead a large delegation to present a union petition to the bosses on July 18. Workers described how he led a spirited, orderly group to talk to the factory manager during morning break.

Testifying for the company, Rosa Valdes, executive secretary to DHB chief operating officer Sandra Hatfield, labeled the workers’ delegation as a "riot." She said she locked her office door and contacted the police. She called 911 again for paramedics and then called the rent-a-cop agency Vanguard Security. Police and security guards arrived wearing bulletproof vests after workers had already returned to their jobs . The bosses then "evacuated" the workers. "I saw the police. We were all startled. They were very aggressive," production coordinator Maria Duque testified.

"There were policemen at every door and at the front of the room. They told us to leave rapidly. [Union leader] Virginia Salazar protested that they were violating our rights. But [the boss] said it was for security. One by one we went out. We did not punch out. They told us to leave fast," one striker told the court.

A few minutes later Isma Sadius was fired and arrested for "breach of the peace." Weeks later union supporter Carlos Briceño was fired from his job on the cutting floor.  
 
‘They touch one, they touch all’
"At the [August 7] union meeting we discussed the rumor that Point Blank would lay off 50 employees. We decided that we would not permit them to fire one more worker; we would go on strike. We said that if they touch one, they touch all," said Migdalia Ameneiro when she took the stand. "On the morning of August 9, when we realized that they had fired Midho Cadet, we went on strike. We are on strike for better conditions, better treatment, to demand respect and more consideration."

Company lawyers have attempted to solicit information from workers about the August 7 union meeting, such as the names of those present.

"Who called the strike?" company lawyer Joan Canny asked Ameneiro. "How many people were at the meeting?" The company tried to subpoena 150 striking workers to testify. The summonses were revoked by the judge.

One worker described in detail how managers had tried to enlist her against the union by flattery, badgering, and closed-door meetings.

Ameneiro described how her supervisor quizzed her on her attitude toward the union. When she informed her that she had indeed signed a union card, the supervisor told her she was crazy and that "if the union came in the company would close. [She asked me,] ‘Did I know what the union was all about?’ I said I didn’t know, but that in my country I had worked with the union and it was good." Despite the fact that the company has hired scabs and claims to be operating at full production, strikers have stood firm. They have reached out for support, appealing for food and for cash donations for their strike fund. A holiday picket line and celebration took place December 21.

A delegation of strikers also participated in a recent Miami march to demand freedom for 200 Haitian immigrants imprisoned at Krome Detention Center.

Meanwhile, DHB Industries is suffering a slump in its stock prices, from $8.30 last February, to its current level of about $1.35. This despite an increase in gross revenues, which are up 26 percent compared to a year ago. Thanks to intensified U.S. war preparations, expanding police departments, and the largest prison population in the world, the market for armored clothing has been growing in the United States. Point Blank manufactures bulletproof vests and police riot gear.  
 
 
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