The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.27           July 22, 1996 
 
 
Thousands of postal workers strike in Britain  

MANCHESTER, England - Postal workers in the United Kingdom walked off the job June 20 in response to attacks on their rights and working conditions at the state-owned Royal Mail. On June 2 the Communications Workers Union (CWU) announced that its members had voted in favor of a strike by a 68 percent majority.

"If they want a fight, they've got one," said Ged, a worker at a postal depot near Manchester. The unionists are fighting against the company's attempt to implement its "Employee Agenda," a series of measures aimed at increasing profits through downsizing, speedup, and work rule changes.

Workers currently have a six-day, 41.5-hour workweek, with a 5:30 a.m. start time. Under the "Agenda," workers would have no guaranteed start or break times, but instead would be "flexible" on a day-to-day basis. Royal Mail said "not many shifts would start before 4 a.m." Workers would be required to show "constantly improving performance" towards a "100 percent efficiency 100 percent of the time" goal. Seniority would be abolished. Employees would be required to work unpaid, upon request, for an extra 15 minutes per day.

"They'd walk all over us," said Dave, a young worker involved in his first of a series of disputes between the union and the company leading up to the strike ballot.

Royal Mail attempted to bait workers into the deal by offering a 40-hour-week and a rise in base pay from 183 to 211 (1=U.S.$1.54). But workers point out that the unpaid overtime and the loss of many shift and other incremental payments under the Agenda cancel these out. One-third of the workforce would be directly impacted under the new conditions.

Unionists have countered with an agenda of their own. The CWU is demanding a 35-hour, five-day workweek, the pay rise suggested by the company, greater job security, and a rejection of the Royal Mail's "Agenda."

Many thousands of postal workers participated in unofficial walkouts leading up to the strike.

Janitors fight for raise, no abuse of immigrants
LOS ALTOS HILLS, California - A candlelight vigil and protest was held by Justice for Janitors here June 13 in support of Service Employees International Union Local 1877. More than 200 demonstrated outside the home of John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Corporation, a janitorial contractor. The workers are fighting for a 20 percent wage increase over four years, health coverage, a training trust fund subsidized by employers, a limit on workloads, and guarantees against harassment for undocumented immigrants.

Speaking to the crowd of workers, Juana Escamilla, a janitor in Local 1877, stated, "I am a single mother of three children working for wages which make it difficult to take care of three children." She spoke of the need for family health care, which with her high rent she could not afford. In conclusion she said, "We are fighting for justice for everyone, winning with our own labor. All workers are in the same situation, we will win justice."

Tereso Espinoza, also a janitor in Local 1877, said, "We need to unite, our fight is not in vain. I ask co-workers that we all unite under one banner and don't get discouraged because we can win."

Janitors throughout the Bay Area are on strike in support of Local 1877. In Santa Clara County alone, 1,000 janitors were on their second and third nights of strikes. Two hundred also struck in Oakland. Organizers noted that Bay Area solidarity was growing, as shown by various building trades honoring picket lines throughout the Bay Area. They also stated that other cities were preparing to join the struggle including Los Angeles, Portland, Denver and New York City. Organizers exclaimed in reference to the companies with whom they are negotiating, "if they want war, we're going to give them war."

500 rally in Montreal to back garment workers
MONTREAL - On June 4, about 500 workers rallied here to support 19 workers fired from Peerless Clothing. The workers were sacked for organizing a union to replace a company association called the Fraternity. Two thousand workers speaking 35 languages are employed at Peerless, the largest clothing manufacturer in Canada. Wages and working conditions are much worse than in unionized companies.

Most of the demonstrators were members of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE) from major companies like Jack Victor and Golden Brand. Many came in buses, while others walked from nearby companies. They rallied at Phillips Square and picketed the nearby Bay and Eaton's -

major buyers of Peerless suits - chanting "What do we want from the Bay, Justice!, What do we want from Eaton's, Justice!, What do we want, Justice!"

Speakers at the rally included John Alleruzzo, from UNITE; Richard Tremblay, president of the Montreal Labor Council of the Quebec Federation of Labor; and Robert White, president of the Canadian Labor Congress, which has 2 million members. White announced that the CLC would help organize demonstrations in other cities.

Alvin Segal, the president of Peerless, says American companies angry about his competition are behind the unionization drive. According to Segal, "Everything that has been reported is false. Because they aren't able to compete with us, they are attacking us this way."

Man Le Slin, one of the workers fired at Peerless, gave the workers' side of the story at the Militant Labor Forum in Montreal on June 7. Speaking through an interpreter she explained, "Because I spoke a different language, they always found trouble for me. When I began to work at Peerless I lost all my freedom and liberty. When we asked for our basic rights we got fired from the factory."

"I have seen many cases where supervisors would treat women particularly badly because of language and because they are women. I have seen a woman fall down and managers still wanted her to work instead of letting her go home. I will continue the fight. I will go to every city where Peerless clothes are sold," she concluded.

Peerless in under investigation by the Quebec Human Rights Commission for a record number of complaints of discrimination and harassment.

Pete Kennedy, member of the CWU in Manchester; Steve Gordon, a Young Socialist in San Francisco; and Tony Sanchez, member of UNITE and the YS, and Joe Young in Montreal contributed to this article.  
 
 
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