Re: Striking maintenance workers

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

At 2:32 PM 1/12/96, Louis N Proyect wrote:

>Evidence is mounting that John Sweeny, the new head of the AFL-
>CIO, represents business as usual.
>
>Local 32B-32J of the Service Employees International Union is on strike in
>NY now. These are the building maintenance workers, whose national
>union "reformer" John Sweeny emerged from. The NY Times
>stated that this was an important strike because it was Sweeny's union
>that was being attacked and he would regard it as an threat to his
>standing in the labor movement.
>
>But so far, the strike is depressingly similar to strikes over the last 20
>years. Gus Bevona, the president of the local, just held his *first* press
>conference ever and said that "union solidarity remains strong and that
>his local would not capitulate to management's demands to pay new
>workers 40% less than current employees." The union ranks had judged
>correctly that if the bosses were successful, they would push out older
>workers and hire new workers at cut rates.
>
>I heard some of the strikers last night on Doug Henwood's radio show
>in NY. They said that they are receiving $7 per day (!) in strike pay. This
>will soon force many to become desperate. Supposedly, Bevona is
>trying to line up other unions to chip in, but I wouldn't hold out much
>hope since other unions, who work side by side with local 32, are
>crossing picket lines.

Other points. (1) The WSJ has reported that Sweeney has designated Bevona
as his successor at the SEIU. (2) Dues are $36-37 a month, and there are
70,000 members. I think that works out to about $30 million a year. No one
has any idea where this goes, aside from Bevona's $500,000 salary, the
division chiefs' $95,000, etc. (3) No one from the union leadership is even
showing up on a picket line. The sight of the workers standing in today's
cold rain, looking doomed and ignored, was heartbreaking. (4) Unionized UPS
workers and postal workers are crossing the lines to make deliveries. (5)
The strike was completely unprepared for. No advance solidarity or PR work
was done at all.

Doug

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Doug Henwood
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