Organize a Labor Union! [link]
2013-10-07 by Shamus Cooke [http://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2013/10/fast-food-workers-win-union-through-zoolidarity]:
Shamus Cooke is a social service worker and an officer of SEIU 503.
---
Fast
food workers at the Oregon Zoo defied the odds and voted in a union,
but they started acting like a union well before the vote, with
"zoolidarity" actions. Photo: Laborers Local 483.
Union
members have watched in awe as fast food workers struck over the last
year, calling for “$15 and a union.” Despite the slogan, however, the
prevailing wisdom has been that union recognition isn’t really the goal;
that’s too hard against giant employers insulated by a layer of
franchises, with a part-time and transient workforce [http://www.labornotes.org/2013/06/fast-food-strikes-whats-cooking].
Last
month 142 mostly part-time food service workers, public employees at
the Oregon Zoo, showed it could be done, winning a landslide election to
join Laborers Local 483 in Portland. They join 137 already-union
admissions and custodial employees at the zoo—about half of these are
temps—doubling the size and power of the bargaining unit just in time
for contract negotiations. Like the rest of Fast Food Nation, these food
service workers reflect a changing economy and a changing workforce.
When I worked at the Oregon Zoo as a teenager making burgers and fries,
the workforce was overwhelmingly high school- and college-aged. No more.
Because of the ongoing jobs crisis, many zoo food workers have college
degrees or are long-term employees. Because of the low wages and the
zoo’s strategy of using temporary employees, many are forced to take
multiple jobs. The zoo uses the word “temporary” to refer to
classifications under a cap of 1,040 hours per year. Some work 40 hours a
week for up to six months. The food workforce swells in the summer,
with food carts and cafés sprinkled across the zoo. Others work
year-round, but part-time, some as little as one or two days a month.
Many are “on call.” “Did you know that during your whole last visit to
the Zoo you probably encountered only us temporary workers?” said zoo
worker Ellen Ino, testifying last year at a Portland Jobs with Justice
event that highlighted the abuse of temporary and seasonal job
classifications by local public employers. Ino said zoo members are
often “amazed that the person who sold them the membership in July,
handled their membership questions throughout the high season, tore
their tickets in October, ran around the campus in November and December
during Zoolights… that those workers are not considered permanent
employees with benefits.”
Strong Committee -
Several
ingredients made the nine-month campaign successful. Organizers from
Local 483 were inspired by the techniques taught by Jason Mann, a
Canadian organizer, educator, and founder of Strategic Organizing, which
offers advice to unions about strategies and using technology and
social media. Mann’s organizing techniques were based on surveying
unions that had carried out successful organizing drives, discovering
their key strategies and tactics—such as a strong internal organizing
committee, direct action at the workplace, a community campaign, and use
of social media. (See "A Troublemaker’s Handbook" for similar advice.)
One of the tactics Mann suggests is using workplace surveys to agitate
about working conditions. When a Local 483 organizer was surveying
existing members at the zoo, a food service worker found the flyer on a
bulletin board and filled out the survey, leading to contact with
several other “foodies.” The most important aspect of the campaign was,
of course, a strong, 27-member worker-led organizing committee that
worked hard to recruit and train others. “Their energy infected the rest
of the workplace,” said Local 483 organizer Tobias Green—producing a
cohesive workplace that began to think and act more united. Workers
called their workplace culture “zoolidarity” throughout the campaign.
The campaign also made use of social media, opening up a “secret”
Facebook page before the drive went public. This tactic is risky since
published information can find its way back to management, but the zoo
workers invited people they trusted into the Facebook group. Soon the
page was used as an auxiliary tool to share information, support each
other, and complain about work—i.e., to build solidarity. “The Facebook
page allowed us to answer questions about unions, address gossip at the
zoo, announce organizing meetings, and later to respond to anti-union
rumors that crept into the workplace,” member-organizer Matt Ellison
said. Some of the scare tactics included the old favorites: “You’re all
going to be laid off and will have to reapply,” “the 483 contract has a
lower hours cap,” “they just want your dues,” “you are hurting the zoo.”
‘Quick Hits’ -
One characteristic of winning
drives is that workers start acting like a union before the election.
Zoo workers did “quick hits”—direct action to make popular worksite
demands that immediately improved working conditions. These were demands
that management would look either foolish or heartless to reject. For
example, zoo workers marched on the boss mid-campaign to deliver a
petition that demanded cooler conditions for food workers, both those
stationed outside during hot days and those inside the hot, stuffy
restaurants. Management conceded and swapped out higher-wattage light
bulbs for cooler ones, supplied bottles of water, and fixed a fan that
had been broken for months. This victory strengthened the campaign at a
critical juncture. Workers now want to use their new union power to make
the zoo a better place to work and to visit. They begin bargaining this
month, joining (and significantly strengthening) an existing Local 483
bargaining unit that is entering negotiations. Temps will be the
majority covered under the contract. Priorities include higher wages,
full-time jobs, and paid sick days, said worker-organizer Anne
McDonnell.
No comments:
Post a Comment