A Long Strike in Prospect
Machinists
Local 933, in
by
[Most
of the information in this article was provided by on-strike members of Local
933, as of Dec. 12, 2006. The article is followed by a leaflet “Why We Strike,”
written by Local 933 member Eduardo Quintana, and also
by an appeal for support to the strikers written by former
On
Nov. 5, for the first time in 28 years, the men and women of Machinists Local
933 in
That earlier strike, in 1978, was over company demands for a dual wage scale, or two-tier wage system, with newly hired workers being paid less per hour than those employed for a longer time, although both are doing the same job right next to each other—a situation bound to cause resentment in those who are paid less.
The two-tier wage is a divide-and-conquer tactic that corporations have been introducing, or trying to introduce, all over the country in the past several decades. It is one of many corporate tactics aimed at weakening the unions by undermining solidarity among workers.
Ironically, in the last contract, in 2003, the leadership of Machinists Local 933 gave up without a fight and allowed the company to introduce a dual wage scale.
That was one of many concessions
the union leadership gave to the company. The union’s actions were part of a
pattern of “concessionary bargaining,” in which union leaders have been giving
concessions to the corporations repeatedly. As indicated above, the employers
have been on the offensive for the past several decades, and such concessions
or takeaways have been evident all over the
As another example of the concessions made over the past decades, the Machinists of Local 933 lost their cost of living allowance (at some point during the 1980s or 1990s).
But this time, in 2006, Machinists Local 933 has decided it has to fight back. It can no longer allow the company to take away the benefits and earnings that workers have won in the past. The overwhelming majority of the 1,600 members of Local 933 voted, as recommended by the union’s negotiating team, to reject the company offer and to go on strike.
In addition to the dual wage scale, there were many other concessions given to the company by Local 933 in the previous contract.
For example, in the previous contract, all workers had to accept increased payments for health insurance. And cuts were imposed on medical benefits for retired workers, forcing many older members to either live in poverty to pay for health care or return to work, or else try to make do without medical insurance altogether.
(As is generally known, an
estimated 45 million people actually do go without health insurance in the
Another concession was that sick leave was combined with family leave, with the result that workers lost some of the sick days and vacation days they were previously entitled to.
Also under the previous contract, from 2003, some 450 workers had their wages “capped”; that is, they received no wage increase at all under the previous contract, because allegedly they had reached the “top” of their wage scale. And under the current contract proposed by the company, those same workers would go another three years without a raise—six years without a raise while inflation never stops rising.
Now, as I have said, Machinists Local 933 has drawn a line, refusing to let the company have all the outrageous takeaways that it wants.
One of the concessions the company
is asking for in the present contract is to eliminate pensions for new hires
(another divide-and-conquer company tactic). Ironically, at the same time that they are trying to eliminate pensions
for new hires, the pension plan is overfunded.
It was overfunded even before Raytheon bought Hughes.
Raytheon has not paid a penny into the pension plan, and yet the company wants
to deny pensions to new hires.
A statement on Local 933’s web site (www.IAM933.org) explains the union’s position.
“This strike is not about us wanting more; we were
forced into this position because of Raytheon’s insistence on takeaways – while
they are making billions on the war effort…
“In
the last few weeks Raytheon has announced a 41% increase in earnings per share
and all they can think of is how to get more…
“Enough is enough; we didn’t want to be on strike, but we had no choice. We can’t accept a contract with so many concessions while Raytheon gloats about their profits.
“This union has made concessions in the past, when Raytheon needed help to survive. [?] In this contract, we agreed to [a further] increase in our medical costs, as well as giving them more flexibility in outsourcing, but they are just greedy. We tried to be reasonable, but they want us to agree to an 87% increase in our medical costs over the next three years and give them the option of raising it even more…”
Local 933’s web site also reported, as of Nov. 27, that 1,400-plus members and supporters were still holding firm, despite the pressures of being without a regular paycheck in the holiday season. Only some weak or wavering elements, like the 100 or more that voted not to strike, have crossed the picket line.
One way readers can help support the strikers is by logging in to answer the anti-union blog comments on the web site of the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson’s big-circulation morning paper (www.azstarnet.com). Articles in the Star about the Raytheon strike are usually followed by a blog listing comments by readers, sometimes with more than 200 comments.
By the way, many Machinists union members supported the big
demonstrations for immigrant workers’ rights last March and April, especially
the César Chávez Day
demonstration in Tucson, which brought out 10,000 or more, and the larger
demonstration, of 15,000 or more, on April 10, in which a small contingent of
Machinists carried the local’s banner. Local 933 officially voted to oppose the
Sensenbrenner bill, which criminalizes undocumented immigrants and anyone who
even helps an undocumented immigrant.
In the present contract dispute the union has prepared fairly well for
the fight over the contract, which will cover the next three years. After
losing so much in the last contract, many workers were questioning the value of
even belonging to a union, and so the leaders realize they have to hang tough
and not let the company take away any more.
There is some weakness in the union leadership’s communications with the
membership and in mobilizing the ranks of the union for the strike. A
solidarity rally in downtown
At the Dec. 8 rally, many illusions were expressed about the new
Congress and the new legislature in
We should recall another strike
that took place last year—in what is left of the copper mining industry in
southern
Any victory against company takeaways is a victory for all workers.
A victory for the Machinists union
in this strike will be a victory for everyone who earns their livelihood with a
paycheck, in
All out to support the striking brothers and sisters of Machinists Local 933!
P.S.
One final comment
about the fact that this missile-making arms manufacturer, Raytheon, is reputed
to be the largest private-sector employer in southern
That is an indication of the
twisted priorities of those who decide the destinies of the
I am told that the money behind the
Raytheon corporation, which originated in
These
owners of capital choose to invest in armaments, that is, weapons of mass
destruction, rather than in something productive or beneficial to our society
and environment.
For example, they do not choose to
invest in a solar-power industry, which could flourish in the natural
conditions of southern
But
the twisted nature of this corporation does not mean that solidarity should be
denied to the union sisters and brothers of Local 933, who are fighting for the
elementary needs of all workers.
[Following
is the leaflet by Eduardo Quintana.]
Why
We Strike
We strike because in the midst of unprecedented prosperity, Raytheon is attacking our standard of living without any justification, and because withholding our labor is our most potent weapon.
We strike because after helping Raytheon achieve a 41% increase in profits, Raytheon thanks us by increasing our benefit costs and insisting that it can increase them further at any time and eliminate any benefits it wants to, all without going through the bargaining process.
We strike because in spite of having an overfunded pension plan that Raytheon has never contributed a penny to, it wants to eliminate pensions for new employees, the next generation. This is wrong and it will not happen on our watch without a fight.
We strike because Raytheon has betrayed our older generation by reneging on the promise to provide them with retiree medical benefits, forcing some now to live in poverty or return to work, and others to postpone retirement for up to 15 years. This is unjust.
We strike because Raytheon wants our fellow workers on disability to pay their own premiums while on medical leave when they are sick and least able to.
We strike because Raytheon is trying to divide and pit us against each other by promising raises to some but not all workers, pensions for some but not all.
We strike because we are a union that looks out for all our members, and we refuse to be divided.
We strike because Raytheon wants to roll back the clock to the 1920s and 1930s when workers had no pensions, no medical insurance, terrible wages, unsafe working conditions, and dead-end jobs that could not provide a decent life for them or their families.
We strike because Raytheon says that driving down our standard of living is company policy. But the policy of the union is to defend and improve our wages and benefits and fight for those that cannot fight for themselves just as our forefathers fought for us.
We strike for justice for our older union members, fairness for our present working members, and equity for our future members, the next generation.
This is why we strike.
Eduardo
Quintana
Member, 25 years, IAM 933
Appeal for Radical Activists to Support the
Strike
by
[Leith
Kahl currently works in the longshore
industry in Seattle, with the International Longshore
and Warehouse
Folks, if you are getting this e-mail it means that I know you, and have a very high estimation for your capacity as a mover and shaker in the town I grew up in.
I am appealing to you personally right now, as someone I have worked with and fought beside, to throw your full support behind the 1,600 Machinists now on strike at Raytheon. I am asking you to activate your social, professional, political, and personal networks to support their picket line. I am calling upon you to get your unions, your churches, your No More Deaths Coalition, Border Action Network, Derechos Humanos coalition, barrio associations, political parties, Dry River Collectives, Earth First! chapters, bands, brigades, dogs, cats, and spare pieces of dental floss to endorse this strike and join the fight to win it. I am calling upon you to organize support rallies to reinforce their picket line, and to talk at length to the workers on it.
I know that most of you will receive heavy flak from some of your friends for supporting a strike by workers who make weapons of mass destruction for a living. I am asking you to stand up and take this flak. I promise you that if you do this, you will not regret the effort. You will meet people on the picket line who will blow your mind, and you will find allies for your other causes that you never imagined existed.
I also promise you that the stakes
are high, that the battle is pitched, and that the cause is worth it.
Machinists Lodge 933 is a truly unique phenomenon in the defense industry. This
is a group of workers that has distinguished itself by mobilizing to support
striking mineworkers in
Don’t take my crazy banjo-picking word for it. Go meet these folks and find out for yourself. Now's your chance!
Regardless of how much we (and many
of them) despise the industry that they work in, it is a fact that their union
is one of the few truly formidable bulwarks against corporatism and fascism in
southern
This means that when Lodge 933 is in a fight, they will have to depend on their immediate community as a source of support.
Conservative puritans of the “left” will tell you that it is a sin to support war industry workers. Commit this sin. I promise you it's worth it. You will discover that many things are possible that the jaded cynics have told you to write off as “the myth of revolution.”
Your friend,
Leith Kahl