Washblog

All day and night, seven days a week, 46 disgruntled employees take turns picketing outside of Celite Corp. in Quincy. The Teamsters Local 760 launched the strike July 2 in response to a company proposal that would eliminate seniority status during layoffs and increase health-care costs for workers. Negotiations are deadlocked. Union members say they're prepared to strike through winter. They picket around the clock in shifts, four to six at a time.

I'm not in a union, but wonder what has happened to solidarity? These are only 46 workers, they seem to have their backs put up against the wall by Celite, who has already hired new workers and will probably try to wait out the union workers. If memory serves me, didn't different locals do sympathy strikes? I remember my old man going on strike in solidarity with other trades back in the day.

Such as when teachers have gone out and picketed, you never see other unions strike too or help, at least not overtly. I'd love to hear from an organizer about the dynamics of this - why couldn't the AFSCME workers in Quincy join the picket line, or others?

When numbers have dwindled to the point they have for unions in America, I would think they would try to help out one of their own whenever they get a chance, because they could be the next to get 'outsourced' - when all that matters is self-preservation, we all lose.

Update [2007-8-9 19:12:53 by Brian]: The theothersideonline.net has more on the striking workers and the creeping erosion of benefits the Celite/World Minerals corporation is doing to their employees.