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The Steward | The Teamsters Local 315 strike is now over with BFI. I spent
much time on the strike line with my brother Teamsters. What I learned
from them were lessons about how solidarity works. From observing
BFI management's performance, I learned about the art of the lie.
The Teamsters voted to accept BFI’s proposal on August 19th. The interesting part about that, is that they had just voted to stay out on strike minutes earlier. In an amazing development , after the Teamsters had voted to stay out on strike in support of the 15 workers BFI has fired for alleged strike violence, some of the fired workers spoke to the group and told them they should go back to work. In essence, the membership sacrificed for the fired employees, and the fired employees then did the same for the Union. In this display of what true unionism is all about, concern for your brothers and sisters and sacrifice for the greater good, I wonder if BFI can relate to this act of sacrifice, or is it all they understand is what they have gladly sacrificed to the altar of their Corporate greed. They've sacrificed their employees, working them ungodly hours, they've sacrificed their employees families, making them virtual strangers to their fathers and husbands, they've sacrificed the public's safety, putting unsafe vehicles and overworked men on the road, and they've sacrificed their integrity, having lied to their customers, the media and the numerous local city councils they had to appear before, and of course the Teamsters negotiating committee. The spectacle of Moraga's Mayor calling Lynn Ashcroft, BFI’s local Executive Vice President, a liar to her face at a city council meeting comes to mind. I am a UPS employee, so I have experienced a strike, and what I remember was that through all of management's BS there was some semblance of restraint, for the idea was we were going to come back and work together again. BFI acted like anyone coming back wasn't what they had in mind. I say this to BFI . The Bay Area is one big union town. Your union busting, scabbing tactics donut play here. Take them back to Texas, where your right to work state bullying methods might work. BFI as a corporation isn't a very successful one. Their losing money. I guess even by their own money worshiping standards they are failures. I won't get into the Union's tactics in this fight or what was won or lost because I feel if one is interested enough they can find that out. What I will say is as an observer what I've learned . In the fight for economic justice in the ‘90's, I know the workers are on the right side. BFI’s dirty bag of tricks and lies is what they resorted to when the going got tough, while these Union brothers resorted to each other. These 180 Teamsters fought off another national corporation trying to break a Union. The returning workers have voted to donate 20 dollars a week each to support the 15 strikers fired, at a total of approximately 400 dollars a week per terminated worker. In this time when so many politicians bowels are in an uproar over the President's dishonesty, how can they justify their allegiance with these corporations like BFI, where dishonesty seems to be a company policy. To BFI I say ,at least your workers can wash the stink off them at the end of the day. Can You? |
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