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Vol. 82/No. 17 April 30, 2018
—ON THE PICKET LINE—
Militant/Linda Harris
Dockworkers, members of Maritime Union of Australia, rally outside gates
of Qube Ports’ Webb Dock terminal in Melbourne April 8 at end of
four-day strike over working conditions.
Australia dockworkers strike four days over working conditions
MELBOURNE, Australia — Some 90 dockworkers, members of the Maritime
Union of Australia, and their supporters rallied outside the gates of
Qube Ports’ Webb Dock car terminal here April 8. The 145 workers at
Qube, who unload imported vehicles, struck for four days to protest the
company’s drive to terminate their union agreement.
“The main issues are over working conditions,” said Andrew Martin, one
of the union delegates, who has been a temporary worker with the company
for just over a year. Nearly 70 percent employed by Qube at this port
are casuals.
Workers on the picket line explained that fatigue and safety are the big
questions. The company can schedule workers on a 12-hour night shift
with only an eight-hour break before coming back on day shift. Many
drive an hour to get to work.
Workers who unload bulk cargo at Qube’s nearby Appleton terminal face
some of the most dangerous conditions on the docks. “There is nowhere to
move in the hold out of the swing of the crane, you have to be alert,”
Martin said. Three dockworkers have been killed in the last 15 years at
Appleton Dock.
Permanent workers at Qube used to get an unpaid week off after seven
weeks of shift work, but the company took this away three years ago,
when there was less work. Since hiring has now picked up, workers are
demanding this practice be reinstated.
“It’s important to win solidarity,” Martin said. “All the bosses are
looking at this fight. We need to win for everyone.”
— Linda Harris and Manuele Lasalo
Delta workers rally in Minnesota to build support for a union
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Delta Airlines ramp and cargo workers, flight
attendants and supporters held a standing-room-only rally at the Labor
Center here April 4 to advance their fight to organize a union. Delta
workers from the Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, New York and Madison,
Wisconsin, airports — all part of the International Association of
Machinists union-organizing effort — spoke at the rally. Delta bought
Northwest Airlines in 2008, where workers were members of the IAM.
After the merger, workers at the combined company voted down the union
by a small majority under pressure of a concerted boss campaign.
Pro-union workers are campaigning to get enough union cards signed to
have a new vote.
The 35 Minneapolis ramp workers in attendance included older and newer
workers. New hires on the ramp are all assigned Ready Reserve status.
They get half the pay of Delta full-time employees, no benefits and are
only allowed to work 1,400 hours per year. Many have been in the Ready
Reserve for years.
Rob LaVigne, who was part of the last group of Ready Reserve to become
full time several years ago, said he came to the rally because it’s
about “getting rights back, getting what we’re worth.” LaVigne said the
only way a Ready Reserve worker gets full-time work today is to agree to
become a lead.
Melvin Eves, who has worked at Delta for 32 years, came to the rally
with a newer ramp worker from Detroit. “We need solidarity in this
fight, us older guys have to stand up for the young guys,” Eves told the
Militant. “We had all these benefits and they don’t.”
Joe Evica, a Ready Reserve worker in Madison, said, “West Virginia
teachers are the example we need to follow.”
“The reason workers came out is from the deteriorating conditions they
face on the job,” Minneapolis ramp worker Marty Knaeble told the
Militant, “combined with confidence that the organizing momentum makes
success possible.”
— Helen Meyers
Related articles:
Teachers mount fights against gov’t attacks
School protests inspire workers, set example
France: Rail workers strike against government attacks
Workers in Puerto Rico resist attacks by US, colonial rulers
Norfolk Southern sues rail workers for crash damage
Colo. teachers rally at Capitol April 16, plan more actions
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