OWLS Meeting via Zoom –
Tuesday May 26, 7pm

Amid the current pandemic and economic crisis strikes are breaking out across the country. Workers around the world are fighting back and raising the demand No Safety, No Work! Fruit packers in Eastern Washington are currently leading the battle for safety and respect on the job in the food production industry.

Last week, OWLS member Linda Averill joined the strikers, a racially diverse, majority immigrant workforce that may be poised to win historic gains as they fight for protective equipment and other measures, respect, and unionization against a $2.5 billion dollar industry well-known for its callous disregard of workers’ rights.

Join the OWLS meeting to hear about the strikes and updates on other labor battles, and discuss how we can make gains for all workers during the pandemic.

Zoom info below:
Please register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkc-morDorH9PfP7tRjKrX2Q23sVXagBq3
You will receive an immediate confirmation with log in info.

On Saturday, May 9.    A motorcade initiated by Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS) of over 60 vehicles wound its way through the streets of Seattle.  The cavalcade assembled at a parking lot in the Industrial District, and proceeded to workplaces that highlighted conditions and demands by frontline workers, including bus drivers, postal service, hospital, grocery and meat-processing workers.  Laborers in caution-orange shirts marshalled the motorcade into the street.

In contrast to recent right-wing “open it up” rallies, participants wore masks to highlight Motorcade demands for worker personal protective equipment (PPE). Vehicles sported signs declaring, “No safety, no work!” Two fire trucks, numerous Metro buses, and delivery trucks honked horns in support. The Motorcade was also streamed live to supporters at home, and is recorded on Facebook.com/OrganizedWorkers.

As the procession circled Harborview and Swedish medical centers, University of Washington custodian Salvador Castillo reported on the lack of adequate protective supplies or training, with management saying “you don’t need to worry.”    Members and supporters of United Food & Commercial Workers 21 were stretched along the sidewalk outside the QFC at Broadway and Pike Street, cheering the motorcade as it passed.  The grocery’s corporate owner, Kroger, “amassed record-breaking profits” UFCW21 member Jeannette Randall said, “but they just said they’re stopping ‘hazard pay’ and don’t foresee extending it.”

Jared Houston also objected to the “wait and see” attitude of management “unless we push them” to act on safety concerns.  His employer PCC, “a nice friendly coop,” cannot claim poverty while supermarket sales continue to skyrocket. An OWLS member later read a statement from “Friends of Tyson Workers,”  that described how, with 251 employees testing positive for COVID-19, that non-union meatpacking plant in Walula “has restarted operations while sick employees’ basic financial and medical needs remain unmet….Washington and Walla Walla County have to hold Tyson accountable (for) an outbreak that has already caused unnecessary death.”

At the 3rd Avenue post office downtown, postal retiree Bob James talked about Trump and McConnell’s threats to destroy that grand institution, founded by Ben Franklin and enshrined in the Constitution.  “America needs to support the Postal Service” by including it in the next stimulus package from Congress, James said.  Not only is USPS “the single largest civilian employer of veterans,” but vital during the crisis for delivery of prescriptions, testing kits being prepared by the CDC, and mail ballots to ensure a fair election.  At the post office, Amalgamated Transit Union 587 members James Pratt and Linda Averill mailed a petition with over 3,000 signatures to King County Metro calling for “urgent measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.”

The motorcade ended at the shuttered Edgewater Hotel, site of a contract dispute with UNITE!/HERE 8 members until they were laid off during the shutdown of tourist activities.  Edgewater shop steward Jeremy Sharp urged everyone to donate to the local’s Hardship Fund by going to www.UniteHere8.org/donate. OWLS member Kevin Allen, President of the Puget Sound Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, said that Black and workers of color are overrepresented in those sick and being pushed back to work. “Now we’re called ‘essential,’ before we were called ‘whatever,” he said.

The diversity and breadth of the motorcade was evident where members of more than a dozen unions, community, and labor groups gathered, socially distanced, for a closing rally. Miriam Padilla read greetings of international solidarity in English and Spanish from the Mexican Partido Obrero Socialismo. Support statements from unionists in Brazil, Argentina, and from the Freedom Socialist Party in the U.S. and Australia were also read. Radical Women Organizer Gina Petry spoke to the disproportionate impact of the virus on women and people of color.

Going forward, OWLS spokeswoman Maxine Reigel rejected fantasies about “just going back to normal — ‘cause we’re not gonna do that,” calling for “30 hours work for 40 hours pay” and a massive public works program to address skyrocketing unemployment. Allen warned that “the right is out here” in rallies like one in Olympia that same day. “It’s time for us to stand up and raise our voice…all of us are ‘do-ers’ today!”

Check Facebook.com/OrganizedWorkers for continued organizing around these issues. Further actions union “do-ers” can take include the following from participants:

• Go to https://1199nwcovidresponse.org/actions/ for three petitions to Congress, Washington State and healthcare employers (in cooperation with Washington State Nurses Association, UFCW21 and OPEIU8.)
• At the website for org “Search” enter “Grocery Store Workers Demand Action” for their petition.
• At org. use the “Legislation/Take Action “ drop box for their petition.
• Call Congress now demanding the Postal Service be included in the next stimulus bills. See org for information.

 OWLS Solidarity Check-in – Friday, May 15, 7pm

Across the U.S. front- line workers are walking off their jobs, striking, launching petitions campaigns, and engaging in other acts of self-defense to gain protective equipment, sick leave, hazard pay and more. Equally exciting, cross-industry labor solidarity is on the rise. OWLS hosts a discussion about these critical developments, and how to build on these trends so that workers’ rights are strengthened in response to the lingering pandemic and economic crisis.

Register for the meeting on Zoom by going to https://bit.ly/owls5-15-20

Help plan an Emergency Motorcade to Support Front line Workers
OWLS is spearheading a motorcade to help essential workers put a spotlight on critical safety demands and press for pro-labor solutions to the pandemic and deepening economic downturn. Led by front line bus drivers, grocery clerks, custodians and other essential workers, the motorcade will stop at strategic locations to highlight some current workplace struggles. Your ideas, skills and creativity are needed as plans for the route and messaging are firmed up.

Also Updates on Frontline Workers’ Campaigning for COVID19 Measures and history on the meaning of May Day and the West Coast Waterfront Strike
Transit workers, custodians, and others report on changing conditions; Learn the history of May Day and how workers shut down the West Coast Waterfront in 1934, starting on May 9th.

To join the April 28 OWLS ZOOM online meeting:
By computer or smartphone:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9916930964
Meeting ID: 991 693 0964
Password: 337891

By Phone:
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
Meeting ID: 991 693 0964
Password: 337891

https://www.change.org/p/king-county-council-support-frontline-metro-transit-workers-call-for-urgent-measures-to-stem-covid19-spread

On Tuesday, April 7, at 11:30am, public transit workers at King County/Metro will hold a virtual news conference calling for urgent measures needed to better shield transit workers and riders from COVID 19. The news conference will be via  Zoom. OWLS will livestream the news conference on its facebook page at facebook.com/OrganizedWorkers

Transit workers will announce delivery of an Open Letter to King County Government, signed by more than 50 King County Metro transit workers. Supported by Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS), bus, rail, and streetcar operators, mechanics, supervisors and custodians will tell their stories to underscore the urgency of their demands. It will begin with a remembrance of fallen bus drivers Scott Ryan and Jason Hargrove, both of whom died from COVID19 after expressing concern about a lack of safety measures on public transit.

The Open Letter includes calls for more transparent reporting of COVID19 cases to front line workers, reduced hours and hazard pay, full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training for bus cleaners, custodians, operators and others whose jobs require frequent exposure to the coronavirus, and daily changing of bus filters.

OPEN LETTER
to King County Council, King County Executive Dow Constantine,
Metro General Manager Rob Gannon, and Metro Ombudsman

We, the undersigned transit workers at King County Metro, and members of Amalgamated Transit Union 587, call on King County government to immediately implement the following emergency measures to help contain the spread of coronavirus on our public transit system.

• Full transparency and disclosure of coronavirus cases in the workplace, throughout the system; Rescind the policy, stated in a March 23, 2020 General Manager’s Bulletin, that “unless the employee was symptomatic in the workplace, we are not providing notifications to immediate coworkers.” Equally unacceptable in the same bulletin is Metro’s stated policy that “we will not be announcing or addressing every new illness or positive case in the workplace.” This violates the most basic worker protections, and puts not only transit workers at unnecessary risk, but also the riders we are transporting.

• On a daily basis, clean, sanitize and change the filters of every bus that goes into service. Provide full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safe practices training for all workers involved in cleaning buses. Because this virus is communicated primarily through respiratory droplets, clean air filter systems are fundamental to curbing the spread of COVID19. As well, to further protect riders and drivers, provide PPE to all transit operators for assisting riders with disabilities, when social distancing rules are not practicable. Guarantee access to handwashing stations and break times to use the stations.

• Institute hazard pay in the form of 40 hours pay for 30 hours work for all transit workers who are serving in harm’s way. Better distribution of work and less time on the job means less exposure, and less of the stress that can undermine workers’ immune systems. Provide full wages for all high-risk workers who are forced to stay at home and/or are caring for dependents, until it is safe to return to work.

Going into this crisis, King County Metro has failed to live up to its Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan. Inequity, discrimination, and injustice have been allowed to thrive, while management remains immovable and indifferent, and even retaliates against employees who raise problems or concerns. This culture impairs safety under normal circumstances, and now has created a highly toxic work environment that jeopardizes the lives of workers and the riding public.

It is critical now, more than ever, that Metro management turns this around, listen to its front line workers, and step up and provide the basic elements of a safe environment for workers and riders. We are all in this together. We won’t be able to flatten the curve unless everyone does their part.

Respectfully,
Linda Averill, Streetcar Supervisor, Shop Steward;  Cheryl Jones, East Base (EB) Part-time Transit Operator (PTTO); Mohammad Bazargan, North Base (NB) Full-time Transit Operator (FTTO), James Pratt, Component Supply Center (CSC) Mechanic; Todd Jader, CSC; Adam Arriaga, CSC Mechanic; Doug Frechin, NB PTTO, Shop Steward; Tim Wong, Equipment Service Worker (ESW) CSC; Julian Marquez, CSC Mechanic; Brian Cabera, CSC Mechanic; Lenneth Richard; Robert Bonina, Link Light Rail Operator (LLR), ATU 587 Executive Board Officer; Issiac Dickens, Streetcar Track Maintainer, shop steward; Stan Straker, Atlantic Base (AB) Mechanic, Shop Steward, Safety Committee member; Hassan Osman, NB FTTO, shop steward; Jose Rosado, South Base (SB) FTTO, shop steward, Tyrone Dumas, Streetcar Operator; Francis Lebel, Bellevue Base (BB); Karen Berry, TO, Lisa Randle, TO; Daryoush Hakki, Link Light Rail Supervisor; Brian St. Pierre, TO; Patricia Keels-Venable; Dionna Anderson, TO; David Elleby, TO; Thomas Nary Hayes,TO; Brenda Schwald, Streetcar Operator, shop steward; Juanita Baker, BB FTTO; Josey Woods, NB TO; Betty Park, SB TO; Nick Ryan, Ryerson Base (RB) TO; Arwin Apolonia, NB TO; Kathy McMahon; Aries Dial; JoAnn Oligario, CB FTTO; Rodolfo Franco, Streetcar Operator; Fredrick Coats, First-line Supervisor; Mary Montgomery, CB FTTO; Vlash Naidu, CB FTTO; Heidi Barack, AB FTTO; Michael Fox CB FTTO; Emily Paine, AB PTTO; Albert Galange, CB FTTO; Kahurangi Pere, Atlantic Base Safety Team, PTTO; Mary Buada RB FTTO; Stephanie Jacobs, CB; Mike Cannon, CB FTTO; Ed Duncan, NB FTTO; Tanisha Labossiere; Juan G. Hood III, Facilities  Custodian Shop Steward. 

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