-------- Original Message -------- Subject: (en) US--Labor militancy in L.A. (Frd) Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 13:31:12 -0400 From: "Robby Barnes" <robby_barnes at hotmail.com> Reply-To: a-infos-d at lists.tao.ca To: "Post to A-Infos" <a-infos-en at tao.ca>
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A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
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Los Angeles leads America back to union militancy: Membership rises as actors strike and teachers march
As the strike by US actors enters its 10th week and other workers take to the streets to press for higher pay, Los Angeles has become the the unofficial capital of union activity in the United States. The militancy, which has led to arrests and shut down parts of the city, is being heralded as the rebirth of union activism in the US.
William Daniels Dustin Hoffman's father in the film The Graduate is leading one of the bitterest strikes in entertainment history as head of the Screen Actors Guild which, with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, called the strike against advertisers who want to pay actors lump sums rather than repeat fees. The mainly low-paid actors say it will leave them much worse off.
Meanwhile, teachers have taken their dispute to the streets, homecare workers have brought city centre traffic to a halt and hotel workers have been gathering outside Loew's hotel in Santa Monica to win union recognition there and in other hotels in the city.
The hotel workers are led by Maria Elena Durazo, president of the local Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union (Here). Like her, many of the activists are from Latino immigrant families.
"Some people may not realise it yet but the city is better off with all this union activity because we are organising people in a productive way," she said. To leave the frustrations festering would be to create the climate that led to the Los Angeles riots of 1992.
Only 14% of US workers belong to unions 9% in the private sector, which includes many of the worst paid jobs in services and in sweatshops. But last year membership increased after 10 years of decline. It is noticeable that many of the growing number on picket lines and at rallies are much younger than the traditional image of union activists.
"For many decades, labour was like an institution, a dinosaur," the organising director of the LA county federation of labour, Jon Barton, said.
"Now it is trying to become more of a movement. More and more students are being recruited on campus [to work as interns in unions] and we are putting 30% of our resources into organising. Last year 91,000 workers were organised here, and we've or ganised another 3,000 in the last month."
Another factor is the ending of traditional labour hostility towards illegal migrant workers. The unions are campaigning officially for amnesties for illegal workers, many of who are in the worst-paid jobs, which provide rich opportunities for union recruitment.
"There is a combination of forces propelling things," said David Koff, Here's senior research analyst. "You have a huge pool of immigrant workers and there is also this political power which the Latinos have now. There is also a level of cooperation between unions that did not happen even two or three years ago."
Last week more than 2,000 teachers rallied in protest against a pay offer. The previous day 300 government-employed homecare workers brought traffic in the centre of the city to a standstill.
Not that the employers are rolling over. Although earlier this year the striking LA caretakers who feature in Ken Loach's new film Bread and Roses won their campaign for higher wages, other disputes have been more prolonged.
Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles
Tuesday July 4, 2000
The Guardian (UK)
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