Organizing Doubles CWA Membership at Helena Labs

Meeting with workers and building rapport with management enabled Local 6139 to double membership at Helena Labs. Pictured: Vonda Gore, Labs employee and a local organizer, with local Vice President Calvin Carter, left, and President Marc LaRousse.

At Helena Laboratories in Beaumont, Texas, signing up new members has sometimes been tough. But Local 6139 has shown that persistence pays off. Through a concerted effort to build power at the bargaining table, this year, the local has doubled the number of CWAers at Helena to 203, raising membership to 54 percent of the unit.

“We made it our priority to let represented workers know who CWA is and what it really means for them,” said local president Marc LaRousse who makes regular trips to the lab with local vice president Calvin Carter. “Educating workers about how their new contract resulted in a double-digit wage increase made a big difference.”

In the past, management tried to limit the local’s access to workers and even escorted LaRousse and Carter from the property. So Local 6139 bargained new access in a new contract with Helena Labs. “To get better access to the workers we represent, we needed to utilize every opportunity to have a role in the employer’s new hire orientation,” Carter said.

The local also worked to build a relationship with management. “They have a better understanding of how a union can be helpful,” Carter said. “Our job is to protect and represent employees, but we can get the word to a worker who might be having a problem on the job. This helps both the worker and the company, and the company gains because union input can prevent a situation from escalating to disciplinary action or termination.”

Local 6139 credits Vonda Gore, a key member of the organizing team and a Helena Labs worker, for building the union. During breaks and lunches, Gore meets with co-workers in her department and others to talk about the union and answer questions. “Having them hear from one of their co-workers about what persuaded me to join and get active in CWA makes a difference,” she said.