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Printing Sector Rolls Out `I-95 Initiative'
Printing plants and mail houses up and down the Interstate 95 corridor produce and distribute more than 35 percent of the nation's printed material. From Washington, D.C., through New York State they crank out everything from basic handbills and brochures to glossy annual reports and high-quality sales materials. Ninety-three percent of those shops - employing 150,000 workers - are non-union.
That's the organizing challenge confronting a half-dozen locals within the CWA Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector operating along the I-95 corridor. Working with the leadership of the sector, the I-95 locals have developed a cooperative effort coupling traditional organizing techniques with sophisticated research and communications tools to expand union penetration in the printing industry.
"We're facing an industry roughly the size of the U.S. steel industry in terms of employment and value and it is overwhelmingly non-union," says CWA Vice President Bill Boarman, president of the PPMWS. He says that despite the growth of the Internet, or perhaps because of that growth, the demand for printing and mailing services is expected to soar even more quickly in the years ahead. And, workers are looking for union job security in an industry that is rapidly consolidating to exploit new technology.
The project got its start late last year when Boarman called together six locals whose jurisdictions cover the major cities along the northeast corridor. After that session, Wayne Mitchell, president of New York City Mailers Local 6/CWA Local 14170, said, "We recognized that none of our locals individually had the resources to do any extensive organizing, but by working in teams, we could make some definite progress."
The six locals combined committed $165,000 to get the ball rolling, said Al Rudy, the sector's national organizing coordinator.
With support and encouragement from CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, the sector hired John August, a veteran organizer in health care and former assistant director of organizing for the Teamsters, to coordinate the project and work with other sector locals in putting together campaigns.
In May, about 30 volunteers from participating locals attended a sector organizing institute in Baltimore, put together with the assistance of CWA staff. Yvette Herrera, assistant to Cohen for education and training; Hetty Scofield, education specialist; Ron Collins, District 2 organizing coordinator; and Sumanta Ray, research economist, all contributed expertise. The mailers and printers left the conference swimming in details on organizing techniques and the state of their industry. They pledged to work during off hours to make house calls and to follow up on organizing leads as the need arises.
They will be assisted by three full-time organizers: In New York, Laura Kaplan is working with New York Typographical Union 6/CWA Local 14156 and Mailers Local 6. Mark Raleigh has been assigned to work with Reading, Pa., CWA Local 14830. John Kirby, vice president of CWA Local 14195, will organize in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Columbia Typographical Union 101-12/CWA Local 14200 and Mailers Local 29/CWA Local 14170 in Washington, D.C., are in the process of hiring a full-time organizer.
Rudy said that already CWA has found a strong receptivity for the union message among workers in the industry. By June, participating locals had added six new units, including four commercial printing plants, a photo lab and a new unit within the Government Printing Office - most of them card check, voluntary recognitions.
Subsequently, the Columbia Typographical Union 101-12/CWA Local 14200 won voluntary recognition for three photo technicians at Capitol Photo in Mt. Rainier, Md. PPMWS Mailer Coordinator Hunter Phillips led the successful campaign, assisted by local president Bill Burgess.
"We're in this for the long haul," stressed Boarman. "We realize the gains will be incremental, but the potential is enormous."
Cohen had high praise for the six locals involved. "Their cooperation and commitment are phenomenal," he said. "What they are doing takes organizing to a new level."
To support the project and gather organizing leads, the sector has launched an Internet site at www.printworkers.org
That's the organizing challenge confronting a half-dozen locals within the CWA Printing, Publishing and Media Workers Sector operating along the I-95 corridor. Working with the leadership of the sector, the I-95 locals have developed a cooperative effort coupling traditional organizing techniques with sophisticated research and communications tools to expand union penetration in the printing industry.
"We're facing an industry roughly the size of the U.S. steel industry in terms of employment and value and it is overwhelmingly non-union," says CWA Vice President Bill Boarman, president of the PPMWS. He says that despite the growth of the Internet, or perhaps because of that growth, the demand for printing and mailing services is expected to soar even more quickly in the years ahead. And, workers are looking for union job security in an industry that is rapidly consolidating to exploit new technology.
The project got its start late last year when Boarman called together six locals whose jurisdictions cover the major cities along the northeast corridor. After that session, Wayne Mitchell, president of New York City Mailers Local 6/CWA Local 14170, said, "We recognized that none of our locals individually had the resources to do any extensive organizing, but by working in teams, we could make some definite progress."
The six locals combined committed $165,000 to get the ball rolling, said Al Rudy, the sector's national organizing coordinator.
With support and encouragement from CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen, the sector hired John August, a veteran organizer in health care and former assistant director of organizing for the Teamsters, to coordinate the project and work with other sector locals in putting together campaigns.
In May, about 30 volunteers from participating locals attended a sector organizing institute in Baltimore, put together with the assistance of CWA staff. Yvette Herrera, assistant to Cohen for education and training; Hetty Scofield, education specialist; Ron Collins, District 2 organizing coordinator; and Sumanta Ray, research economist, all contributed expertise. The mailers and printers left the conference swimming in details on organizing techniques and the state of their industry. They pledged to work during off hours to make house calls and to follow up on organizing leads as the need arises.
They will be assisted by three full-time organizers: In New York, Laura Kaplan is working with New York Typographical Union 6/CWA Local 14156 and Mailers Local 6. Mark Raleigh has been assigned to work with Reading, Pa., CWA Local 14830. John Kirby, vice president of CWA Local 14195, will organize in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Columbia Typographical Union 101-12/CWA Local 14200 and Mailers Local 29/CWA Local 14170 in Washington, D.C., are in the process of hiring a full-time organizer.
Rudy said that already CWA has found a strong receptivity for the union message among workers in the industry. By June, participating locals had added six new units, including four commercial printing plants, a photo lab and a new unit within the Government Printing Office - most of them card check, voluntary recognitions.
Subsequently, the Columbia Typographical Union 101-12/CWA Local 14200 won voluntary recognition for three photo technicians at Capitol Photo in Mt. Rainier, Md. PPMWS Mailer Coordinator Hunter Phillips led the successful campaign, assisted by local president Bill Burgess.
"We're in this for the long haul," stressed Boarman. "We realize the gains will be incremental, but the potential is enormous."
Cohen had high praise for the six locals involved. "Their cooperation and commitment are phenomenal," he said. "What they are doing takes organizing to a new level."
To support the project and gather organizing leads, the sector has launched an Internet site at www.printworkers.org