Search News
For the Media
For media inquiries, call CWA Communications at 202-434-1168 or email comms@cwa-union.org. To read about CWA Members, Leadership or Industries, visit our About page.
Settlement Ends Workers’ Fight to Save Jobs at Quadrtech
Ending a two-year struggle for a contract, 80 workers at a Los Angeles-area jewelry manufacturer have voted to accept a $675,000 settlement that gives them a measure of economic justice while allowing their employer to move the plant to Mexico.
A federal judge last year ruled that the company, Quadrtech, violated U.S. labor law by attempting to move the plant to Mexico after the Los Angeles workers voted in 2000 for representation by IUE, now IUE-CWA.
Despite the injunction barring Quadrtech from leaving the country — an unprecedented ruling — the company continued to subcontract work and move equipment and supplies to Mexico. The company also retaliated against union supporters by raising production quotas, denying overtime and taking other punitive actions detailed in more than 100 unfair labor practice allegations the union brought to the National Labor Relations Board.
“For the past two years, these workers have been threatened, harassed and some even fired just because they wanted to exercise their right to have a union,” said Micheal Hartigan, president of CWA Local 9400, which currently represents the Quadrtech workers. “This settlement is a victory in forcing an employer to compensate its workers for exporting their jobs and abusing their rights. Nonetheless, it also spotlights serious deficiencies in the law that allow workers to suffer even when they are in the right.”
If Quadrtech meets all conditions of the settlement, the union will drop the ULP charges and end contempt proceedings regarding the initial court injunction.
Although the company now has to compensate workers for their lost jobs, union leaders say owners took advantage of weak U.S. labor laws to get what they wanted: A Mexican plant with no union.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” IUE-CWA President Edward Fire said. “ We believe that the workers would have ultimately prevailed in their charges, but at what cost and to what result? The settlement provides severance pay based on length of service and compensation for vacation, overtime and back wages due to current and former workers. Average back pay awards are $4,600, though some total four times that amount. The average severance payment is $3,400. The majority of workers will be laid off starting August 30.
“This experience has taught me and my family a lot about our rights under the law, and we have shared that lesson throughout the community,” said Maria Cervantes, an eight-year employee of Quadrtech. “We all would be much worse off if we didn’t have the union fighting with us. The union gave us strength and showed us that we can demand and win justice and dignity.”
The union and the workers thanked NLRB Region 21 staff for the many hours of work they put into pursuing the case and its settlement. “The NLRB was critical to reaching this settlement,” IUE-CWA District 8 President Bruce Van Ess said. “They truly cared about these workers.”
A federal judge last year ruled that the company, Quadrtech, violated U.S. labor law by attempting to move the plant to Mexico after the Los Angeles workers voted in 2000 for representation by IUE, now IUE-CWA.
Despite the injunction barring Quadrtech from leaving the country — an unprecedented ruling — the company continued to subcontract work and move equipment and supplies to Mexico. The company also retaliated against union supporters by raising production quotas, denying overtime and taking other punitive actions detailed in more than 100 unfair labor practice allegations the union brought to the National Labor Relations Board.
“For the past two years, these workers have been threatened, harassed and some even fired just because they wanted to exercise their right to have a union,” said Micheal Hartigan, president of CWA Local 9400, which currently represents the Quadrtech workers. “This settlement is a victory in forcing an employer to compensate its workers for exporting their jobs and abusing their rights. Nonetheless, it also spotlights serious deficiencies in the law that allow workers to suffer even when they are in the right.”
If Quadrtech meets all conditions of the settlement, the union will drop the ULP charges and end contempt proceedings regarding the initial court injunction.
Although the company now has to compensate workers for their lost jobs, union leaders say owners took advantage of weak U.S. labor laws to get what they wanted: A Mexican plant with no union.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” IUE-CWA President Edward Fire said. “ We believe that the workers would have ultimately prevailed in their charges, but at what cost and to what result? The settlement provides severance pay based on length of service and compensation for vacation, overtime and back wages due to current and former workers. Average back pay awards are $4,600, though some total four times that amount. The average severance payment is $3,400. The majority of workers will be laid off starting August 30.
“This experience has taught me and my family a lot about our rights under the law, and we have shared that lesson throughout the community,” said Maria Cervantes, an eight-year employee of Quadrtech. “We all would be much worse off if we didn’t have the union fighting with us. The union gave us strength and showed us that we can demand and win justice and dignity.”
The union and the workers thanked NLRB Region 21 staff for the many hours of work they put into pursuing the case and its settlement. “The NLRB was critical to reaching this settlement,” IUE-CWA District 8 President Bruce Van Ess said. “They truly cared about these workers.”