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Strike-Ending Pact Reached at New Era
CWA negotiators reached a four-year agreement with New Era Cap Co. late Monday night, which upon ratification will conclude an 11-month strike against the company’s Derby, N.Y. plant.
In the end, the company met all of the union’s demands: for input into establishing a fair and consistent pay scale, for union participation to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, for return to work and shift selection based upon seniority, and for a severance package for workers choosing not to return or who have taken other jobs.
“Local 14177 can be very proud of this contract and for sticking together so long in the face of a tough and unyielding employer,” said Bill Boarman, CWA vice president for the Printing Sector.
“The diligence and persistence of the local and of Upstate New York/New England Director Dave Palmer played a major role in moving us to the end of one of the longest strikes ever in District 1,” said Larry Mancino, CWA vice president for the district who attended a contract explanation meeting at the local on June 6.
The strikers held frequent rallies at the Derby plant, maintained a picket line through harsh winter weather, leafleted sporting goods stores and conducted letter-writing campaigns in support of their cause.
“We have so many people to thank – community people, church groups, other unions, and students who brought our fight to college campuses across the nation,” said Local 14177 President Jane Howald.
Businesses in the Derby community donated food and supplies to the strikers. Local unions from throughout upstate New York sent supporters to rallies and the picket line. The Worker Rights Consortium called upon colleges and universities to drop New Era as a supplier because it operated an unsafe plant. United Students Against Sweatshops published a study branding New Era a “sweat shop employer” and its campus coordinators launched demonstrations to influence school administrators. A dozen universities and at least one high school suspended contracts with New Era.
The AFL-CIO Strategic Approaches Committee and Jobs with Justice contributed support, and numerous public officials pressured the company on the workers’ behalf.
The turning point, said CWA President Morton Bahr, may have come after Senate Judiciary Committee members Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) wrote to Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig. The letter urged Selig to “hold New Era to the highest standards, in keeping with the best traditions of our national pastime.” The company, under license, manufactures all caps worn on the field by Major League Baseball teams and which are sold to the public at stadiums and in sporting goods stores. The Major League Baseball Players Association has been supportive of the Derby workers throughout the strike.
Under terms of the agreement, Palmer said, the company will vacate all positions at the factory, expand from two to three shifts and allow Local 14177 members first right of return to work.
All workers will return at significantly improved average pre-strike base wages for the first four weeks, Palmer said, while A-Team and repair positions will be paid 130 percent of the base rate. Over a period of four weeks an independent firm will conduct time studies, with CWA input, to develop reasonable engineered standards. Hourly workers will receive raises of 13 cents upon ratification and on each anniversary of the contract.
Other significant improvements: New Era will develop a safety and health committee, with CWA membership at every level. Company payment toward health insurance has been raised above levels New Era imposed last year, and there are improvements in both the amount and flexibility to use paid time off (PTO) days.
Ratification is scheduled for June 21, allowing the company to vacate current positions and to determine how many strikers are returning to work, Palmer said.
In the end, the company met all of the union’s demands: for input into establishing a fair and consistent pay scale, for union participation to ensure a safe and healthy work environment, for return to work and shift selection based upon seniority, and for a severance package for workers choosing not to return or who have taken other jobs.
“Local 14177 can be very proud of this contract and for sticking together so long in the face of a tough and unyielding employer,” said Bill Boarman, CWA vice president for the Printing Sector.
“The diligence and persistence of the local and of Upstate New York/New England Director Dave Palmer played a major role in moving us to the end of one of the longest strikes ever in District 1,” said Larry Mancino, CWA vice president for the district who attended a contract explanation meeting at the local on June 6.
The strikers held frequent rallies at the Derby plant, maintained a picket line through harsh winter weather, leafleted sporting goods stores and conducted letter-writing campaigns in support of their cause.
“We have so many people to thank – community people, church groups, other unions, and students who brought our fight to college campuses across the nation,” said Local 14177 President Jane Howald.
Businesses in the Derby community donated food and supplies to the strikers. Local unions from throughout upstate New York sent supporters to rallies and the picket line. The Worker Rights Consortium called upon colleges and universities to drop New Era as a supplier because it operated an unsafe plant. United Students Against Sweatshops published a study branding New Era a “sweat shop employer” and its campus coordinators launched demonstrations to influence school administrators. A dozen universities and at least one high school suspended contracts with New Era.
The AFL-CIO Strategic Approaches Committee and Jobs with Justice contributed support, and numerous public officials pressured the company on the workers’ behalf.
The turning point, said CWA President Morton Bahr, may have come after Senate Judiciary Committee members Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) wrote to Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig. The letter urged Selig to “hold New Era to the highest standards, in keeping with the best traditions of our national pastime.” The company, under license, manufactures all caps worn on the field by Major League Baseball teams and which are sold to the public at stadiums and in sporting goods stores. The Major League Baseball Players Association has been supportive of the Derby workers throughout the strike.
Under terms of the agreement, Palmer said, the company will vacate all positions at the factory, expand from two to three shifts and allow Local 14177 members first right of return to work.
All workers will return at significantly improved average pre-strike base wages for the first four weeks, Palmer said, while A-Team and repair positions will be paid 130 percent of the base rate. Over a period of four weeks an independent firm will conduct time studies, with CWA input, to develop reasonable engineered standards. Hourly workers will receive raises of 13 cents upon ratification and on each anniversary of the contract.
Other significant improvements: New Era will develop a safety and health committee, with CWA membership at every level. Company payment toward health insurance has been raised above levels New Era imposed last year, and there are improvements in both the amount and flexibility to use paid time off (PTO) days.
Ratification is scheduled for June 21, allowing the company to vacate current positions and to determine how many strikers are returning to work, Palmer said.