Metro Lighting Workers Fight Against Anti-Union Retaliation
Submitted on Tue, 09/25/2007 - 10:58pm
Union workers at Metro Lighting are resuming picketing today as they strike over the company's unfair labor practices. One union worker was fired last week for both union organizing and raising concerns over workplace exposure to toxic chemicals. The other workers are striking over the company's repeated violations of federal and state labor law and are demanding that all union workers be allowed to return to work.
Fired worker Gabe W. describes the behavior of Metro Lighting owners Lawrence and Christa Grown: "In the process of organizing, the boss made the environment very hostile. He would not negotiate on any terms and started retaliating from that point on. He hired union-busting attorneys, started harassing us at work and started surveillance of us. Our working conditions changed and the employee manual was re-written 3 or 4 times since we started organizing. New rules were made up, our hours were changed, our health care was cut."
Metro Lighting workers have been organizing with the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW, and are fighting for a sustainable wage for all workers, safe working conditions and an end to the age discrimination that has resulted in thousands of dollars in lost wages to one worker in his 60s.
Metro Lighting owners have shown no willingness to negotiate with the union employees. In an attempt to crush the morale of the union workers, they locked them out for over three weeks and claimed to have closed the business due to a "family emergency". The business was clearly open, however, as they were taking appointments through their website or over the phone and have had scabs working in both the retail store and workshop the whole time.
Metro Lighting union workers are asking the community to come out and picket with them in solidarity this week and to let Metro Lighting know that Berkeley won't tolerate a business that is unfair to labor!
For more information, contact Gabe at 510-395-1324.