IWW Wobblies March Hillcrest /Picket New Alternatives Inc.
Submitted on Mon, 03/16/2009 - 9:15pm
Fellow Workers,
I am a Wobbly in IU 650 who was trying to organize my
workplace, here in San Diego. I was working at a group home for children with
Severe Emotional Disorders run by a nonprofit called New Alternatives
Incorporated. I started talking to my coworkers on my shift about taking
collective action when I observed it to be an environment of intimidation and
favoritism.
A former Coworker told me it was standard procedure to
harass employees into quiting at New Alternatives Inc. because they didn't want
to pay unemployment. I know when a friend of mine quit without a two week
notice the management called her up two weeks later yelling at her saying she
would not get a good reference from them.â€
I also heard coworkers
from another program stating when they wrote a letter about the problems with a
Shift Supervisor to the Program Manager, the Program Manager gave that letter to
the Shift Supervisor, who met with the signatories individually and scolded
them. This same shift supervisor once said that the employees of her shift
should not expect a break during their eight hour shift.
I had also
talked to an employee who had worked a double shifts which amounted to
double-time hours, in California double time is anything in the excess of twelve
hours in a shift, and distribute them throughout the week so he would not be
paid for double-time. These are just some of the incidents as I had been the
target of harassment as well.
In response to several incidents I began
drafting petitions and distributing amongst my shift. The first petition letter,
which was sent to our Program Manger and courtesy copied to the Executive
Director, dealt with a letter of expectation that we as shift singled us out.
Three of us signed this letter. The result of the meeting is we were able to
meet the Assistant Executive Director who heard our grievances but was sort of
standoffish about the whole incident. The effect was we stood by our decision
not to sign and the whole incident dropped off the map.
I drafted a
second petition letter in response to several issues occurring within the two
programs. I wrote this petition after I filed a ULP on my employer in response
to an incident where I was forced to sign a false Plan of Correction and then
taken off the floor with no explanation. Five coworkers signed this letter.
The results were pretty astounding in the fact the Shift Supervisor in the other
program was eventually forced to resign, I was paid the hours I was pulled off
the floor and allowed to rewrite my plan of correction.
The final
petition requested that all staff working holidays be given Holiday pay. Nine
coworkers signed on to this document. It was rejected by management but the
most important aspect was the number were beginning to grow.
I was
talking to other shifts about organizing and making progress until I was
terminated on February 20, 2009. They had taken an incident that had occurred
with a client and used it to fire me, even though I had seen Shift Supervisors
do worse and with no consequence.
When I was fired on the phone, I was
told if I tried to appeal my firing Child Protective Services and Community Care
Licensing might be brought in. I sent a letter to the Assistant Executive
Director asking for a review of the decision. On Thursday, March 12, three
weeks after incident and my firing, I got a call from CPS stating they had
started an investigation of the incident.
During my time at New
Alternatives, I was in constant contact with the Los Angeles GMB. In response to
the bogus firing and report, we have organized several actions. Last Friday,
Wobbs and community supporters came together to picket the office of the
Executive Director along with my facility. Los Angeles and Portland members of
IU 650 have come together to execute a fax and phone action. We need the help
of other Wobbs to make sure this pressure is constant and powerful.
If
you want to join in this campaign email Daniel Gall at
[email protected]
Here is footage of the
action on March 13, 2009.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/03/14/18577039.php
In Solidarity,
FW Adam
Case