By Eileen Purcell
On Wednesday, May 20, more than 60 IBEW 1245 Organizing Stewards and prospective Organizing Stewards filled the largest banquet room at the Bancroft Hotel for the Third Annual Robert Reich Seminar. In addition to Reich, representatives of the Fight for 15, UFCW’s El Super Contract fight, and IBEW Local 77 gave presentations. Special guests Bob King, the former president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), Margo Feinberg, legal counsel for UFCW, labor attorney Bill Carder, and the UC Berkeley Labor Center also joined us.
Organizing Steward Nilda Garcia (PG&E, Sacramento Call Center) kicked off the day, welcoming 1245’s members who hailed from Auburn, Bishop Ranch, Concord, Fresno, Merced, Modesto, Sacramento, Stockton, and San Jose.
IBEW 1245 Organizing Steward Eric Sunderland (SMUD, Sacramento) introduced the first panel which was led by Erika Lenhart, the northern California Coordinator of the East Bay Organizing Committee (EBOC) and organizer of the “Fight for Fifteen.” Shonda Roberts, an EBOC member and fast food worker from KFC and Patricia Contreas, a community organizer from EBASE joined Lenhart to paint the picture of the campaign.
The question: how to leverage enough power to force a $5 billion corporation to raise wages and recognize their workers as people. The answer: by zeroing in on McDonalds, the largest retailer of fast food in the world, acting like a union and building coalitions and solidarity. Roberts described the range of issues fast food workers face, including low wages, irregular hours, and a host of safety violations, such as grease burns, broken tiles and windows, and a chronic lack of security.
Contreas shared the story of building a broad, labor, interfaith community and student coalition that came together on April 15 – tax day – to support 150 workers on strike in northern California. Some 20,000 people took to the streets in northern California alone while 60,000 people occupied McDonalds and other fast food vendors in virtually every major city in the US. In Oakland, protestors successfully shut down every McDonalds at 8 am, the height of the breakfast hour. The net result: extensive national media coverage, heightened awareness about the issues and tangible results in New York City and Los Angeles. Lenhart thanked IBEW 1245 for our solidarity and leadership role in Fresno, Sacramento and the East Bay.
IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar
IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar
Left to right; Margo Feinberg, Robert Reich and Rigo Valdez at the IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., on May 20th, 2015.
IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar
Local 77 members with 1245 members at the IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., on May 20th, 2015.
IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar
Robert Reich speaks at the IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., on May 20th, 2015.
IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar
The IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., on May 20th, 2015.
IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar
Robert Reich speaks at the IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., on May 20th, 2015.
IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar
Left to right; Erika Lenhart, Shonda Roberts and Patricia Contras of the "The Fight for Fifteen" Campaign speak at the IBEW 1245 Annual Robert Reich Seminar at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., on May 20th, 2015.
Stewards and prospective stewards delivered field reports on an array of activities over the last two months:
- Donchele Soper (PG&E Sacramento Contact Center) and Rene Cruz Martinez (PG&E Concord RMC) celebrated the 4th annual Sacramento Charity Bowl which mobilized 110 bowlers and raised over $3,000 for the MVP program.
- Nilda Garcia detailed the TPP Campaign in which stewards have mobilized thousands of phone calls, post cards and visits to congressional representatives urging them to vote no on this anti-worker trade bill; she also pointed out postcards available on each tale and called upon everyone in the room to fill them out and send them to their representative.
- Rachel Ramirez-Hill (PG&E Stockton Local Office) and Kristen Rasmussen (PG&E Stockton Contact Center) reported on the Susan Bonilla Campaign in District 7.
- Steve Marcotte (PG&E Sacramento Contact Center) detailed the Measure B Campaign in Sacramento, which will generate jobs for our Sacramento Regional Transit Workers.
- Anthony Seemster (PG&E Concord RMC) and prospective Organizing Steward Sandi Busse (PG&E Sacramento Contact Center) reported on the APPA Rodeo at which 16 stewards and family members hosted the 1245-sponsored lunch and watched in awe as 1,000 linemen from across the US demonstrated their skill.
IBEW 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell took the stage to thank the stewards for infusing new life and energy into the Local and the labor movement at large, and introduced IBEW Local 77 Business Manager Lou Walters.
Walters and his staff have dedicated time and resources toward building an organizing culture and young worker movement in Washington State. Matt Reese, a journeyman tree trimmer and staff organizer, detailed the Local’s approach to young members. The first step: have fun and meet co-workers. The second step: engage in beneficial activities under the union umbrella. The third step: educate and mobilize by participating in the Renew program, in legislative conferences, new organizing blitzes, meet and greets, trainings, phone banks and next up meetings. Shaunie Wheeler, Local 77’s political action director, addressed the importance of political engagement. Walters thanked Dalzell and Local 1245 for providing such a rich model of organizing and solidarity.
Rigo Valdez, UCFW 770 Director of Organizing rallied the group with the refrain “organize or die” and sketched the compelling story of the contract fight for 600 workers at El Super markets in seven southern California stores and the subsequent boycott. Fighting against the third largest, multi-billion dollar retailer in Mexico, Chedraui, Valdez spelled out how to build power and break through fear by worker organizing and unity, creating strong community coalitions, doing quality research, creating pressure through federal and state agency filings, and even cross-border shareholder resolutions and litigation.
US Labor Secretary and Berkeley professor Robert Reich closed the day. He gave a quick history of unions, the shift from shared prosperity when unions represented 35% of the private sector to now, when union density has dropped to less than 7% in the private sector and inequality has risen to levels not seen since the “Gilded Age” of the robber barons. Reich reminded us that as grim as the times sometimes seem, there have been other times in our history equally grim and worse. He commended IBEW 1245 for the commitment to organizing workers, for holding politicians accountable, and for the drive to fight for economic and social justice for all. He reminded all present that solidarity and action are the best remedies against cynicism, saying:
“Organizing, mobilizing, and energizing takes patience and courage.”
Eileen Purcell is a staff organizer for IBEW 1245.