Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (New York), September 4, 2005, Sunday

Copyright 2005 Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
All Rights Reserved
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (New York)

September 4, 2005 Sunday Metro Edition

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1E

HEADLINE: COMPANY TIME

BYLINE: Joy Davia, jdavia@DemocratandChronicle.com

BODY:
Caldwell strike emblematic of Labor Day meaning
JOY DAVIA
As some people picnic on Labor Day, others will get at the root of what the holiday is all about.
About a dozen of them - union signs strapped to their bodies - paced in front of an Ogden manufacturing plant on a recent morning.
Some booed as a white delivery service van turned into Caldwell Manufacturing. Others waved at a passing, beeping car.
The IUE-CWA Local 81331 workers were three weeks into their strike. That's three weeks without a full paycheck and health and dental benefits.
So what prompted the 40-some workers to strike?
Many of them, after all, have families to support and have had to dip into savings and retirement money to do so.
They believe Caldwell employed unfair labor practices - and their outrage is stoked by a fear that if they didn't take a stand, they may one day be left with paltry benefits - or no job.
In doing so, the workers became an uncommon occurrence in today's labor movement.
Strikes happen in less than 1 percent of collective bargaining cases today, said Lance Compa, who teaches labor law at Cornell University.
Not only that, but the ranks of the unionized keep shrinking.
About 12 percent of wage and salary workers were part of a union in 2004 - down from 20 percent in 1983, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"But there are still strikes," Compa said. "As long as there's a free labor system with the right to organize and bargain, there will be strikes.
The Caldwell strike stems from a National Labor Relations Board ruling that the company engaged in unfair labor practices in contract negotiations.
Caldwell officials didn't give the union information needed in the contract negotiations, the NLRB said. And they offered a final contract when the union said it wasn't finished negotiating, according to an NLRB administrative law judge's June ruling.
Caldwell officials are appealing a part of the ruling that said the company should pay wages and benefits from the expired contract until a new one is agreed upon. "We provided a very solid and sound offer," John Brown, Caldwell's vice president of human resources, has said.
Caldwell, meanwhile, has managed through the use of temporary workers.
But the stakes are high for the striking worker, Compa said.
Jackie Sciarratta, for example, is a striking production worker and a single mother to Tina, 10, who that morning sat near her mother, snacking on a pastry.
Sciarratta's son, John, 20, is in Iraq with the Marine Corps. She was already living paycheck to paycheck, and continues to cut spending where she can. But she's still sending her son care packages.
"I can't afford to be out here," she said, shrugging. "But who can?"
"But there was no option," she added. "We can't let the company treat us so unfairly."
Many of the union workers have labored at Caldwell for decades.
Kevin Doerr, 41, the youngest striker, said he's lucky. He got his two young children - Brandon, 4, and Anthony, 7 months - medical coverage through Child Health Plus. But he doesn't know how much longer he can go without a paycheck, so he's started looking for other work.
"It's a like a slap in the face," he said. "I've been here 20 years and they treat me like this?"
Jim D'Onofrio, a machine operator, is hoping his wife can up her hours at work. For now, he's dipping into his savings.
"We always tried to save for a rainy day," he said. "And it's pouring right now."
About Company Time
Company Time by Joy Davia is about issues workers face on the job and in their careers. Write or e-mail her with story suggestions.