Unions Trying to Strike a New Balance

Workers at a South Gate window factory picked a lousy time to launch a strike: the afternoon of Sept. 10.

In the days that followed, the 144 assembly and shipping workers at International Window Corp. absorbed the horrific news from the World Trade Center and the Pentagon like everyone else in the nation--slowly and painfully. At the same time, however, they carried picket signs, shouted at busloads of replacement workers and struggled to get the attention of labor allies in the community.

Now, after a month on the strike line, they are mulling over an offer that is far below original expectations. Many are thrilled at the prospect of ending a fight that suddenly paled the day after it began.

“We’ve all been feeling so depressed and down,” said Manuelita Burnett, a 29-year employee who has emerged as a leader on the picket line. “We’re not asking for anything out of this world. All we want is to keep up with the cost of living.”

The small struggle in South Gate is emblematic of a larger dilemma confronting organized labor, which must balance demands for higher wages with the nation’s grim new economic outlook.

Some skeptical activists worry that employers will use the post-terrorism downturn as an opportunity to cut pay and benefits, no matter what the company’s condition. At the same time, they are leery of pushing for hikes as the nation grapples with war.

“Sept. 11 changed the alignment of the universe, and right now labor is struggling to find its place,” said Tom Juravich, who directs the Labor Center at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

“In the next month or so, unions on the ball will be thinking twice about striking. They will work without contracts, whatever it takes, to avoid confrontation. In the short run, there will probably be some sense of wanting to contribute to the effort of getting the country back on track.”

Many low-wage workers were just beginning to feel the payoff from a decade-long economic boom; others had not yet benefited and now feel cheated by the quick turn of fortunes.

“There’s a recognition out there that the ‘90s went by and we didn’t get much,” Juravich said. “Now there is a desire by some to try to grab on to what’s left.”

That was certainly the sense among workers at International Window, a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based International Aluminum Corp., which produces high-end windows, doors and shower enclosures.

Many employees, who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 986, have worked more than 20 years at the factory near the Long Beach (710) Freeway. Most have gone without a raise for the last six years, partly in exchange for generous health benefits. International Aluminum lost money in four of the last six years, but its profit for its fiscal year ended in June tripled to $4.6 million.

This year, workers said, they expected to make up some of that lost ground, particularly because the business seemed to be doing well. Shares of the parent company, International Aluminum, had recovered from a dip in early 2000 and hit a 12-month high of $26.68 on Sept. 17. Shares closed Tuesday at $22.30, down 55 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.

“It’s been building up for a long time,” said Burnett, who added that most workers earn less than $10 an hour. ‘

In early September, the company offered to immediately raise starting wages by 3.5%. But veterans earning over scale--the majority of employees--would have received only a 2% increase. The following two years would have raised veterans’ pay by 1.5% each year.

Susan Leone, vice president for human relations at International Aluminum and the company’s lead negotiator, said the offer would have upgraded several job categories and increased the company’s contribution to a retirement savings plan by 2 cents an hour. She said the total package would have cost the company 10% over three years.

On Sept. 10, members who initially demanded 5% annual raises overwhelmingly voted to reject the offer and strike.

The company took its offer off the table and arranged for replacement workers through a temporary agency. The next morning, Ramon Nunez was on the picket line when a co-worker delivered news of the terrorist attacks.

“That was the worst day,” said Nunez, who sported an American flag on his picket sign. “We stayed here, but we felt very bad, thinking about all those people.”

An immigrant from Mexico and 27-year veteran of the factory, Nunez earned $8.69 an hour. The father of three said his pay had not changed for nine years.

“The worst thing that could have happened to them was that disaster in New York and Washington,” said South Gate City Councilman Henry C. Gonzalez, who added that he offered to mediate the dispute, but was turned down by the company. “They got lost in the shuffle.”

On Sept. 25, the company offered to rehire the strikers at $7.50 an hour--a 33% pay cut for many longtime employees. Less than a dozen went back.

With the help of a federal mediator, both sides returned to the bargaining table Tuesday. A Teamsters official said the workers were considering an offer that was slightly less than the original.