Salem Workers Hear About Occupations, UE & Solidarity

This evening in Salem we heard from a worker who participated in the Republic Windows Doors occupation and a regional organizer from Jobs with Justice (JwJ).The themes of the evening were the successful action at Republic and how and why it won, the need for unity and action and the need to get the Employee Free Choice Act passed and build unions and JwJ at the base. We have blogged a great deal about the struggle at Republic and we're hoping that the Hartmarx workers decide today to follow the example set by the United Electrical workers (UE) at Republic.

You can follow the links above to learn about the tremendous effort and win at Republic and JwJ and UE. What I want to reflect on is the great presentations we heard tonight and how the working class audience in the union hall heard what was being said.

The young Hispanic worker who gave his account of how the union was built at Republic and how the workers there ultimately succeeded in building and using their power spoke plainly and well. He understood and communicated the fears workers feel when we're stuck in that place between retreating and moving forward. He appealed to basic values of fairness, family and community but he also talked frankly about the need to think in terms of class solidarity and the need to step beyond the law. He touched on racial, ethic and gender issues and explained UE's core principles. The JwJ organizer, also a young person of color, dealt with these issues on a more theoretical level but also helped ground people in the immediate issues which are right before us.

The mostly white, mostly female and mostly small-town Oregon crowd heard every word and took it all in. Very few of these workers work in industry or production: most were homecare workers and state workers. Heads nodded and people clapped throughout the presentations and people volunteered that they're ready to march and to support other workers in motion. The questions people asked went right to the heart of the matter: how many workers were involved, why and how did you win, what do you have now. Several people instantly made connections between what the owners of Republic tried to pull off and what the multinationals who own so many Oregon mills are doing.

Workers get it and will go into action if another worker is explaining the issues honestly and is speaking to their own fears and if they can see a path from those fears to victory. Workers can at least begin to cross lines of race, nationality, gender, age and geography if common interests can be brought out, if an organization is present that they have faith in and if an inclusive plan for common struggle can be developed.

The number of people who are members of the Salem-area JwJ probably doubled or tripled this evening. Many people signed up to join the June 7 SEIU march in Portland. We were lucky to have with us someone from Oregon Peace Works and we hope that we can find more and better ways to work with the social movements. If the evening had weaknesses at all, they were that we did not spend enough time together, didn't take the time to discuss the historic roots of UE's principles and we are too slow in building solidarity. Still and all, workers connected with workers and talked about struggle and solidarity and at least a few of us resolved to do more.