KC
17th March 2008, 18:55
Capital Returns Update Following the Rally
First of all, we would like to thank all the people who came out in the freezing cold to support the workers of Capital Returns. Many of you are probably wondering what is going on with the campaign and why there wasn’t a follow-up immediately after the rally. Anyway, I just want to give everyone an update as to what is going on.
Prior to the rally, the company brought in a State Representative by the name of Jason Fields, a democrat and African American. Rep. Fields, an anti union democrat has a niece who works at Capital Returns in the human resources department which has been at the lead of the union busting attack. Anyway, Rep. Fields had a captive audience meeting and told the low income work force that Capital Returns was in fact a “great place to work” and if a union were to come in, that the chances of the company closing would become very great; something that we know to be completely untrue based on profits that the GENCO Capital Returns posted last year and potential contract that the company is prepared to get with Wal-Mart.
Along with the remarks against the union that Rep. Fields expressed to the workers; the company has continually held an hour and a half meetings with the workers aimed completely at scaring and intimidating them to vote NO leading up to the election. Because of the power structure that doesn’t give the United Steelworkers or any community organization the chance to tell workers at these meetings the merits of what becoming the union could get them: fair pay, decent healthcare, accountability of management, a grievance procedure and many other basic rights, the only thing that the workers of Capital Returns are hearing is the negatives that are told and told again to them in meetings that the company is holding with the workers.
As you may have noticed at the rally, there were a lower number than expected amount of employees coming out the main gate. What happened was that the company knew the symbolic power that all of us would have if they were seen by the workforce so in response to this, the company hired airport vans to transport the workers out the back entrance to an undisclosed parking lot so that they would not see the people at the gates.
Following the rally, and before the elections, probably the slimiest thing that the Capital Returns did to see to it that the company would not become union was giving the workers a 2 and a half percent pay increase. This might sound good any other way, but the way in which they conducted this pay increase was very cold and calculated. The company stipulated that the pay increase would show up on the pay stub that came the week before the election (and the pay increase would be retro-active back to the first of the year). This essentially meant that although their pay increase would only be about 10 dollars per paycheck, because it was retro active back to the first of the year, it looked like on the pay stub leading up to the elections that they had received a 40 or 50 dollar pay increase per pay period. Following the election, when the pay increase normalizes, the big boost in money that the workers received on the pay stub right before the elections will all but disappear the paycheck after the election!
Following the rally, the United Steelworkers, with the help of organizers from all over the Milwaukee area blitzed the streets to do house calls at the workers homes. After going to 210 houses over the course of 3 days, they were only able to speak to less than ten and on the day that the union meeting came up, only 3 workers showed.
With elections at Capital Returns coming up next Thursday, the chances of the United Steelworkers winning the election our slim despite the outspoken community support. Because of the numerous amount of unfair labor practices constituted by law, the United Steelworkers have decided to file the petition and block the election for a few weeks, if we are successful, the elections will be postponed and we will need all of your support in mobilizing a massive, quick and effective couple of tactics that we can be involved in that will show the workers that we support them.
Because of the way timing is going to come to play in this, it is hard for me to say what exactly were going to do until Monday when the ULP (Unfair Labor Practice) goes through. I’ll be sure to keep you posted, were going to need everyone’s support to ensure that the workers at Capital Returns come out of this battle victoriously.
http://photos-l.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v190/246/64/73500144/n73500144_30252123_8296.jpg
First of all, we would like to thank all the people who came out in the freezing cold to support the workers of Capital Returns. Many of you are probably wondering what is going on with the campaign and why there wasn’t a follow-up immediately after the rally. Anyway, I just want to give everyone an update as to what is going on.
Prior to the rally, the company brought in a State Representative by the name of Jason Fields, a democrat and African American. Rep. Fields, an anti union democrat has a niece who works at Capital Returns in the human resources department which has been at the lead of the union busting attack. Anyway, Rep. Fields had a captive audience meeting and told the low income work force that Capital Returns was in fact a “great place to work” and if a union were to come in, that the chances of the company closing would become very great; something that we know to be completely untrue based on profits that the GENCO Capital Returns posted last year and potential contract that the company is prepared to get with Wal-Mart.
Along with the remarks against the union that Rep. Fields expressed to the workers; the company has continually held an hour and a half meetings with the workers aimed completely at scaring and intimidating them to vote NO leading up to the election. Because of the power structure that doesn’t give the United Steelworkers or any community organization the chance to tell workers at these meetings the merits of what becoming the union could get them: fair pay, decent healthcare, accountability of management, a grievance procedure and many other basic rights, the only thing that the workers of Capital Returns are hearing is the negatives that are told and told again to them in meetings that the company is holding with the workers.
As you may have noticed at the rally, there were a lower number than expected amount of employees coming out the main gate. What happened was that the company knew the symbolic power that all of us would have if they were seen by the workforce so in response to this, the company hired airport vans to transport the workers out the back entrance to an undisclosed parking lot so that they would not see the people at the gates.
Following the rally, and before the elections, probably the slimiest thing that the Capital Returns did to see to it that the company would not become union was giving the workers a 2 and a half percent pay increase. This might sound good any other way, but the way in which they conducted this pay increase was very cold and calculated. The company stipulated that the pay increase would show up on the pay stub that came the week before the election (and the pay increase would be retro-active back to the first of the year). This essentially meant that although their pay increase would only be about 10 dollars per paycheck, because it was retro active back to the first of the year, it looked like on the pay stub leading up to the elections that they had received a 40 or 50 dollar pay increase per pay period. Following the election, when the pay increase normalizes, the big boost in money that the workers received on the pay stub right before the elections will all but disappear the paycheck after the election!
Following the rally, the United Steelworkers, with the help of organizers from all over the Milwaukee area blitzed the streets to do house calls at the workers homes. After going to 210 houses over the course of 3 days, they were only able to speak to less than ten and on the day that the union meeting came up, only 3 workers showed.
With elections at Capital Returns coming up next Thursday, the chances of the United Steelworkers winning the election our slim despite the outspoken community support. Because of the numerous amount of unfair labor practices constituted by law, the United Steelworkers have decided to file the petition and block the election for a few weeks, if we are successful, the elections will be postponed and we will need all of your support in mobilizing a massive, quick and effective couple of tactics that we can be involved in that will show the workers that we support them.
Because of the way timing is going to come to play in this, it is hard for me to say what exactly were going to do until Monday when the ULP (Unfair Labor Practice) goes through. I’ll be sure to keep you posted, were going to need everyone’s support to ensure that the workers at Capital Returns come out of this battle victoriously.
http://photos-l.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v190/246/64/73500144/n73500144_30252123_8296.jpg