On Friday, as Franz Bakery workers negotiated for a new contract at the Hilton Garden Inn, Eugene Springfield-DSA members picketed outside to show support and put pressure on the bakery. Around a dozen people showed solidarity with the workers represented by BCGTM Local 114. The Springfield workers, who have now been on strike for over two weeks are looking for a contract that addreesses safety concerns at the factory, low pay, and scheduling issues.
“We are weak on our own, and that does not just extend to the brotherhood that I am in, the Carpenters, it extends to the Teamsters, it extends to BCTGM, it extends to every single worker around, because if we let them divide us, then they will conquer us,” Nikolai Anderson, a member of Carpenters Local 541 and DSA, said about why he is supporting the workers.
Bigfoot Beverage workers represented by the Teamsters have been on strike for nearly two months have showed mutual solidarity with their BCGTM union cousins. At the beginning of the week, Oregon AFL-CIO organized a rally in support of both striking unions at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in Eugene. Teamster members were present at the DSA organized action too.
Shane Barrett with Teamsters 206 said that Bigfoot wants to switch workers to a 401K where they would contribute about half of what they currently provide to the pension. Barrett says that Teamsters won’t negotiate if there is not a pension involved, and argues that it is an important benefit that everyone should get.
Franz workers are seeking the ability to have a schedule that allows them to balance their family life too. The union has also noted several Occupational Safety and Health violations and want to gain more protections in their negotations with the company. Additonally workers point out that the Bakery has fallen behind in wage increases and they do not meet the industry average.
On the federal level labor protections have been under threat from right wing politicians and corporate executives. Even before Donald Trump won the presidential election, corporations have argued that the NLRB is unconstitutional.
“The National Labor Relations Act was a compromise between workers and bosses. If they would like to take that stuff away, old times return and those weren’t too fun for the bosses. As workers, our power comes from our ability to organize and withhold our labor. We have to keep fighting, and the only way to win is to fight.” said Will Garrahan, labor chair for UO YDSA.
Negotiations ended Friday evening without an agreement between the two parties. Franz was not interested in offering any back pay or provide meaningful changes to work hour flexibility, the union says. Franz and BCTGM are scheduled to be at the bargaining table again on November 19.
