Hi all, I was away from rabble for a longish while because I was on the picket line with my brothers and sisters for 20+ hours a day. Unlike blargh (Ronan, is that you?) I was pretty busy. Now the strike is over, and here are the highlights.First week, the first bus that tried to come in was turned back, as were all the busses full of scabs that tried to get into the plant. One window was broken, and one bus door was kicked in, no personal injuries reported except a minor knee injury to the president of the Union who, along with yours truly, responded to being struck by a bus with breaking the window. Lakeside finally manages to sneak about 40 managers into the plant in 8 mostly empty busses across a farmers field. Yours truly 'penetrates' Lakeside property and views the 40 managers getting off the bus, Theytell media that 100 workers have entered the plant and slaughter 1000 cattle, wich is pretty good as 2200 workers slaughter 4000 in a day. These same managers, attempting to leave the plant across the same field, encounter a group of picketers, including yours truly, who attempt to blockade them inside. The managers get out of the busses and proceed to start hitting us with fists and at least two pieces of pipe. After getting their asses kicked, the managers retreat back into the busses just as the SWAT team arrives and sends 3 of the picketers (black picketers, but don't read anything into that 
) to the hospital.
Soon, the time that we are allowed to delay the vehicles entering the plant is reduced to 3 minutes per vehicle by the labour board. We are told that if we violate this court signed injunction, we will be jailed. This is pretty generous for Alberta, but the Labour board was pretty pissed because several members of upper management were charged criminally with running the president of the Union off the road. The police were pretty pissed too, and they start to back off the picketers, as they can see that we are peaceful and the company seems to think that they are above the law.
Two of my brothers from Ethiopia die in a car accident while leaving the picket line. We stand down our picket line so that we can mourn and be with our families. Phone calls are made to scabs who were planning on staying home that day, and cars zip across the unmanned picket line for a day of production. Several scabs come out of the plant and join the picketers the next day, stating that the final straw was a member of management who was walking aroung the plant stating, '2 down, 998 to go.' The company lowers its Tyson flag to half mast for one day, raises it, and then after calling a press conference in the plant suddenly remember to lower the flags once again for the media. Only the Brooks Bulletin sends a reporter, the rest of the media refuse to cross the picket line and the conference is moved to the Heritage Inn. Tyson reps tell the media that they would have closed down for the day if they would have known that the two workers had been killed. Media that normally reports Tyson lies as the gospel truth roll their eyes at that one.
Lakeside builds several new roads into the plant, taking advantage of existing approaches along the gravel 'airport road' behind the plant. Suddenly, there are nails everywhere on the road and the mobile tire repair services in town are kept busy. One of the repair people brings coffee and doughnuts to the picketers and chats amiably while waiting his three minutes. More and more of the scabs are joining the union every day, citing abusive treatment and being forced to do jobs that they are unfamiliar with at full speed. Talk around the burning barrels is that Tyson will soon be out of scabs if they don't change their ways in a hurry.
Government inspectors, many of the who have worked at Cargill, a virtually identical plant that has been unionized since 1991, refuse to cross the picket line. They are forced to come there the next day by governemt managers, but then leave as they are told by a picket captain that they cannot gaurantee their safety if they attempt to cross. There is a story there, but there is also pending legal action, so it will have to wait for a courtroom. They are then sued by Lakeside, which claims that the goverment inspectors are taking the side of the Union and should be liable for lost production costs. Another hearing at the Labour board, and the inspectors are ordered to work on pain of contempt of court charges, and the picketers are ordered to let them through on pain of contempt of court charges. The inspectors enter the plant, and promptly shut it down because it is just plain filthy.
Next thing that you know, yours truly was settling in for a long strike lasting into next spring, and suddenly Tyson wants to come back to the table. They are, however, coming back to the table minus Carey Kopp. Carey was charged with numerous indictable charges for his role in running the president of the Union off the road and sending him to the hospital. The Labour Board feels that Mr. Kopp is a threat to others, because they grant a restraining order that keeps Carey 200 meters from the picket line, restricts him from driving on any road anywhere near the picket lines, and prohibits him from going anywhere union reps are known to gather. He is also prohibited from meeting with the Union to bargain. The offer that they make isn't the greatest, but does have Union security, Union representation for the workers during discipline, and a grievance procedure that will allow the Union to try and fix things like unjust terminations and unjust discipline. Now, suddenly, everything that the company does has to have just cause. Many of the workers are overjoyed, some are dissapointed that there wasn't a bigger raise, and some are flushed with the empowerment that comes with telling the manager that has been abusing them for years to fuck himself and making him wait for 3 minutes when he is coming to work. However, the offer is accepted by 56%.
One group that doesn't accept the contract is CLEFER. I think that it stands for Concerned Lakeside Employees For Everyones Rights. I am not sure, as most people call them the CLEFER Heifers due to the fact that several of the group have weights approaching that of a yearling heifer. There are 6 people in this group, according to Ronan Moen, the self proclaimed leader. He said this on a TV interview with Medicine Hat TV during the strike. You may know Ronan as blargh. I am pretty sure that it is him, as Steve isn't smart enough to put together a complete sentence, at least he wasn't when he was in court on assault charges last year for hitting a union rep. Mona would type way too slow as she is usually eating a Snickers bar with one hand (private joke, Mona will be pissed, everyone else just bewildered......), Mike can't get his keyboard underneath Carey's desk to type, and the brother who is in CLEFER doesn't have a clue what he is doing to say the least.
Now, CLEFER is switching tracks. They are attacking the company for caving into the Union. This might not be the best tactic. CLEFER seems to have a lot of money to take the Union to the Labour Board to challenge just about everything, even up to Judicial Review of the Labour Board's decisions. Now, that money doesn't come from the company because that would be illegal. Not as illegal as trying to kill the president of the Union, but still pretty illegal. Anyhow, if they bash the company too much, then where will the get the money to fight the Union? Only time will tell.
Wow. That was a long rant. I hope that this answers some questions that people may have had about the strike, from someone who was there in a leadership role with the Union. I will not be able to access the net for a week or so because I am just home for the weekend. If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them when I have a chance.
Oh, yeah. Ronan, piss off. You lost. Get over it.
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posted 13 November 2005 12:57 AM
