Mid-Term lectons

Tt w1q a Prim elertinniorht fr nfn, a* ix rafc%s,rP.;.%vm.

c#OSLJ ~3

labor Tuesday, as voters turnedaway from Kathleen Brown's* prom-ise to make the California dreamcome true.

Although a united union effort toput labor's endorsed candidate inthe state's highest office was frus-trated, the AFL-CIO movement re-*mained undaunted in its quest. tobring a better life to all working

jVVIr'aJj.ltuSL 1tW IIVWJjP rI'lumiUa11.Brown,. in her concession speech,'

noted there remains much wvork tobe done to bring the good life toevery segment of the state's popula-tion. Her campaign included a planto create well-paid jobs for well-trained workers and rescuing educa-tion from 12 years of executiveneglect,

The election results cast a dark

sniadow over iabor's chances to ad-vance progressive legislationthrough the capitol next year.Withouta pro-labor governor

and a Democratic majority in theAssembly, the State Senate may betempted to break the expected legis-lative gridlock. With only a slimDemocratic- advantage in -the Sen-ate, the upper house will be reluc-tant to break through.with deciding

favorable votes on labor's bills.Anti-labor compromise by Demo--crats on- legislation would ruin thelabor-Demfocratic alliance.-.There were -splashes of sunshine

in the mid-term elections however.U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein's

apparent victory over Michael Huff-ington, the Republican candidatewho ran on Proposition 187'*'s racistanti-immigrant platform, brought

joyto her. labor supporters in one othe most,*Contentious campaignswaged in years.

Feinstein ha*s yet to claim victory,and. Huffington refuses to concededefeat with 500,000 absentee bal-lots still to count -in a close 'contest.Feinstein garnered.46,6 percent ofthe vote to Huffingtonfs 45.*percent.Huffington, -the Texan oil mul-

(Continued on Page 4)

Vol. 37-No. 44

News Unions B3race For..ScabsTalks aimed at ending San Fran-

cisco's newspaper strike continuedin Mayor Jordan's office this week.Some progress was made when a

tentative agreement was reachedlate last night between one unionand the newspaper publishers.Members of Machinists Local

1327, which recently joined theConference* of Newspaper Unions,will honor the picket lines until theother eight unions on strike returnto work, said Business ManagerJohn Moran. A ratification date isyet to bet announced.The mayor announced that pub-

lishers of the San Francisco Chroni-cle and* Examiner had agreed topostpone on a day to day basis, theirthreat to permanently replace 2,600striking workers.

The publishers had.earlier noti-fied all striking workers they wouldbe replaced if they had not reportedback, to work by 5 p.m. thisWednesday.Doug Cuthbertson,. chairman of

the efght-union Conference ofNewspaper Unions stated that man-agement's decision to delay firingstrikers was "a gesture of good faithin view of progress at the table." Buthe reported that the two sides re--mained far apart on key issues.Looming large in the dispute is

the publishers' plan to eliminate 150.jobs of Teamster Local 921 deliverydrivers..Last Thursday,. management told

the news media that they actuallysought to fire no drivers and wouldbe* content to reduce jobs throughattrition. However, once back at thebargaining table, management madeno such offer.The newspaper management also

is offering a 19 month wage freeze,followed by 2.5 percent raises.

Striking workers at the S.E. Chronicle/Exanewr 5th and Mission Streets. site confront scab van driven by auniformed Huffmaster security guard hired by the Newspaper -Agency.Poo y.Jd ak

The Conference unions are. seek-ing annual 3.5 percent increases,retroactive to the 1993 expirationdate. Job classification issues con-cerning librarians represented -by*~the Newspaper Guild Local 52, andjob security issues for, MachinistUnion mechanics remainunresolved.

As the November 9 deadline to !M ilreturn to work or lose jobs ap XK.proached, several well known col-~umnists vowed to stay out until a %

fair settlement was reached. The r. ~columnists included Herb Caen, ~ . / S,Rob Morse, Stephanie Salter, Ray--------Ratto, and Art Hoppe.A mass rally Wednesday momn

ing of strikers and supporters from < i.

the trade union movement greeted/ / s a(Continued on Page 4) Huffmaster' guard, closes, gate after scab van passes through.

November .11, 1994

NLBRHears,SprintThreats.

Workers illegally fired from LaConexion Famili;'ar, the Spanish-lan-guage telecommunications subsid-iary, for trying to sign up with theCommunications Workers of Amer-ica, got a boost this week as theNLRB's unfair labor practices trialformally got underway.The NLRB complaint includes

intimidating threats against workersat La Conexion Familiar made bySprint. supervisors. While the em-ployers have not admitted that theyviolated the National Labor Rela-tions Act, they have agreed that cer-tain facts stipulated to would not bedisputed. The -stipulations could al-low Administrative~ Law Judge Ger-ald Wacknov to conclude that LaConexion Familiar managers vio-lated the Act.The board i's'alleging that La

Conexion Familiar unlawfullyclosed their .San Francisco* facility

(Continued on Pazge 4)

NOTICEThe California AFL-CIO

News will hencefort*h be pub-lished on a twice -a-monthbasis. Rising costs have com-pelled us temporarily to aban-don weekly publication.

Until this issue, the Califor-nia AFL-CIO News remained

AL*-Co

HERE BafthesHotel,VWins tParkSheraton Boycott

MaLooms at San PedroSome 140 hotel workers, primar-

P ily Latino immigrants and membersS of Hotel and Restaurant Employees

A Local 681, are locked in a tenacious.~ truggle with the San Pedro Sher-

aton's new owners who insist theS workers toil a second year under a

F concessionary agreement initiated'Sj by the hotel's previous owners inS October, 1993.iNhe current pro-

5 posal also calls for loss of benefitsand deterioration of seniority rights..Plans to launch a boycott against

the hotel are in the works.After months of negotiations, of

which only -one -day was spent on

economic issues, the new owners, apair of Singapore-based business-men, have forced the union to seeka labor/community- boycott -of -theSheraton.

"The owners have hinted at a de-certification attempt but haven't yetproduced any documentation," saidAlberto Mejia-Moreno, the local'sdirector of organization.

In a letter to Harbor District City.Councilman Rudy. Svorinich, Jr.,Angela Keefe,.presdent of the localoutlined prior events, "When wiemet on September 13,. the employersstated they were. in the. proc*ess of'shopping' alternative' health careplans, but. said that would notchange their-offer. The stated they

(Cottinued oot Page. 4)

Disneyland VWorkersRatify New ContractHundreds of jubilant culinary

workers, members of Hotel andRestaurant Employees Local 681,celebrated the* ratification of a newthree year collectively bargainedcontract with Disneyland ThemePark last week, thus averting a pos-sible strike.Union leaders called the settle-

ment- an- impressive victory for themembers, providing not onOly a threepercent annual* wage increase thatwill keep -wages Ahead. of inflation,as well as denying management afree- hand. to institute contractingout of. union jobs. Important new

precedent setting contract languagewill be -helpful for other unions atthe -park as well.

Ninety-eight percent of cashiers,-cooks And* other culinary workersvoted to accept the pact,.givingthem a pay boost and increased jobsecurity.

.The.agreement,, covering about1,600 workers, was reached late atnight before the day of expiration.

Union,leaders said Disney execu-tives' initial proposals includedmore take-aways than they had everseen -beform

Most workers felt strongly that.two issues emerging from the *be-ginning of the talks were just.as im-portant as a pay increase. One of the

(Continued on Page 4)

Jubilant members of United Service Employees Local 616 celebrate organizing 6000 howecare workers. "Union

HomnecarWoks JInEAlameda County homecare

Workers, some*6,000 strong, votedfor union representation 'last weekby.-an overwhelming 10 to one*margin.

For the last year and a half theworkers have been engaged in anorganizing campaign, part of theSEIU's nationwide effort to repre-sent* these historically underpaidworkers whose wages are at the-bot-tom of the health care industry.They will seek their first contractwith representation by Service Em-ployees Local 616.The Alameda workers provide

care in the homes of the elderly anddisabled under the state-funded andcounty-run In Home SupportiveServices program. Homecare

workers are among the fastest grow-ing sector of the health care-workforce - growing an average 30 per-cent a year. They emerged in the1970's as a cost-effective alternativeto hospital and nursing home care.Long overlooked, and weary

with low pay usually at the .mini-mum wage level, no. benefits, iso-lated and difficult working condi-tions, arbitrary cutbacks andinadequate, training, more than45,000 homecare workers'have nowbeen organized by the SEIU in..California.

"For far too long,, we've been-just.too easy to ignore," said. MaeMoore, one of dozens. of hmcrworkers who waited for. vote'resultsto be announced Thursday. at-- the

Alameda. County Administrationbuilding. in O0akland. ."Now weready for the bargaiifing table. It's.time -we took -some control."

Like all other homecare workers,Alameda Countys have been tradi-

'inlyregarded as "indepndentproviders"*emnployed by -their. cli-ents, therefore- unable to negotiatecollectively with a single employer.But legislation enacted in 1993

made. it possible for. the* County'sBoard. of. Supervisors- to create*.apublic.atort to -oversee the de-lier of homnecareI services as wellas pobvide the crucial..role of "em--ployer" -so the*workers could' bar-gain.,for.-pay, -benefits,. and"working-conditio6ns.

Califoria'ss ailing economy and

ongoing,fiscal crisis only. exacer-bate.d matters. Often paycheckwould be late -or there would be ar-bitrary reductions in hours.

In lobbying for the- creation of a

public,guthority, SEW was joinedby co*nsumer groups representingthe-elderly and disabled.'The promise of a tax. savings.,re-

alized by keeping patients- out of'.counPty-mun-hospitals also helped topave the way.to set up a public-au-thority. with whicbi to bargain.

"44By helping to keep- the. elderlyand-disabled in their homes insteadof in institutions, homnecare workersmake an incredible contribution to-the people of California- and savetaxpAyers millions of dollars," saidPlat'Ford., executive director of Lo-

Jim H-ightower,Who Killed Hedalth-Care Reform

Here is the scriptfor populist JimHightower's labor-friendly commen-tary that was broadcast by radiostations throughout the UnitedStates on Tuesday, Oct. 18:

Tuesday's the name. Jim Tuesday-There are a lot of stories on

Hightower Radio, but this is a storyof... .murder: "Who Killed Health-Care Reform?"

Just the facts, ma'am- We know*how it- happened. An inside job,deep -inside the Capitol building.Health Reform had come to the city

like alot- of bills do - fresh- from'the* country,, full of hope and prom-ise. But it was lied- about], .cheate-on, tarnished and finally... .lured:down, a dark corridor in the Con-gress and'. Murdered.*

Ten-forty-eight, PM ..Down-town.. I was called to -the 5th Pre-.cinct* to look at 'some mugs... In a.line-up....It was an ugly bunch.-.

.On the far right was. the jumpy:.one. ("The Newt" they' alled- him,Newt Gingrich. Odd guy,- claimedhe *was the, murderer.. "Wanted"

credit for killling at ReformT. Hewas. slime ail,right, *but* not sn arrenough to do. it' by himself..

What.about theBig Galoot, next.to him:. Bill' Clinton. His fingerprints Were,- l1over the -corpse, but I'.Could tell' by his. grief,...he* justdidn't-have murder *in hist' heart.

Then there was the sweaty one,glowering. at me:. Bob Dole He* hadmurder written all over. his. uglymug He hated -Reform and hatedeveryone who Wasn't already cowered -for. health care.-But was he -just- a stooge, the hit

News from.Chin'sLaborSlave labor is thriving in China's

gulag system according to recentsmuggled reports coming out of a.Chinese labor camp. Despite a U.S.law prohibiting the importation. ofgoods -made with forced labor,products made in these camps still.flow freely to this country, saysHarry- Wu, a resident scholar atStanford University who's beenworking for years to expose. the.prison labor system.-

In 1992, China signed* an agree-ment to stop importing goods pro-duced by its labor camps. That wasfollowed by President Clinton's sup-port to give China a most favorednation.status this year, and the as-surance by Administration officialsthat China's prison-labor goods hadceased. Until recently,,-it's been dif-ficult to identify links between theChinese labor system and the U.S.markets.Wu has just released two reports

through his Laogai Research Foun-dation, documenting- the import ofgreen tea and lartificial flowers pro-duced by prison- labor. "Laogai" isthe name for what the Chinese gov-ernment calls its labor ""reform"system. Wu is a victim of the sys-tem, having spent almost.20-yearstoiling in these*.camps.

"People have to know that at thecore of China's human rights -issuePage 2

there is a system.Of mcieytodestroy the people,"7 Wu said, inreference to China's labor system."In the past 40 years;- millions ofpeople have- disappeared into this*machine."

Wu's report contains a smuggledletter from an inmate of *China'sGuangdong province, sent to.himby democracy activists workingwith his foundation. "Inmates are

often beaten until they -are blood-stained all over, collapse or lose:consciousness,." wrote the prisoner,Chen,Bokong, a 30 year old teacher.."Several -times I was beaten by theteam leader. I am constantly ex-posed to' terror",

'Cheni tooklterrific risks in smug-gling out his letter "I -understandthat once my letter is published, Imight be persecuted even moreharshly. I might'even be- killed. ButI have no choice."7The Laogai Research Fouindation

has requested..the Clinton adminis-tration appeal. to the Chinese gov-ernment to release Chen.*Chen was serving a 3-year sen-

tence for his pro-democracy- activ-ities in 199 when -he.escaped toHong Kong' only -to -be deportedback.to China by the authorities. Ofcourse, he landed back in the laborcamp. for more '"education."

Working in a stone quarry, Chen'

wrote, mteant- 14 hours of' dailyback*-breaking labor under -the;watchful eye of guards. "Many-.in-mates, including myself, theirhands. and. feet squashed by bigstones, stained with blood and puss,have to labor as usual. As a conse ---

quence,) many* inmates were crip-pled for life."

Nevertheless,. many of thesesame prisoners. were forced to makeartificial -flowers -at night. Chen sentthe foundation three self-adhesivPU.S.. dollar price tag labels with hisletter bearing the_ nameof BenFranklin -Stores and its-. supplier,Universal SunRay, .a. Missouri-based*,wholesaler of artificialflOwers.

Qops, PhOtoMix-UpThe page one picture in last

Friday's issue qf the* California*AFL-CIO*News by error iden-tified the driver of an auto as- ascab. He was -in- Fact Ci-opeil-Ating 'longshoreman- 'hoping6tostop the unloading- of papermistknybeieved* to -be des-tined for the -S.F Chronicle andExamiiner The- picketers were*cheering him on before, the linewas removed.

man?That's-When* I noticed the Fat One

on the -end. The. guy wearing athousand-dollar suit, Gucci loafersand a smarmy smile: Mr. InsuranceCompany. He winked and tried -toslip- me a hundred-dollar bill,.

Yeah, hes tegy..h moneybehind..the murder.

You4heard it here on14 HightowerRadio. jft.. the old story: 'Politicalgridlock*and corporate.gredlock.....That's who killed Health

Care Reform*.

CamPS.A trip to Ben Franklin- outlets *ir

Pleasanton and Reno by.Wu re-vealed a perfect*match to the. labelssmuggled out by Chen showing,upon artificial flowers for sale-in thestores. Universal claimed-no knowl-edge -of Chinese labor- conditionsand the production.of the flowersthe, distributor buys..AFL-CIO staffer, Jeff Fielder

who is on the foundation's -executiveboard, said,""We. don't,have an)evidence that they knew. Itfs a mat-ter. for. investation.*" US.-CustomTi;officials knew nothing of-the.atfcial.flower case and.promised*tclook into the -matter. Officials at the~Chinese ebsyhave -reportedl.,told. some members of the.U.S. me-dia -that the- flowers were-not madcby prisoners.

Figures on China's prison popula-tion. seem to be shrouded in mys-tery. Officially. the governmeniclaims- only -one million. inmates,Wu,, however, takes issue with, thanumber.. Officih-1l-figures,..he says,do not include' men-and women ldChen who are being "re-educated'.through.th&labor. Nor -are personcounted-who',are held in detention,

Ucal 616. "Their work. is.far too -valu--able to be minimum wage jobs. witno -benefits and no security.. Theydeserve higher pay, benefits, and re-spect, and were. going to. fight 'untilwe get it."

Richard- Sanchez, a homecare*worker for'.eight years who cares fordisabled children,* said, Some-.times people need just a little bit Of.support. to stay in their homes. Ev-ery'year we can keep someone outof an institution we save the statethousands of dollars.

But -over the* last three or fouryears, Supplemental Security In-come -(SSI) 'has been cutting 'backon bomecare- and it doesn't makesense. We should be supporting ourfamilies and. keeping people athome.".

It is clear:- to* the.-workers andunion leadership that education andpublic -awareness is vital, to bringingunion-won.gains to,.homecare pro-viders. "At least now we have a toolwe can us&,to fight for thelthings weneed,". said Sanchez of -Thursday'svote to organize.

In March last year;,- the union gota boost. when it won a -key courtdecision. awarding $6 mrillion inback pay, for homecare. workersstatewide. The 'judge ruled that thestate *had- vio*lated the FairLaborStandards Act we twithheldhomecare workers' pay during the1990. and *1992* state budgetimpasses.The SEIU"s California Homecare

Workers Campaign currentlyhasimilar. organizing drives underwayin. Los. Angeles, where more than20,000 workers. have signed up. for-representation-by Local 434-B.Drives are also focusing on workersin..San Facso Manin, ContraCosta;-- Fresno, Sacramento andothier counties around the. state.

* Datebook

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It

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19

i9

Publisher's NoticeThe California AFL-CIO

News (ISSN: .0008-0802)- is pub-lishied *weelyexcept during theweeks *of Thanksgiving,Christmas and New Year's holi-days. by. the California LaborFederation.,. AFL-CIO, 417Montgomery .St., Suite 300,San Francisco, CA 94104. See-onid class postage.*paid at SanFrancisco, Calif..'-Individualsubscription,- $10"-a year; cor-porate rate, $20. USPS Publica-tion Number 083-400. John EHejmning,, executive secretary-trasrer; -Floyd Mhckr,, editor.POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges, to: California AFL-CIO News,. 417 Montgomery',St*, suite 300, *San Francisco,CA 94104. Phone, (415)

986-3585. FAX,1 (415)* 392-350.

- oemerU

Here Are-the -New Line-ujBoldltype indicates COPE-endorsed candidates** Congress

State --OfficesGovernorPete Wilson (R)

LieutenantGovernor*Gray Davis(D

SecretaryOf -StateBill Jones (R)

Attorney GeneralDan Lungren (R)

State Boardof EqualizationDist.1. Johan Kiebs (D)2. Dean Andal (R)3. Ernest Dronenburg, Jr. (R)4. Brad Sherman (D)

Dist.2.4.6.8..

10.12.14.16.,18.20.22.

Controller.KtAthlen Connell ()

TreasurerMatt Fong (R).

Superintendent oPublic Instruction-NDwneEastn (Non-parisan)

CommissionerCharles Quackenbush- (R)

U.S. SenatorDianneFeimstein OD))(Subject to* absentee-ballot count)

StateAssemblyDist.

1.2'

4..5.

6i.7.8.9.

10.11.12.13.14.15.16

Dan- Hauser (D)Tom Woods (R)Bernie Richter (R)David Knowles (R)-Barbara Alby (R)Kerry Mazzoi*d (D)Valerie K. Brown (9)TOM Hnia (9)Phillip Isenberg *(9)Larry Bowler (R)Bob*Campbell(9John L. Burton (9)Willie L. -Brown,* Jr. (D)'Tom Bates (B)Richard Rainey (R)Barbara Lee (9),.

State Senate24. Hilda S(

Mike ThOnPso(D) 26. Diane E,Maurice Johannessen(R 28. Ralph -CLeroy,:F. Greene (9) *29. RichardIQuentin Kopp'.(1)3.ChreBill Lockyer .(9) 32. Ruben:-EDick -Monteith (R) '34. Rob.HurKeni Maddy (R) 36. Ray HayJim Costa (9) 38. WilliamJack O'Connell (D) 40. Steve PeHerschel Rosenthal (B)Richard G,.-Pdmanco(D) *Special Election

L wsts.im (D)

rtt -(R)Mues (R)A. Craven (R)aee(D)

17. Michael J.. Machado (D)18. Michae,l Sweeney'I-(D).19. Jackie. Speier (D)20.- Liz Figueroa (D)21. Byron D.. Slier (D)22, John Vasconcellos.(D)23. Dominic L. Cortese (D)24. Jim Cunneen (R)25. George fHouse.,-Jr (R)26. Sal Cannella' (D)27. Bruce McPherson. (R)28. Peter. Frusetta. (R)29. _Chuck *Poochigian *(R)30. Brian Setencich (R)31. Cruz M., Bustamanfte (D).32. Thce Harvey (R)33.. Tom Bordonaro (R)34. Keith Ol1berg (R)35. Brooks Firestone* (R)36. ..Win. Knight (R)37. Nao Takasugi-,(RD)38. Paula Boland (R)39.' Richard Katz (0i)40. Barbara Fidmn(9)41. Sheika-JamesiKnehi (D).42. -WSly -Kn-(D)43.-Jame6s.Rogab(R)44. Bill Hoge(R45.. AntonioNVillAraigpsat.(9)46. Louis caidera '(D)47. Kevin Muray(w48.6 Marguerite Archte-HudsOn

49. Diane Martinez (D)

50. Martha'M,.-Escutia (D)51. .Curtis-R. ITlicker, Jr., (D)52. Wdlard **H. Murray, Jr.

(D)53. Debra Bowen. (D)

*54., Bety Karnette.(D)55. JaiaM.. McDonald .(D).56. Phil Hawkins (R)57. *Martin Gallegos (D)58.- Grace FE Napolitanto (D)59. Richard Mountjoy (R)60.. Paul Horcher-(R)-61. Fred Aguiar (R)62. Joe Baca (D)63. Jim. Brulte: (R)64. Ted Weggeland (R)-65. Brett Granlund (R)66. Bruce. Thompson (R)67. Doris Allen (R).68. Curt Pringle (R)69. Jim. Morrissey (R).70. -Marilyn Brewer (R)71. ,Mickey Conroy (R)72. Ross Jdhnson (R)73. -Bill. Morrow (R)74.- Howard Kaloogian (R),75. JawGoldsmnith' (RY-76. SsnA.. Davis .(D)77. Steve Baldwin (R)'78. -Deirdre (Dede) Alpert. (D)719. -Deniise -MorewmEDucheny-

(D)80. Jim Battin (R)*Subject, to absentee ballot count

DecaturUnions'3-.Front.BtlThree strikes at Decatur, Illinois 700 workers', members of the Paper-, in the Midwest heartland. ing the Staley corn-presn

have brought nationwide attentjon workers Union,) were. locked out of The lockout was- preceded- by the and strun alagebane' pcto this town of 80,000 people. The work by the Staley Manufacturing tragic death'of Jim Beals, a member. ing the bridge as the."oredisputes have taken on an interna- Co. which is -owned -by State. Farm of Paperworkers Local 7837.) -whc-r-mori Viaduct in1eortional tone because ownershipin Insurance, Tate &JLyle Corp.,-a was, killed after -being forced, to Beals.7 Staley workerswrvolves American, British and Japa- British-owned. firm, 'and Acher- work in dangerous conditions,. eert a decisinanonnese multinationals. Daniel Midlands. 'Staley processes United union demonstrators. re- the uninie MillerBrwn

Nearly 15 months ago, more than agricultural products, mainly.corn, centl massed on a bridge oelo- so sn tlyscr we

Striking workers in Decatur, U.involved in dsutsat Cterpila,AE ae n ngsOuieinmarchin front of Staley headquarters in asowof- determination to stay thecourxse ad infar4onrtsMembers- of the UAW, Paperworkers. and Rubber:..Mrkers. areafctdby thesIrikes.1Th Oc.15 marchdrew some s,ooo trade uionists.- Noice were. generally weR-behaved, unlike a June-25 rally, when demon-*straftor' peacefu acts-of civil disobedience were nut with ppegan- riot sicks.&November H,1M4

claim---sMe-)f Jimable toed by"Co.-toener in,

its brewing. process.Rally -participants -then -marched

to the Bridgestone/Firestone plant,one of several struck by the UnitedRubber Workers nationwide, andthen to a busy. intersection near theCAtierpillarplant, .where. they_ sat.down--anid- tied up- traffic. for morethan an hour.In June, more than 1,000 United

Auto Workers struck the.American-owned-Caterpillar plant in responseto the company's-demands for. wagerollbacks .anid'other*concessions.Some 17,OOOAuto*Workers are,in-volved- in..a fnationwide-strike,against Caerpillar..The following*.month,'1,250

United- Rubber Workers. struck theBridgestonie/Firestone plant in defi-ance of 'concessions demanded bythe company's Japanese owners.The company's- demands includecuts in health care coverage andcontinuous plant operattions., Man-agers .have begun hiring repaemnnt workers for tlwstikingLRmembers.-Broa4 suppo*rt and solidarity

have been displayed-.by fthelabor'movement and in.communitiesacross the -country. including' theSan.- Francisco Bay -Area.

Dist.I.Franl- Riggs (R)

2. Wally Hlerger (R)3.*..,*VieFazio -(D)4.. John -Doolittle (R

.5. Robert Matsui (D).6. .Lynnwolsey (D)7. George Miller (D)

'..8. Nancy* Pelosi (D)9. Ronald V. Deliums (D)10. Bill Baker(R11. Richard Pombo (R)12. Ibm Lantos (D)

nor. It remained the centerpiece ofhis' campaign 'from.. beginning toend.

Wilson was able to r*e-arrange theplaying field- during.his camnpai.gnwith -Prop.* 187. by taking -the focusaway from CAliforniA long falter-ing economy and exploiting insteadvoters' fears and'biases that illegalimmigrants were destroying .theirstate.The racist notion that education,,

welfare. and non-emergency healthcare should be withheld'from illegalimmigrants in California found itsresting place. at the.ballot box Thes-daywinn handily. This,- despiteheavy oppo.sition *from, labor and itsallies throDughout the campaign.

At least ei'ght lawsuits to test187's co6nstitutionality in, state andfederal courts were filed the. day fol-lowing the- election.

In San Fracsc,Sperior CourtJudge Stuart Pollack issued a tem-porary restraining. order pr*ohibitingpublic -,schools. from enforcing thepropos.ition requirement expellingschool children*w.ho. are illegalaliens.'

Labor's Yes. endotsemnent.. of the*singlepaer :healthi- plan--initiative,Proposition 186 was denied' by vo-.ters as- it Iwent.down to deea,- andProposition, 184,-,.the so-called"'three strikes!" initiative was ap-proved-contrary to labOr's position.

Page'3

PS13. Fortney..(Nte) Stark. (D)14.* Anna~Eshoo (D).15.' Nor(m-Mnea(D),.16. Zoe Lofgren ()17. Sam Fan -(D)18. Gary A. Condit (19.. George Radanovich '(R)-20.0 -Cal..Dooley .(D)-21. Bill Thomas (R)22. Andrea Seastrand (R)23. Elton- Gallegly (R).24.' nton C.. Beilenson. ()25. Howard McKeon (R).26. -Howard L.. Berman. (D).27. Carlos Moorhead (R).28... David -Dreier (R)29. .Henry WAhman (D).30. Xavier Becerra (D)31. MatthewG. 4,Maritinez (0)32.. Julian -C. .Dixon .(D)-33. Lucille Roybal-Ailard (D)34. ateban Torres -(D)35. Maxine Waters (9)**.36.- Jane Harman (D)37. WaIter R. 14cker III (9)38.- Steve-Horn (R)39. Ed Royce (R)40. Jerry Lewis (R).41. Jay- Kim. (R)42.- George E.- Brown,. Jr. (D)43. Ken Calvert ..(R)44. Sonny Bono (R)45. Dana Rhbce R46. Robert Dornan (R);47.. Christopher Cox (R)48. Ron Packard (R)-.49-.-Brian -Bilbray (R)50. Bob Fle 951. Randy Cunningham* (R).526 Dncan lunt& Rf*Subjeat to abientee- balot. count

Prop.187'9s-

Elections...0(Continued from Page 1)

lionaire, voting only 17 percent righton labor issues in Congress, prom-ised voters he would do nothing inthe Senate, and spent 28 milliondollars of his own money during thecampaign.

Trade unionists, determined tokeep both the state's U.S. Senateseats Democratic, worked tirelesslyfor Feinstein's reelection by contrib-uting thousands of volunteer hoursto the campaign.

Democrat Gray Davis' victory inthe Lieutenant Governor's race overRepublican Cathie Wright meansthe state will continue to have aGovernor and Lt. Governor fromtwo different parties, a situation thathas persisted for 20 years.

COPE-endorsed Delaine Eastinprevailed in a non-partisan race forSuperintendent of Public Instructionover the Governor's 'Chosen candi-date for that post, Maureen Di-Marco who linked herself in televi-sion campaign ads to conservativeRepublicans, Bill Jones, who waselected Secretary of State, andCharles- Quackenbush, who defe-ated COPE-endorsed Art Torres inthe Insurance Commissioner

contest.

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of them concerned- the union'sstruggle to prevent Disneyland fromhiring non-union subcontractors forculinary jobs, particularly those inthe cafeterias. The problememerged this summer when Disney-land managers attempted to contractout some jobs to outside non-unionvendors. Protest from the union hal-ted that plan but management ad-mitted it had been considering con-tracting out for the -future. Afterlong discussion during negotiations,

agement'1)s proposal for a two-tierwage structure, strongly resisted byunion negotiators. Debate persistedon this point for two months andnearly provoked the first strike atDisneyland in 10 years. Disneylandhad proposed wages for new hiresafter November 1 be capped at$7.50 an hour. The top rate for mostof the union food service workers atthe park is $8.95. Ultimately, nego-tiators agreed new employees wouldhave the same top scale but it wouldtake them twice as long to reach itas former employees.

The local had threatened to orga-nize a boycott of the theme park ifDisneyland proceeded with plans toreplace the union cafeteria workers."We were just exploring the ideal,"1said John McClintock, a manage-ment spokesman."We fought hard for what we

got,) " said Sandi Eckland, who sells

Sexual HarassmentHearing on Nov. 16The cost and effect of sexual ha-

rassment in state government work-places and the effectiveness of ha-rassment curbs legislated in 1992and 1993 will be examined Nov. 16at Sacramento during an interimhearing of the Ass.-mbly Committeeon Consumer Protection, Govern-mental Efficiency and EconomicDevelopment.

Assembly Member Jackie Spear,D-South San Francisco, will chairthe hearing, which is scheduled for9:30 a.m. to4 p.m. in Room 126 ofthe State Capitol.Page 4

Kathleen Connell, COPE'schoice for State Controller, did wellin her first try for public office, witha victory over reactionary Republi-can Tom McClintock, a former As-semblyman with a 90 percent anti-labor voting record.

Connell, a business professional,is licensed to practice as a pensionfund advisor Her new office willautomatically put her on the boardsof the multi-billion dollar PublicEmployees Retirement System andState Teachers Retirement System.She favors a California first policyfor investments by the retirementfunds, prevailing wages on publicworks projects, universal healthcare coverage, collective bargainingrights for public employees andstrong Cal-OSHA enforcement.

0 Loss of a Democratic majorityin the Assembly is considered thesecond most devastating blow forlabor and its allies after KathleenBrown's defeat in the battle for thegovernor's office. The line-up in theAssembly now stands at 40 Demo-crats to 40 Republicans.Even that tally, however, remains

in doubt. COPE-endorsed BettyKarnette is holding on to a slim 64

popcorn, ice cream and balloons.Ecklund was one of 18 members onthe union's bargaining committeewhich hammered out the agreementand voted unanimously to present itto the membership.

The union had won a four percentwage boost with the last contract in1991. Although the members werehoping to maintain that increase,the three percent raise seemed pal-atable. "I think it's probably the bestwe could have got for the way theeconomy is today," said GeraldLueders, a kitchen worker at theNew Orleans restaurant.

Additional contract advancesconcern improved seniority rights,overtime, shift and days off prefer-ences; better definitions on job sta-tus and descriptions; improvementsin the culinary apprenticeship pro-gram; limitations on the use of sus-pensions for discipline, the possi-bility of four day, 10 hour shifts insome areas, and increased vacation

cash-out provisions.

Sprint..(Continued from Page 1)

to avoid unionization and that em-ployers made over 50 illegal state-ments that include threats of repri-sal, interrogations,- and promises ofbenefits to some employees.The proceedings held before

Judge Wacknov, will include pleasto seek remedies to require the em-ployers to permanently reopen theSan Francisco facility, offer all firedworkers immediate reinstatement totheir former jobs and conditions ofemployment, including backpay, aswell as a broad cease and desist or-der preventing the employers fromfurther interfering with the rights ofemployees to unionize.

The agreed upon points that re-late ~ 1tovrosaleain If%the

* Threats to fire employees whosupported the union..W Making statements that the

company would never bargain withthe union.The factual stipulations released

by the-NLRB related to the conduct

vote lead out of over 106,000 ballotscast.

Republican Richard Mountjoywas a winner in both his 59th As-sembly District and the 29th SenateDistrict. He will vacate the Assem-bly seat.

*In the State Senate, the Federa-tion's Committee on Political Edu-cation made 18 endorsements in 20contests. Fourteen of those pre-vailed, giving Democrats a 21-17majority over Republicans.Two independents, Quentin Kopp

of San Francisco and,Lucy Killea ofSan Diego promise to be key voteson bills important to working peo-ple in the next legislative session.* Democrats in California's con-

gressional delegation retained a slim27 to 25 advantage over Republi-cans. Nationwide, -there were hugeRepublican gains in the U.S. Houseof Representatives. Pundits are call-ing the first Republican control ofCongress in 40 years a "sea change"'that puts the burden of governmenton the GOP The loss of key com-mittee chairs by Democrats is ex-pected to have a heavy impact onworkers across the country.

The national AFL-CIO issued a

Hotel 0

(Continuedfrom Page 1)were willing to open some financialrecords to the union, but would notconsider any recommendationsmade based on a union audit.

"Because of the owners' contin-ued intransigence, our membershave voted to call for a labor/com-munity boycott of the Sheraton. Weare requesting and expect to receivesanction for this -boycott from theLongshoremen's Union, Teamsters,Los Angeles County Federation of

of La Conexion Familiar super-visors Arturo Joya, Laura Cerritosand Norma Cejas. Other personsnamed are former employees of thecompany.

Just a few of them follow:* "In about mid-March, at La

Conexion Familiar's facility, ArturoJoya came up to ... telemarketer De-bbie Casiano and had a conversationwith her, ... Joya asked if Casianowas for the union, ... Joya said thatSprint is a non-union organizationand doesn't deal with unions,..Joya said that the employees whowere for the union would be fired,and they wouldn't be there long, .

Joya said that Sprint is not going toallow a union in La Conexion Fa-miliar, ..

0 "On about April 5, Laura Cer-ritos met with Maria Diaz in Cer-ritos' office at-the La Conexion Fa-miliar facility, ... When Diazarrived, Cerritos slammed her deskwith her hand and, in a hostilevoice, loudly said that she was fedup with Maria Diaz in the womnen'srestroom, trying to organize em-ployees to support the union to fightfor their commissions.* "On an unknown date some-

time after May I,. Laura Cerritos.) atLa Conexion;Familiar's facility, metwith supervisors, managers., andLCF employee- Karen Gomez,..0Cerritos said it, was important thatthe supervisors understand that

Spitis a -non-unioncompany, n

Sabs(Continuedfrom Page 1)

scabs as they arrived to work underheavy San Francisco police'escort.To date, only eight of 2,600 strikershave crossed picket lines.

Strike headquarters reports that200 advertisers have pulled out ofthe newspapers in support of thestrike or due to dissatisfaction withthe two newspapers' inability toreach their pre-strike readership.

These include Nordstrom, KaiserPermanente, American Express,Delta Airlines, Radio Shack, WW~-greens, Ross-Dress-for-Less, andMason McDuffie Realtors. I

statement in the face the di'sappoint-ing results: "Unfortunately, in agreat number of races, disgusted vo-ters decided to throw the rascals IN.

"But the problems of the countryremain, and yesterday's results pro-vide no evidence that working peo-ple have given up hope for betterbealth" care, safer workplaces andfairer treatment on the job.

"They want relief from decliningwages and growing economic inse-curity. Members of the 104th Con-gress, regardless of their party affil-

a $20 a month co-payment for indi-vidual coverage, $30 for one depen-dent and $40 for two or more de-pendents, with no dental coverage.Of the hotel's tipped work force,

about 35 percent of all workers,most earn about $5 an hour. A ma-jority of the non-tipped workersearn $6 to $7 an hour. The mostlucrative jobs are in housekeeping,which bring $6.14 an hour. Theunion had already agreed to a oneyear wage freeze in July 1993.The new owners, KentJana Widj-

aja and Tirtomulyadi Sulistyo, haveformed a partnership called C/PForward Corp. which representssubstantial capital in Indonesia andSingapore. The new owners havestrong ties to international marketsand are expected to draw business-men and tourists from all over Asia.They have controlling shares inCrown Prince Hotels in Singapore,Penang and Kuala Lumpur. Theyare now reported to be negotiating

will never have a union,... Cerritossaid there would be layoffs, therewould be no more work, that Sprintwould close down La Conexion Fa-miliar and never reopen it, ...'Cer-ritos said the supervisors had to ex-plain this to employees so theywould know what would happen if aunion came in,,..6* "On an unknown date some-

time after May 1, Laura Cerritoshad a conversation with her assis-tant,, Sandra Lobos, in the sameroom with La Conexion Familiaremployee Karla Gomez,, and in avoice loud enough to be overheardby Gomez, ... Cerritos said toLobos that if the union comes inthere, La Conexion Familiar closesthe doors and doesn't open again,

CertssI tILbosthtate

ployers from further violating therights of its workers.The case was argued on October

13 before District Court JudgeVaughn Walker, and a decision ispending..CWA had collected authorization

Most of the non-union newspapercarriers have refused to deliver thescab papers and hundreds of storesare refusing to sell the papers.Strike leaders are urging the publicto boycott the newspapers. Can-cellation cards are available at StrikeHeadquarters by phoning (415)-882-9173.

The striking unions are: Team-sters Local 15 and 921, NewspaperGuild Local 52, CWA 'llpographi-cal Local 21, Service EmployeesLocal 87, Web Pressmen Local 4,Paperhandlers, Local 24, and NewsVendors Local 468.

iation, will have to face theseconcerns, and the AFL-CIO will bedoing its utmost to see that they doso promptly and effectively.""

COPE-endorsed candidates wonin three of the four State Board ofEqualization districts on the ballot.Democrats Johan Klehs and BradSherman were elected along withRepublican Ernest Dronenburg, Jr.Only former Democratic Assembly-man Robert Presley's loss to Repub-lican Dean Andal prevented aCOPE sweep in these contests.

for a hotel in San Francisco.

While their $12 million invest-ment at the San Pedro Sheraton isexpected to pay off in the mediumand long term, the union's positionis that the hotel's workers should nothave to bear the, burden of povertywages and substandard benefitswhile the investors wait for theirpayoff.,

In January this year, the Los An-geles City Council unanimously ap-proved the sale of the Sheraton afterlast minute negotiations to saveunion jobs then at stake. "We werereassured by the prospective ownersthat they had the' employees' bestinterest in mind," said CouncilmanSvorinich, Jr. Union representativestold council members they sup-ported the sale after a meeting withthe new owners who promised thata new contract would be negotiated.Now that promise has goneunfulfilled.

cards from 70 percent of the em-ployees, and a representation elec-tion had been scheduled for July 22.The company fired 235 workersand closed its doors on July 14.

Two Job OpeningsAt SEWU Local 535Two job openings have been an-

nounced by Service Employees Lo-cal 535 which represents 15,000 so-cial service and health workers inthe public and private sectorsthroughout. California. Both arecontract positions.The local is seeking someone to

edit and oversee production of itsstatewide newspaper, a four-pagetabloid currently produced from the

view date is set for December 16.Contact Kerry Newkirk, Execu-

tive Assistant, SEIU Local 535 at661 - 27th St., Oakland, CA 94612.The phone 'Is (510) 893-8766.

Nuvmber IU. 194