UAW Local 2322 4 Open Square Way Holyoke, MA 01040 413-534-7600 www.uaw2322.org December, 2012 Issue 4

Upcoming Events! A Guide to Buying Union! UAW 2322 Membership Meeting and Holiday Party Our greatest strength lies in Sports Equipment Food Monday, December 10th each other. When you buy un- 6:00—9:00 PM ion , you support other union Louisville Slugger Boar’s Head WWII Club, 50 Conz St., workers, and fortify the labor Spalding Butterball Northampton, MA movement. Be proud of your NordicTrack Eckrich Deli There will be a brief meeting, purchases; buy union! Foster Farms then food, awards, and a DJ! Toys House of Raeford Farms Bring a canned food for the Clothing Klement’s food drive! Battleship Saag’s Union Jean Company Boggle Sahlen’s No Sweat Apparel Chutes and Ladders Thumann’s New York City Bus Trip Justice Clothing Connect Four Ore Ida Saturday, December 15th Union House Cranium Betty Crocker 7:30 AM—7:00 PM King Louie Guess Who? McCain Leaving from: Unionwear Hasbro Games Stuffing West Springfield High School, Zubie Wear Milton Bradley Manischewitz 425 Piper Road, Union Made Clothing Weebles Stroehmann Bakery Products West Springfield Leather Coats Etc. Yahtzee Kraft This trip is a fundraiser for the Alliance Graphics Trivial Pursuit Ocean Spray Western Massachusetts Union Made in America Super Soaker Andy Boy Coalition for Occupational Special T Unlimited Sorry Eurofresh Safety and Health, a unit of Red Wing Shoe Company Scrabble Birds Eye UAW 2322 and a nonprofit Alden of New England Playskool Mann’s organization. Call 413-731- Brown Shoe Company Parker Brothers Sunripe Produce 0760 for more information. My Little Pony Nerf

UAW 2322 Solidarity and Education Committee Meeting Monday, December 17th RAU/UAW 2322 Ratifies New Contract! 3:00—4:00 PM UAW 2322 Office, By Court Cline, Servicing Rep. 4 Open Square Way #406, Holyoke MA 01040 Congratulations to the bargain- was ratified at the RAU/UAW able to move beyond stalemate ing team for the Residents As- membership meeting on De- and reach a progressive Tenta- sistants Union (RAU-UAW) for cember 5th. tive Agreement. Thanks must reaching a Tentative Agreement also go to the more than 60 The UAW 2322 with the University of Massa- Many thanks to the RAU-UAW RAU members and allies that chusetts after 18 long months Bargaining Team members: lined the halls of one of the Food Drive ends on of bargaining, and to the RAU Avery Fuerst, Frank Jackson, most recent bargaining/ for ratifying the agreement! Christoper Hoel, Patrick Michel, mediation sessions. Collective, December 17th! Included in this agreement is an Megan Kingston, Annie Mom- concerted action like this cer- almost 37% wage increase over bourquette and UAW Servicing tainly helped the RAs to make Please help us by the next four years. Also con- Representative, Ryan Quinn significant progress. It truly tained in this agreement is sig- and UAW Local 2322 president, gives fine example to the donating at our nificant movement towards Ron Patenaude, who spent phrase, “United we bargain, “just cause”, which will result in most of the past 18 months divided we beg.” Holyoke or Amherst increased protections for our meeting with the UMass Resi- members on the job. These dential Life representatives to offices! gains were almost inconceiva- craft this progressive agree- ble two months ago, and lay the ment. It is truly a testament to groundwork for better contracts their hard work and persistence in the future. The agreement that the bargaining team was UAW Local 2322 The Local Pulse 413-534-7600, uaw2322.org

ServiceNet Home Care Nurses: A Brief (But Rousing) History of the UAW Determined, Courageous, and Insightful 1935: The American Federation of Labor charters the UAW in De- troit. By Brooks Ballenger, Servicing Rep. 1937: Thugs from the Ford Service Department and UAW organiz- ers clash in Dearborn, Michigan. The incident is dubbed the In December of 2011, the Ser- place and forcing the “Battle of the Overpass.” viceNet Home Care Nurses “resignation” of a Union nurse 1941: 50,000 workers walk out of the Ford River Rouge plant in voted overwhelmingly to form a by unilaterally changing his job response to years of union- busting. After ten days, Ford capitu- Union. This was after years of description. The Labor Board lates and agrees to recognize the UAW. no raises, inconsistent manage- issued a complaint on these 1945: The expanding defense industry and the labor shortage ment, and an unstable work charges. The nurse will be get- resulting from military service bring millions of women out of their environment. The nurses voted ting his job back with back pay. homes and into the factories. By 1945 women comprise 36 per- to win themselves a voice at the On November 13, the nurses cent of the workforce—350,000 of them as UAW members. table and to improve the pro- held an inspiring informational 1954: By 1954 almost all UAW members and their families have gram for themselves and their rally in front of a of Democratic health care coverage for with the companies paying half the insur- clients. We have been bargain- party meeting at the Hotel ance costs. ing a first contract since March. Northampton. Contract bar- 1961: The UAW wins contract language prohibiting racial discrimi- The nurses on the Union bar- gaining will continue. Thanks to nation in employment decisions at GM. gaining team have been deter- Shirley Markham, Kelly Covey, 1970: The UAW becomes the first union to endorse the Equal mined, courageous, and insight- Angelica Trenholm, Belinda Rights Amendment. ful in the face of management Emily Kim Soutra, and Sarah 1982: In negotiations with GM and Ford, the UAW wins the first slowdown tactics. An Unfair Fishburn for your great work! restrictions on outsourcing. Labor Practice charge was filed 1999: More than 10,000 academic student employees through- against ServiceNet for making out the University of California system join the UAW. unilateral changes in the work-

Member Profile: tion, and I enjoy the protection campus coalition originally activist groups and the RA un- Anna Waltman and benefits that come with dreamed up by the Center for ion. Continually building and union membership. Education and Public Advocacy reinforcing bridges of support By Ryan Quinn, Servicing Rep. (CEPA) and the Student Labor between GEO, other on-campus Shop: Graduate Employee How have you been involved in Action Project (SLAP). The coali- unions, and the undergraduate Organization (GEO) the GEO and UAW Local 2322? tion has brought together repre- organizations whose members sentatives from a wide range of usually support our actions Where are you from? Well, it all sort of happened at campus organizations — (SLAP, for example) can only once at the end of last year including undergraduates and benefit us all in the future. I grew up in Millville, New Jer- when our department’s previ- graduate students—with the What other organizations have sey, which is a smallish, ous steward of three years ultimate goal of making UMass you been involved with? postindustrial city about an stepped down to focus on her a more democratic, safer, and I’ve been an off -and-on mem- hour’s drive southeast of Phila- dissertation. Four people from more accessible campus for ber of the English Graduate delphia. the English department put students of all backgrounds Organization over the years, their names up during the ensu- and identities. I’m very excited and have also been part of What brought you to UMass? ing elections to be stewards, to be a part of such a positive reading groups and theatrical including myself, under the and important project, and performances within the Eng- I applied to UMass Amherst’s assumption that we could only excited to see what changes we lish department. Last spring at MA/PhD program in English and have a maximum of two (since can make! the Renaissance Center, I was American Literature at the rec- we’d had only one or two stew- a part of the first production of ommendation of one of my fa- ards in previous years). Howev- What is your vision for the fu- Thomas Heywood’s comedy, vorite undergraduate profes- er, after doing a little research it ture of the GEO and UAW Local Fortune By Land and By Sea, sors, who did his PhD here and turned out that our department 2322? since the 1600s. had an excellent experience. is so big, we qualify for four UMass’ reputation as one of the stewards! Now all four of us are I’m thrilled that GEO has been What do you like to do for fun? most politically engaged cam- on board, which has been great doing more social justice work Obviously I enjoy reading, but puses on the East Coast imme- for mobilizing the English de- this year, like collaborating with as a PhD student in English, diately attracted me. Having partment’s large and diverse the Stonewall Center on ally these days it’s as much work as been raised by two unionized workforce. I also co-chair the trainings for GEO workers. In it is “fun.” Most of the time, my public employees, I wanted to Steward’s Assembly along with the future, I would love to see stress outlets are baking attend a public university with a one of the other English depart- us continue actively working to (especially bread), knitting, strong teaching program and a ment/Writing Program co- make UMass Amherst a more subversive cross-stitch, and unionized graduate student stewards, and we both serve as equitable and safe environment running. I also enjoy playing body if possible; this way, I get the Steward’s Assembly dele- for our membership and the mountain dulcimer to an empty to work with students from a gates to Steering Committee, community as a whole. I’d also house, exploring cities on foot, much wider range of back- too. Most recently, I’ve been like to see us continue working and watching RuPaul’s Drag grounds and experiences than I attending meetings as a GEO actively with other groups on Race with my two cats. would have at a private institu- representative for a cross- campus, like undergraduate